The family decided to spend all the money on a one in a lifetime trip to florida to see all the theme parks. I’ve had my say about the cost and I lost. We’re off to EPCOT today. the wife has sorted all the fast pass system out for this and the other Disney parks.
I’ve refused to spend £150 per person per day at Universal Studios. Me and the 3 year old are researching something else to do tomorrow. The 12 and 17 year old girls are going wroth the wife.
We’re here for a week.
Any general survival tips on getting the most out of this trip?

Go to Universal.

Don’t go to EPCOT.

Don’t try to do all the parks, you’ll come home needing a holiday (especially in a week!).

Multi-park passes are cheaper than individuals.

Get off the Internet. (-:

You’ve already spend a huge wedge of cash. There’s no point crying over the fact they refused to go to a static caravan in Whitby. Put a smile on your gob and hand over the credit card. 🙂

Get off the Internet. (-:

Indeed. You’ll just have to take one for the team on this occasion. Just think of it as good leverage for your biking trip to the Alps next year.

Got a car? Go to the space centre it’s awesome, Bush gardens is mint, don’t goto Wet ‘n Wild (It’s awful). Oh and stop being miserable 😆 It’s ace over there, I’ve been twice and loved it. I have to wait ’til 2019 to go with my family 🙁

Yeah, KSC is awesome. Further than you think, but well worth a visit if you’re remotely interested in such things. I could spend a week in Florida just there.

£150 pp/day? What for?

We got a 2 week multipark pass for Universal(s), wrt and wild, Sea World and another 1 or maybe 2 parks. IIRC it was around £300 per person.

Go to downtown Kissime (sp?). The hae a motorbike night and car night which are pretty cool. Go to the parks after lunchtime. Lots of people will already be leaving but as they stay open late, there’s no need to rush out the door after breakfast.

Take a packed lunch in a bag. Save you a fortune and everyone can eat when they’re hungry.

As Monkey said, the Space Center [sic] is great.

Eat at The Cheese Cake Factory to marvel at the portion sizes. Eat at Golden Coral buffet. Cheap but again spectacular.

Sea World was incredible. The Kraken and the Flying Manta are great rides.

My boys are 5 and 2 and so too young to make it worht while. My wife and I went about 7 years ago and am already looking forward to going back.

Got a hire car? If not get one for the day. Go to WalMart, get picnic supplies and swim masks/rings/float tubes. Head north on 417 (take change for the tolls) and go to Blue Spring state park near Sanford. A river pops out of an aquifer at 72 degrees and you float downriver on your tube marvelling at the fish and turtles around you. Lockers/parking/food/toilets all on site. Enjoy. See also Silver Springs at Ocala.

The Dali Museum at St Petersburg is great if you like that sort of thing, bit of a drive but combinre it with a trip to St Petes Beach and it’s a grand day out, and swimming in the Gulf is like getting into a lovely warm bath.

For a bit of retail bemusement, head up I drive to the Artegon mall and visit Bass Pro Shops, about five acres of huntin,shootin and fishun supplies, including boats, camping, and general outdoors fun. It’s like a redneck Disneyland in there. Also in the centre is a big comic book store and a big Go Ape type climbing rig like the on in Castleford.

Brilliant folks. Best advice so far. We’ve got a hire car. Keep it coming. I’ll absorb all that after getting back from EPCOT which I’m locked into today.
BTW I’m happy with the whole thing now that the money is spent. I’ll report back later.

KSC, Busch Gardens and Legoland are great, the rest is fairly rubbish IMO. NB: in your case don’t do Legoland as it’s better for younger kids.

I really wanted to do the Dali museum and the coast over there, but ran out of time. I could well be tempted back to Florida for the west coast, but Orlando never.

KSC was brilliant. Far better than I thought it would be. The sight of the Saturn rocket is something else

Kenedy Space centre is a must. The size of the Saturn 5 has to be seen to be believed. Go and eat at Maggianos on I Drive as well.

Oh, alligator spotting from an airboat.

We went with this comapny and they were great. How could I forget?

Wild Willy Airboating

As others have said, you’re there now and any money you’ll save will be wiped out when back home and your wife comments on it, forever.

We went many years ago (luckily, or unluckily I was working out there); plus the family came over and we did all the sights. An experience in more ways than one, and see a rocket launch was definitely one I’ll never see again 🙂

Go and see Miami Beach, it will be abandoned in 30years due to rising sea level. Drive out to Turkey point nuclear reactor, as you do so discuss it’s fate as sea rises gradually over the younger members of your families lifetime.

discuss it’s fate as sea rises gradually over the younger members of your families

Good plan. That will save on park entry costs later in the holiday. 🙂

Discovery Cove is fantastic, it is how all theme parks should be…

My kids found Universal Studios in LA a bit boring so we left early (as they did with Eurodisney). I found that coach trips and entrance fees in the states were in no way commensurate with what you got for your money. It’s a bit surprising that people on here who’ve discovered the delights of bikes and open countryside go in for such hyper-commodified entertainment. As my kids said, ‘it’s only like a big fairground’. There’s a bigger thrill to be had wobbling across the Williamsburg bridge or being carried on dad’s back over a flooded river than being surrounded by hordes and queues for paid-for ‘entertainments’.

We’ve just got back.

I loved Disney, but didn’t think much of Universal. Epcot was my favourite; wide open spaces disguised the amount of folk in there, and the Fastpass system is a genius move that Universal need to catch up on. Kong was disappointing, being the big ride.

Went to Clearwater (dunno why it’s called that; the water is murky and feels sticky, it’s horrible. Warm, though) but the beach is lovely. Went dolphin sppotting on the Sea Screamer which was a real laugh.

The KSC side is much nicer. Cocoa Beach is quieter, and the Atlantic is crisp and clear and the waves were spectacular.

Thanks for all your advice.
Midlifecrashes. … good call with the Bass Pro Shop. It was terrifying. Crossbows, knives and guns freely for sale with signs beside them saying “No Trespassers. We shoot first, then if you’re still moving we shot again”.

Disney was utter garbage. I didn’t get it. As said above there are so many thrills on our bikes that are easy better. I don’t think the kids had enough fun to justify the costs. It was like 70s and 80s TV…the Creepy Disney fans were a worry.
Everything is so expensive now, especially with the exchange rate. 2 to 3 times the cost of the UK.
The Trump supporters were f is disturbing too. Angry people with weapons! I steered well clear of giving my opinion unless asked.
I hope next year I get my turn to do a family adventure that involves exploring wildernesses and meeting the locals.
50 weeks of fun at home to look forward to now.