Orlando Florida/Disneyworld (Part 2) *CLOSED*

jackieblack

aitch-aitch wrote: »

Was thinking of buying disposable cameras for the kids for when we go to DC. OH thinks they will be a waste of time as quality won't be good but I disagree. Which make did you buy?

We've used both the Kodak and Fuji underwater disposable cameras at DC, the quality is fine, not professional standard (as with any disposable camera) but you can get some great pictures.

We bought the Kodak ones here in Boots when they were on BOGOF so got two for about £10 and took them with us.

jackieblack

aitch-aitch wrote: »

We have booked DC for the next to last day of our holidays and the price we paid includes admission to SW and BG for 14 days before or after our DC visit.

Have booked this through Virgin so I assume we will be getting vouchers rather than tickets (could be wrong). Question is do we have to go to DC to get the tickets for BG/SW?

Hope this makes sense

If you want to go to BG/Sw before you go to DC, you take your DC voucher to customer services at BG/SW and they will give you day tickets. When you go to DC they give you plastic cards on a lanyard, if you go to BG/SW after DC you will just need to show the plastic card at BG/SW entrance.

disney_cjd

aitch-aitch wrote: »

Was thinking of buying disposable cameras for the kids for when we go to DC. OH thinks they will be a waste of time as quality won't be good but I disagree. Which make did you buy?

I love the waterproof ones and always have one a trip for great shots in the pool etc then take them to Wal Mart to be developed for peanuts

disney_cjd

toddy2226 wrote: »

Craig, I have 3 tracphones (motorola) from when i was in Texas firefighting 2008.
Will they have run out of time,can i re-register or can i get top up at walmart and start using straight away. Or are they now useless.
1 of them still has battery life the other 2 dont and i have tried recharging them via an adapter but i think Englands 240v is too much.
TIA Toddy

Hi Toddy

They will still be OK to use BUT you will need to reactivate them.

When you get to the USA you can firslt make sure they charge OK, it could be they need a good ling charge to sort them out. Once charged you can buy a voucher for $20 and add 3 months service and 60 units. You will be allocated a new phone number but you can have a Florida number if you want.

You can also do this on line at https://www.tracfone.com but you will need the IMEI code for each phoen which is under the battery.

HTH
Craig

COF

Thinking of going to Florida for the October half-term, but I'm shocked by the flight prices. I can't seem to find a direct flight for anything less than £500 during that period, which I guess is somewhat understandable considering its half-term, but still, that's pretty chunky money.

Indirect flights are considerably cheaper, at about £300-350 return, and I'd be happy to go with that, but considering the trouble with the connecting flight a few years ago when we were going to San Francisco, the missus would flip if I told her I'd booked an indirect flight. It's non-stop or no holiday I'm afraid .

So, it seems booking a flight on its own for the October half-term is going to be impossible, I simply can't afford £500 x 4 for just flights only.

So, basically, I'm wondering do you think that there will be any resonably priced late availablity deals for October half-term coming up in the next few months, or is it not a place that really gets particularly discounted?

Do you think it will be possible to find either a flight on its own for £300-350 return from the UK direct, or flight+accomodation for around the £400 pp mark, or is this just wishful thinking?

Cheers for any further info/advice.

KCrow

Sorry - I'm sure this has been asked before but I'm new here.

I'm looking to go to Florida next spring (has to be school holidays), two adults & two kids (11 & 5). Would like to have a week at Disney and then a week somewhere in Florida (maybe the Keys? away from the crowds and a bit more 'real')

I've no idea where to start looking. Any suggestions? What's cheap and what to avoid?

Thanks!

SimonVeness

Probably a silly question, but what times do US schools go back. I'm looking to take kids to Florida last week of Aug/ 1st week of Sept and wondered whether to do Orlando at the start or end of the holiday? Or doesn't it make any real diference.

US schools are all starting to go back after the summer hols at a more standardised time, usually starting after Labor Day (first Monday in Sep), unless it is very late in the month (like this year). Some schools, notably private ones, WILL still go back in mid-late August, but it now seems most will go back at the end of Aug/beginning of Sep. However, if you do have to go to FL in the summer, the late part of August is definitely best as crowds DO drop off somewhat, especially on the coasts.

do you think that there will be any resonably priced late availablity deals for October half-term coming up in the next few months, or is it not a place that really gets particularly discounted?

It's REALLY hard to say this year as many operators have cut back on capacity while others are desperate to drum up business for the peak periods. My feeling is that there WILL be some late deals to be had but you will have to be quick to snap them up, so keep a sharp eye on the likes of lastm,inute.com and travelsupermarket.com.

I'm looking to go to Florida next spring (has to be school holidays), two adults & two kids (11 & 5). Would like to have a week at Disney and then a week somewhere in Florida (maybe the Keys? away from the crowds and a bit more 'real'). I've no idea where to start looking. Any suggestions? What's cheap and what to avoid?

The best way to start is by looking at the packages that are currently offered by the main tour operators. For Florida these are Virgin, First Choice, Travel City Direct, Thomson, Thomas Cook and British Airways Holidays. They all have online prices you can check for next Easter. A few more specialist Florida operators include Cosmos, Funway Holidays, Jetlife and Style. If you are confident to book things yourself, you can look to book a 2-centre holiday easily enough, as there are plenty of search engines that will allow you to do this (Expedia, Orbitz, Opodo and TravelSupermarket are 4 that spring to mind). Or you can just look to source flights direct from the airlines, then book hotels and car hire separately. For a 2-centre holiday with Orlando, the Keys are a LONG drive away (up to 8 hours by car), so you might be better off looking at the Gulf Coast resorts, which are just 2-3 hours' away. We like the St Pete-Clearwater area a lot, while Sarasota, Fort Myers, Bradenton and Sanibel are all fabulous places to spend time at (great beaches and nice array of more low-key attractions). The bottom line is that it's hard to go wrong with Florida, but you do need to do a bit of homework yourself, too, on the various websites or with a good guidebook.

atro1

http://www.orlandoinfo.com/magicard/download.cfm#

Will be of use to many, loads of discounts on restaurants, hotels and Malls. I would do it for the $5 off in the Hard Rock!!:beer:

sam19677

Hello all, has anyone booked a Villa in Orlando through the travel group "Just Florida". Thinking of going with them and wondered if anyone has had any dealings with them.
Thank you

vivatifosi

NickyDee wrote: »

I am travelling with someone who is XXXL clothes and looking for some nice and possibly designer gear that they probably couldn't get in the UK.

Can anyone please suggest some places we can try?

Male or female? The big department stores often have larger sizes than are available in the UK. If female, one of my friends swears by the specialist store Lane Bryant, which is the US equivalent of the likes of Evans, but I think its clothes are trendier. There's also a clothes shop at the Florida Mall (sorry don't know name) that sells larger sizes for teenage girls and young women. They are more edgy than the others. I haven't been to Florida since January though, hopefully these stores are still open! My Dad used to be an XXL and I used to get him clothes from Ralph Lauren and bring those back, they did larger sizes too, I think some of the other similar stores (Tommy Hilfiger etc) do too. You'll find these in both the regular stores and at the outlet malls.