Disney World

eddiemcgarrigle said:
Sorry String but I have to disagree, lots of bonus to staying in a Disney resort and it doesn't stop you from hiring a car and experiencing what else Orlando has to offer (or Cocoa or Daytona or Clearwater). I go every other year and sometimes when funds permit, every year. Having previously stayed in the I-Drive area, I found it to be very noisy after Pointe Orlando got rid of the shops and the bars moved in. Drunks ******* in lifts, in stairwells and banging doors as the passed by at 4am. Disney, by comparison, is exceptionally quiet at the resorts and if you want some noise you can head to Disney Springs (via Boat from Port Orleans). Don't forget that all character pictures are now included if you stay at Disney, that's a lot of cash saved right there.
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We go routinely and I echo the point about the I Drive area.....we never get a hotel there now.

We choose a villa for the following reasons :

-Private pool/spa
-Self catering (my missus is a vegetarian and US restaurant food is primarily not)
-Larger premises

We stayed on site about 6 years ago, and although it was lovely we wouldn't do it again now.

In respect of the character photos (memory maker), most of the ticket sites chuck that in for free with the 14 day pass etc.
 
Been to Florida twice - we stayed in a Villa in Kissimmee both times which was great for us but we were an older group and were doing other parks etc as well. I think if you are only going to the Disney parks and have a younger child the hotel would be a good option
 
TheOracle said:
Do you mind me asking how much the entire holiday would cost all in? Flights, rooms, food, spending money

We're a family of four, and when my kids hit 8-12 bracket I'd like to take them
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I cant really relate my holidays over there because we go every 2 years for 4 to 5 weeks at a time.

In respect of spending money a lot of sites will quote around $150 a day. I think that it excessive, because self catering we bought everything we needed from the local supermarkets and basically never ate out (packed lunch at the theme parks because its cheaper and theme park food is horrible). We did it for around $50 a day. Car parking was free at Disney for us because I get an annual pass when I go.

Theme park tickets are pricey.....very pricey. It cost me about 4k for 5 weeks. Use some of the UK Orlando package ticket sites and you will get an idea of how expensive it is.......
 
Florida without a car is restrictive. Its easy to drive, if you're a nervous driver abroad. Wide roads, easy junctions.
 
TheOracle said:
Do you mind me asking how much the entire holiday would cost all in? Flights, rooms, food, spending money

We're a family of four, and when my kids hit 8-12 bracket I'd like to take them
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4 of us heading this time around...

Flights and accommodation: £3200 ( Vista Cay, 2 weeks).
Car hire: £450 Inc insurance
Park tickets: £1,200 (14 days Universal & Islands Adventure and 2 days at Disney)
Spends £4,000 approx.

So probably safe to say £9-10k

You could do it cheaper, but Vista Cay is excellent and well situated on Universal Boulevard. @eddiemcgarrigle I haven't seen a drunk there in all the time I've been going. :confused:
 
Younger kids may find some rides rather scary. Although I took my 5 year old to Disneyland Paris we're holding off again before taking her back, maybe until she's 8/9 as frankly she barely remembers it and was too scared to enjoy some of the rides due to how fast they move etc. Not saying she didn't enjoy it, I just felt we maybe took her a little early.

Weirdly she was fine on the roller coaster they had but was scared out of her mind on the daft star wars ride which only simulates being in a space ship.
 
Leave the Children at home. Great opportunities for adult fun ;)

Going next week for the start of the Food & Wine Festival in Epcot.
 
I have been twice and stayed at animal kingdom lodge both times (prior to little monster). The advantage of staying on site is ace and as others have said, being able to get the busses between parks/hotels, just to go home for a break, the extra magic hours - it makes the trip easier. The last time we went we payed extra and booked a night at universal mid holiday to enjoy 2 days there and for early entry to the Harry Potter area. Not needing to drive is wonderful. Loads of taxis are available and not too expensive.

You just need to think about what you are doing and plan everything in advance. How many days in Disney parks? Where else do you want to go? If you are planning most of your time in Disney stay there. If not, stay somewhere else.

It is easy to do 2 days at each park, and the size of them with a young child means you would probably need that- but it depends how many rides you/they are planning on doing.

My son is now 3 but tall for his age. We are planning Staying on site at Disney when he is 7 - at that age he should be able to go on 90%+ of rides but still enjoy the magic. I have Disney Paris booked for February as there are lots of rides for his age and will be a nice introduction to Disney. We did Drayton Manor/Thomas land last week to see how he would do with rides, and he loved it. No rides he didn't want to do and he loved them all.
 
Me and my wife fly out tuesday for two weeks we go each year with kids this this will be second trip this year no kids this time ( thanks mum). Like all holiday i can not emphasise the importance of research if you plan to dine in disney the book the reservations at 180 days as the character meals become fully booked quickly there is no quiet time to go disney any more late August early September not that quiet can easily spend two hours queuing for the most popular rides still that is why staying onsite with and making fast pass selections 60 day in advance is useful .

