first time US trip in need of help!

[Daiane]

Me and my husband (no kids)are going to visit US and IOA this early february, I booked my vacation with orbitz and now I am having second toughts... I booked the 2 park+citiwalk/ 5 days with meal deal and flight and hotel outside of park. I would like to know if the meal deal is worth having it, the hotel Im staying is Days legacy which it has shuttle service to the parks but not to and from the airport, i also got the i-trolly pass on I-drive but not sure if i will be able to use it, because of transportation problems. Should I get a rental car at the airport? or just use shuttle services, what to do if i want to go to international drive? and citiwalk? how do i go back to hotel after 6pm? I called the hotel and they told me shuttle services are till park closes... I am desperate. Maybe i should cancel this trip and book a hotel on international drive, im worried that we will not have enough to do and my husband its not a night club person.

 

[madalynns mom]

I haven't been in quite a few years but I do remember that you can't beat staying on site. It's definitely worth the extra money. Even if your husband isn't the nightclub type he'll enjoy City Walk. You can always shop, sit at Bob Marley's and listen to the steel drums( I'm not sure if it's still there but I thought it was so cool) go to the movies or just walk around and people watch!

 

[nodoubtrock]

I would go to universal for 2 days. there is not enough to do beyond that. I would not get the meal deal. food isn't that great- mostly just pizza, hamburgers, chicken sandwiches all day and its just open from 11am to half hour before park closes. So thats usually 5:30 if park closes a 6pm and drinks are not included.

 

[macraven]

i think the OP said they booked a 5 day vacation for orlando. if she did, then there would be time to browse on international drive.


what is the cancellation policy by booking thru orbitz?


you need to break down each item to see if you got a good deal.

you could walk to international drive in about 20 minutes once you left the park.
not sure if your hotel, days is on major blvd or not.

 

[ky07]

Me and my husband (no kids)are going to visit US and IOA this early february, I booked my vacation with orbitz and now I am having second toughts... I booked the 2 park+citiwalk/ 5 days with meal deal and flight and hotel outside of park. I would like to know if the meal deal is worth having it, the hotel Im staying is Days legacy which it has shuttle service to the parks but not to and from the airport, i also got the i-trolly pass on I-drive but not sure if i will be able to use it, because of transportation problems. Should I get a rental car at the airport? or just use shuttle services, what to do if i want to go to international drive? and citiwalk? how do i go back to hotel after 6pm? I called the hotel and they told me shuttle services are till park closes... I am desperate. Maybe i should cancel this trip and book a hotel on international drive, im worried that we will not have enough to do and my husband its not a night club person.

Me and my wife are going this year without the kids but I have always found things to do no matter where we stay even if just sitting poolside and if your hotel has a free shuttle service to the parks thats good and citywalk is at the parks cause you have to go thru ctywalk to get to the parks and you could always book a shuttle service round trip that will take you to your hotel and back to the airport at the end of your stay and the price varies depends where the hotel is.
But my experiance with the free shuttles to the parks I have found they only have 2 pick up times and 2 return times and the trolley passes you have may work for you if you study the routes and you will be able to go just about anywhere on I-drive you want.
Hope this helps

 

[Daiane]

Thanks for all the answers. My orbitz trip has insurance and i am able to cancel with no penalty.
The package i got is for (2) adults- flight + 4 nights 5 days at the
Days Hotel Maingate - A Legacy Grand Luxury Property
7601 Black Lake Road
Kissimmee, FL 34746
+ 2 Park Fun, Food & Drink Combo+ I- trolly pass and insurance all for 940.00$ I tought it was a great deal since i believed everything was included.
When i booked i understood the hotel was on international drive, later on i find out there are more then 1 days hotel,the hotel i booked is closer to disney. Thats were lots of my problem is coming up since i really didnt want to spendo more money on transportation...
Does anybody has info on this hotel??

