Orlando/Disneyworld Thread (Part 3)

vivatifosi

jackieblack wrote: »

I-drive probably one of the few places where it's perfectly manageable without a car, sidewalks are wide and walking commonplace.
Villa communities, especially those on/around I-27, are different altogether.

I agree. The few places I can think of that you wouldn't want a car are I Drive, Lake Buena Vista (Disney side of the freeway), Hotel Plaza Blvd and Disney/Universal resorts. Plus possibly bits of the main strip in Kissimmee, but don't know that area v well. Anywhere else I wouldn't dream of going without car hire.

Same goes for flights. If you arrive without a car rental, it's way easier to get from Orlando International than Sanford or Tampa if transfers not included.

Cazzaswfc

marc7 wrote: »

straight over road is a walgreens mate with a subway and dominoes next door
on same side of ur hotel is a pizza hut
walgreens will have everything u need

Think that's the Rosen at Pointe, gets confusing nowadays with 4 Rosens on I Drive.

But, should be easy to stock up first night with just a few minutes walk to one of the many. Walgreens on I Drive.

Cazzaswfc

vivatifosi wrote: »

I agree. The few places I can think of that you wouldn't want a car are I Drive, Lake Buena Vista (Disney side of the freeway), Hotel Plaza Blvd and Disney/Universal resorts. Plus possibly bits of the main strip in Kissimmee, but don't know that area v well. Anywhere else I wouldn't dream of going without car hire.

Same goes for flights. If you arrive without a car rental, it's way easier to get from Orlando International than Sanford or Tampa if transfers not included.

Also agree, stayed on I. Drive 3 times and never got a hire car,

Just need to make sure that your hotel provides free transport to parks or be prepared to mix the I trolley/ link buses.

Public transport is fairly cheap, might take a little longer but I've never had a problem getting to main places staying on I Drive.

Anywhere else, yes a car is needed or perhaps if you want a bit more flexibility on when and where you go.

We are thinking about a car next time (will be traveling with no kids) so we can see a bit more of Florida and no spend all the time in theme parks (that's the plan anyway, need to get my Hulk fix though)

marc7

Cazzaswfc wrote: »

Think that's the Rosen at Pointe, gets confusing nowadays with 4 Rosens on I Drive.

But, should be easy to stock up first night with just a few minutes walk to one of the many. Walgreens on I Drive.

yh sorry mate it is haha

piglet74

Cazzaswfc wrote: »

Also agree, stayed on I. Drive 3 times and never got a hire car,

Just need to make sure that your hotel provides free transport to parks or be prepared to mix the I trolley/ link buses.

Public transport is fairly cheap, might take a little longer but I've never had a problem getting to main places staying on I Drive.

Anywhere else, yes a car is needed or perhaps if you want a bit more flexibility on when and where you go.

We are thinking about a car next time (will be traveling with no kids) so we can see a bit more of Florida and no spend all the time in theme parks (that's the plan anyway, need to get my Hulk fix though)

thanks, I have stayed on I Drive before (Doubletree at Seaworld) and managed fine with public transport and the I Ride. we will just have one teenager with us, and she is rollercoaster MAD!!!:)
have 14 day unlimited passes to IOA, Universal Studios and wet and wild, so i dont think i will need a car (and apart from anything, neither myself or my hubby would be confident enough to drive over there!:o)

this time (easter 2015) we are stayng in the Rosen Plaza, and they have a shuttle, so we will make so with that, the trolley and if we need it, bus and taxi

thanks everyone for all the help and advice,

piglet74

hi

can anyone help with this,

our travel agent has included 14 days passes for IOA, Universal and Wet and Wild,

does anyone know, when we get there, can we upgrade them to express, or can you only do that on a daily basis

when i last visited, we had bought passes seperatly to the holiday, and then we bought a one day express, is there such a thing as a 14 day express?

tia.

John259

piglet74 wrote: »

neither myself or my hubby would be confident enough to drive over there!

Don't let that put you off if on another trip you want to venture further afield. Most of the time driving in the USA and Canada is very much easier than in Britain. The majority of people find it takes very little time to get used to sitting on the lefthand side of the car and driving on the righthand side of the road. There are some marvellous places in those countries such as the national parks where driving yourself is by far the best way to visit. I hope this encourages you to give it a try sometime in the future.

piglet74

John259 wrote: »

Don't let that put you off if on another trip you want to venture further afield. Most of the time driving in the USA and Canada is very much easier than in Britain. The majority of people find it takes very little time to get used to sitting on the lefthand side of the car and driving on the righthand side of the road. There are some marvellous places in those countries such as the national parks where driving yourself is by far the best way to visit. I hope this encourages you to give it a try sometime in the future.

I would imagine a lot of people would be less than confident on my "local" roads (i live in the-back-of-beyond in ireland!!) roads only as wide as one car in parts!!! so i really should be confident, I know we really should try it at some stage, it is just taking the plunge that scares us both!

we have been to Texas and no-one would drive there either, so we managed by bus, train and taxi,

we all need to just MAN UP!!

John259

piglet74 wrote: »

we all need to just MAN UP!!

I like it!

"There is nothing to fear but fear itself" - but fear of the unknown is a genuine and justified fear, and anyone who didn't approach driving in the USA for the first time with at least a bit of apprehension would worry me.

Are there are particular aspects of it that concern you or just the whole thing?

jackieblack

piglet74 wrote: »

I would imagine a lot of people would be less than confident on my "local" roads (i live in the-back-of-beyond in ireland!!) roads only as wide as one car in parts!!! so i really should be confident, I know we really should try it at some stage, it is just taking the plunge that scares us both!

we have been to Texas and no-one would drive there either, so we managed by bus, train and taxi,

we all need to just MAN UP!!

I know exactly how you feel, I was really apprehensive before our first family trip in 2006 (had visited before but not since passing my driving test)

I looked at it this way. Hundreds of thousands of tourists drive in the USA every year and none of them have a super-power or any magic secret that I don't have.

I was a bit nervous the first time, but since then, many visits later, have driven thousands of miles in 17 different states. It's actually much easier and less stressful (except in LA :eek:) than it is driving here (although I still don't and won't 'do' the M25 )