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

Browntrout_2

Mixupat wrote: »

Going to orlando for first time in november. Flights and hotel are booked. Is it better to book tickets for parks/shows before you go or is there better value in booking when you arrive?

A bit of both pre-purchase in UK and buy some out there as you get to know whats going on.

We bought Discovery Cove online from Discovery Cove website which included Seaworld and Busch Gardens, four of us for $1316. If no-one in your party wants to swim with Dolphins then this expensive. All four of us did, and our children are strong swimmers so got a lot out of the day, 8am till 7pm, all inclusive food and drink all day long. We went to Seaworld twice and Busch Gardens once so 16 visits between us in total.

Also pre-purchased Universal Studios , 3 park, 5 visits over 14 days, those were good value, only thing we would not use again would be wet n wild, it is the oldest water park and it shows!

http://www.themeparkticketsdirect.com/tickets/slink.buy/e.KA3/Universal_3_Park_5_Day_with_Wet%27n%27Wild--Universal_Orlando%C2%AE_Resort--Orlando.html

Then whilst over there we picked up tx for Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede, Gatorland and Boggy Creek Airboat rides at an outlet on Pionciani and Vineland.

http://www.officialticketcenter.com/delivery.htm

moob_2

Browntrout wrote: »

We flew economy and saved approx £800, we didn't have seat back TVs but we used iPOD and PSP to watch movies we copied at home using DVDFAB Platinum 30 day free trail software, with a £25 4Mb memory card in a PSP you can store about 6 full length films.

Alternatively use the £800 to purchase 4 of 30Gb video iPODs!

I've got an Archos AV500 DPVR coming with 30gb storage and the ability to hook it up to any tv that should do the trick.;)

jenster

Hello all

we are going to orlando On 1st august 08 till 15th aug 08 _ Villa is a friends but we need to get flights !!

when do they go on sale -- tried ba / virgin but those dates arnt available yet !

we r 4 adults and one child -- cause over 12s count as adults ( is that right)

when would i be able to book ? and when would be the best time to book ?

also need a car so is it better to book all seperate or flydrive ?

all advice welcome pls

jenster...

moob_2

Dunno about the sale time of flights, but I'd try a flight comparison site like this to search.

Book seperately, travel companies charge a premium for flydrives. Try here for car hire.

eripmav

jenster wrote: »

Hello all

we are going to orlando On 1st august 08 till 15th aug 08 _ Villa is a friends but we need to get flights !!

when do they go on sale -- tried ba / virgin but those dates arnt available yet !

we r 4 adults and one child -- cause over 12s count as adults ( is that right)

when would i be able to book ? and when would be the best time to book ?

also need a car so is it better to book all seperate or flydrive ?

all advice welcome pls

jenster...

The Virgin sale this year was June or July, I can't remember:/ We managed to book three seats (2xadult and 1xchild) for £1009. Absolute bargain:) I think they have a sale after Christmas too but don't quote me on that..

denny250

Crabman wrote: »

Hi, Martin’s asked me to post this: In case you didn’t know there’s a link to this that helps the site. If it won’t cost you any more to use it please go via that. You can find these in the bars at the top of the board or in the relevant article. Read more about this site’s non-profit driven ethical stance.

Flight Comparison: Travelsupermarket* | Skyscanner

Car Hire Comparison: Travelsupermarket* | Autoreservations*

just checked with both travelsupermarket and skyscanner and the flights alone (unless we dont want direct flights ) will cost either as much as or more than the whole holiday we booked with travel city direct

2 wks in a hotel on fort myers beach, sunshine upper deck flights on 747 out of gatwick to sanford orlando, luxury car (inc full car insurance and full tank of fuel) and the lounge on the way back in sanford airport may 2008 £2200 for both of us
i think this is a cracking deal flights alone on travelsupermarket would have cost about £2000 or about £2600 if we wanted direct flights with skyscanner

denny250

moob wrote: »

Nope, never had any personal dealings with them, I've merely researched all companies that fly from Glasgow to Sanford/Orlando, and found a great deal of issues with TCD.

as i said in my post i have had personal dealings with them and so have a great deal of my friends with no problems encountered

moob wrote: »

Try and buy a flight only from them - then see what the comparative cost is elsewhere. Do the same for accommodation, and you'll see they are not good value for money, and that's not even taking into account the other problems they have.

why would i want to buy a seperate flight when as i said in a previous post travelsupermarket and skyscanner both came up almost as expensive just on economy flights as i am paying for my full holiday with upgrades

moob wrote: »

If you encounter a problem with one of these so called 'budget airlines', and I use the term tentatively, you will find out they have little in the way of resources to back them up, hence stories of incredible delays etc.

I have flown around the world with all sorts of companies yes i think virgin possibly would be better than tcd quality but i couldn't afford the extra £1400 that it would have cost me if i had booked with them
as for delays i have had horrendous delays with B.A. and Emirates so we could all tell our horror stories even of the best airlines around

I am going from personal experience the experience of others that i have recomended tcd to and for me they are a great company couldn't fault them on service

Poppy9

Airline Network are advertising flights to Orlando for £304 between 1/11/07 and 14/12/07. I booked my Virgin flights through them for Feb 06 and paid just £888 for 2 adults and 1 child return.

moob_2

denny250 wrote: »

as i said in my post i have had personal dealings with them and so have a great deal of my friends with no problems encountered



why would i want to buy a seperate flight when as i said in a previous post travelsupermarket and skyscanner both came up almost as expensive just on economy flights as i am paying for my full holiday with upgrades



I have flown around the world with all sorts of companies yes i think virgin possibly would be better than tcd quality but i couldn't afford the extra £1400 that it would have cost me if i had booked with them
as for delays i have had horrendous delays with B.A. and Emirates so we could all tell our horror stories even of the best airlines around

I am going from personal experience the experience of others that i have recomended tcd to and for me they are a great company couldn't fault them on service

I'm glad you've had good personal experiences with the company, I am however referring to the overall picture I've noted when looking into the available companies that fly direct from my airport, and on the whole TCD are marginally better than Globespan, doesn't say much.

It's also a lot to do with what time of the year you want to fly. My TCD package would have cost 700 quid more than my diy package.

I'm sure they're glad of your undying support - so keep up the good work.:T

nmoon83

just to help you guys out i have flown with travel city direct and they promise the earth. We have never had good service with them and much prefer to fly with mytravel. I have been going to florida the last 5 years and flights always drop just before we fly so we always wait till last minute.
its easy to get a transfer as well from sanford as you can goto the sanford airport website and find shuttles cheap there too.
hope this helps with some peoples ideas and rough directions