Orlando Florida/Disneyworld (Part 2) *CLOSED*

disney_cjd

Emzy wrote: »

Hi

I could do with some help please, Me and my FIANCE!!! (sorry just got engaged! ha ha) are planning on having our honeymoon in Orlando next year. We are both big kids and it would be great but neither of us have been before so we would do with some tips and some info on how and where to get a good price, finding it extremely expensive at the moment, Im hoping that im just looking in the wrong places!

Are the disney hotels that much more special than a hotel on I Drive? They are so much more expensive I wondered if its really worth the extra or whether to stay on I Drive and have a bit of extra spending money, we'd really like to go for 3 weeks but if its too much more then just 2 weeks.

And if we do stay on I Drive which is the best hotel?
Sorry about all the questions but Im just really excited and want to get it right.

Thanks to anyone who can help!

Emma

Hi Emma

Lets start with teh most obvious thing CONGRATULATIONS!!

Now onto the Orlando thing......

IDrive is not the only place you could try other than the Disney hotels. There are so nicer places to go and thus meaning you can spoend your three weeks there which is always better than 2 IDrive is OK, not my preferred choice to behonest by there are some OK hotels there like teh Wydham or the Floridays. But why not have a look at places like the Marriott Village in LBV or one of the hotels on hotel lplaza blvd which are walking disntance of DownTown Disney but not the Disney prices.

Also take into account he cost of a Disney hotel can often be ofset with the free Dining plan basically giving you full board for your holiday.

Have a look at the Virign website at wedding packages. Also try this US based travel agent but they are ace https://www.mousefantravel.com and ask for Beci or Annette

Thanks
Craig

Jo_Cox

Hi anyone - dont understand forums so forgive me for my stupidity if I have put this on wrong bit!!! I am looking to see if anyone has bought tickets from park-tickets.com as they have quoted £500 cheaper than anyone else for 7 of us, all adults going everypark basically - look on their website - they are incredibly cheap for "Fun in the Sun - Package 4" (which basically gets you in most places). Anyway if anyone can confirm they have used them and everything was ok I would be so grateful, looking at spending £2,500 to £3,000 so dont want to get ripped off.
Cheers everyone and sorry if I put this in wrong place
Jo

Emzy

Hi Craig,

Thanks for the congratulations and the advice, ill have a look at those other places too, they sound good

Thanks!
Emma

mrposhman

berrya1 wrote: »

Hi I could really do with some help and/or advice. I wish to go to Florida with my Girlfriend in September 2010. I want a 3 week holiday staying in 3 different parts of Florida (hence why its 2010, I need to save!) The areas we are thinking of are: Orlando, Clearwater and South Florida (TBD).

I really have no idea how to go about booking this or when.

I have looked into Virgin holidays but the prices come out quite high. Obviously I want such a holiday for as cheap as possible with a couple of cheap hotels and 1 nice one. Preferably all for less than £1,000 each. I do think its possible but I am struggling at present.

How do people suggest I play this? Should I wait until other airlines release flights and build the holiday myself (When is it best to do this? 12 months in advance, late deal now???)

Also any tips on how I may be able to get added value. I.e. I was looking into flying via Virgin (don't mind though) and opening a Virgin Credit card. Building up some miles on the credit card and upgrading to premium economy.

Any advice would be much appreciated!!


As a side not I also need some advice as to where to stay on the 3rd leg of my hols. I want to take in a sports game (possibly baseball or football) at Miami, explore the evergreens and visit the keys... where do you suggest staying?

Thanks for your help!!!

From my experience Virgin were pretty poor. In the last 3 years I have flown to Orlando, once with Virgin (and vowed never to go again), twice with delta and the last timw with Continental. My g/f has also flown with AA and imo out of those Continental were by far the best. You have to fly into other airports and not direct, I flew into Newark and out of Cleveland.

I would book the holiday yourself as you generally get ripped off my travel operators for things such as car hire which my friend (for 4 people) was quoted £800 for 2 weeks in Orlando when you can book the lowest car (they never have it at orlando anyway so will always get a free upgrade) for circa £200 / week but you may be able to get a cheaper one online.

