- This topic has 22 replies, 17 voices, and was last updated 9 years ago by voodoo_chile.
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Holidaying in Florida – experiences?
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loddrikFree Member
Thinking about a 2016 holiday and the girls will be 6 & 10 then so Disneyland will be high on the agenda.
Don’t really know much about holidaying over there. Where to stay? What sort of accommodation? What to see and do? Places to avoid?
Would love to hear experiences of people who’ve been.
CougarFull MemberIt’s ace. Next question?
What I would say is, plan for a day on, day off on parks / activities, don’t try to do everything unless you’re going for a month.
If you do nothing else, go to KSC. It’s further than you think but one of the most incredible places on Earth.
Don’t be tempted to go to Miami. It’s stupidly expensive and it’s not like you’re stuck for things to do in and around Orlando.
docstarFree MemberStayed in the Rosen plaza on IDrive and hired a car for the two weeks we were there. Easy to get about and you’re not tied to using public transport. A good number of bars/restaurants were within walking distance from the hotel so you can have a few pints with your dinner without worrying about driving. Grub was reasonable as there’s discount cards available, my 3 year old loved hooters! Disney have an app that proved invaluable for character times and locations as well as waiting times for attractions.
bruneepFull MemberWhere ever you stay it will only be 10mins from Disney.
Great holiday. There are other things to do other than spending the Disney dollar.
jota180Free MemberStart a training program well in advance 🙂
Seriously, it’s knackering
brFree MemberEasy to get about and you’re not tied to using public transport
We did it many years ago when I was working in Orlando. Stayed in two places over the week; Disney and near SeaWorld.
It’s very hot outside, and bloody freezing inside anywhere…
There’s public transport in Florida? 😯
We stayed in a nearby hotel (basically the other side of the SeaWorld parking lot) and as we went to leave in the morning the Doorman asked us if we need the shuttle or a taxi. No, we are only walking over there we said. The look on his face showed us that most folk didn’t 🙂
NobbyFull MemberAll of the above!
We booked for next year last night along with some other family members – first time for my nieces who nearly exploded with the news.
Been a few times now & find it good to have a plan – including at least one ‘rest day’ – to try & make sure you fit it all in. Universal has overtaken Disney for pure entertainment but I imagine two young girls will be Disney mad – that said, it’s worth getting them used to Seuss.
Last there 18 months ago & most of the parks were in very good shape with the odd one out being Wet n Wild which is really showing its age. That said, it’s never been a patch on the other water parks.
Hotels are much of a muchness and, to be frank, tend to just be somewhere to sleep/shower/beer. Some folk we met out there were not best pleased with accomodation at Pointe Orlando – not because it was bad but it backed on to the freeway which could get very noisy.
As has been said, there’s plenty to do other than the parks and International Drive has plenty going on – the iDrive bus is an easy way of getting up & down it.
Tend to go with Virgin – not the cheapest but the car hire’s a doddle (the insurance ‘standard’ in Florida only covers your car & not what damage you do with it as standard) and service out there is great, plus they do a ‘check in chill out’ service. You check your cases etc in at a local spot on the morning of your departure & get the rest of the day to do whatever you want then turn up an hour before your flight – particularly useful as many flights back to the UK are overnight so don’t leave ’til 7pm+
Get your park tickets separately from an authorised supplier – we have used Floridatix the last couple of times & get them for all parks for 14 days. That way you can come & go as you please
nickcFull MemberSplit locations?
Sell your soul and stay in Orlando for a couple of days, and give Disney some of your hard earned, Then leg it over to St Petersburg on the Gulf coast for a more relaxing location with better restaurants*
*Relative to Orlando
monkeyfiendFree MemberWe had 3 weeks in Florida a couple of years ago.
Flew into Miami, hired a car and drove west to stay on the Gulf coast.
Spent a week in Orlando doing parks and also drove down to the Everglades-family bike ride on coasters looking for ‘gators-we had to sign a waiver that if we got eaten we wouldn’t sue.
Booked through Virgin and all of the other little things eg. park tickets, accommodation in Orlando was pre booked separately before going.
Definitely worth hiring a car, driving while there is a pure pleasure.
Gulf coast rocks, great sea food, fantastic sea, we only hired a boat for one day and I wish we had done more days but just had too many other things to experience.In contrast my cousin took his family the same year and spent 2 weeks at Disney and another week sampling the other parks and he loved it enough to go again and do the same thing thing a year later.
California is next on the cards, but that’ll be just me and the wife in a car with a credit card 🙂
superfliFree MemberWe are going for our 1st time in April! Cant wait, its been planned for over 1 year now and our lad has no idea! We will tell him (6yo) in Heathrow 🙂
We booked ours through Virgin, flying to Miami and back from Miami, this saved us a fair bit of money. 10days at the same place as Docstar (Rozen plaza – hope its good docstar!), with a 7day Disney pass. Then driving to Fort Lauderdale via KSC and last few days on the beach at Fort L.