 

[damo]

That hotel is 30 minutes from Universal in good traffic. That is a weird combo to have with Universal. There are a lot of good cheap hotels really, really close to Universal that would have been much better. You are going to be spending a very long time commuting. It isn't even close to International Drive and 16 miles from Universal.

I would just book it all separately and nix the far away hotel and meal deal.

 

[Daiane]

I will look into changing my hotel, i think it will be better!

thanks for the tips and keep posting i will be checking often.

 

[ky07]

Thanks for all the answers. My orbitz trip has insurance and i am able to cancel with no penalty.
The package i got is for (2) adults- flight + 4 nights 5 days at the
Days Hotel Maingate - A Legacy Grand Luxury Property
7601 Black Lake Road
Kissimmee, FL 34746
+ 2 Park Fun, Food & Drink Combo+ I- trolly pass and insurance all for 940.00$ I tought it was a great deal since i believed everything was included.
When i booked i understood the hotel was on international drive, later on i find out there are more then 1 days hotel,the hotel i booked is closer to disney. Thats were lots of my problem is coming up since i really didnt want to spendo more money on transportation...
Does anybody has info on this hotel??

Since you could cancel without a penalty I would look into canceling and maybe look into places like the doubletree at the entrance to universal or the hyatt place or anything on major blvd cause its only 10 to 15 min walk to universal and alot of them have free transportation.
Orbitz usually has the doubletree at the entrance to universal with a good package price and I have stayed there 2 years in a row and its not a fancy hotel but nice and clean and a few good places to eat around it.

 

[Metro West]

I will look into changing my hotel, i think it will be better!

thanks for the tips and keep posting i will be checking often.

Sounds like a great plan!

 

[Daiane]

Sounds like a great plan!

I was able to cancel my hotel reservation from orbitz and i now have clarion hotel which is less then a mile from universal, and i got the hotel for only $38 per night at hotwire.com
I really didnt want to spend a lot in this little vacation since we are taking a big vacation with the kids in the summer this is just a get away for me and my husband. I believe we will now be just fine.
Any new tips are always welcome.

 

[Scrapbook Stacy]

Hi All! This will be my families first time at US. We are going for one day in the first week of June. My DD is 12 and DS 7. Can you tell me what to see and do since we will only be there one day? Also, is US and IOA all one park or two parks? Also, any character meals at US?

Thank you, Stacy

 

[macraven]

I was able to cancel my hotel reservation from orbitz and i now have clarion hotel which is less then a mile from universal, and i got the hotel for only $38 per night at hotwire.com
I really didnt want to spend a lot in this little vacation since we are taking a big vacation with the kids in the summer this is just a get away for me and my husband. I believe we will now be just fine.
Any new tips are always welcome.

that's a sweet price.
now you have more money to buy lots of food with....

half of my vacations are for the food.........


since you will be there for 5 days, do the parks early, be there prior to opening.

stay until the crowds grow, which could be around 11ish or noon time.
i see you are going early feb and you should be good for not encountering a lot of crowds except on a weekend.

do everything you can until the lines start becoming over 20 minutes.
then pick and choose the rides you really want to do at least once.

if you can get to 2:00 in the afternoon with limited lines, that would be good.

spend the later afternoon at city walk.
take in a late lunch.

head back to your hotel anytime you are getting tired.

you can call it a day.
spend some time on international drive in the evenings.

the next day, repeat your time at the parks the same way.

you'll get all the rides and shows in over the 5 day time period you are there.

you'll have lots of fun!
can i go with youse........

 

[damo]

Hi All! This will be my families first time at US. We are going for one day in the first week of June. My DD is 12 and DS 7. Can you tell me what to see and do since we will only be there one day? Also, is US and IOA all one park or two parks? Also, any character meals at US?

Thank you, Stacy

Stacy, I think this post is going to get lost in the middle of this thread. If you are going to go for just one day and try to see two parks, you will probably just get to see the highlights of both and not everything. This isn't a bad thing, just go again on another vacation!!!


There is a Spiderman breakfast.

I suggest you go to www.universalorlando.com and take a look at what might interest your family.