Orlando Florida/Disneyworld (Part 2) *CLOSED*

bluep

Thanks for all of the comments. Basically, we have to go in August as my husband is a school teacher so tied to term times. I'm not worried about the long haul bit - I only have a short amount of time to take off work anyhow so 7 days it is.

We probably won't go to Disney this time round - as my daughter is only 3, I think Seaworld and a swimming pool / aqua park will appeal to her more!! Plus, its a lot cheaper from the looks of it to get the 2-park Seaworld ticket (looks like around £150 for three of us) compared to the Disney equivilent (over £400 for 3 of us!!). We'll do Disney the next visit!

As long as there is some sun, then a bit of rain is ok with me.

I thought around £500 each for 7 days hotel room including flights was a pretty good deal - I couldn't even find airfare alone for this cheap before even looking at booking a hotel directly. Am I wrong?

haziec

bluep wrote: »

Thanks for all of the comments. Basically, we have to go in August as my husband is a school teacher so tied to term times. I'm not worried about the long haul bit - I only have a short amount of time to take off work anyhow so 7 days it is.

We probably won't go to Disney this time round - as my daughter is only 3, I think Seaworld and a swimming pool / aqua park will appeal to her more!! Plus, its a lot cheaper from the looks of it to get the 2-park Seaworld ticket (looks like around £150 for three of us) compared to the Disney equivilent (over £400 for 3 of us!!). We'll do Disney the next visit!

As long as there is some sun, then a bit of rain is ok with me.

I thought around £500 each for 7 days hotel room including flights was a pretty good deal - I couldn't even find airfare alone for this cheap before even looking at booking a hotel directly. Am I wrong?

Hope you don't mind me saying but your daughter would love The Magic Kingdom, even if you don't go to any other Disney Park, this one is brilliant for the little ones, personally the water parks are brill but IMO some of the attractions in their are for good swimmers/older more adventurous children.
Sorry can't advise on the package though.

bluep

Thanks for the reply. Maybe we'll try and get a day ticket to just the magic kingdom too then. I think we might be able to go for 8 or 9 days if I get the timing right with weekends and the bank holiday. As for waterparks, to be honest, all she needs is a swimming pool and a little slide and she's happy - that's why the mystic beach looks like a good resort for us - they even have a "sandy" beach to play on. We're not goign to be queuing for any of the big rides anyhow unless my husband fancies going on something whilst we wait (unlikely!!). Personally, my main reason for going is that a) its like £50 more expensive than some rubbish 2* self catering in Greece b) the dollar exchange rate means less spending over there and c) THE SHOPPING!!! lol. Low expectations usually = great holiday!

cuddlymarm

Hi everyone

We are looking at going to Florida in the autumn but OH is now bankrupt (so no credit card) I also haven't a credit card and cos I'm self employed can't(and actually don't really want to get) a credit card. Also we both have visa electron debit cards. The 1st problem seems to be that without a credit card they will do a credit check on your debit card. How will this work? Will we have to put down a deposit or will they just turn you down? I can't see us going if we can't drive. Also do many places take electron or will we need to take travellers cheques?

Thanks in advance

Cuddles:rotfl:

pennylane99

cuddlymarm wrote: »

Hi everyone

We are looking at going to Florida in the autumn but OH is now bankrupt (so no credit card) I also haven't a credit card and cos I'm self employed can't(and actually don't really want to get) a credit card. Also we both have visa electron debit cards. The 1st problem seems to be that without a credit card they will do a credit check on your debit card. How will this work? Will we have to put down a deposit or will they just turn you down? I can't see us going if we can't drive. Also do many places take electron or will we need to take travellers cheques?

Thanks in advance

Cuddles:rotfl:

I have a visa electron debit card, and have no problem withdrawing cash from ATM's over there..and have used it to buy items in shops and at downtown disney.

Edinburghlass_2

bluep wrote: »

We're complete newbies at all this florida business...but have been looking at cheap deals from 16th of August - 30th August for 7 days somewhere in there!

I've come up with:
£1449 at the Mystic Dunes or £1488 at the Holiday Inn International Drive room only for myself, my husband and our 3 year old daughter flying on continental from Manchester. Is this a good deal? Has anyone stayed at either of these places?

Seems a not bad price but I've checked Mystic Dunes on Trip Advisor and the reports are very varied, was called Wyndham Palms Resort which may ring a bell with someone else.