Got the flights, accom+car for £3800.51 days to go…
cheshirecatFree MemberBeen a few times, and stayed in a villa each time, on the basis that we’d eat out each night anyway, and the extra space and private pool would be good for our sanity.
Top tip for Disney is to get your FastPass+ set-up on your tickets before you go. You can schedule three major rides per day in advance, plus on-site restaurants (which get full at lunchtime inevitably, so this is vital for an air conditioned sit-down – food is generally very average in Disney though). The iOS or Android app (parks have free wifi) tracks waiting times, so is pretty useful to have. Disney penalises the disorganised.
Universal is better than Disney IMO, but doesn’t have the FastPass+ system (unless you pay through the nose). The Harry Potter area is rammed in the morning, but really quietens down by evening. Apps for waiting times also useful.
Attraction Tickets Direct are who we’ve used for tickets. Next day delivery.
jota180Free MemberPut like that ^^^
I wouldn’t bother going again, sounds like hell
We managed OK without any planning – albeit 15 years agoNobbyFull MemberThe Harry Potter area is rammed in the morning,
Last time Virgin had a freebie offer where you got into the park an hour before anyone else, had brekkie & a free run of Harry Potter World until they let in those staying at Universal which is an hour before the main gates open. Wasn’t advertised but rep came out with it at the obligatory welcome meeting.
I think that’s where we got the Kids Eat Free cards too.
CougarFull MemberHow to survive theme parks.
1) Don’t go at peak season. It’ll be rammed and you’ll spend most of your life hiding indoors from the heat.
2) Get there at rope-drop, before the great unwashed have got out of bed / IHOP.
3) Go anti-clockwise around the park. Seriously, everyone instinctively goes clockwise for no discernible reason so you end up surrounded by a little pocket of crowd, like “good drivers” around motorway police. Go the other way, there’s no bugger there.
Using these tips, we got straight in to Harry Potter, so fast that we missed three quarters of the in-queue entertainment. We went back and watched all the stuff and were constantly going “no, after you” in an English stylee to other visitors.
BillMCFull MemberMy kids got bored at Disney and Universal and an both occasions we left earlier than planned. Make sure you have a plan B of other things to do.
dragonFree MemberDisney is naff even our 8 year old wasn’t impressed. He much preferred Legoland and Busch Gardens. Universal seemed aimed at teenagers and above.
KSC is brilliant and the coast line along there while not amazing by Florida standards, makes a change from the grim big city grid locked misery Orlando can be.
While we did enjoy the holiday, once you considering the price, you could have a far more amazing holiday in France or Italy or where ever.
BillMCFull Member^^ this. I used to take my kids for a month’s camping in SW France (Messange). They’d meet loads of kids, go in the sea doing various things, have to ask for cakes etc in french, go to aqua parks, explore pre historic caves, do juggling, eat splendidly. They were completely free to roam and had better and more active holidays doing that than on trips to Oz, US, Cook Islands, NZ and so on.
It’s about doing rather than consuming.novaswiftFree Memberafter being twice my top tip would be to avoid the USA school holidays if you can. Our 1st trip was in October and we found the weather was lovely and more settled than our trip in the summer. Our friends have a villa in Kissimee and have been 10 times but have sworn never again in the summer
midlifecrashesFull MemberIgnore the naysayers, Disney is brilliant for the ages of your kids. There just isn’t anywhere, anywhere else on the planet like it. If you’re used to theme parks here, forget it. The way every inch of the place is themed and styled and all the staff act their parts is immersive. It’s nothing like throwing a few coasters into a country park. Universal is more for teenagers, bigger rides(watch out for minimum ride heights). The Disney water parks are awesome too, great for non park days. With kids that age, we stuck to Disney, getting multi-day tickets with water park option, but not park-hopping(more than one park on same day), as cheap on the gate as most of the offers from UK.
As a family of 5, hotels were awkward for us, and we’ve travelled with relatives/friends too so have gone for villa with private pool on developments at Kissimmee or Davenport areas. Whatever way you do it, there isn’t a cheap way of doing Disney from the UK.
oliverd1981Free MemberWith the kids at that age I’d say go the whole hog and stay at a Disney hotel for the week (they’re not all that much more expensive than the off site alternatives) The early/ late access to the parks, the ability to hop parks properly and pop back to your room at lunchtime is great.
You’ll probably want to drive out of Disney for something to eat most days though.
voodoo_chileFull MemberArmadillos carry leprosy ! Taco bell is soggy texmex ! And always hire a car
breatheeasyFree MemberGo early, come back in the afternoon for a chill/refresh/slep and then go back for the fireworks on the night.
Driving is easy. Though really do remember where you parked the car. The carparks are massive and 20,000 identical rental cars takes a long time to wander round finding yours – they have vans driving idiots round who forgot where they put their cars!
Day out at Kennedy is a must, and St Petes is nice for a chill if you’ve got a few days spare.
voodoo_chileFull MemberDay in park , day chilling out or you will burn out
Stick to speed limits you will get done
Summer gets hot so use your head especially with kids
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