Orlando Florida/Disneyworld (Part 2) *CLOSED*

apcorbett

michjoe wrote: »

Hi, I have a quote from Holiday Genie for £5377 for 2 weeks June/July 2009, it's for 5 adults and 3 children in a 4 bedroomed villa with pool. Has anyone used this company before and if so can you give me some feedback???

Thanks all

You don't say what else is included, i.e. car hire, and whether the flights are direct/indirect or with Thomas Cook (or similar)...

We can then give you a good idea as to whether we feel it is a good deal for you!

sturll

michjoe wrote: »

Hi, I have a quote from Holiday Genie for £5377 for 2 weeks June/July 2009, it's for 5 adults and 3 children in a 4 bedroomed villa with pool. Has anyone used this company before and if so can you give me some feedback???

Thanks all

Go in Jan or October and wipe 2 grand off that - and avoid getting rained on every afternoon.

Still puzzled as to why people go to Florida in summer. More rain than in the UK! - Ok maybe not :rolleyes:

disney_cjd

sturll wrote: »

Still puzzled as to why people go to Florida in summer. More rain than in the UK! - Ok maybe not :rolleyes:

The way the last week has gone we have had 18 inches of sodding rain!

Mind you I can see why people do it.... school holidays, work commitments etc. We come in May, Aug and Oct each year and they are all great for different reasons. If I only got two weeks it would be May or Oct every time.

sturll

disney_cjd wrote: »

The way the last week has gone we have had 18 inches of sodding rain!

Mind you I can see why people do it.... school holidays, work commitments etc. We come in May, Aug and Oct each year and they are all great for different reasons. If I only got two weeks it would be May or Oct every time.

I can too. But the way i see it this.

Go in Summer and have hefty queues, brutal heat, loads and loads of rain. The place is jam packed and it costs an absolute fortune.

Go in January and it is at least 50% cheaper to go, weather is much milder but still warm, no rain (or very very little) no queues, parks near empty.

Its a no brainer if you ask me.

Nala

We always said we'd never in a million years go in the summertime but you know how these things go.
We've been twice in August, last year we didn't get a drop of rain although a couple of times we saw a dark rain cloud in the distance which would explain why some folk we were chatting to at the airport said it rained and we said it didn't
In 2005 we had rain for about 1/2 hour whilst we were in a sports shop at the Premium Outlets.
The worst weather we've had was 2 days of non-stop, couldn't get the wipers to move fast enough, rain in October 2002.
So I guess half the time it's just luck!
Having said that I wouldn't recommend the summer time for a 1st timer. For ourselves we don't mind as there isn't that urgency and panic of needing to do everything. It can be quite nice to slow down, smell the roses and use the air-com

cathys1_2

Amy83 wrote: »

While we're talking about hotels, could any one tell me if the Best Western Lakeside in Kissimmee is well located? We're after somewhere pretty central, where we can walk to restaurants etc, stayed on I Drive last time, and while I don't mind driving, I would quite enjoy having a drink with dinner, so am looking for somewhere that's close to a fair few restaurants :beer:

Thanks

We stayed there on our honeymonn 10 years ago!!!!!! (It wasn't best western then.) There were quite a few restaurants close by, we never used them though - if we were having a night in, we were quite happy to eat there and use the bar! I remember a few surf and turf restaurants. It was about a ten minute drive from disney, 20 mins from universal and I'm pretty sure across the road was a shopping outlet.
Funnily we are looking to go back next year, and if we don't do a disney hotel (have 2 children now) we are deffo going back to that hotel!
HTH

cathys1_2

Ok - following that last post - if we do do disney - is the dining plan worth it. We've only just started to look into going again, and seen this - Is it worth doing? Lady at the travel agents said a soft drink in the park costs £6, and eatting for 4 would cost £30 for lunch easily. Is that right - with the good exchange rates? I know these places charge lots, and it's been 10 years so can't remember what stuff cost!
We always said that if we went with children we'd make sure that we could afford to get what they wanted (almost everything - luggage restraints and all!) so therefore, trying to budget to make sure we can afford it all!!!

Froggitt

Have a big breakfast eg Sizzler or IHOP, and youll only need a snack (eg giant pretzel and an apple) for lunch. Go for main meal of the day at 5 or 6pm outside the parks (we also went back to hotel for swim/cooldown before dinner), then go back to one of the parks for the twilight hours eg Magic Kingdom parade, Fantasmic.

oxters

For car hire, I found this link on MSE. I compared prices including Holiday Autos and if you are looking for the full upgraded insurance and 2 drivers, I doubt their prices can be beaten. Just over £170 for an economy car for a fortnight.

It's worth noting that broker Economy Car Hire includes built in excess insurance and while it's rarely the cheapest, it can be cheaper overall once you've bought the excess insurance elsewhere.

Edinburghlass_2

cathys1 wrote: »

Ok - following that last post - if we do do disney - is the dining plan worth it. We've only just started to look into going again, and seen this - Is it worth doing? Lady at the travel agents said a soft drink in the park costs £6, and eatting for 4 would cost £30 for lunch easily. Is that right - with the good exchange rates? I know these places charge lots, and it's been 10 years so can't remember what stuff cost!
We always said that if we went with children we'd make sure that we could afford to get what they wanted (almost everything - luggage restraints and all!) so therefore, trying to budget to make sure we can afford it all!!!

I'd say the lady in the travel agents is trying to sell you the dining plan as that is nonsense about the price of a soft drink, $2 is more like the cost. I always take in a bottle of juice with me but then as the day goes on prefer to buy one in the park from the chilled coolers rather than cart more around with me. I've read a fair amount of people saying that the dining plan meant too much food, too much organisation to book the restaurants for their entire holiday to maximise the dining plan and now it no longer includes the tip which is 18% of what the bill would have cost you. This can be a fair amount of money on top of what the dining plan has cost you if you are eating in the "posh" restaurants

I really don't know enough about it now these are just observations from reading https://www.disboards.com over the years and I think it depends which resort you are staying in. As you have young kids I'd recommend the value resorts, we stayed in Pop Century for our first visit and the food court there is very reasonable and plenty of choices. Fun theme and plenty of pools for the kids to enjoy even at night when returning from the parks.