Orlando/Disneyworld Thread (Part 3)

vivatifosi

Wardy wrote: »

Hi we're going to Florida next October half term and the week before.

How busy is it then? We're probably going to spend more time in Universal, and are contemplating buying the fast passes to queue jump, but there seems little point if it's not that busy (and because there's 5 of us!)

any help would be appreciated:beer:

Sorry to take a while to answer. October half term is a great time to visit as it does not coincide with US school hols. You will still get some queues, so get to the parks before opening and experience the big and high demand rides as soon as poss after the park opens.

twohooter_2

I would really appreciate some advice on a hotel close to Disney. We will be there in the spring and have two weeks already booked on I Drive and are looking to extend our stay by a further week. We will not be driving and so are thinking about a hotel close to Disney so that we can easily commute via lynx or shuttles.

Clarion Inn at LBV is coming in at a good price, with free breakfasts and a shuttle with good times. The reviews on the hotel are mixed however. Sadly on site Disney hotels are outside our budget. Any suggestions of suitable mid range alternatives would be very much appreciated. it is our first time in Orlando and we are feeling a bit overwhelmed by the information available and decisions we are having to make!

jackieblack

Citing 'abuse,' Disney theme parks will change rules for disabled visitors


http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2013-09-23/business/os-disney-disabled-guests-20130923_1_walt-disney-world-disney-theme-parks-disabled-visitors

MissAA1970

Hi we are going in the summer for 9 nights and plan on staying at universal for 4 nights with through Thomascook.com . Through Quidco we get 11% cashback , which means I will only be paying £475 for 2 adults and 3 children. We are spending the other 5 nights at Homewood suites International drive ( free breakfast and evening meals Mon-Thurs) that has free shuttle service to Disney and Universal .

Wardy

What are peoples views on Virgin and BA? I've kind of been set on flying Virgin, because I thought it would be a better experience with the kids, but people don't seem as complimentary about them as I thought. Is BA better, as good or worse? Is there a full entertainment package to keep the kids occupied and I'm presuming all food drink is complimentary as with Virgin? (sorry if that's a silly question but last flew with BA in 2005!)

Any help appreciated....:beer:

jackieblack

Wardy wrote: »

What are peoples views on Virgin and BA? I've kind of been set on flying Virgin, because I thought it would be a better experience with the kids, but people don't seem as complimentary about them as I thought.

They used to be better, but have gone downhill over the last few years IMO.

Wardy wrote: »

Is BA better, as good or worse?

IMO, as good/better

Wardy wrote: »

Is there a full entertainment package to keep the kids occupied and I'm presuming all food drink is complimentary as with Virgin?

Yes

As always with a question like this you'll get replies from people who've always had good or bad experiences with any particular carrier, people who always swear by one particular airline and people who have vowede never to use one again.

There are advantages and disadvantages to each, but in economy there probably isn't much to choose between them.
IMO it's more about getting the right flight (departure airport, convenient time etc) at the right price.

All other things being equal, we prefer BA's more generous hand baggage allowance, although this might not be important to everyone.
Also, BA fly to TPA as well as MCO and this worked out a lot cheaper for us.

Wardy

thanks Jackieblack. I know the reviews will be a bit biased based on experience, but with all other things being equal we probably will fly with BA.

Departure airport doesn't bother us as we're in Birmingham and they don't fly from there anyway - Manchester would be better but Gatwick is fine and it's £500 cheaper for the 5 of us flying in and out of Tampa, which we've been told is better as it's a smaller airport.

I know things will have changed a lot since I last flew with BA in 2005 so I just wanted to be 100% sure there was enough to keep the kids (and us occupied) and we wouldn't have to fork out for food etc once on there (although if it's £500 cheaper it probably wouldn't have been a problem).

Thanks for your help:beer:

snit_girl

we're starting to think about 1 week in Disney and 1 week on i-drive for our 9th visit in a couple of years. We had a look at the brochure as soon as we got back and there was only one hotel in it with free transfers (we get an employee discount so have to book with one certain company ... but it's 75% off so can't complain). The only hotel with transfers isn't suitable as we like to stay at the Pointe Orlando / Wonderworks end of i-drive and this one is at the furthest other end.

So far we would like to do a week at Disney, possibly staying at Disney's Boardwalk as it's just beautiful. We spent a week at Disney anyway just doing the 4 parks and Downtown Disney so this would save massively on travel time and give us the extra magic hours. The second week would possibly be at the Hard Rock Hotel or somewhere on i-drive and we would do Universal Studios and our shopping days that week.

Although I said I wasn't keen on the Lynx buses I've got to say the drivers were fantastic in helping us get around and letting us know where to change, etc. We bought a weekly ticket for $16 and found that we used it to get up and down i-drive much more than the trolleys as they were more regular. The only thing was waiting around for the next bus when having to change, not fun at 11.30pm on a dark corner after 12+ hours in a theme park. We only got a taxi once and that was because we attended Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party and never left until about 1am, Lynx stops at 12.30 I think. The taxi was $35 to i-drive and I thought that was pretty good value

vivatifosi

I've posted this on the US strikes thread too, but as that is mostly about national parks wanted to post here too.

Kennedy Space Center Visitors Complex is affected by the government shutdown in America. Although KSCVC is owned by a company, a big part of a day trip there is taking the bus tours out and around the estate. Because that estate is government owned/national park, it is now closed to the public.

People will still be able to go to KSC and tour the main visitor complex, but you won't be able to get out by bus to the the Saturn V, the launch pads or take any of the specialist tours. To me, this is a big part of a visit to KSC and I would personally think again if a visit coincided with this, though it is important for anyone who may be affected to make their own decision.

The local beaches within the national park are also affected.

There's more info here (see second page of article):

http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20131001/NEWS01/131001019/Brevard-feels-effects-government-shutdown?nclick_check=1

Scottydogg

With Regards to park tickets in Florida , can you get away with getting a 3 year old in as an under 3 ? or do they ask for ID ?
He will be 3yrs 5 months , could save me hundreds !!