Never driven in the united states and as i only go there for a holiday have no interest in doing so for many getting a villa and hire car is cheaper option but thankfully i can stay on property just use uber if i need to go shopping have stayed in animal kingdom lodge , yacht club, beach club, contemporary resort , Old key west and saratoga springs me and my wife did try art of animation as she is the little mermaid crazy but i hated it never back to value resort again
 
Anyone that says they do disney/universal, with flights, villa and accommodation/car hire/spending money for under about £8k is talking rubbish. For a family of 4

I've priced it up so many times over the last few years but just can't pull the trigger at the overall costs.
 
I haven't seen a drunk there in all the time I've been going. :confused:
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You obviously haven't had to suffer the drunks staggering out of Hooters at Pointe Orlando. Car horns sounding as they stagger across the road, drunken mutterings and relieving themselves in lifts and stairwells, just lovely. Disney by comparison, is so quiet.
 
booyaka said:
Anyone that says they do disney/universal, with flights, villa and accommodation/car hire/spending money for under about £8k is talking rubbish. For a family of 4

I've priced it up so many times over the last few years but just can't pull the trigger at the overall costs.
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Flights = 2.5k approx from the UK?
Rental Car = 600 quid approx
Accomodation = dependant on where you stay. A nice villa will cost you about 1500 to 2k for 2 weeks. I would not have a clue about staying on the Disney resort, I havent done that for 6 years.
Tickets = If you get the Disney and Universal Switch for 14 days thats about 2200 right there. Bolt on Seasworld, Busch Gardens and Legoland.....another 500, and if you do Discovery Cove....ouch!
Spending Money = If you eat out about $200 a day I reckon.

Yeah 8k not doable in my opinion.

bartledvd said:
Like all holiday i can not emphasise the importance of research if you plan to dine in disney the book the reservations at 180 days as the character meals become fully booked quickly
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Echo this...

We booked Chef Mickeys about 4 months out, and the Magic Kingdom Bippidity Boutique 6 months out. It was full throughout.
 
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booyaka said:
Anyone that says they do disney/universal, with flights, villa and accommodation/car hire/spending money for under about £8k is talking rubbish. For a family of 4

I've priced it up so many times over the last few years but just can't pull the trigger at the overall costs.
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Has anyone said that?
 
String said:
4 of us heading this time around...

Flights and accommodation: £3200 ( Vista Cay, 2 weeks).
Car hire: £450 Inc insurance
Park tickets: £1,200 (14 days Universal & Islands Adventure and 2 days at Disney)
Spends £4,000 approx.

So probably safe to say £9-10k

You could do it cheaper, but Vista Cay is excellent and well situated on Universal Boulevard. @eddiemcgarrigle I haven't seen a drunk there in all the time I've been going. :confused:
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When are you going?

I will be at Vista Cay from 31st August to September 14th
 
SDK^ said:
We did Florida and all of the parks in May this year for our 5.5 year old. The first time for him, and third time for us so we knew our way around.
He was just tall enough (1.2m) to go on some of the bigger rides : Kong, Spider man and Jurassic @ Islands, Scorpion (loop coaster) @ Busch, all of the rides @ Magic Kingdom & Lego Land, and most of them at Seawold - He pretty much loved it :) He also liked the Villa and spending days in the pool - he actually passed on Hollywood Studio's and Kennedy Space Centre to spend the day in the pool.

We were also with my partners sisters family who had a 4.5 year son and 11 year old daughter. The 4.5 year old was really too young - He could only go on the smaller kids rides, couldn't walk much so they bought a cheap push chair and he didn't really enjoy the parks. The park entry ticket cost is generally around £150-£200 per person, per park (single day tickets) so the value for him was questionable.

It was very busy - lots of queuing & walking. The new 'Pandora – The World of Avatar' rides at Animal Kingdom had queues of 4+ hours :eek: Magic Kingdom offers a Fastpass for 3x rides booked in advance, this is essential so use it.

Travel - we had 2 cars, a small one and a large SUV for everyone to fit in. I would say a car is essential, especially if you are planning on doing other stuff. Busch Gardens is approx 1.5 hours drive from Orlando as are the beaches (Cocoa Beach / Daytona or Clearwater)

Weather : it was hot with actual temps of 32-34c and feels like temps @ 42c+. May is also the time when the late afternoon thunderstorms start. They are unpredictable; you could be lucky and get nothing where you are, or it could absolutely thrash it down for 30-60 mins when the parks close down until it finishes.

The total cost for us (2x Adults and 1 child) for 2 weeks was £8.5k.

A screenshot of the Orlando weather forecast I took at the end of May.

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To me, that sounds like a properly **** holiday. Hours queuing, extortionate park entry prices... jeepers
 
Cleisthenes said:
To me, that sounds like a properly **** holiday. Hours queuing, extortionate park entry prices... jeepers
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I was there this year at the same time, and I believe SDK was only referring to the new Pandora rides which opened at the end of May. They had 3 to 4 hour queues.

Everywhere else was about 30 mins maximum, and if you are savvy with the fastpass system you basically dont queue. We had the latter experience.

The Disney child swap system is also open to serious abuse, and we exploit the loopholes everytime we go.
 
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