Any help gratefully received...

[vix09]

It's starting to dawn on me, two months away from our trip that maybe I have underestimated the costs of our holiday. My boyfriend and I fly to Orlando on the 12th September. Our plan is to spend one week in Orlando, followed by a week on Anna Maria Island on the West coast.

We're staying at the Hilton Vacation Club on Int'l Drive, which I'm told is close to Downtown Disney? Does this cost extra/worth visiting?

There are a few things we need to look into and if you have any advice, hints or tips to make things easier I'd really appreciate it.

The things we really want to do are -

Discovery Cove with Dolphin Swim
Disney Parks, water parks etc
Universal
Busch Gardens (second week)
SeaWorld
Hire a car to drive to West coast
Restaurants
Travel to and from hotel to the parks

The price of tickets are a lot more than I remember, is there any way to get discounts?

Have I missed anything off the list that you would recommend we do while in Orlando/Florida? It's been 15 years since my last trip...

Thanks in advance

 

[minimandymouse]

i don't have any advice but have a great holiday and have lots of fun
Mandy
xxx

 

[wilma-bride]

Firstly, in my opinion, you have an awful lot on your list there given you're only spending one week in Orlando. I think the first thing you need to do is decide what parks you definitely want to visit and then figure out, from there, what tickets you will need.

If you plan to do Discovery Cove, your ticket will include entry to either Busch Gardens or Sea World and you can upgrade to include a second park - probably your best bet.

Universal/Islands of Adventure are currently running a promo where you can get a 7-day unlimited entry pass for $99.99 plus tax. Again, if you want to visit both parks, this would be an excellent option for you.

I think you need to accept, though, that you won't be able to do it all and work out what your priorities are. If you want to visit all four Disney parks, I would suggest that you need at least 4 full days to do just that, before you've added on any water parks. Add two days for Discovery Cove and Sea World into the equation and you're already looking at 6 full days before you've even thought about water parks, Universal and Islands of Adventure.

As far as discounts on tickets, there aren't really any major savings to be had but it does pay to shop around.

Feel free to ask any more questions you may have.

 

[natalielongstaff]

on our 1st trip we only did the 4 disney parks, each park takes a day in my opinion( not just the disney parks either !)

i think you may need to narrow down your priorities a tad

 

[vix09]

Thanks for your thoughts so far, I guess we are being a little ambitious.

Thinking outloud... We were at Universal Hollywood two years ago, so would we be missing a lot if we skipped the Orlando Universal experience? Has anyone visited both Universal parks and knows what the difference is?

 

[Chilly]

I have been to both. I'd skip Universal to save you money and time.

Downtown Disney is free its full of shops and restaurants. DisneyQuest at Downtown Disney is not free though.

 

[Claire L]

Universal Hollywood is great and if you went there only two years ago Universal in Orlando would ahve similar rides. The only difference is IOA if you like coasters and water rides then they have some good ones As said before there are alot of parks which are quite time consuming in Orlando and two weeks would be just about enough time to see them all!

Claire

 

[scottishgirl87]

I've been to both Universal Orlando and Hollywood and in my opinion Orlando is much much bigger than Hollywood! While I loved Universal Hollywood it wasn't a patch on the Orlando park! Rides such as Incredible Hulk, Dueling Dragons, Spiderman etc. don't exist at the Hollywood park!

 

[x.laura.x]

I really reccomend the DC with dolphin swim. We did this last time and is definately worth the money. It is a great experience and is so relaxing as you have the whole day to wonder around and they only let a set amount of people in each day so is not crowded. You can get great ticket packages online if you shop around. Have a great holiday!

 

[Pegasus928]

I suppose my advice would be to stick with the list you have but prioritise it. The chances are you wont be able to see or do everything on it, but if you go to somewhere thats near the top of your list and decide you aren't having the sort of day you had hoped for (park too busy, raining or just not as good as you thought it would be) you can then skip out and go to the next one on the list.

 

[wilma-bride]

A thought occurred to me that, if you just wanted to swim with dolphins, you may be able to arrange to do that in your second week too, thereby freeing up more time in the first week to go to some of the other places you want to include.

 

[JohnnySharp2]

Anna Maria Island is fabulous, but very very quiet. Personally I wouldn't go there for a week and would probably do a 4/10 split.
Giving you more time in Orlando would also mean you take things at a more relaxed pace.

 

[wilma-bride]

Anna Maria Island is fabulous, but very very quiet. Personally I wouldn't go there for a week and would probably do a 4/10 split.
Giving you more time in Orlando would also mean you take things at a more relaxed pace.

That's a very good point johnny. I have never been to Anna Maria Island or any of the coastal resorts but I know that I would much rather have longer in Orlando, if at all possible.

