Orlando/Disneyworld Thread (Part 3)

jog

Hi,

I have been doing a lot of reading up on here and The Dibb. We have booked accomodation and tickets to go to Orlando next August from 4th to 18th, we are tied to the first half of the school holidays due to needing to be back for GCSE results and work.

I have read several people talking about watching flight prices until they drop to a price they are happy with and then booking. The problem is that having never flown to the USA before I have no idea what a realistic price might be. The prices for our dates are just being released for BA and I think Virgin will be in the next couple of weeks. At the moment BA is £600 more than tompson for all 5 of us.

We need to fly direct as my husband is not good with flying and would struggle with a stopover somewhere, so I realise we will have to pay a premium for that.

I would welcome peoples opinions on what they would consider to be a realistic good price for flights in peak August.

Thank you for your help

Jog

jeanniebeanie_2

r.mac wrote: »

okay - I had an email last night about our Villa accommodation. They have double booked us and we now don't have accommodation for the second week of our holiday

So I am looking for a villa with two bedrooms (2 adults and 1 child who is 2), private pool, close to a beach on the gulf coast. We were going to Isle of Capri, near Marco Island. There isn't much rental there and tbh we weren't going there for any particular reason so looking at anywhere on the gulf coast. We like quiet beaches and just want to relax for a week after the parks in Orlando. We had considered Anna Maria Island but found accommodation for our dates hard to find (tues 11th - 18th - 7nights). What do people think about Sarasota? I like Siesta Key, but haven't seen much availability.

Can anyone offer/help/support/suggestions. /

We have stayed on Anna Maria here a few times
http://www.palmtreevillas.com/resort.htm
and they appear to have availability.

Not a private pool, but but hardly ever see anyone in it because the beach is two minutes away. Perfect for little ones, they have a BBQ area, supply beach chairs, toys etc and little carts for you to drag everything to the beach.

The small complex is beautifully kept, the accommodation has recently been refurbished to a very high standard - not easy to find on Anna Maria- and the owners are very helpful (I have no connection to them). Good luck.

ETA. If you want a bit more "upmarket" This is where we are staying next visit (for my DDs wedding).
http://www.mainsailbeachinn.com/

Not a villa, but a recently built gorgeous Gulf Front block of 2/3 bedroom accommodations which we were given a tour of two months ago. It is actually Just across the road from the one above.

Personally I wouldn't stay in Sarasota. Have you considered Sanibel? Probably my second choice after Anna Maria.

meletheridge

posted the same question in vegas thread so sorry but thinking of 2012 already could you point me in the right direction ? thanks

r.mac_2

Thank you jeanniebeanie. I am off to look at those now.

I will strike Sarasota from the list and look at sanibel. thanks

Kaz2904

Horrified to see that the same search terms as yesterday have produced holidays £900+ more expensive from the same supplier. The other half of the party doesn't get back from their (current) holiday until Sunday! Eek, how much will they have gone up by by then?

mintster

I have a question about tickets - no matter what I do I can't seem to keep the cost of tickets down. Whenever I put combinations together it always seems to be a better option to simply purchase the £399 combi ticket offered - anyone got any tips?

jeanniebeanie_2

r.mac wrote: »

Thank you jeanniebeanie. I am off to look at those now.

I will strike Sarasota from the list and look at sanibel. thanks

Sarasota is a small modern city and I think most people from there vacation on the islands- we rented a villa once from a Sarasota surgeon (villa since wrecked in a hurricane, so no use to you).

Sanibel has lovely beaches, restaurants and wonderful shelling (known locally as the Sanibel stoop), but it is a little less relaxed and a little more "yachting set" in my opinion. There is little to see except foliage as you drive through Sanibel, but plenty of pretty little shopping/dining areas to pull into, whereas on Anna Maria you see lots of roadside pastel coloured and brightly decorated wooden buildings and in many places you can see the sea on both sides of the road. There are also pretty piers to stroll down on Anna Maria at Bradenton Beach and Anna Maria "City" I will post links to them and a couple of our favourite restaurants.
http://www.groupersandwich.com/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlenKU3ek20
http://www.visitflorida.com/experts/beach_and_surf/action.blog/id.58

ETA There is a free Trolly bus which runs along Anna Maria and stops by the accommodations I posted about earlier too. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxDQwhpRJHw&feature=related

Feel free to PM if you want to ask more about Sanibel, Anna Maria or anything else in the area.

jog

Kaz2904 wrote: »

Horrified to see that the same search terms as yesterday have produced holidays £900+ more expensive from the same supplier. The other half of the party doesn't get back from their (current) holiday until Sunday! Eek, how much will they have gone up by by then?

A tip I was given was to clear all cookies and history on your computer then go back and price up the holiday again. It worked for me yesturday when I was pricing up flights, they went back down to the previous price.

Birdie85

mintster wrote: »

I have a question about tickets - no matter what I do I can't seem to keep the cost of tickets down. Whenever I put combinations together it always seems to be a better option to simply purchase the £399 combi ticket offered - anyone got any tips?

I feel your pain, tickets are shockingly expensive! We got everything separately (and knocked Wet & Wild off) but still ended up spending about £390 each so the combi ticket probably will work out as good value if you want to do everything.

I'm trying to sort out as much as possible before we go in 2 weeks and I'm just trying to figure out Lynx bus passes so I know what we need when we first hop on! I know we'll get 7 day passes but not sure if we need the 'Fixed Route 7-Day Pass' for $16 or the 'Standard Fare 7-Day Xpress Pass' for $23. Any ideas what the difference is?

Phoolgrrrl

Has anyone stayed at Baymont Inn and Suites on I drive? Would be £127 for 2 rooms for 3 nights, but mixed reviews on tripadviser.

thanks.