advice needed....first ever trip in planning

[lizbro]

hiya ,i`ve jumped over from the dlp board to quiz you all,i`m trying to convince hubby to do a wdw trip and want some advice as to where to start ok we are a family of 5 2 adults 3 kids age 5 7 9 by the time we think about booking ,whats the best option,to book a package through uk travel agent or to book an offsite villa and flight and tickets seperately ,how long would we need? 7 ,10,14 days ? best time of year,i can take them out of school if thats the best option? help!!!!!!
not sure where to evn start looking !! thxs liz

 

[Cyrano]

Liz jumping ship
Your three are similar ages to my troops so I'll follow the helpful hints with interest

 

[Boo Boo Too]

To be honest - for the sake of EASE - the first time I would book a package with a good package company like Virgin. They will book you scheduled flights and their reps will be on hand to help out and book you extras (like trips and excursions etc) when you get there.

Personally we always book independently now days (I find reps a hassle and you can generally get things cheaper elsewhere), but we are very familiar with Orlando, Florida and the US... the first time we went there, we did go on a package.

Go for 21 days if you can afford it. If not, would honestly try to go for at least 14 - 7 or 10 really isn't enough.

On a first trip to Orlando I would stay on-site - either 14 days Disney or maybe 10 days Disney and 4 days Universal.

If you think that you will be happy to drive, get a hire car - it will give you so much more freedom. Although staying on-site this isn't strictly necessary and you would probably be perfectly happy with Virgin transfers (to and from the airport) and using the on-site Disney transportation and buses...

Would avoid school holidays if you could: maybe May/June/early July or Seotember/October. Still warm enought o swim etc. but not so RIDICULOUSLY hot and humid. Also less crowds outside of school holidays...

Hope that is a start...

Boo

 

[Graeme]

Buy a Brit's Guide. Tells you everything!

 

[carolfoy]

If this were my first trip i'd....
Go 14 days
book for end of next september
stay on site and get free dining.

then I'd leave future trips to discover other parks, travel out to the beaches, do more shopping and stay in a villa

 

[angel659]

Hi

Welcome to the trip planning board. There are many experts on this site

Definately buy the Simon V Brits guide. Its literally my bible

I would stay a minimum 14 nights but if you can afford 21 that would be superb.

We tend to book seperately. Virgin flydrive and our hotel via Dreams unlimited or Disney UK. It has saved us around £300. Staying onsite is a great advantage you can save on car hire. We tend to use Magical Express that is Disneys free transportation service that picks you up from Orlando Int Airport to your hotel and vice versa. We then hire a car for 4 days to visit Universal, Islands of Adventure, SeaWorld and shopping. You can pick up the car from Car Care Centre. They will pick you up from your hotel and take you to the Car centre where you can pick your car up.

If you read enough literature and ask many q's then I am sure you can book without booking a package holiday. I would start with a package holiday with Virgin and find prices for a fly drive. Work out which one would be cheaper. The other reason we book flydrive it gives us much more flexibility.

October is a great time to go. We loved the Mickey Halloween Celebrations. If you have not been before this would be a good time to go. Not only are you experiencing Disney, but you can experience halloween and the Mickeys Not So Scary Halloween Party is great. The other time of year we liked was May. Stay clear of summer holidays if you can. The crowds are big, weather is too hot and being there the first time can be off putting if you are experencing bad crowds especially in the heat.

Hope this helps.

 

[jools]

The options are vast it all depends on your budget and how much of Florida you want to see whilst your are there.

Do you want to just see WDW or do you want to do all the theme parks, e.g. Sea World, Universal, etc? Do you want to visit the coast, for a day, for a few days? Which Coast?

For your first time to Florida 14 days or more is a must.

With an unlimited budget I would choose to book an all inclusive package deal, staying on Disney. However, I could be wrong but unless you stay in DVC accommodation most rooms on Disney sleep 4 people.

Doing a DIY holiday is not difficult and if the budget is limited then booking everything yourself is the best option. You will find lots of recommendations for best fight prices, car hire, theme park tickets and accomodation on this forum to help you.

In- direct flights often work out cheaper, also so does flying on midweek days and days just either side of a school holiday.

Fly drives can appear to be a good option but check out the insurance costs for the car hire as this can bump the price up. We always find booking our own car hire to be the cheapest option.

Mixing an onsite and off site option will give you a taste of both worlds (no pun intended).

Staying off site in a villa is one of the cheapest accommodation options, but you will need a car.

I would get a quote for a package deal and then price up DIY, the options are vast.

I always find September to be a good time to go, you can get some good deals on flights and accommodation, the parks are always very quiet, the weather is still hot, although you will see some rain in the afternoons.

 

[angel659]

Hi

We have booked the Port Orleans Riverside. They have rooms for upto 5. To be honest Virgin does not have that many rooms that sleep 5. We have had to book via Dreams Unlimited. All Star Music offer a family room for 5, but are limited and we found those to be more expensive than Port Orleans. If you are interested in villas here are some sites.


www.holiday-rentals.com
www.villas2000.com

Indian creek has been recommended a few times.

 

[Disney owl]

WE are a family of 5 who can recommend staying in a villa.

On our last visit we booked flights with Travel City Direct & booked the villa ourselves with a local company. That way you know exactly which villa you will be getting & it's location. We booked our car through the villa company but if we hadn't done that we'd have booked it via the internet.

 

[Lizzybear]

Would avoid school holidays if you could: maybe May/June/early July or Seotember/October. Still warm enought o swim etc. but not so RIDICULOUSLY hot and humid. Also less crowds outside of school holidays...

I have to say.. We found June and July extremely hot and humid and very crowded (right in the thick of the American summer hols) It was manageable with a plan but i'm looking forward to going at a somewhat quieter time of year next time =]
I think everyone has posted some really helpful stuff and i'm not sure what else I could add, but will say that Disney has a great offer on free dining right now for mid August to end of September next year which may be worth considering.

 

[lizbro]

wow!!thanks for all of that ,i recognise a few names here from the dlp board too!!i think that i`ll a)get the brits guide as my dlp is a great read
b)price up both diy and package and work from there
c)be def looking at a sep trip by then mine will be 5 1/2 ,8 and 11 and over 12`s are more expensive i think a
anyway thank you all ,this is just the start and i`m sure i`ll be back with more questions!
liz

 

[Boo Boo Too]

I have to say.. We found June and July extremely hot and humid and very crowded (right in the thick of the American summer hols) It was manageable with a plan but i'm looking forward to going at a somewhat quieter time of year next time

.

Ooopps!

I guess that weather can vary... but might be an idea to folow Lizzy's advice and go earlier (May or maybe even April - if Easter is early and you can avoid the school Easter holidays...) or later (September/October). Earlier (April/May) is probably better for avoiding tropical storms etc...

Boo