Orlando/Disneyworld Thread (Part 3)

lallysmum

Hi all, some advice please..
We've just got back from DLP and my 6 year old absolutely loved it. He doesn't like anything very much at all, he's autistic and really struggles with things that "normal" children enjoy, but he was utterly amazed, enthralled and enchanted with everything at DLP. SO.. I am considering taking him, his 18 year old sister, me and my dad to WDW Orlando next August.

I was thinking of a villa somewhere (looking at Virgin packages, inc car hire, flights, tickets at the moment) and not only doing Disney but exploring the area a bit too.

I was thinking 3 weeks.. does that seem too long? I work in a school, so get the long holidays and as we would be going to so far, it makes sense to make it longer. Or would 2 weeks be better?

I'd want to do WDW, Seaworld, Cape Canaveral.. everything in that time.

Virgin are quoting between £8,600 and £9,100 at the moment with all tickets included. Does that sound reasonable? Or should I be looking elsewhere?

Thanks in advance for any replies.

meer53

lallysmum wrote: »

Hi all, some advice please..
We've just got back from DLP and my 6 year old absolutely loved it. He doesn't like anything very much at all, he's autistic and really struggles with things that "normal" children enjoy, but he was utterly amazed, enthralled and enchanted with everything at DLP. SO.. I am considering taking him, his 18 year old sister, me and my dad to WDW Orlando next August.

I was thinking of a villa somewhere (looking at Virgin packages, inc car hire, flights, tickets at the moment) and not only doing Disney but exploring the area a bit too.

I was thinking 3 weeks.. does that seem too long? I work in a school, so get the long holidays and as we would be going to so far, it makes sense to make it longer. Or would 2 weeks be better?

I'd want to do WDW, Seaworld, Cape Canaveral.. everything in that time.

Virgin are quoting between £8,600 and £9,100 at the moment with all tickets included. Does that sound reasonable? Or should I be looking elsewhere?

Thanks in advance for any replies.

We've just come back from our 5th trip to Florida.

I book our villas with https://www.floridabees.co.uk and flights and car with https://www.chartertravel.co.uk and haven't been able to beat their prices.

If you're going in August, you really need to be booking about now as flights tend to increase. You will probably save money by booking everything separately or by booking indirect flights. For me, indirect flights are a no go but i know they're usually a lot cheaper than direct.

3 weeks is always better than 2 !

lynneym

Can anyone give advice on both the Hilton Doubletree at SeaWorld and the Homewood Suites on International Drive. I have gotten good prices for both, with Homewood being more expensive due to breakfast being included. I am particularly interested in comparing location, access to shuttles, room facilities.

Thanks

Lynne

Jodie+Matt

Hi everyone, looking into booking our first holiday to disney world (2 adults, a 6 year old and a 3 year old. I'm comparing the disney resorts (with dining and free shuttle) and the price of renting a villa. It comes out around a thousand pound cheaper to rent a villa, that's taking car rental, parking and fuel into account but not food. My kids aren't big eaters at all so would be quite satisfied with cereal for breakfast and sandwiches for lunch (we'd be taking a buggy for the youngest so could load it up with packed lunches and drinks). I'm wondering if there's many drive throughs/take aways because eating out with my kids can be a bit of a nightmare. If so, how much do you think we should budget for food per day, to eat like that (I know its not the healthiest option but it's not going to do any harm for 2 weeks). Oh and what sort of hours do people tend to spend in the parks per day, and what time do you leave? Any other families with young children, could you give me a rundown of your typical day in Orlando, thanks

schofield8883

hi never been to disney world but looking at going in 2015 i know flights wont be out yet but as we are saving we need to know how much to save so would like to know the cheapest way to get and stay in florida including park tickets to all the theme parks there will be 7 adults and 4 children will start reading the thead for pointers! thank you

pinkzebra

schofield8883 wrote: »

hi never been to disney world but looking at going in 2015 i know flights wont be out yet but as we are saving we need to know how much to save so would like to know the cheapest way to get and stay in florida including park tickets to all the theme parks there will be 7 adults and 4 children will start reading the thead for pointers! thank you

Prices depend on when you go. The cheapest way would be to do a DIY holiday, rather than a package, and to fly indirect. We have done both.

