Orlando/Disneyworld Thread (Part 3)

katemayevans

Hi Experts,
Would you say Virgin is much better than Thompson?
I've been quoted £1069 for adults and £899 for children for a fortnight in May 2016 staying on international drive with fully comp car hire.
I know that Thompson freqently have late deals with reduced prices outside school hols. Does anyone have an opinion on whether it's worth hanging on and grabbing a late deal, or taking a good offer and going with Virgin rather than a charter?
Also, does anyone have an opinion on whether we'd be better placed somewhere else than international drive? It's just two adults and one child (she'll be 4), which somewhat prices us out of the villa market.
Thanks for any help,
I'm already very excited - I'm sure I'll calm down soon xx

Wendell_Pierce

We always try to fly Virgin to collect miles.
We have flown with First Choice, Thomson, MyTravel, Airtours and Thomas Cook.
They were all about the same but Thomas Cook went downhill a bit so we just used the others, may be different now though.

liz-paul

What age range is universal studios for? We're hoping to go to Florida in 2 years and boys will be aged 10 & 7 years then. I have previously dismissed Universal as being a bit old for them and there not being time for everything in 2 weeks but I was reading a magazine article about it recently and it looked really good. But is it a bit mad to try and do Disney, Universal, kennedy space center & poss discovery cove in 2 weeks? Along with the free tickets for various waterparks and seaworld etc that you can get with the 2 week tickets?

I had been thinking of 2 week disney tickets that come with water park tickets, plus a day each at space center and discovery cove, a couple of rest days and that being plenty. But would we regret not doing universal? I would like to think that we would manage another trip before they leave home but that is by no means guaranteed so this could really be a once in a life time experience....

cazmcf

Personaly Universal Studios is my favourite. Came back 2 weeks ago, my girls are 12 and 9, I think from memory the only rides my 9 year old couldn't go on was the hulk, ripride rocket and the duelling dragons (not sure of the new name). The rides, shows and 3d shows are fantastic and are (in my opinion) perfect for your boys ages and even more so for boys, then what Disney offer.

Also we got Islands of adventure done in one evening and universal studios done in 2 evenings (luck maybe).

Hope this helps

michellenealemum

Hi just looking for some advice, my friends daughter who is 12 has battled cancer since a young age , sadly last week she was moved onto palliative care, some friends have funded the flights and villa for a once in lifetime experience to florida and we are looking for some wow experiences anyone got any ideas , the young girl does have a bank account and a paypal account set up for when she went to get some treatment in Oklahoma

jackieblack

michellenealemum wrote: »

Hi just looking for some advice, my friends daughter who is 12 has battled cancer since a young age , sadly last week she was moved onto palliative care, some friends have funded the flights and villa for a once in lifetime experience to florida and we are looking for some wow experiences anyone got any ideas , the young girl does have a bank account and a paypal account set up for when she went to get some treatment in Oklahoma

Discovery Cove

cazmcf

jackieblack wrote: »

Discovery Cove

Second this

Andy_89

jackieblack wrote: »

Discovery Cove

I was going to suggest this.

There is also the Princess' breakfast held in the Castle at Magic Kingdom.

kweelo

Hi all - we are a family of 4 and are just back from Disneyland Paris and the kids loved it so much we are looking to take the plunge and look at Florida for 2 years time when our boys will be 10 and 7 (nothing like planning ahead!) I have read about 10 pages worth of this thread, but hoping someone could point us in the right direction.

From the messages on here; it seems Universal World would be best for us and our boys though, what worries us is that after 3 days at DLP - we were absolutely knackered! So are looking to break it up and maybe do different things like, Kennedy Space Centre.

We are probably looking for a package deal flying from ideally, Manchester. Does anyone have any suggestions, ideas for other Parks that we can combine etc. Any help would be gratefully received and set us on our way planning - thanks in advance

Andy_89

kweelo wrote: »

Hi all - we are a family of 4 and are just back from Disneyland Paris and the kids loved it so much we are looking to take the plunge and look at Florida for 2 years time when our boys will be 10 and 7 (nothing like planning ahead!) I have read about 10 pages worth of this thread, but hoping someone could point us in the right direction.

From the messages on here; it seems Universal World would be best for us and our boys though, what worries us is that after 3 days at DLP - we were absolutely knackered! So are looking to break it up and maybe do different things like, Kennedy Space Centre.

We are probably looking for a package deal flying from ideally, Manchester. Does anyone have any suggestions, ideas for other Parks that we can combine etc. Any help would be gratefully received and set us on our way planning - thanks in advance

This is what I have picked up from my 7 times, anyone feel free to tell me if I am wrong.

We generally plan two years in advance so nothing wrong with the time. Obviously depends on your budget, but I have done hotels and Villas and find the latter better VFM - made better if you do not mind driving. I find the freedom of a Villa much more enjoyable, you can sit by the pool, play in the games rooms etc. Definitely worth talking to other families as you can drive the cost right down as a large group

Universal Studios and Islands of adventure offer the best 'thrill' rides IMO. However please do not discount WDW it is my favourite of all of the parks.

Seaworld and Aquatica and Busch Gardens for $156. Busch Gardens is the best park for big rides, I have never seen it busy either.

It is definitely worth pointing out I have never come back from Florida feeling fresh, there is just too much to do. Shopping days are a must, again they do nothing for the feet.

Tactical water parks days are key - the young uns run off and play about whilst you sit in bliss on a man made beach.