Orlando Florida/Disneyworld (Part 2) *CLOSED*

pennylane99

caz182 wrote: »

Thanks for that dampener! There's always someone willing to put a dampener on a bit of excitement. Thanks! I've actually flown with them before and they've been really good. I work in a travel agents and we book them all the time with no complaints but hey ho we can't all afford the airlines with the top notch reviews. Cheers!

My reply wasnt meant as a dampener, merely to point you in the direction of reviews to look at, if you hadnt already, many of which say they had experienced problems with long delays on the Sanford flights..

Lynneth

GRIGGSY wrote: »

I was wondering if anyone can help. Late last night I got an email to say that our accommodation at Kingston Reef had been cancelled due to it not actually being available despite the fact that it had supposedly been booked on Monday!:mad: Now we have flights, a car and no where to stay. We have been offered a couple of motels, but none of them are on the same level as the Kingston sonow not sure what to do. Does anyone know if there are any bargains to be had with villas due to needing one from the 18th for 14 nights - 4 days time - or I guess a really nice hotel which is cheap ish. The ones we have looked has been making my husband very nervous and all I hear is 'oh my god it is CSI miami!'

try James villas - they have a 2 bedroom villa at the Tuscana resort for £832 for two weeks.
http://www.jamesvillas.co.uk/q_search.cfm?search_mode=&search_type=01&search_option=1&id=35824563%2C828805190&stage=1&typed=0&CTA=search_destination_button&autocom=Orlando+-+Florida&autocom_villa=&autocom2=8%3A1%3A374&autocom2_villa=&region_id=8&resort_id=-1&villa_id=&dep_date=18%2F08%2F2009&cselmy=08_2009&duration=14&paxa=2&paxc=2&paxi=0&dep_air_id=01

Stayed in a James villa at Emerald Island a couple of years ago.

dazzer68

any one used directline holidays to florida?
and which airline do they use? cant find it on website, they seem really cheap and are a few hundred cheaper that everyone else!

MW_AJ

Does anybody know how to get a discount on Universal's Hard Rock Hotel?

I'm looking for a single nights stay in September.

KarenG

MW_AJ wrote: »

Does anybody know how to get a discount on Universal's Hard Rock Hotel?

I'm looking for a single nights stay in September.

Are you a member of the AA? If yes, book online and enter the code "AAA" in the promotions box. In theory they will ask you to show your membership card at check in, so be sure to take it with you.

If you are an annual pass holder at Universal that also gives you a discount I believe, subject to availability.

It's a fantastic hotel, possibly my favourite in Orlando Not to mention the FOTL perk :T

yummymummyoftwo

hi,we go to disney florida on the 25th of august,just wanted to know wheres the best place to go do some shopping!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
and we have 2 kids who are going to want everything they see,but the funds arent going to stretch that far any ideas????
cant wait now:T :T
only 10 days to go

broonbear

if your funds are a little low maybe you'll get better value out of the wallmart superstores [american equivalent of asda].they have absolutly everything in there.the florida mall can be a bit pricey as can the premium outlets but are still cheaper than overhere

RAMBLER

So jelious, we have just arrived back a week ago and had the best time.

Right tips and advice

shopping

first thing you need is a "orlando magic card" from official tourist office, international drive, right by the convension centre. We always send for ours in advance however you do not have the time.....however i will send you ours if you send me a private message.
this gives you either money off directly 10-20% or freebies, well worth having, certinely better than a kick in the face.


If this is your first time going to disney my strongest advice if you are doing the parks is NOT to shop there, as you can go to the Disney Markeyplace or else where which is FREE, you have paid for the rides and to experieve disney, not shop.

Places to shop,

Florida mall - (expensive no discount but good if you need a place to go to escape the rain, remeber it rains most afternoons, mostly not for long a quick HEAVY downpour , so take cheap light macs, better than buying there "condom type" which you can not use again)

Prime outlets is good

Premium outlets for designer -

But the cheapest and best we found was Wallmart - all under one roof, disney stuff, and literally everything else...and much cheaper. You can even buy cheaper disney tickets there

Are you SC/ or planning to eat out? let me know as i can offer some advice on which and where,

Where abouts are you staying?

Have you got a car? which airport are you flying into Orlando int, or Sanford, as if you are into Orlando you need to have 75c ready for the toll (non-optional)

One thing you must take is a cool bag, even if it is just for in the back of the car, as even chap drinks add up, havasack for little snacks in the parks as you need to keep there energy up, water bottles, chap ones from ASda as you can fill up in the parks for free, Water that is,

Get back to me if i can offer any further advice/help, we save LOADS but still had a fantastic time, the money is just better in our pockets and not there or spent on what we wanted

valiant23

yummymummyoftwo wrote: »

hi,we go to disney florida on the 25th of august,just wanted to know wheres the best place to go do some shopping!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
and we have 2 kids who are going to want everything they see,but the funds arent going to stretch that far any ideas????
cant wait now:T :T
only 10 days to go

Rambler's post is excellent. I'd disagree slightly on one thing though.

I thought that Prime and Premium outlets were very similar and that if you do your main shopping in one of them there is not enough difference in the other to warrant a visit unless it is for something specific.

We used our first full day in Orlando to go shopping for holiday clothes at Prime outlets and felt as though we spent a fortune but because of the exchange rate we didn't.

Florida Mall was good for the Vans skate parks.

Flea markets - We heard mixed reviews about them, some good and some bad - the one we visited was very poor. It was dirty, dingy and not very good value at all.

Another thing is don't be afraid to collect vouchers and money off booklets. Its the done thing over there and you pretty soon get used to rifling through the large amount that you collect because you happen to have a 10% off @ Adidas.

The same can apply to a lot of the attractions and if my memory serves me, we refused to use any place that wouldn't offer some kind of discount or freebie.

If this is your first time going to disney my strongest advice if you are doing the parks is NOT to shop there

I slightly disagree with this. Whilst the price you can pay for a souvenir T shirt from universal can reach up to $35 or more, there is a lot of merchandise that is still relatively good value. We bought our boys a T shirt from the duelling dragons shop in Universal for about $20 each.

As an average guide, this is what we payed for various items in the US;

Ecko Unlimited T shirt $30 - UK price up to £60
Adidas sports tops between $10 and $20
*Calvin Klein jeans - from their factory outlet - $50 for two pairs.
Trainers - designer branded (Vans/adidas) for about $40
Dr Scholl trainers (comfy walking trainers) - $27 from Walmart and very very comfy

*Curiously, even though it was a great price, because it was so hot and we wore shorts all holiday it was weird buying jeans and jumpers and the like.

I'm not suggesting that you spend more than you can afford, but its impossible to understand just how good the shopping is (price wise) over there until you have experienced it.

pennylane99

Tropical storm Fay over Cuba, predicted heading to Florida where it could upgrade to a hurricane by Tuesday

you can track it here...

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/graphics_at1.shtml?5day#contents