As a guide, a few years ago, we did a package with Virgin in August - 2 adults, 2 kids (9 and 11 then) 2 weeks with car/insurance, stayed in a mid-price hotel (breakfast included), direct flight. Cost us £4500.

This year I made an effort and did DIY. We got 3 weeks in August with indirect flight, car/insurance, nice hotels (including 2 weeks free breakfast) for £4200.

You need to work out what parks you will actually visit. There is no point in buying an ultimate ticket to Disney if you are only visiting 4 parks for a day each. As a guide, I think ultimate tickets are £289 for next year. We got magic your way passes this year (before prices went up) and paid $259 for 5 days, and if you add the watermarks etc it was an extra $51.
Universal we got in advance £100 each for 14 days access.
If you are going to sea world/Busch too then it may be worth getting a flex ticket. But definitely work out where you want to go first. Not worth getting 14 days of Disney tickets and 14 days of Universal tickets if you are only there for 14 days.

If you go to Universal, it is worth considering staying at a Universal hotel for a couple of days. We got a room for £150 a night, but this gives you early entry and unlimited fastpasses to all of the rides (except Harry Potter). This is well worth it in peak season - when we went, the queue for despicable was over 2 hours and alot of rides were 90 minute queues - we just walked straight past everyone (with the exception of despicable me when we had to wait 20 mins).
Take a look at a ticket website like undercovertourist.com or floridatix.co.uk for discounted tickets.

You can get Legoland Florida tickets with Tesco clubcard points.

Check flight prices on Kayak or sky scanner.

Sign up for the mousesavers.com newsletter

Join a Disney travel forum - like theDibb.co.uk

Have fun!

marc7

lallysmum wrote: »

Hi all, some advice please..
We've just got back from DLP and my 6 year old absolutely loved it. He doesn't like anything very much at all, he's autistic and really struggles with things that "normal" children enjoy, but he was utterly amazed, enthralled and enchanted with everything at DLP. SO.. I am considering taking him, his 18 year old sister, me and my dad to WDW Orlando next August.

I was thinking of a villa somewhere (looking at Virgin packages, inc car hire, flights, tickets at the moment) and not only doing Disney but exploring the area a bit too.

I was thinking 3 weeks.. does that seem too long? I work in a school, so get the long holidays and as we would be going to so far, it makes sense to make it longer. Or would 2 weeks be better?

I'd want to do WDW, Seaworld, Cape Canaveral.. everything in that time.

Virgin are quoting between £8,600 and £9,100 at the moment with all tickets included. Does that sound reasonable? Or should I be looking elsewhere?

Thanks in advance for any replies.

we always do 3 weeks that way you can relax as well while doing all what you want to do
we have just booked for next year after loving it this year we did 3 weeks in april over easter
flights were £600 per adult (4 of us)
and a 4 bedroom villa £1000 including pool heat which most villas charge extra for
we got an intimidiate 4x4 which was £410 fully insured with no excess
2 weeks unlimited in universal seaworld bush gardens n aquctica
was £182 per adult

just booked villa for next at same price for september just waiting for flights to come out
gonna do disney this time only which is £300 3 weeks unlimited

cheers

Telzie

Hi,

I am planning on visiting a friend in Orlando to spend Halloween.

Which is the best website to get cheap flights from London to Orlando?

Thanks in advance

Tel

lallysmum

Another question, has anyone used Orlando Villas, I'm looking at the prices seem to be a bit too good to be true!

KarenG

Telzie wrote: »

Hi,

I am planning on visiting a friend in Orlando to spend Halloween.

Which is the best website to get cheap flights from London to Orlando?

Thanks in advance

Tel

Skyscanner, kayak, the usual suspects really.

Be aware that UK October half term is the last week of October (most places, some have two weeks off), and is a very popular time for Brits to visit Orlando. It has the effect of making flight prices higher, so bear in mind and be ready to amend dates a little to get a better price :T