Orlando/Disneyworld Thread (Part 3)

meer53

blue_monkey wrote: »

Meer we have this discussion a lot and it has to be personal choice and if you are not a confident driver there is no need to let it spoil your holiday, not everyone is a confident driver and personally, it would add stress to my holiday worrying about driving so we prefer to let others drive for us.

Likewise with a villa, I do not go on holiday to cook and do housework because I do enough of that here - because inevitably a 4 bedroom villa is going to need tidying. I like going to the parks and coming back and finding someone has made my bed, cleaned the toothpaste from the sink and emptied the bin!! If you get a villa you NEED a car.

Princess30 - we have never driven and it's never been an issue, shopping, days out, you can get around easily enough. We are going again at Easter, will be our 5th trip, and this is the first time ever we have had a car. We thought we would give it a try but we have also booked a coach trip to the Crystal River. The best resort we stayed at was the Radisson at Parkway - it is on the 192 and there were buses that came along every 15 mins and it was the last stop before Disney Transportation Centre which is the Disney Car Park. They run late too, and if you need a cab there is always a cab around to take you somewhere. The other bus also goes to the huge Walmart and there are restaurants all the way along. A weekly ticket costs $16 and kids under 12 travel free.

We are getting a car this time because we are staying in our timeshare resort but we have spent as much on a car for 9 days, than we ever did on cabs and bus fares for 2 weeks.

Driving is not for everyone, if someone does not want to drive they should not be made to feel that it is difficult to get around.

We have stayed at Hilton GrandVacation Club at Seaworld, not on I-drive but a $10 taxi ride to get wherever we wanted, and they have their own taxi co on site too. Also the i-ride and lynx buses are outside, Seaworld/Aquatica is walking distance and the Busch Gardens bus runs from Seaworld (free if you have a 3 day park ticket).

We stay in Disney a lot but we have stayed elsewhere, 4 Points - was not overwhelmed with that.

If you want to stay in Disney cheaper you can buy points off DVC members who have spare points and you get to stay in the Disney Deluxe Accomodation cheap but there is no dining plan. If you go in January you can stay in Bay Lake Tower Studio overlooking the MK fireworks which is a 3 minute walk to the gates of the Magic Kingdom, for £60 a night. We have paid a little more than that, but not much more, and we are going peak season, and they take us back to the airport for free as well for that price. It means on our last day we just walk over the MK and back again, get our luggage and get on the bus and go home. Simples. PM me if you want the info on where we got ours from.

I don't like the way that on these forums posters are made to feel like inferior if they do not want to drive on holiday and more or less being pushed to take a car - this could be for a whole host of reasons, including the person going already driving for living and wanting a break from it. They might not even be able to drive. Driving is a doddle but only if you are a confident driver and some people are not. My husband is a confident driver but he has never been interested in driving either. I won't even drive in France when we go. A taxi will cost the same as driving for the day (maybe less), there are no parking charges to pay at $15 a time and no road tolls either, there are also plenty of coach trips available if you want to go out for the day elsewhere too.

I did say it was personal choice, just like yours. Try reading my post again.

I'm sure people can make their own minds up. You seem to object to anyone else posting their opinions, yours is valid, but not the only one. Surely it's better to hear everyones experiences, you're not the only person who has been to Florida more than once.

blue_monkey_2

meer53 wrote: »

I did say it was personal choice, just like yours. Try reading my post again.

I'm sure people can make their own minds up. You seem to object to anyone else posting their opinions, yours is valid, but not the only one. Surely it's better to hear everyones experiences, you're not the only person who has been to Florida more than once.

I did - I read your post and it was biased and on your post people cannot make up their own minds. For example you said buses were a pain and I do not think they are, they are perfectly adequete for non-drivers, run on time and otften and there is no need to drive if someone does not want to. Again, that is their choice.. There is plenty of public transport available.

Your experience is of driving in Orlando, mine is of public transport in Orlando. You clearly drive out there so how do you know that buses are a pain? And there is nothing wrong with taxi's at all.

Cars ARE expensive to hire out there add onto the hire charge the diesel, parking and tolls, getting a cab is sometimes a cheaper option.

blue_monkey_2

lucie707 wrote: »

blue_money just saw you have stayed in the Radisson before, thats where we have booked! Is it near to any good malls or food shopping places do you know?

It is nice there. When we was there Don King and loads of famous boxers was staying as there was a Boxing thing going on at the convention centre - this was in Feb half term as well. The people who worked there were really pleased telling us who this was and that was - we did not have a clue who they were, LOL.

I would get the bus or a taxi to Walmart - there is one each way on the 192.

There are several supermarkets but I do not see the difference in them really, they all seem to sell the same stuff - think Tesco/Asda.

If not eating at the hotel take your own cereals and some plastic bowls as kids cereals are rubbish and full of crap - but when we was there Kids ate free and the breakfast was really nice and prices were comparable to going out. There is a pizza hut in the lobby too. We was not really there for an evening meal to say how that was.

I would not shop in the little shops along the 192 as they are expensive and you'll find the same in Walmart for much less - walk out of the hotel, turn right and the big road in front of you running left to right with the lights is the 192. Go straight on and this is Celebration. If you go either way you'll find lots of restaurants there, too many, it depends on personal choice as to what you want to eat though.

There is a shuttle bus that goes to Disney - yours will be the first pick up and we was on the bus for about 55 mins picking up from other hotels so this is why we started getting the lynx. (have a look on google maps, you'll see the road and stops) if you come out of the hotel, turn right and stay on that side there is a bus stop, this takes you to Disney, next stop, takes 8 mins or so. You can download a timetable from the internet before you go and this will save you some time if you take this option. I'd choose that over driving from there anyway because buses get priority over cars and sailed right in while the cars were all queuing to get in. However, the shuttle bus is free and runs to all the parks if you want to use it even if you go one way it'll save you some $$)

Walk up past the shops and you'll get voucher booklets with discounts in them, we decide from there where to eat really.

We loved our time there. We got taxi's to go shopping, seaworld, universal etc... they did have a free bus but we preferred to not have to clock watch, we used it for the first day and that was it.

Go onto Google Maps and get street view up and you go up and down the road looking at restaurants and shops. Shopping again is down to personal choice, have a look at each mall and decide what you want to go there for and just get a cab. We figured we would pay $50 per day for a car plus diesel and parking so if we spent this on $500 on cabs we had not really lost out. With using the bus for Disney we only got cabs for 5 or 6 days out of the 14 though and probably cost us $200 - we did not scrimp on where we went, just called a cabbie over and got him to take us home. A lot of people raved about Premium Outlets but we did not think much of it so this is why you need to look online and choose what shops to go to otherwise it is a wasted journey - there is just too much to choose from and I do that even if not driving. I'd not bother with Festival Bay either, most of the shops have closed and it was a bit of a wasted hour.

Oh, and most of the taxi's we got had a car seat in the boot (2nd stage) but specify this when you call, that you need a car seat. We got in a cab on day 2 and he was really nice to talk to so we asked him for a card and then he gave us a discounted rate without the meter on and we called him whenever we needed a cab and we used him for all our journeys. Some of those taxi drivers are right grumps, LOL, so if you are going to do that, make sure you get one that wants to talk to you. Some of them LOVE to talk to English Tourists and it is hard to get a word in edgeways. I like that though.

HappyShopper_4

I am a single mum with 2 children ages 8 and 22, we first went to Florida about 10yrs ago with friends and twice in groups since. in 2010 It was just me and the boys. We have stayed at Disney and on International Drive, the top busy end and the quieter end. I have driven and used buses and for me personally, driving on the other side is not as easy as it is for others. I have had this conversation many times with my friends who say that it is, but its just not for me and that's that!! We have stayed at Lake Eve twice now, I booked the flights through Virgin Atlantic, the hotel through Travel Republic and used Martin Faynik for the transfers to the hotel, this time there was 6 of us and he charged 106$ return trip. Lake Eve is exceptional and although it is all apartments, it looks like a hotel, so you would think you are going to a normal We used the buses, the courtesy buses from the hotel are good, however we also gor the 50 to disney or back of the courtesy bus times did not suit and we found this no problem at all. Obviously the buses take longer than if you were in a car but for us, buses were more preferable. The Itrolley bus stops outside the hotel and costs 14$ for 2 weeks and the lynxx bus costs 2$ a trip (they don't offer change so make sure you have the right money). taxis are also relatively cheap or Martin offers a good price for taking you to the them parks. (He is not just a sole driver - they have over 40 drivers). Anyway, we paid so much less than a package holiday would have cost and I am so glad that I booked it all seperately (obviously this is not going to suit everyone but I hope that it helps even one person) I also found that Orlando Attractions.com were the best priced for the Park Tickets especially as they have an office in the UK.

jeanniebeanie_2

Just a quick word of warning. We have friends over there at the moment staying in their own villa for six weeks (been there 5 so far). they have said there is a growing issue with fake taxis. They themselves had a scary experience with one outside Walmart harassing them and ended up having to dodge him while they booked one from a reputable company. They are members of the local owner's association and others there have had problems too. Please make sure you check yours is legitimate and be doubly wary if hailing a taxi.

ETA. If you are wondering, they do hire a car, but wanted a drink on this occasion.

meer53

blue_monkey wrote: »

I did - I read your post and it was biased and on your post people cannot make up their own minds. For example you said buses were a pain and I do not think they are, they are perfectly adequete for non-drivers, run on time and otften and there is no need to drive if someone does not want to. Again, that is their choice.. There is plenty of public transport available.

Your experience is of driving in Orlando, mine is of public transport in Orlando. You clearly drive out there so how do you know that buses are a pain? And there is nothing wrong with taxi's at all.

Cars ARE expensive to hire out there add onto the hire charge the diesel, parking and tolls, getting a cab is sometimes a cheaper option.

My posts aren't biased at all, why on earth do you say that people can't make up their own minds ? Do you need to do that for them ? It seems that way. They're my personal experiences of my visits to Florida. People are free to make up their own minds about whether they're confident enough to drive. If people only hear your experiences how can they make an informed decision ? I'm sure the millions of people who choose to hire villas are fully aware of the costs of hiring cars, petrol parking etc, I have used public transport in Orlando, i wouldn't choose to use it again. My choice, as it will be other peoples choice.

I don't come on the forum and dissect your posts, i'd appreciate it if you'd allow me to post my opinions without dissecting mine, and pointing out how wrong i am.

r.mac_2

Helloooo!

We thoroughly loved our trip last October. We had a ball - thanks for all the tips from here :-)

We initially said we would leave it 18-24 months before going back, but i managed to get DH hooked! We are wanting to keep our eyes peeled for good deals. I know several of you are regular travellers to/from florida. How do you decide whats a good deal and where/how do you keep your eyes open (if that makes sense)?!

We are pretty flexible as no school holidays to consider. Our only requirement is nice weather and not too long queues (longest we queued last year was 10 minutes :-0 )

Any ideas welcome :-)

[Deleted User]

We've just spent four weeks in Orlando - we used a villa on Sunset Lakes. Bought into DVC whilst we were there so going back again in November - can't wait!!

For reluctant drivers - hubby usually drives and has done for the last 5/6 trips. However, with going for 4 weeks I also drove a bit - doing the supermarket run etc - really enjoyed it and felt extremely proud of myself for having overcome my fears.

jjp666

Hi, my wife and I are going to Orlando in June for about ten days.
After searching for flights it would appear that BA and Virgin are the same basic price (£1080). We have flown to the states with BA before but never with Virgin. Is there any significant difference between them ?
Also my wife is not a good flier so we usually book our seats early with BA so that we are in a pair at the back of the plane. Can I do the same With Virgin as I can only see information about extra leg room seats (though this is welcome as I am 6'4".

meer53

poohspals wrote: »

We've just spent four weeks in Orlando - we used a villa on Sunset Lakes. Bought into DVC whilst we were there so going back again in November - can't wait!!

For reluctant drivers - hubby usually drives and has done for the last 5/6 trips. However, with going for 4 weeks I also drove a bit - doing the supermarket run etc - really enjoyed it and felt extremely proud of myself for having overcome my fears.

It's our ambition to go for 4 weeks ! I'm so jealous ! We've worked our way up to 3 weeks, must try harder now !

Well done with the driving The first time i went, i was on my own with 3 kids, one aged 3, and 2 15 year olds ! I got off the plane and into the hire car and thought "what have i done ?" !:eek:! All the kids immediately fell asleep, not that they would have been much use anyway !

But i found our villa, and haven't looked back since. I was so proud of myself too, it's a fantastic feeling isn't it ? I just feel at home now as soon as i get in the car.