Family Holiday Florida

asimon

Hi all I previously found some threads similar to my queries, but cannot find them again, and hopefully I may be able to receive advice with regards to my specific situation.

• Family of 6, 3 Son's (24, 20, 17) and a daughter aged 15
• Would like to go to Florida in December, to visit Disney, clothes shopping (Miami), do not have to stay within Disney complexes, however would would not want to be to far away, as I have never driven in another country before. main issue is can only travel during school breaks
• minimum of 10 day stay, preferably 14 days
• Looked at holiday packages from Thomas Cook and the, quite expensive, Tried doing various searches, to build my own package, but have not had experience doing things this way, some of the response that came back, did not really accommodate us.
• All prices seem to be coming out at around £6,000 or more, I know it would be a challenge, but looking for a more reasonable price than this.
• would it be better to do flight separately eg form Dial-a -flight, and Hotel(s) form Hotel.com
  
• Prefer a Villa, within a complex rather than a private villa, or a resort 3* self catering will be fine.
• Each of our children will need separate beds (can be bunk beds)
• Flying from London Gatwick or Heathrow

Thanks in advance for your responses / advice.

DevilsAdvocate1

We are going later this year. I have booked indirect flights as this was much cheaper. So we fly from Newcastle to New York to Orlando. I paid £525 per person but this is during peak summer season. Direct flights were coming out much higher.

I have hired a villa which is on a complex which has 3 communal pools. The villa does not have its own pool. Again this was much cheaper (paying around £1000 for 4 weeks). I prefer a communal pool as my children usually hook up with other children.

My budget for a hire car for 4 weeks is around £600. I have not booked this yet. So I am looking at around £4300 for 4 weeks for 1 child and 4 adults, excluding park tickets.

If you're only going for 10 days and have not driven abroad before, can I suggest shopping in Orlando? Think it took us 4 and a half hours to drive down to Miami when we were last there. There are plenty of good shopping malls in Orlando.

HTH.

Miss_Havisham

I don't think you need to go to Miami, it would be a waste of precious time as there is such a lot to do in Orlando. Unless of course you have another reason to visit Miami such as family.

The best thing I can do is point you in the direction of this website. It's populated by a load of Florida / Disney fanatics (in the nicest poss way, I'm one !). They have a wealth of knowledge about allsorts- packages, DIY, hotels Vs villas etc. Some own and rent out villas. Come on over and introduce yourself. (I have a diff user name on there). Enjoy !!

http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/index.php

Miss H

gem75

Orlando to Miami will be a 3-4 hour drive each way so you would need a minimum of one overnight stop there. Not worth it just to go shopping, but the art deco buildings on South Beach are fabulous.

asimon

Thanks for the feedback so, I will take on board what has been said, and just go to Orlando, I've done an initial on holiday hypermarket (Thomas) to get an idea of cost, Quality Inn international (Room Only) (10 days) including flights from 829pp so works out around from £4974, the rooms only seem to have double beds, I would need one bed for me and my wife, and 4 single beds.

Do you think I would be able to get a better deal doing flights via a flight broker and hotel via a hotel broker?

I'm not looking at renting a car, any further advice on accommodation and point above would be welcomed.

meer53

A car isn't essential in Orlando but it's much easier to get around if you DO have one. If you're wanting to visit the Malls to shop, you'll waste a lot of time getting there and back on public transport. Taxis would be an option, no idea how much they would be though.

I wouldn't consider Orlando without a car. (Just my view) If you're renting a villa, you'll definately need one. Most of the villa communities are at least 20 minutes drive away from Disney/Universal etc.

TTC40

Could you change your mind on the driving?

I would recommend a private villa and car hire.

You could get a 4 or 5 bed villa at a reasonable price.

poet123

I think with a family of that age a villa is definitely the way to go. Own rooms, pool and games rooms for a very reasonable price. If you haven't driven before the US is a good place to start, it is really easy. A car will really be beneficial.

For ease of access to the parks try the Sunset Lakes area or Emerald island. Some lovely villas, much better than six of you crammed ina hotel room imo.

bonar

we went 18 months ago, a family group of 13, didnt use a travel agents , booked flights with ba direct, hired a villa in formosa gardens (10 mins) from disney, car rental on line too, tickets on line, through quidco if we could, fantastic time came back and priced a holiday for 9 through virgin and they wanted over 20 k, turned out couldnt go as my daughter was pregnant. we will return but wont use a travel agent so easy doing it ourselves

pelirocco

Visit https://www.thedibb.co.uk it's a forum for all things Disney, invaluable advice

poet123

Yes, we always did it DIY so much cheaper. Make sure you are well insured though.