Disney Florida - Is this a good time to go/good price?

GemJud

Hi

We have decided to take our 2 daughters (they will be 2 and 4) to Disney Florida next year (even though we can't afford it!!). Looking at May 2012 for 3 weeks. I have read on here that May is a busy month at Disney is this right? Wanted to go in term time before it got too hot and before my daughter starts primary school in Sept 2012 so May seemed the perfect time but put off it is going to be really busy. Is April any better? (although would have to avoid the Easter Holidays!!). Have a max budget of around £6000 (that includes spending money too).

Usually book everything seperately for our holidays but fancy a package so that I don't have to pay for it all now! Found a package with Thomson for £3450, for a bronze villa with flights (free car too but they want nearly £600 for the insurance so will book the car seperately). I think this seems a good price what does everyone else think?

Found a link on this site for Holiday Autos with 15% off so the hire car would be £334 for 3 weeks, again this seems a good price to me. The excess on the Holiday Autos site says less than $100 but they are trying to make my add the total damage excess waiver when booking for £99.75, are they just trying it on or does the this cover me for other things and do I really need it? Was going to ignore it but don't want to if it will actually save me paying a small fortune in other fees later on.

When we went to Disney/Seaworld in 2008, I booked our park tickets direct through the Disney and Seaworld sites. Is this the cheapest way to buy them? Also wondering if it is worth visiting Universal with 2 pre schoolers or is it more aimed at teens. Universal tickets seem expensive compared to Disney tickets considering the amount/size of the Disney Parks. Was looking at getting the 14 or 21 day Ultimate Disney tickets and Seaworld/Busch Garden tickets (not sure whether to spend the money on the Orlando Flex tickets to include Universal too). Is it best to book the park tickets a long time in advance or do the offers/prices remain the same all year, would prefer to wait a while to book them as will have to pay for them upfront, but don;t want to miss out on the offers (Disney 14 day for price of 7 and Seaworld/Busch Gardens unlimited visits etc).

What else would people recommend doing with young children in the area? Was thinking of 1 or 2 days on the beach.

Are there any ways of saving money on the car parking at the parks too as this ends up costing a fortune especially for 3 weeks!

Thanks for reading sorry this message is so long just want to make sure we get the best holiday we can for our money (considering how hard it is going to be to actually save the money to pay for it all!).

Gemma

LucyLocket

There is a specific orlando section . If a mod could move this post there lots more people would probably be able to help :-)

LucyLocket

Failing that I'll try :-)
There is a great site called the Dibb that offers orlando advice.
Some none package sites still don't require full payment eg travel republic.

I think if you avoid easter april and may are similar. at the end of may is the memorial day holiday weekend which can be busy for a day or two.

I'm currently looking for Orlando flights for the may half term 2012, many flights havent been released yet but I can currently find charter flights varying between £500 and £600. Outside the half term it's cheaper. If you arent planning to use the car from the package due to the high insurance charge that means your villa is costing you £1000 or more which seems high to me but I am a well known cheap skate. hope you find what you want and have a great time :-)

edited to add I've just reread and realised you are going for three weeks which makes the villa cost a lot more reasonable than I initially thought.

LucyLocket

We don't drive in the US so I'm unfortunately useless for advice in that regard.

One of the two universal parks has a nice section for little ones called Seuss Landings but in general I think it's mainly for older kids.

Although there are some savings to be made by shopping around significant savings on park tickets are often pretty rare. 14 for the price of 7 sounds amazing but over the four day length, extra days on a disney ticket start to become progressively less and less expensive.

As you are going for three weeks it might be worth one of you having a disney annual pass instead of the ordinary tickets. This gives a range of discounts including on parking . However if you want water park access you will needapremium annual pass and the expense of that may negate any savings.

Also disney are offering a free dining plan for onsite guests from UK who stay in a moderate resort or above. Although this means much less space than a villa and could be rather more expensive it could also have advantages.

GemJud

Thank You LucyLocket. Just wondering where do you look for your flights to Florida? £500-£600 for half term seems good

richardw

Your 2 year old may enjoy it more when they are older, so perhaps consider waiting and saving up for the trip.

Idiophreak

richardw wrote: »

Your 2 year old may enjoy it more when they are older, so perhaps consider waiting and saving up for the trip.

Just what I was thinking...you say you can't afford it now, and the girls are a little too young to get the best out of it, so why not spend less on a different holiday for now, then hit disney again in a couple of years when you can afford it better and the girls will enjoy it more...

LucyLocket

GemJud wrote: »

Thank You LucyLocket. Just wondering where do you look for your flights to Florida? £500-£600 for half term seems good

Thomas Cook out of Glasgow Saturday May 26th returning June 9th is coming in at £509 including baggage and meals.

Monarch out of Manchester same dates, with meals and baggage is £596.

Both flights show on travel republic.

When will your DD turn two? I think before that age 'infants' go free or at a substantial discount if you can bear them on your knee for ten hours. One slight saving is that your two year old will also not need a disney ticket.

What your tots might like better than universal is legoland florida. It's very new, I've never been but it looks fun :-)

LucyLocket

If you are not absolutely set on a villa there seem to be really good prices at the moment on the extended stay deluxe properties which are suites with a sitting and kitchen area. The ones in Lake Buena Vista are coming in at around £30 a night including a simple breakfast. So I reckon you could all fly from manchester at £2,400 ( assuming returning after three weeks rather than two doesn't push the price up) then the suite would be about £630. That would save you about £400 but might not be worth it in terms of reduced space.

GemJud

LucyLocket - Strange that flights can vary so much in price from different UK airports :-) Ohhhhhhhh Legoland Florida, we love the LegoLand parks in the UK so that is worth looking into, didn;t even know there was one so thanks. My DD turns 2 at the beginning of Feb 2012, was looking at going before that but want the weather abit warmer really for a trip or 2 to the beach :-)

richardw & Idiophreak - you are quite right I should wait really (my husband is of this opinion too!!) however really would love to take my 2 DD's while they are young, such an experience for them and us. Took my eldest daughter for her 1st birthday and it was the best holiday I have ever had even though she was a bit scared of the characters her reaction to them (before they got too close!) and to see her face watching the parades etc. was magical :-) Obviously when they get older they will be able to do more and go on more rides etc. but their reactions to all the little things may not be the same. They both loved Disneyland Paris last yr and love rides at theme parks in the Uk so although they are very young think they would love the experience. My eldest daughter absolutely adores all the characters at the moment too so hopefully her excitement would rub off on our youngest and she would like the characters too.

GemJud

I have found an excellent villa in Remington, Kissimmee (where we stayed in 2008) on Holiday-rentals.co.uk (which I have used before)for £995 for the 3 weeks and can find flights for £2300 so looking like the package deal is about the right price. Not sure what the bronze Thomson villa would be like though and not exactly sure which area it would be in so may be worth booking villa/flights seperately to ensure we get a nice villa in a location that we like even though it will cost the same amount of money. Thanks for all the advice LucyLocket