Our criteria are: - hotel with big bed or 2 beds in one room, swimming pool/playground area to spend a couple of days relaxing and to be within a bus ride of Disney World, possibly Seaworld, possibly one of the water parks and outlet/factory shopping trip thrown in there too! We're not aiming to go to a theme park every day - probably only 3-4 days out of the 7.

I'd suggest you check where you found the above deals and see if they have hotels in Lake Beuna Vista area for ease especially without a car as most of the hotels in that area have free courtesy bus to the Disney parks and DownTown Disney for a Disney fix in the evenings. Seaworld is less than $20 taxi ride from memory or take a taxi to DownTownDisney for about $7/8 and get a Lynx bus from there for a couple of dollars.

I am assuming a) food will be relatively cheap espec given the $ exchange rate b) the weather will be hot and sunny c) transport should be good from the hotels to the theme parks/shopping via bus or taxis won't be too costly...Is this right? We're kind of on a low budget so cheap and cheerful is the theme!! Only even considering going because it seems to be around £400-500 each to go even to Greece this summer!!

Thanks in advance for any help!

Its often worth checking on Teletext, ring the ones with 0800 numbers and see what deals they have on offer with flights and hotels then check out the hotels to see where they are and what they offer. I did this a couple of years ago about 2 weeks before going and paid around £370 per person for flight and hotels, made notes, checked the hotels then rang back the one with the best price on the hotel I decided on. Last year I got flights very reasonable and then used rpoints with a 10% off code to find a hotel and managed to get the hotel we stayed in the previous year which we were happy with for £305 for 12 nights with free breakfast and internet access, very important for a teen!

Froggitt

cuddlymarm wrote: »

Hi everyone

We are looking at going to Florida in the autumn but OH is now bankrupt (so no credit card) I also haven't a credit card and cos I'm self employed can't(and actually don't really want to get) a credit card. Also we both have visa electron debit cards. The 1st problem seems to be that without a credit card they will do a credit check on your debit card. How will this work? Will we have to put down a deposit or will they just turn you down? I can't see us going if we can't drive. Also do many places take electron or will we need to take travellers cheques?

Thanks in advance

Cuddles:rotfl:

Depends what you want to do.

If you want to pay in a restaurant or withdraw cash, youll be fine upto your limit.

If you want to hire a car, you may struggle, as they will want to know that they can take large sums from you easily if something bad happens to the car.

If you want to have a hotel room, youll be fine so long as you tell them when you checkin that you dont want any extras on credit or on the room, and you will pay in cash or debit card when you use them eg room service, bar.

sturll

Froggitt wrote: »

Depends what you want to do.

If you want to pay in a restaurant or withdraw cash, youll be fine upto your limit.

If you want to hire a car, you may struggle, as they will want to know that they can take large sums from you easily if something bad happens to the car.

If you want to have a hotel room, youll be fine so long as you tell them when you checkin that you dont want any extras on credit or on the room, and you will pay in cash or debit card when you use them eg room service, bar.

I have spent months and months in the USA, much of it in Florida. I have never come across a hotel that wouldn't need a credit card for incidentals and the same goes for a car hire.
However, I seem to recall that if you do not have a credit card its $500 cash to hire a car or $50 cash for incidentals at a hotel.

Froggitt

Im assuming that the basic hotel room cost is pre-paid e.g. thru Thomas Cook or online. If its not, or maybe only a deposit for the first night has been paid, I agree, the OP may have trouble.

However, if there are no incidentals allowed, I dont see why a hotel wouldnt allow this. I guess giving the hotel your passport as a deposit might work if they dont allow this?

cuddlymarm

Hi

We're planning on renting a villa and usually take enough cash to last us and just get out extra or buy pressies. The only real problem is the car. We were going to get a fly drive package but it says that if you haven't got a credit card they will do a credit check and credit rating will be rubbish at the moment and if your credit rating is bad they won't let you have a car. Quite frankly a car is a very important part of the holiday because everywhere is so far apart and it won't be worth booking if we can't have one.

We could pay a deposit but the way the rules are worded I don't think you can

Anyway I'm going to try and phone the rental firm so I'll let you know how I get on. I'm hoping to never need a CC ever again and it seems a bit drastic to have to have one just so that you can rent a car.

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: