Orlando/Disneyworld Thread (Part 3)

meer53

lpoolguy wrote: »

Hi

Dont know if this has been discussed before (cant find in thread). I am planning on staying in one of the on site universal hotels next year. Does anybody have any experience of these hotels, I want to do other things in the international drive area other than Universal and am wandering what it would be like getting elsewhere without the use of a car?

Thanks

Never stayed in an on site hotel, we always rent a villa and a car. The onsite hotels are generally better quality than others in the I Drive area though.

What would you want to do in the I Drive area ? In my experience, there isn't a great deal to do there, it's quite run down in places and we avoid it if we can. There are other much more interesting areas to visit which can be done without a car, but personally, i wouldn't recommend it. There are people on here who have used public transport around the Orlando area and they don't seem to have any problems but i suppose it depends on where you are wanting to go ? I don't have any tips for using Public Transport but there is a forum called The Dibb, which has lots of useful advice about everything. Have a look on there.

piglet74

I spent the day in Chicago airport before, (not planned, due to flight delay) I would not recommend leaving the airport, it is HUGE.. So big. Its got lots of shops, big food court, and there was plenty of room for us to all lie down, put our feet up etc. We got lots of great bargins here too, watches, hats, perfume, urban decay make up etc.

KarenG

piglet74 wrote: »

I spent the day in Chicago airport before, (not planned, due to flight delay) I would not recommend leaving the airport, it is HUGE.. So big. Its got lots of shops, big food court, and there was plenty of room for us to all lie down, put our feet up etc. We got lots of great bargins here too, watches, hats, perfume, urban decay make up etc.

That's excellent news - we have a four hour layover here on Christmas Day, so fingers crossed something may be open

KarenG

lpoolguy wrote: »

Hi

Dont know if this has been discussed before (cant find in thread). I am planning on staying in one of the on site universal hotels next year. Does anybody have any experience of these hotels, I want to do other things in the international drive area other than Universal and am wandering what it would be like getting elsewhere without the use of a car?

Thanks

I've stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel a few times and absolutely love it. It is very expensive so we do only stay for a few nights (primarily to get the FOTL). You can walk or boat to the parks and CIty Walk, where there are many eating options / shops / entertainment. There is now a mini golf too (not played it but looks fab from photos online). The onsite parking fee annoys me a bit.

I wouldn't stay here to do other Orlando attractions - including I Drive ones - because of the cost. If that doesn't matter to you then great.

KarenG

incorrect wrote: »

Hi all I am looking for a bit of advice as I have decided to take our grandkids to Disney. We have not been before and would obviously like to do it as cheap as possible but don't know if we should book flights etc separate or if a package is a good way to go.
There will be four adults and two kids (12+9)
We are thinking of going around Halloween 2014
Flying from Newcastle (prefer) or Manchester
14 nights and ultimate tickets for 14 days
We don't want a car
If doing a package holiday is it worth waiting for a late deal?

Any help appreciated Jacqui

I can't answer all your questions but Be aware that Halloween has become a very popular and thus pricey time to visit. If you don't want a car, have you considered where you will stay? I would not recommend a villa with no car. If you read back a few pages of this thread I'm sure there is some advice that applies to your situation. HTH

piglet74

KarenG wrote: »

That's excellent news - we have a four hour layover here on Christmas Day, so fingers crossed something may be open

4hours is nothing in this airport, IMO, it will fly by, honestly... by the time you get your bearings, have a bite to eat, make your way to your next departure area, it will be time to check in again. Dont leave the airport.....U wont have time,

Birdie85

KarenG wrote: »

I've stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel a few times and absolutely love it. It is very expensive so we do only stay for a few nights (primarily to get the FOTL). You can walk or boat to the parks and CIty Walk, where there are many eating options / shops / entertainment. There is now a mini golf too (not played it but looks fab from photos online). The onsite parking fee annoys me a bit.

I wouldn't stay here to do other Orlando attractions - including I Drive ones - because of the cost. If that doesn't matter to you then great.

Second this. We only stayed one night (as we were staying at Disney the rest of the time) and it was worth the money and we'll do it again definitely. We got there early (8.30am!) on check-in day and we were given our room keys on the spot and hadn't realised that we'd be entitled to the Express Pass and early entry on both days so it was a brilliant bonus! Quick and easy to get to the City Walk via the boat or walkway and great staff in the hotel. We'd been a little mollycoddled by our Disney hotel though, with it's free Wifi and fridge in the room and somewhat relaxed 'one drink per ID' rule at the poolside bar so we were a bit disappointed that we would had to pay for wifi, the fridge was actually a locked mini bar and the bar was really expensive and very strict with the whole one-person-with-ID-per-drink rule. With that in mind I wouldn't stay for my whole trip as the extras would cost a fortune, but worth it for a day or 2.

For the rest of the holiday, it does depend where you want to go and where you want to be situated, but staying around Pointe Orlando would be a good choice IMO as it's fairly central. There are plenty of good restaurants and bars nearby and there is the I-ride trolley and the Lynx bus that go by regularly so it's easy to get around without a car. Make sure whichever hotel you choose offers free shuttles to the parks and you'll save a lot of money and hassle too.

Has anyone got any ideas when the Epcot Food and Wine Festival dates for 2014 will be released? Hoping to go back next year late September and don't want to go too early and miss it!

maccaz

http://eatandplaycard.com/

I looked thru this thread and found a wee bit from 2011,
can anyone give me an update, are they worth the money?

KarenG

piglet74 wrote: »

4hours is nothing in this airport, IMO, it will fly by, honestly... by the time you get your bearings, have a bite to eat, make your way to your next departure area, it will be time to check in again. Dont leave the airport.....U wont have time,

Good grief, it wouldn't even cross my mind to leave the airport - that was a different poster!

Four hours is the longest gap we've had - have flown indirect loads of times to USA but first time via Chicago. Hopefully stuff will be open on Xmas Day!

Thanks a lot for that :T

jackieblack

KarenG wrote: »

That's excellent news - we have a four hour layover here on Christmas Day, so fingers crossed something may be open

You found some suitable flights then, Karen
You were still searching when we 'chatted' about Christmas flights back in January.
Did you get the dates you wanted?