If you are looking for the cheapest you can get they I would suggest booking everything seperately yourself, it will take more time to do but you may be pleasantly surprised and may be able to get better hotel rooms with the savings.

mrposhman

disney_cjd wrote: »

You cant be put off by rain. Florida is sub tropical really. The hurricanes can come from July to Sept, even last week the weather was so awful we had to bolt the garage door shut.

Last year Faye was in town and it rained for about 10 days non stop and we have to use all the other things we do in the rain up! There is lots to do when it rains so do not worry.

But the regular August weather you are talking about it as KarenG states, its an afternoon thunderstorm at anything from 3pm to 4:30 pm ish and lasts 30 misn or so. It clears the air lovely and the evening then is super.

so please do not worry too much about the rain, it does not ruin the holiday at all

Cheers

Totally agree. I've been there a few times recently and the rain showers that you generally get are nothing to worry about. They don't last long (and you get a great lightshow too) and due to the humidity tend to clear up pretty quickly.

I was there last week too and it wasn't the best but completely different to the weather I've seen the other 3 times I've been there.

The main plus out of last week was that we turned up late at seaworld on friday to ride manta (its first day) due to the rain and it was closed when we got there and I think a lot of people left.

Luckily for us it opened pretty much immediately after we had gone through the barriers and we got straight on, then again, then again and then again!! It was awesome, probably the best ride in Florida, you pick up a fair few g's round there, just remember to keep your neck back as you go through the first loop the loop or it will hurt a little but (found that out the hard way).

jackieblack

disney_cjd wrote: »

IDrive is not the only place you could try other than the Disney hotels. There are so nicer places to go and thus meaning you can spoend your three weeks there which is always better than 2 IDrive is OK, not my preferred choice to behonest by there are some OK hotels there like teh Wydham or the Floridays. But why not have a look at places like the Marriott Village in LBV or one of the hotels on hotel lplaza blvd which are walking disntance of DownTown Disney but not the Disney prices.

Congratulations Emma

We are also not big I-drive fans due to it not being the most central area for access to all the parks, but have stayed at the Marriott Village in LBV as mentioned by Craig and it was great.

judygarland

mrposhman wrote: »

The main plus out of last week was that we turned up late at seaworld on friday to ride manta (its first day) due to the rain and it was closed when we got there and I think a lot of people left.

Luckily for us it opened pretty much immediately after we had gone through the barriers and we got straight on, then again, then again and then again!! It was awesome, probably the best ride in Florida, you pick up a fair few g's round there, just remember to keep your neck back as you go through the first loop the loop or it will hurt a little but (found that out the hard way).

Do you know if the parks in Florida allow you to child swap? By that I mean a family with a small underheight child waits in the queue together, one adult and one child goes on the ride when they get to the front of the queue whilst the other parent looks after the younger child. When the other parent has had their go, the other parent can go on the ride?

mrposhman

judygarland wrote: »

Do you know if the parks in Florida allow you to child swap? By that I mean a family with a small underheight child waits in the queue together, one adult and one child goes on the ride when they get to the front of the queue whilst the other parent looks after the younger child. When the other parent has had their go, the other parent can go on the ride?

Some do, some don't. I'm pretty sure that kraken at seaworld does but I didn't see one at Manta though I would suspect they would most likely have a park policy on it.

I'm not really that sure as my little ones only 1 and this time we managed to pawn her off on the grandparents for a couple of hours so we could go to seaworld!!

mrposhman

mrposhman wrote: »

Some do, some don't. I'm pretty sure that kraken at seaworld does but I didn't see one at Manta though I would suspect they would most likely have a park policy on it.

I'm not really that sure as my little ones only 1 and this time we managed to pawn her off on the grandparents for a couple of hours so we could go to seaworld!!

I can't find anything on their site about child swap but I remember seeing it at some of the parks. Maybe I was wrong with seaworld.

I will keep looking

judygarland

mrposhman wrote: »

I can't find anything on their site about child swap but I remember seeing it at some of the parks. Maybe I was wrong with seaworld.

I will keep looking

I've been having a look myself. They call it by different names at different parks. Thanks for looking!