desperate 1st timer needs help

[remmy66]

Dear all, I have diligently read nearly every message on this board and I must commend you all. It is FANTASTIC!!. I have a long list of queries as a first timer so please be patient.

I am taking my 4 year old son to orlando in oct this year. This is the first proper holiday he had. unfortunately I have not been able to book anything yet. I have a fair idea where i would like to stay (hawthorne suite seaworld) but i wont mind any other decent suggestions. I am a non driver so it will have to be the Idrive hotels

My budget is £1000. This for lodging, flights and food. I am buying the 4 park orlando flex ticket for £109/£90 adult/child and may buy a one day ticket to the mk. I have tried without any success to find flights less that £300 but to no avail. I am now so desprate i dont any date in oct. Ideally I would like to go for 10 days can anyone help with hotels and flights.

 

[Goofyish]

Welcome to the DIS

It may be better to pick a hotel a bit further up IDrive. I'm not sure if there are many restaurants or shops within an easy walk of the HS Seaworld hotel. Although there is the I-Ride trolley that you could use to get up and down IDrive very cheaply and easily.

Staying further up Idrive would mean a big selection of restaurants, shops and attractions within easy walking distance. Have you looked at the Quality Inn Plaza, Quality Inn International or the Best Western Plaza hotels. All other good clean basic accommodation at very good rates (approx. $30-50 per room per night).

 

[UKDEB]

I assume you are looking to visit during the October half term? If so, I think you will find it tricky to get a flight any cheaper than you have already found and, indeed, you might even struggle to get a flight at all. Flights to Orlando during school holidays are at a premium and there aren't really that many 'bargains' to be found. If you've found flights for £300 for the dates you want, I think you should be snapping them up. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you that someone else comes up with some better news, though.

 

[remmy66]

I dont mind travelling out of term as my son is in nursery. Do you think I could get anything cheaper than £300 if i wait until the last minute

Goofyish I shall check the reviews on the hotels you mentioned.

 

[Aceman88888]

If you want cheap direct flights, its often derided, but you could do a lot worse than Travel City Direct. We got May flights for a package portion of £185/£149 but we had car & villa too.

They will get you a price for a fair choice of hotels. Only down points are that the insurance is pricey. But, as a 'package' goes they generally beat the competition hands down.

If this is not your cup of tea, take a risk on My Travel direct, check their package prices and see if it would be cheaper to book as a package or do the hotels seperately either over the net or when you arrive.

 

[vernon]

Remmy, are you committed to October? A quick check on http://www.ba.com (british airways is quite good because it gives you alternate dates around the one you put in, I wish other travel websites would do this as it saves a huge amount of time having to keep re-entering the dates one at a time) shows that if you can go in November you get some better prices. I put in 17th to 27th of Nov and it gave a total price of £525 ish for both of you ( I presume it's just you and DS?)
Do you need to be in a suite if there are just the two of you? If not then if budget is the most important factor I've found http://www.hotwire.com to be a useful tool in getting some great deals . For example in either October or November for those dates you could get a room on I-Drive in a 3.5 * hotel for $43 a night (about £240 for 9 nights) . It's getting tight on budget as it only leaves you £200 or so for food, obviously at age 4 your DS isn't going to cost much to feed ( many of the restaurants do kids free) even so for one person $40 a day is achievable but it won't be easy.

I think you're not going to find it easy with that budget, another £200-300 will make it much easier. It's worth keeping an eye on the "package" companies and places like TV travel shop do have some good deals from time to time, the problem with many of them is that you'll get penalized if you are only one adult one child. If you can be flexible of dates or go later in the year, generally Nov,Early Dec, Jan or May offer the best deals and it may give you a little longer to save up a few more ££s to help you to have a holiday where you don't have to think about every penny
Good luck