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

Bobsworlduk

4_Pete's_Sake wrote:

Thanks Terrier lady, we will now be getting the 3-9 ticket for our 10 year old too.

You spend thousands on the holiday and fly 4000 miles yet you are willing to comit fraud for the sake of £20. :eek:

I guess you will also be telling your child to say they are 9 if asked? Will they then in future think that it is okay to tell lies and steal because daddy said so?

Coveredinbees!!!!

Just a heads up for anyone going to Florida. ( got back last weekend 17/12/06)

Universal have started to charge $40 a day per person to have express passes. They used to have machines where you put in your ticket and you got the express pass on a first come first served basis but unfortunately they have now decided it's too much of a money spinner to give them away free. This applies to both universal studios and islands of adventure. I think this sucks!

Disney fast passes are still free but I wonder how long it will stay this way now universal are charging.

Parking for the theme parks is now $10 a day except for Busch Gardens which is $9.

If your going to Florida this time of year go to boggy creek and take an Airboat ride we saw loads of gators.

Coveredinbees!!!!

Me again.

If you hiring a car in advance make sure the price is for the number of drivers your planning to have driving as Alamo charged us for extra drivers. I'm sure we were never charge last time but unfortunately I cannot remember who we booked through last time so cannot advise.

Bobsworlduk

Coveredinbees!!!! wrote:

Just a heads up for anyone going to Florida. ( got back last weekend 17/12/06)

Universal have started to charge $40 a day per person to have express passes. They used to have machines where you put in your ticket and you got the express pass on a first come first served basis but unfortunately they have now decided it's too much of a money spinner to give them away free. This applies to both universal studios and islands of adventure. I think this sucks!

Hi,
I hope you are a great holiday.

With regards the express passes. They are only $40 at peak times, they go as low as $15 in low season. Also if you stay at a Universal hotel you can get unlimited front of line access for 2 days (for a one night stay). So depending on the size of your party that may be a cheaper way of doing things.

It's still a rip off compared to Disney though.

Rik_S

At the moment Sea World Orlando are doing a great deal for advance tickets.

The promotion is called `Be a Kid again` & allows you to purchase advance e-tickets for the price of a childrens ticket - $53.95 (under £30 dependant on you c.card company).

These are e-tickets that are printed out once you book, so no postage.

Edinburghlass_2

Rik_S wrote:

At the moment Sea World Orlando are doing a great deal for advance tickets.

The promotion is called `Be a Kid again` & allows you to purchase advance e-tickets for the price of a childrens ticket - $53.95 (under £30 dependant on you c.card company).

These are e-tickets that are printed out once you book, so no postage.

I used Sea World e-tickets in May when late booking and they were no problem. It does say on it to bring id which I forgot but I was never asked for it and if you hand in the e-ticket on the way out you'll get a ticket for another day free.

We also booked the Behind the Scenes Tour of the Dolphin Nursery for $40 and can thoroughly recommend it. It lasts an hour, maximum 10 people and you have at least half an hour in a large roped off area of the dolphin nursery with the trainers and can feed, pat and play with the dolphins. Sea World photographers are about but the trainers also used my own camera and you are under no obligation to buy their photographs.

Haroldstotle

Ive been a few times and would like to share a few tips with you.
1. International drive is a place where the Brits like, but its full of Brits. The I-Ride is a trolley bus which goes up and down 'the strip', but it does take a long time to go end to end. Use the Lynx bus instead, or better still get a hire car. I find airline network very difficult to beat for hire cars.
2. Rather than stay in a hotel, try a villa or a timeshare. Some timeshare companies do a promo where you can stay for 7 nights for $200. We had a 1hr presentation, said no to the sales pitch, and had a fantastic week in a 5* lakeside apartment bigger than our house!
3. There are coupons for all the major restaurants. Just get a few booklets and rip out the deals you think may be of use.
4. Not sure if the fingerprint recognition at the parks works (it is a bone scan rather than fingerprint, unless the system has changed). My wife and I kept swapping tickets (mix up) and we still got in.
5. Best tip - If you go to the premier outlet at the bottom of International drive, get a voucher for a free coupon booklet. The deals keep changing, but I once got a $75 voucher against a $200 spend at Ralph Lauren. I got 3 suits for $175 each (i.e. less than £100 for a Ralph Lauren suit). Works in the sales etc. These coupon books can save you an absolute fortune- get them from customer services at the outlet. Also, there are sales at certain times of the year. I have found them in Thanksgiving, end Aug and Jan. Prices in the outlets drop up to 80%. If you can pick a date to travel, you may wish to build this in.
6. Get to the parks first thing, then call it a day at 1pm. You can do most of the good rides in 4 hrs then do something else in the afternoon, rather than knackering yourselves out in queues after 1pm.
7. If you are military, nurse or teacher you can get massive discounts at the swan and dolphin, onsite at Disney. Great location. I once paid $79 a night.
8. Don't - DONT - buy electrical stuff. Most only have US warranties, particularly Sony. You can get similar (ish) prices off the net.
9. Dont forget to add sales tax to all prices you see. Some states have NO tax, which can save you 10%.:j

shopaholicsan

Hi,
We are going to Florida for the first time in Feb 2007 :j and I'm wondering what clothing to take. We'll be in Disney/Universal or shopping during the day and City Walk or Downtown Disney in the evening.
Any suggestions gratefully received.
Thanks

catz747

Don't know about clothing, sorry, don't forget to get your iride free leaflet cause it has discount vouchers in, I would order it about a month before I was going so the vouchers are in date (sorry if this has been mentioned already - long thread

http://www.iridetrolley.com/index.html

Bobsworlduk

catz747 wrote:

Don't know about clothing, sorry, don't forget to get your iride free leaflet cause it has discount vouchers in, I would order it about a month before I was going so the vouchers are in date (sorry if this has been mentioned already - long thread

http://www.iridetrolley.com/index.html

You can pick them up for free on the iride trolley or in most idrive hotels. That way you know they are bang up to date.