Orlando/Disneyworld Thread (Part 3)

shelldanielle

hey peeps, just wondered if any of you who go to florida are wheelchair users? I want to take my disabled son who is 10 years old but he is still in nappies and I am worried about the flight as far as im aware i wouldnt be able to change his nappy.I read that there are disabled toilets on the new airbus but dont know if they would be suitable for transfering my son from chair to the toilet and whether there would be room for me to help him if that makes sense? I would have to figure out away to put his nappy on after using the toilet. xxx

vivatifosi

I asked my husband who works for an airline about this. He said that the new plane designs have disabled access toilets on. In practical terms that is the Airbus A380 and the Boeing Dreamliner. Off the top of his head, he is not aware of an airline that flies direct to Orlando with one of these, however Thomson has Dreamliner on its fleet so check with them as that's probably your best bet. If that doesn't work for you, check Miami as an alternative and see if you can use one there. It is still a 3-4 hour drive to Orlando, but it could be another way of making your trip happen.

I wish you the very best in finding a solution that works for you.

sammcg

Does anyone know where you could print off discount coupons for September 2013?

vivatifosi

sammcg wrote: »

Does anyone know where you could print off discount coupons for September 2013?

What do you want to get discounts on? The Orlando Magicard is not a bad starting place, and gives access to many discounts:
http://www.visitorlando.com/discounts-and-tickets/free-magicard-orlando-discount-card/
When you arrive, lookout for tourist mags and flyers with coupons in. Also the Sunday edition of the Orlando Sentinel has lots of coupons.

If you say what you are looking for we may have a better idea of where to find other coupons.

onlyroz

Appologies if these questions have been answered elsewhere but...

I'd like a week in Orlando preferably in a resort with a shuttle-bus service to Disney World, and with airport transfers so that we don't have to hire a car. We would want October half-term 2014 for two adults and two children (ages 5 and 9). I've looked at Thomson and the cheapest they have is around £3700 staying at the Disney All-Star-Sport resort (which I think is the bargain-basement of the Disney hotels).

We stayed at the Disney Port Orleans Riverside resort for a week back in 2009 and we found that the beds were hard, the room tiny and the foodhall like feeding time at the zoo. But I don't remember paying anything like £3.7k for that trip (it's hard to compare because we combined it with a week in Canada, and I seem to remember the whole holiday costing around £5k, including internal flights from Toronto).

So is this really the best we can do, price-wise, and accommodation wise? Or is there an alternate way of "doing" Disney without spending an arm-and-a-leg, and without returning from holiday with chronic back pain?

jackieblack

So £3700 is £925pp. You have to bear in mind that the flights will be a big chunk of that price. (A larger proportion for a 1 week holiday than for 2 or 3 weeks.) Prices have risen considerably in the last 5 years. Flights, in particular, are more expensive.
It looks like a room in a value WDW resort property for that week is £476-£574 (depending on the room type and the resort), which leaves a little over £3000 for the flights. I've tried to look at direct Virgin Atlantic & BA flights for October half term this year to get an idea but I suspect that all the cheaper fare class seats have been sold out as they're coming up at £4500-£5000!
Maybe someone else on here can advise what they've paid for October half-term flights this year so you can get an idea whether that £3700 is a reasonable price.

Are you 'comparing like with like' with your previous trip? Was it a similar time of year? School holiday prices are, inevitably, more expensive than outside the school hols.In 2009 your 9 year old would have been 5? and Your 5 year old 1?
In WDW age 9 & up is classed as an adult so where last time you had 2 adults, 1 child and 1 infant, in 2014 you will be 3 adults and 1 child.
Also, I suspect, you may have had your infant on your lap in 2009, so an extra plane seat to buy next year. All adds to the cost.

Finally, you're probably looking too early to get a good price. Scheduled flights for October 2014 won't (generally) be released until Nov 2013. Doing it DIY, rather than a package, can save £££.

onlyroz

jackieblack wrote: »

So £3700 is £925pp. You have to bear in mind that the flights will be a big chunk of that price. (A larger proportion for a 1 week holiday than for 2 or 3 weeks.) Prices have risen considerably in the last 5 years. Flights, in particular, are more expensive.

Are you 'comparing like with like' with your previous trip? Was it a similar time of year? School holiday prices are, inevitably, more expensive than outside the school hols.In 2009 your 9 year old would have been 5? and Your 5 year old 1?
In WDW age 9 & up is classed as an adult so where last time you had 2 adults, 1 child and 1 infant, in 2014 you will be 3 adults and 1 child. Also, I suspect, you may have had your infant on your lap in 2009, so an extra plane seat to buy next year. All adds to the cost.

Finally, you're probably looking too early to get a good price. Scheduled flights for October 2014 won't (generally) be released until Nov 2013. Doing it DIY, rather than a package, can save £££.

OK thanks - yes it was a similar time of year, covering October half term and the week before (my son hadn't yet reached statutory school age and so we were allowed to take him out for the week before half term). And yes, my daughter would then have been on my lap.

When you say "do it DIY", how would that work with hotel transfers etc? And which airlines are the best from London Gatwick or Heathrow?

jackieblack

Flying the week before a school hol can make quite a difference to the price, so you're comparing apples with oranges there.

If you book a resort hotel you can book Disney's transport from the airport (it's called Disney's Magical Express http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/Disneys-Magical-Express-Transportation-p-87.html?hl=disney+magical+express)

'Best' airline is very much a matter of opinion (and some debate)

I would only fly direct/non-stop. We've flown with Virgin Atlantic to MCO and other US destinations and also with BA to other US destinations. We're prepared to pay a bit extra to fly non-stop and also to ensure we're on a EU carrier but there are plenty of people who'd rather save a few £ and are happy to have a longer flight with a change and/or on a US carrier.

onlyroz

Sounds like £3.7k might be a reasonable price then - and then we'd need the Disney tickets on top of that.

Last time we flew with Air Canada to Montreal, and then from Montreal down to Orlando. On the way home we returned via Toronto. I think the quoted flight for this trip is with Thomson, direct from Gatwick to Orlando.

I'm not going to book anything until later this year - depends on how much we spend on this summer holiday (going on a cruise in two weeks :beer::j)

jackieblack

If the £3700 is just for flights and accommodation, then my guess would be that you could possible save a few £££ doing it DIY, however, you'll have to wait until later in the year to get accurate prices and what Thompson might be charging then could be different too.