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

Weggy

Murphy_The_Cat wrote: »

Does anyone on this thread visit anywhere in Florida (its about the size of England BTW) other than the theme parks, and spend money anywhere else, other than with Uncle Walt ?

We drove down to Miami, and stayed just outside Miami, for one night, at the Hard Rock Seminole Casino which is a really nice resort with outdoor pool/bar etc and the obvious Hard Rock cafe and casino. It's also part of a complex that has a live music venue, loads of bars and restaurants and plenty of shops.

http://www.seminolehardrockhollywood.com/

We also visited Miami beach and spent a day there. Beautiful.

jarr

few questions
1. when is the best weather
2. disney hotel v 'normal' hotel is it worth it?

littlelibrarylass

Murphy_The_Cat wrote: »

Does anyone on this thread visit anywhere in Florida (its about the size of England BTW) other than the theme parks, and spend money anywhere else, other than with Uncle Walt ?

another one who likes to explore outside of mouseland, although not so easy now with two disney obsessed children.
we went to tampa and watched an old man rolling cigars-
also visited the fort lauderdale public library- fantastic architecture.
the everglades were great as was key west - never made it to hemingways house but that gives me an excuse to go back.
LLL

Browntrout_2

Murphy_The_Cat wrote: »

If anyones tempted, the Gulf Coast is a great place to holiday (& Busch Gardens is fun to) and touring down the Coast via Cape Coral & Naples is a real treat !

Hi, we are planning to go in August, nothing booked at all yet, thinking of a Villa in Kissimee and trying to take in some or all of the following, are we trying to do too much?

Cape Canaveral - http://www.ksctickets.com/

Universal Studios - http://www.universalorlando.com/

EPCOT - http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/parks/parkLanding?id=EPLandingPage&bhcp=1

Seaworld - http://www.seaworld.com/SWF/park_info_home.aspx

St Petersburg - http://www.floridasbeach.com/

Tampa Bay - http://www.visittampabay.com/

Busch Gardens - http://www.buschgardens.com/buschgardens_default.aspx

Murphy_The_Cat

Browntrout wrote: »

Hi, we are planning to go in August, nothing booked at all yet, thinking of a Villa in Kissimee and trying to take in some or all of the following, are we trying to do too much?

If you are only staying in one place (i.e. Kissimee) then yes, you might be trying to do to much - as Orlando-Tampa is about 80 miles or so, so you'd be on the road travelling for about 3 hours a day getting to Tampa/St Petes/Busch Gradens.

However, if you are having a fortnights holiday and are happy with having a 2 centre holiday - i.e. one week in a villa in Kissimmee and one week in a villa in Tampa/St Petes then it would be very doable. Just one small thing to bear in mind, the villas on the Gulf Coast seem to be quite a bit dearer to rent than in the Orlando area.

good luck and I hope that you enjoy your touring.:D

Philippa36

Browntrout ~
It may be worth considering a condo over a villa if you're looking to rent at the beach. I have stayed in several that have been just as comfortable and a lot more affordable.

ckerrd

jarr wrote: »

few questions
1. when is the best weather
2. disney hotel v 'normal' hotel is it worth it?

I like Florida in November, not too hot.

Only stayed in a Disney hotel once and wouldn't again.
The room was certainly nice enough but there were not enough perks to make it worth the money.
You can stay in a cheaper hotel or villa and use your money more effectively.

And the food was pretty poor as I recall.

I suspect if you are going to "do" a lot of Disney and stay somewhere like the Grand Floridian it will be great.

jaffa

Murphy_The_Cat wrote: »

Does anyone on this thread visit anywhere in Florida (its about the size of England BTW) other than the theme parks, and spend money anywhere else, other than with Uncle Walt ?

We've gone twice a year for the last few years without a hint of the Mouse :T

pompeyrich

Philippa36 wrote: »

Browntrout ~
It may be worth considering a condo over a villa if you're looking to rent at the beach. I have stayed in several that have been just as comfortable and a lot more affordable.

Can you remember any sites you have booked these through, finding villas to be a bit expensive on the Gulf too, thanks

Murphy_The_Cat

jaffa wrote: »

We've gone twice a year for the last few years without a hint of the Mouse :T

Mabye its time to split the thread ? Something along the lines of

Florida with the Mouse &
Florida without the Mouse ?

What do folks think ? Or mabye change the thread title to Visiting the Mouse, Tips & Questions.

& Visiting Florida (Without visiting the Mouse) Tips and Questions.