Page 1 of Florida Holiday question

We have decided to take the kids to Florida next year. My wife went to pick up a Virgin Holiday brochure, I was quite amazed by the total price for a fortnight over there (between flight, park passes, attraction etc.). Do you think that it would be cheaper to put the holiday ourselves i.e. book a fly and drive, hotel over the Net, etc.

The idea is to pass about 1 week in Orlando and the rest travelling around the state of Florida. Any input would be appreciated, thanks

JC

If it`s your first time a week will not be enough in Orlando!


why take life so seriously..its not like you are going to make it out alive

This item was edited on Tuesday, 8th March 2005, 21:15

I went with my better half and my three sons who were 20, 18 and 16 at the time and we spent three weeks which flew. We did the usual parks, we all thought universal was the best but I suppose that depends on the ages of the children.The places we visited other than that were Busch Gardens and the Kennedy space centre both if which were awesome and I would readily recommend. We also spent a lot of time with me being dragged around the shopping malls, and my kids were just as bad as my mrs in wanting to go shopping.Have a nice day, missing you already.

Would this be a good time to mention I could really do with some glasses cleaner, found in all good $ shops in US & Canada? ;)



I quite like the Helpdesk people in a benevolent (as opposed to malevolent) way as they do some valuable work in preventing us being inundated by every halfwit who can work a phone.

Yeh - and I`ll have some goobers peanut butter & jelly!

Busch gardens and Kennedy are must see places, the beach at clearwater too ( get up early, busch gardens for 9.30 ( coffee & danish in the car for breakfast) leave Busch at 3ish and spend late afternoon/eve at the beach!)

Universal parks were great - more adult type rides - sea world fab too, don`t forget the amazing waterparks......

why take life so seriously..its not like you are going to make it out alive

This item was edited on Wednesday, 9th March 2005, 00:50

Sea World - a definite see.
The Kraken rollercoaster is tops there...just don`t ride it 4 times in a row one after the other...it can really make you feel ill! :D

I`ve been quite a few times now, and its still a great place to go.
Book flights and accommodation seperately if you can. I got flights on a charter plane with Thomson, for £240 last year. OK, so they flew into Orlando`s second airport (About 30 mins drive out of the city) - but it was actually a much nicer experience.

There are literally tons of villas/apartments for rent (just do a search on the net) and because of that the prices are pretty reasonable. Just be warned that when someone says "only 30 mins drive from Orlando" - they assume you have a car that will travel twice the allowed speed limit (55mph!). International Drive is the main place to stay (in Orlando) - but can be overpriced because of its location.
There are lots of little "villages" around that are only 5-10 mins drive from there and with petrol 1/4 of the price we pay over here its really not expensive to travel around.

HTH
Miles

Thanks guys for the advice, thanks Miles I think I will try to do it that way and spend the money saved over there.

JC

We go every year its fantastic .
the initial layout for your holiday seems high but we went to butlins one year and spent more money there than two weeks in florida so we said butlins never again.

Most of the hotels have the same room layout = 2 double beds in one room with a wash basin at the end and a seperate toilet and bath/shower room.but pay as much as you can afford because since 9/11 the weekends are very busy when the yanks hit town and the cheaper hotels get filled with the riff raff, so stay away from the main theme parks sat/sun.
If your kids are at school age try and take them out of school for two weeks instead of going in the school holiday period as this will drop the price and its less busy over there, late sept/early oct is great,its still hot and you don`t have to queue for an hour like you do in the holidays and with 100% attendance the school lets us take them.
If you eat at sizzlers or the ponderosa diner chains they have kids eat free from the unlimited buffey bars or have a steak or chicken meal from $6 to $15 each with free buffet so the whole family eats for about £25 a day.
Try to do as MilesR said, we fly britannia then upgrade the flight with them and fly into SANFORD instead or ORLANDO INT as its quicker to go through the strict airport process and collecting your car so you make up the time.
where we also save is not buying our trainers and clothes for a year and get it all there,take all the old stuff throw it away out there, buy new, remove all the labels and with 3 pairs of trainers for £50 from the outlet malls you cant go wrong.
if you have any question just ask its not a problem :)

This item was edited on Wednesday, 9th March 2005, 15:02

Always better to check out LastMinute.com for deals - or Opodo. Package holidays are too expensive.

There are lots of hotels in Orlando - drop into any tourist areas and pick up voucher books - gives you money off hotels, theme parks and food. Also there are lots of booths selling unfinished weekly Disneyland passes. Pick-up a weekly pass that has only been used for 3 days and pay 25% of the price. It makes no difference, unless you want to keep your pass as a souvenir.

Also - My cousin had a bad leg (he walks with a stick), so if you`re suffering from an ailment or one of your party has a disability - contact the park before you go and they will sort you out with a blue pass - no queing on any ride, no standing! best to get a doctor`s note ( please note that I meant this for people with serious conditions).

Hope you have a good time!

Novelty

For the love of God please do NOT book your hotel through LastMinute.com
Last year we were staying in Orlando for 2 nights (then moved on to the West Coast).
So I found a great deal at the Holiday Inn International Drive.
Booked in April, paid £80 for the room for 2 night`s stay.

Turned up in June, and the hotel had no record of our booking whatsoever. They then said that they had no account with LastMinute.com and had no idea who they were. The hotel staff were very helpful and tried their best to get it resolved. In the end I had to pay again, then try and sort it out later.

The hotel called me 2 weeks after staying there to confirm that they had set up an account and would refund my money.

A month later I found they had re-charged me...it turns out that LastMinute.com never paid up and so they charged me! LastMinute.com then kept saying it was my fault but they would look into it. After 2 weeks of messing around I finally got a refund from them and compensation (all of £15!!)..

So please please don`t book your hotel through them!