Orlando & Florida - Questions & Answers (Part 1) *CLOSED*

zolablue25

scottishf wrote:

With regards to my previous post, does anyone know the best US site to buy the disney tickets?

I would definitely recommend using Disney's own US site. You would have to phone them to book though as their website would automatically forward you to their UK site (where the prices and range of tickets are different)

Bobsworlduk

Maple leaf tickets, they are very cheap and reliable.

Clematis_2

Hello all

Well, this is my first message - and I am rather confused...
Three years ago I promised my then 6 years old son that I was going to take him to Disneyland. A promise a promise but still cannot afford to go over the top.

I am planning to find a place to stay in International drive because I heard there are buses which takes you everywhere and they are either free or quite reasonable. Is this true? I don't see the point in hiring a car because it is only me and my son besides I don't like driving.

Any advise will be much appreciated...

Bobsworlduk

Clematis wrote:

Hello all

Well, this is my first message - and I am rather confused...
Three years ago I promised my then 6 years old son that I was going to take him to Disneyland. A promise a promise but still cannot afford to go over the top.

I am planning to find a place to stay in International drive because I heard there are buses which takes you everywhere and they are either free or quite reasonable. Is this true? I don't see the point in hiring a car because it is only me and my son besides I don't like driving.

Any advise will be much appreciated...

Hi and welcome to the forum.

Firstly I asume you want to go to Florida. Disneyland is in California and Disneyworld is in Florida.

International drive is a good option for non drivers. Not all hotels run shuttle buses to every park and the ones that do aren't always free. (Though they should be more than $10 - $12 each.)

There is cheap bus that runs up and down international drive. It won't take you to Disney but will get you to all the attractions on I-Drive like Seaworld. It was $1 per ride this year, but you can buy 7 and 14 day passes very cheaply.


Have a look for the book "The Brits Guide To Orlando" you will find it on Amzon or in most book shops.
It is a great book for first timers.

Amys

If you want to go to Disney there are also some 'value' hotels, these are quite low costing and with the curren dollar price they are less than £50 a night at off peak, including September.

To help budget yu can also get the disney dining plan, its about £21 a day for addules and £6 a day for children and it gives you one meal at a table service restruant (starter, main and desert), a counter servce meal, (Main, dessert and drink) and a snack for every day you are there. It works out as a good deal and helps with the budgeting.

Clematis_2

Thank You Guys

This is a good start. Still, there is a long search ahead of me.
Ideally I would like to travel by the end of Jan07. My son's school holiday starts on 26 January. It seems people are doing their searches/bookings etc well before their departure. Do you think it will be better to aim for July/August?

Thank you

paterson00

please please do plenty of research and you will i promise knock hundreds if not thousands off your holiday. The more time you spend researching the more you will save and there are some great forums and websites to get tips just like this one.

We are going over in Feb 07 and although this is not the very cheapest time it is still about half as pricey as going during the peak times like august.

Another tip we just discovered is that if you book a flight, ( we booked everything indipendantly and it worked out cheaper ) for 16 days rather than 14 the price is still the same.

Dont be tempted to buy used tickets for the parks from ebay a discount prices as the parks use fingerprint id for each ticket and a used ticket will have somebody elses id. When you first try to use them they will be flagged as not yours and you will have lost all your money. Very upset son!!!!!

When you are there try to pick up the small magazines that are in most restaurant foyers as they are packed with discount tickets for eating and days out like gatorland (good half day out and cheap) and if you are on a budget i would definatly advise using the ponderosa restaurants for breakfast and dinner as for breakfast you will pay $4 to eat all you want plus drinks. Great value and plenty of selection. Stack those pancakes high!!!!!!

Get a bottle for water around the park as the drinks are very pricey and refills of water are free and will keep you going longer than coke anyway.

Also bear in mind that the exchange rate for dollars is brilliant at the moment so if you can afford it i would and am (today actually) going to buy my dollars before it slides back down again. Use this site and punch in exchange rate into the search bar at the top and you should find a good tip.

Hope i have helped and if you do decide to go over on feb 15 maybe i will be flying with you!!!

Above all when you are there try to get in a kids mindset again and you will definatly have a better time. Let that Disney magic take you to away!!!

Edinburghlass_2

Clematis wrote:

Hello all

Well, this is my first message - and I am rather confused...
Three years ago I promised my then 6 years old son that I was going to take him to Disneyland. A promise a promise but still cannot afford to go over the top.

I am planning to find a place to stay in International drive because I heard there are buses which takes you everywhere and they are either free or quite reasonable. Is this true? I don't see the point in hiring a car because it is only me and my son besides I don't like driving.

Any advise will be much appreciated...

We have been a couple of time both time without driving. First time stayed onsite at Disney at Pop Century using the Disney transport for all the Disney parks is very simple and we either took a bus or taxi for parks and shopping outwith Disney.

This year we had a week in May staying in the Beuna Vista area which is close to Down Town Disney where you can then use the Disney transport again via the resorts to get to the parks. A bit quieter than International Drive and less "Blackpool" like with no offense to those people who like International Drive!

Check out https://www.disboards.com for loads of helpful advice in particular the UK Planning Boards. When we went in May we only booked a couple of weeks in advance phoning any free phone number on Teletext until I found a deal I wanted, organised tickets etc online but it did help having been before we knew where we wanted to go. Pop back here if you want to ask about a hotel as there is likely to be someone who will be able to recommend or otherwise.

Clematis_2

Guys, I really appreciated all your advise and decided to postpone the adventure until I search/learn and save more.

Thanks God I did not mention to the Wee man about the trip so there are no disappointments at this stage.

I also checked the US visa section and realise I have to pay $100x2 visa fee. Not so happy about it but at least now I know it and it won't be a nasty shock ...

Thanks again, I am sure I will come back with more questions
Ah and Paterson00, have a magical time xxx

Bobsworlduk

Clematis wrote:

Guys, I really appreciated all your advise and decided to postpone the adventure until I search/learn and save more.

Thanks God I did not mention to the Wee man about the trip so there are no disappointments at this stage.

I also checked the US visa section and realise I have to pay $100x2 visa fee. Not so happy about it but at least now I know it and it won't be a nasty shock ...

Thanks again, I am sure I will come back with more questions
Ah and Paterson00, have a magical time xxx

Hi again,
I'm not sure where you got the visa information from. Most UK citizens won't need a visa for visiting the USA.

I'm sure you will enjoy the holiday even more now that you are taking more time to plan.
Another good website for planning info is https://www.thedibb.co.uk