Orlando Florida/Disneyworld (Part 2) *CLOSED*

jolly-jen

We are thinking of having a week in Florida in August and then going on one of the short cruises from Port Canavarel to the Bahamas or something similar for a few days. I have seen the cruises on many american websites which come up at a good price but am not sure if you book direct from the UK. I have checked the Virgin website but their prices are very expensive for this type of holiday. Is there anywhere in the UK that specialises in these type of holidays, or would I be better booking everything separate myself, ie flights,car hire, accommdation and cruise. I would really appreciate any advice, many thanks,

lightning15uk

dazzer68 wrote: »

why not stay in a disney resort.
1 you dont need a car as all the disney transport is free
2 if you only want to vist disney parks this really makes sense as guest staying in a disney hotel/resort get extra magic hours which are extra hours in the park without the general public,so less queueing to do!
3 the disney pools are great and the disney water parks are evn better, so why pay for a pool if your going to only go to disney, then you can buy the disney ultimate ticket which will allow you to get in all parks as many times as you want.
4 your on property and thats always favourable, you can have your purchases sent back to your room free of charge, so no need to lug your souveniors around all day. you get prefence when booking meals, you can add your tickets and a credit card to your disney room card, so you only need to go out with that!
not that ima disney fan or anything (!) but the disney allstar resorts are great value for money

many thanks for your comments but we really would like a villa ( do disney do villas?) we will have young children and like the idea of them napping whilst we can still go in the pool and not be sat in hotel room and would like the freedom to bbq

nutmegman

Hi,

I have just priced up Florida for the first time, 2 adults, 2 kids (4&5)

2 weeks in the port orleans hotel (disney)
14 day ultimate pass
meal package (eveing meal, counter meal & snack)
I belive they will pick you up from the airport and all other transport is included to and from the parks

total for hotel £2361
flights, ba £1500

in all £3861 this is most of our meals so apart from the odd ice cream & drink here and there i think i should get away with £500 spends for 2 weeks

What do people think? also, is it worth getting car so you can see other sights etc..

sturll

nutmegman wrote: »

Hi,

I have just priced up Florida for the first time, 2 adults, 2 kids (4&5)

2 weeks in the port orleans hotel (disney)
14 day ultimate pass
meal package (eveing meal, counter meal & snack)
I belive they will pick you up from the airport and all other transport is included to and from the parks

total for hotel £2361
flights, ba £1500

in all £3861 this is most of our meals so apart from the odd ice cream & drink here and there i think i should get away with £500 spends for 2 weeks

What do people think? also, is it worth getting car so you can see other sights etc..

I wouldnt dream of going to Orlando without a car. Then again i wouldnt dream of getting the 2 week meal plan. Disney takes about 5 days (less waterparks) 14 and you'll be bored.

dazzer68

sturll wrote: »

I wouldnt dream of going to Orlando without a car. Then again i wouldnt dream of getting the 2 week meal plan. Disney takes about 5 days (less waterparks) 14 and you'll be bored.

your hardly going to be 'bored' , if youve got 14 day tickets your gonna use them. you dont need to rush round to do it in 5 days, you can take a couple of days to do each park, drop on some days in the water parks as well, spend afew days doing the bits you want to see/do again, and a few days chillin if needed
with some good planning, using the disney guests extra magic hours you can get the best out of the holiday with out wearing yourselves and the young kids out. some of the things the kids are going to do more than once, watching the parades and fireworks. you want to do just disney youve done the right thing, i have been twice before and just done disney and still havent done it all, im going again this year and will be playing miniture golf at fantasia (great fun) taking some time and visiting other resorts. and also in=ve never had a car, the disney transport is great and free, and if you need to go to other parks like seaworld there are buses from the disney resort.

charlieandlola2007

sturll wrote: »

I wouldnt dream of going to Orlando without a car. Then again i wouldnt dream of getting the 2 week meal plan. Disney takes about 5 days (less waterparks) 14 and you'll be bored.

I took my daughter (age 5) last year for 2 weeks and we only got Disney passes. We weren't bored at all. We were able to come and go as we pleased and also, go on the rides she liked as many times as she wanted (if you've got the patience!). Kids of this age love to see their favourite characters and shows again and again don't they?

We're going again this year and doing all the other parks.

I've never used a dining plan, but food is plentiful and cheap (even considering the state of the pound). When we went last year, we got $2 to the pound and, in some restaurants, the bill was so cheap it was embarrassing! Kids eat free in many places as well so it's even cheaper.

Hope you have a great time.

JustWonderful

HELP!

We just booked a holiday for next month to Orlando (11/03-25/03) and booked the Disney Dining Plan. My Mum and Dad said you would have to book the restaurants in advance, and tbh i thought they were exaggerating. However I have done some research tonight and it appears that they are right!

Now, for people who have experience in the field i have some questions...

Have I left it too late or is it just the popular restaurants that need to be booked? I am definitely going to book somewhere nice for my Mums birthday and possibly mothers day- though left it too late for that i think...

Help!!!

vivatifosi

Hi lightning,

Disney doesn't do villas in the conventional sense, but it does do some great larger properties that sleep larger parties. However be warned - these can be expensive.

The Disney Vacation Club (DVC) properties sleep parties of 2-12 people depending on accommodation size. DVC accommodations are, essentially, large and well appointed single storey or duplex apartments. In addition Disney has log cabins and campground facillities at Fort Wilderness. DVC resorts are: Old Key West, The Boardwalk Villas, Saratoga Springs, Beach Club Villas, Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas and Villas at the Wilderness Lodge (I've probably missed one but that'll give you a taster). At Old Key West there are villas around pools so you can sit on the patio and watch the kids and there are also barbecue pits.

There are also suite-hotels on Hotel Plaza Boulevard (in Disneyworld but not a Disney resort).

All of the above are well served by transport, but the hotels on Hotel Plaza Blvd do not use the Disney bus service and are served by their own.

vivatifosi

JustWonderful wrote: »

Have I left it too late or is it just the popular restaurants that need to be booked? I am definitely going to book somewhere nice for my Mums birthday and possibly mothers day- though left it too late for that i think...

The most popular restaurants are booked up 90 days in advance, though you should be able to get a good restaurant closer than that. For example, I've booked good restaurants two days out, while there, but as the date is important the sooner the better.

Why not give Disney a call and see what they have? I use budgetcom for 1p a minute calls to the US (thanks to Martin for the tip) so calling the US is cheap and easy.

vivatifosi

jolly-jen wrote: »

We are thinking of having a week in Florida in August and then going on one of the short cruises from Port Canavarel to the Bahamas or something similar for a few days. I have seen the cruises on many american websites which come up at a good price but am not sure if you book direct from the UK.

You may find it cheaper to book the two parts separately. My DH works in the travel industry, and even with access to travel industry websites, we haven't been able to get a better price than that from Thomas Cook's cruise call centre. They know their stuff and are very helpful. Disney, Royal Caribbean and Carnival cruise lines all operate out of Port Canaveral.

In the past we've been offered much better industry rates from the US, but with the $/£ as it is at the moment, the prices are nowhere near as favourable as they were in the past.