Florida Recommendations

travellerboy

masscrazy wrote: »

I am now thinking two days at Magic Kingdom .......................Would you agree?

Better, 1 day at MK and a 1 day at EPCOT.
Erm......


Didn't realise that you have been and gone, hope you didn't miss EPCOT

[Deleted User]

Anyone reading this thinking about taking in St Petersburg on the Gulf Coast here's a good guide.
It's one of my favourite places in Florida and,fortunately,much under-rated..

http://intelligenttravel.nationalgeographic.com/2014/06/06/move-over-miami-the-best-of-st-pete

masscrazy

travellerboy wrote: »

Better, 1 day at MK and a 1 day at EPCOT.
Erm......


Didn't realise that you have been and gone, hope you didn't miss EPCOT

Missed it.

It didnt make sense going to so many parks in only 7 days. Plus would have been too costly. Maybe next time.

pollypenny

Oh, beautiful Florida! Nothing beats the Gulf Coast beaches. We like the smaller ones, Indian Rocks and Tarpon Springs, a Greek town in the USA!

[Deleted User]

pollypenny wrote: »

Oh, beautiful Florida! Nothing beats the Gulf Coast beaches. We like the smaller ones, Indian Rocks and Tarpon Springs, a Greek town in the USA!

I'm a great fan of the beach at Pass-A-Grille.
I stay here.
www.postcardinn.com
And drink here.
www.wharfrestaurant.org
Highly recommended.

pollypenny

DS lived in Tampa for 8 years. We love the area and couldn't wait to take our grandchildren to the beaches and to see the mermaids at Wicki-Watchee park.

Unfortunately, they've moved to the cold north!

Murphy_The_Cat

pollypenny wrote: »

Oh, beautiful Florida! Nothing beats the Gulf Coast beaches. We like the smaller ones, Indian Rocks and Tarpon Springs, a Greek town in the USA!

Do you know Dunedin ? Absolutely gorgeous place.

vivatifosi

masscrazy, glad you had a good time! Now you know what to expect and what you can fit in for next trip.

Do you mind me asking how you got on getting halal food? The question may crop up again so it will be good to know in case anyone asks.

masscrazy

vivatifosi wrote: »

masscrazy, glad you had a good time! Now you know what to expect and what you can fit in for next trip.

Do you mind me asking how you got on getting halal food? The question may crop up again so it will be good to know in case anyone asks.

Thanks @vivatifosi. For food, we went a bit unorthodox. There were 15 people and average cost would have been $15 per person which adds up, so we bought food from Makkah Bazaar and cooked at the villa. Worked out to be very cost effective.

However I imagine most people are unlikely to want to cook on holiday. We discovered Zabihah.com and there was a list of halal restaurants with useful reviews. We went to a couple of places and they were pretty good. One thing to note, we asked the portion size, they said 1 entree = 1 person. Not true, either that place has giant portions or American portions are massive, probably the latter.

So no real shortage of food options, and quite inexpensive was food in general.

Here are a list of links I used for research:

Driving:

• Driving in the USA - UK Perspective
• http://www.kissimmee-us192.com/british/driving.htm

General Links

• Cheap Disney Tickets link
  • http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTopic-g34515-i19-k5451344-1Day_Gate_Tickets_Prices_for_Disney-Orlando_Florida.html
• Universal studios
  • http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g34515-d102432-r45376327-Universal_Studios_Florida-Orlando_Florida.html
• http://www.visitflorida.com/en-us/citylanding.gridview.topcities.html
• http://www.sameerseats.com/category/episodes/florida/
• http://www.experiencekissimmee.com/things-to-do/
• http://www.zabihah.com/reg/s1jv7yn1lx
• http://www.crescentrating.com/attractions-in-the-united-states-for-muslim-travelers/item/1708-where-dreams-come-true-walt-disney-world-orlando-florida-usa.html
• http://www.visitorlando.com/EN-GL/plan-your-trip/
• http://www.mirror.co.uk/lifestyle/travel/usa-long-haul/orlando-holiday-planning-tool-gets-1490341

masscrazy

Just some other thoughts.

The overall experience was brilliant, a second week is a must and will make the trip better value, the parks entry was 14 days unlimited but we only could go on two.

Customer service was the best I've seen, confident and happy to help everywhere we went. Especially in the larger stores. Unlike the UK where emphasis is definitely not on CS.

Another thing I noticed was that the US is all about the bottom line and maximising profits. WallMart, for example, is huge yet has small narrow checkout isles, to maximise floor space for more products. Checkout staff are not allowed to sit, one because theres no room for a seat and, as I enquired, its considered "lazy" as explained by the checkout lady. Another time we went we were served by a elderly lady who as well as standing has to pack shopping, I think its out of order to expect them to stand the entire time. In the UK in the larger stores, staff on checkout get nice comfy chairs, and dont think would tolerated if such policy was introduced in Tesco for example, or would it?

I also finally understood why they are so interested in oil, the average person needs a car to get anywhere or do anything so it needs to be cheap, plus you'd sell more cars ofcourse. I stepped out the villa to go for a walk to the nearest shop about 2/3 of a mile away but there were no pavements to walk there! I didnt realise this while driving from the villa past the shop.