Orlando Florida/Disneyworld (Part 2) *CLOSED*

Hi Griggsy,

Can't answer all your questions, but here goes...

Weather in November in Florida is lovely. It's my favourite time to go - but I avoid Thanksgiving as the crowds get bigger then. Most of our holidays there then have been dry, but you can get occasional showers (and the tail end of hurricane season, but not often) so take an umbrella and a rain jacket. It can also be cool in the evening, so take a fleece. I also take gloves in my case, alongside my swimmies! In Orlando, the daytime average is about 25-28 centigrade at the beginning of the month.

2. Most of the Disney hotels offer disabled rooms. Please note if you do stay in Disney, all of their hotel rooms are now non-smoking (including balconies and patios), which may or may not be an issue for you.

3. Don't know the answer to that one, sorry.

4. I think £300 per person is a fair price. Depends on who you are flying with I suppose, but seems reasonable. I'm not 100% up on prices as I'm lucky as I get to fly at staff rates through my OH.

5. Other attractions: my Dad would love Kennedy Space Centre. We grew up watching space exploration together and that would be a fantastic (and very wheelchair accessible) day out. In fact, most Florida attractions are way more accessible than those here. I would suggest Sea World too. Epcot in November is fantastic. They have a food and wine festival (if you go before Thanksgiving), and if your parents like the music of the sixties, they have free concerts in the evenings. And how about a trip to the beach? You can get to either coast relatively quickly. Its just over an hour to the East Coast at Cocoa (by the space center) and about an hour and a half to two hours to the white beaches on the Gulf Coast. I also like getting away from the tourist areas and having a look round the upscale Winter Park district of Orlando, with its boutiques and nice restaurants.

Disney do excellent guide books for their parks for people with disabilities, which give tips on getting around, accessing rides etc. Many other parks do the same. Here's a link to the Fodors guide page on visiting Orlando with a disability which has some useful links off of it, including how to get the Disney guides:

http://www.fodors.travel/miniguides/mgresults.cfm?destination=orlando_disney@112&cur_section=fea&feature=30016

We've been to Florida several times and always take the bulk of our money as USD travellers cheques.

We're going again in a few weeks, and this time I can't decide whether to take USD TCs, or a credit card and a small amount of dollars cash.

What does everyone else do, and how would I get the best exchange rate - by changing money here, or leaving it until we get there

jordylass wrote: »

Universal Studios express pass is a bit of a rip off as you get to front of line just once. I'm not sure if this has been mentioned on here before, but last year when I went I worked out that it was as cheap to stay at one of the hotels onsite for 1 night (4 of us in a room).
You can arrive as early as you like for check in (leave your bags there) and get a front of line pass that gives you unlimited front of line for that day and the next.

I'd wondered about this myself. We're going to be there in late July/early August next year, so we know its going to be very busy. Does anyone know if this will mean that the express pass will be more expensive? On the Universal Site it seems to suggest that it could be up to $45+ tax. With a family of 5 this'll be $450 for 2 days - so staying over in a hotel would be great value (even if it means leaving our rented villa!). Jordylass, can you please confirm that staying for 1 night gets you 2 days express passes, 2 nights = 3 days? Is it definitely still unlimited rather than the std 1 fastpass per ride?

GRIGGSY wrote: »

I am thinking of going to Florida in November with my parents as a winter get away to shop and relax etc. and have a few questions.

1. what is the weather generally like in November as we want somewhere which is warm and will cater for wheelchair users.

2. Can anyone recommend any place to stay in which is wheelchair friendly - cant do stairs or baths must be a walk in shower.

3. what is car rental prices like for people carriers etc as need a high up vehicle which can be easily accessed, and these only seem to be people carriers or mini MPV such as a fusion

4. Is £300 per adult a good price for flights in November?

5. Apart from Disney what are the other attractions in Florida - especially for older people (70)

Any advice would be appreciated.

thanks

HiYa!!

I am disabled in a wheelchair also:D

(1)Weather in November is lovely...not too hot and not too cold. We generally go around Xmas for 3 weeks but have been most times of year. As long as you miss the holidays over there, its not too busy.

(2)We always stay in a villa. Many places have disabled adapted villas with walk in showers and just on one floor.

(3)We always hire a 7 seater mini van which cost about £150 pw and the wheelchair I hire over there fits in there fine. I hire from Randys Mobility Scooter hire £140 for 3 weeks hire and any problems he can get to you within an hour!

(4)£300 is very good, but this depends on whom your travelling with etc. We prefer to go with Atlantic and fly Premium which cost around £575 return, but there are many benefits.

(5)There are many other attractions and all have disabled access. They are very disabled friendly over there and are very polite and helpful. We love all the parks..disney, seaworld, universals, dinner shows...etc etc.

HTH

PP
xx

Mickiengland wrote: »

I'd wondered about this myself. We're going to be there in late July/early August next year, so we know its going to be very busy. Does anyone know if this will mean that the express pass will be more expensive? On the Universal Site it seems to suggest that it could be up to $45+ tax. With a family of 5 this'll be $450 for 2 days - so staying over in a hotel would be great value (even if it means leaving our rented villa!). Jordylass, can you please confirm that staying for 1 night gets you 2 days express passes, 2 nights = 3 days? Is it definitely still unlimited rather than the std 1 fastpass per ride?

Hi,

The cheapest onsite (Universal) hotel is the Royal Pacific Resort. Prices there for one night mid August last year (2006) were about $229 per room. I got an AAA rate (If you belong to the AA in the UK this also counts as belonging to the AAA in the US and you can benefit from discounts) which made it even a bit cheaper (though I stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel which we found fabulous).

The Front of the Line Access is definitely for both days if you stay one night.

I think in the terms and conditions of the FOTL pass at the hotels it states that it's "good for each attraction once per day before 3pm". However this is never enforced, though I guess it might be if it was very busy, it's highly unlikely.

Some people just pack an overnight bag for their stay, others never even use the hotel room except to check in and get the room keys and return to their villa at night.