 

[T16GEM]

Personally, I would have to think if I was going again relativley soon, and then prioritse from that. I would be ok with missing out on Universal and just going to Disney, the last time we did a 7 day stay in Orlando we did 1 day in each Disney park and then Sea World for 1 day, the last two days were spent shopping and travelling.

 

[torsie24]

Personally, for a one week trip I think you have way way WAY too much on your list.

We are going for two weeks and will only be doing Disney, and one day at Universal. I'd LOVE to do Seaworld and DC but we can't find the time for them, and the bonus is we save a few hundred £ by not. I don't want to rush around the Disney parks and miss all of the great details that make them so amazing, so I feel it would be a waste of my Disney ticket price to add in other activites and jsut treat the 4 Disney parks as normal theme parks and jsut run from ride to ride.

If I was going for a week, I'd only go to Disney parks. Epcot has an aquarium section with manatees and dolphins, so I won't be too sad to miss Sea world, and I'd want plenty of time to smell the Disney roses. Would be such a shame to miss the shows, and parades and fireworks, and all of the little things that need time to be appreciated.

 

[JohnnySharp2]

That's a very good point johnny. I have never been to Anna Maria Island or any of the coastal resorts but I know that I would much rather have longer in Orlando, if at all possible.

Hi Joh

Yes that's right, it's also about getting the balance right for the number of days if you are staying at a beach location.
Anna Maria Island is really nice, but not a lot going on whilst Clearwater and St Pete's are nearby a week may be too long.

Though I guess sometimes just relaxing and doing little is more like a holiday than being in Orlando - Naples for example we have been twice but many years ago, it's lovely down there but not a lot to do.
Just depends on what Vix wants to do I suppose.

 

[vix09]

Maybe we are being a little amitious... From what's been said, I think that dropping Universal may not be a bad idea.

Do Disney offer a 3 or 4 day pass (hopper with water parks)?

We should have a day for Discovery Cove and a day for SeaWorld...

Our second week, whilst we can take an extra day or so in Orlando is really for some relaxation as it's our first holiday together (just the two of us).

Thanks for all your suggestions.

Do you know about car hire on Int'l Dr? Is it easier to book in advance or arrange while we're in the US?

Are there good restaurants at Downtown Disney/near by?

 

[wilma-bride]

Maybe we are being a little amitious... From what's been said, I think that dropping Universal may not be a bad idea.

Do Disney offer a 3 or 4 day pass (hopper with water parks)?

Right now, Undercover Tourist are offering a 6-day MYW hopper for the price of a 3-day ($274.95) http://www.undercovertourist.com/united-states/florida/orlando/attractions/tickets.html

We should have a day for Discovery Cove and a day for SeaWorld...

In my opinion, 1 day is plenty for Sea World. As I said previously, you will get Sea World entry with Discovery Cove tickets anyway so you can always go back if you have some spare time.

Do you know about car hire on Int'l Dr? Is it easier to book in advance or arrange while we're in the US?

Are there good restaurants at Downtown Disney/near by?

My big concern here - and I'm going to be careful what I say because I'm not 100% sure where Hilton Grand Vacations is - is that I don't think you're going to be as near to Downtown Disney as you think you are. International Drive is massive and I think Hilton Grand Vacations is at the Southern end, towards Sea World. I will have a look at my Orlando map and let you know.

However, you will have absolutely no problem finding places to eat on International Drive - there are loads of great places. I can highly recommend Bahama Breeze and Friendlys

As far as car hire goes, I know that there is a car rental desk at the Renaissance opposite Sea World and also one at the Holiday Inn on International Drive - both locations should be fairly convenient for you.

ETA:

If you take a look at the map on this link http://www.orlando-internationaldrive.com/map/map4/idrivemap4.htm#idrivemap4btm you will see that Hilton Grand Vacations Club is situated near Sea World. As I thought, it is pretty far south on I-Drive. It would be easy enough to catch the I-Ride trolley to go out to eat in the evenings. Do you plan to have a car for your whole visit or just for the second week?

Downtown Disney is definitely not walkable from your hotel, though, if that's what you were thinking. A taxi would probably set you back a few dollars.

 

[Lizzybear]

IMO comparing USH to USF (not including IOA) the Hollywood park is way better than the Orlando one, not least because it's actually still used for filming Personally i'd be happy to just visit IOA in Orlando if i'd visited USH already (which I have *lol* but i'd visited USF previously)
I agree with those who've suggested a slightly shorter time at Anna Maria Island, I haven't been but I know i've found 2 weeks in Orlando a squeeze to do Disney/Universal/Seaworld so I can only imagine how frantic a week would be!

 

[vix09]

We're looking to buy tickets this week. Does anyone know the best way to get Disney tickets? Is there the option to buy 2 or 3 day hopper passes?