DIY Help

[joolz1910]

I have suddenly realised that I am booking this trip 'DIY', it has only just occurred to me.

I have booked a flydrive with Travel City Direct.
I have booked OKW from 18-30th with Florida4Less.
I have booked Hard Rock Hotel for 16th - 18th with Hotels4U.

I still need to find Universal Tickets - any advice on where to get those?
Still need to sort out insurance, Estas and passports. I'm not taking th car, so will need transfers from the airport to Universal and then on to WDW - any recommendations?

Started to get scared of the responsibility of this level of organisation!

 

[2Tiggies]

I feel I have so much more control over a DIY booking. You're at the mercy of a TA for packages and everything has a knock on effect.

Congratulations and welcome to
The club

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[joolz1910]

I feel I have so much more control over a DIY booking. You're at the mercy of a TA for packages and everything has a knock on effect.

Congratulations and welcome to
The club

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

Lol. It has certainly saved me LOADS of money (so far) but I miss having my hand held.

 

[Mummycat]

Well done your itinery sounds very similar to mine! We're planning around the same dates but maybe go out a few days earlier to squeeze a trip to longboat key in between universal and old key west. We stayed at old key west last October and looooved it. First time going in August so hope we don't melt but now restricted to school holidays as oldest starts senior school next year.
So far only booked old key west but looking around at fly drives and universal hotels and nearly fainting with the prices! If you don't mind me asking how much have you paid for your fly drive? Loved reading your trip report last year

 

[pad406]

I have suddenly realised that I am booking this trip 'DIY', it has only just occurred to me.

I have booked a flydrive with Travel City Direct.
I have booked OKW from 18-30th with Florida4Less.
I have booked Hard Rock Hotel for 16th - 18th with Hotels4U.

I still need to find Universal Tickets - any advice on where to get those?
Still need to sort out insurance, Estas and passports. I'm not taking th car, so will need transfers from the airport to Universal and then on to WDW - any recommendations?

Started to get scared of the responsibility of this level of organisation!

Undercover Tourist seems to get very good reviews and feedback here. We're using them this year for the Universal tickets

 

[Elise79]

Any reason for not having a car? Even if you didn't have one the whole time it would be easier until you got on to Disney property

Otherwise there is a company that advertise on the boards that do airport transfers - might be worth contacting for a quote.

DIY isn't scary - just make a list of everything you need and tick it off one by one

 

[Kath2003]

For transfers, I'd probably just get a cab. It won't cost you any more and they are readily available at both MCO and Universal. One less thing to organise!

We have used a variety of places for Universal tickets without issue.

DIY is much better - you're able to make sure things are done right rather than trusting someone else.

 

[chmurf]

MCO to Universal = $50 (cab)
Universal to WDW = $50 (might be less depending on where you stay on property)

total $100 (£65)

car rental (not using your flydrive but renting on top of it)
£50 for a fullsize (pickup at MCO, return on the 18th at WDW Car Care Center)
2 nights at Universal @ $18pn for parking (£23 for both nights)

total £73 + gas.

if you don't want to use the flydrive, or drive at all, taxis remain your best and cheapest option.

 

[RDP]

We used Floridatix via Quidco . There was an offer at the time , we are out there this August.

 

[cliveywolves]

I think you might be better off hiring a car still if not a taxi prob the best option
Undercover Tourist we just booked our tickets from them after doing a good google search they worked out the best value plus they are UK based so tickets are actual tickets arrived quick..

 

[BlueGiraffe]

I have suddenly realised that I am booking this trip 'DIY', it has only just occurred to me. I have booked a flydrive with Travel City Direct. I have booked OKW from 18-30th with Florida4Less. I have booked Hard Rock Hotel for 16th - 18th with Hotels4U. I still need to find Universal Tickets - any advice on where to get those? Still need to sort out insurance, Estas and passports. I'm not taking th car, so will need transfers from the airport to Universal and then on to WDW - any recommendations? Started to get scared of the responsibility of this level of organisation!

I bought our 14 day passes from Travelrepublic.co.uk. They were the cheapest and arrived quickly.

 

[wilma-bride]

Presuming you just want 2 day park-to-park tickets, your best (and cheapest) option is probably UndercoverTourist.

I agree with others that, if you don't want to use the car, you are better off with a taxi to get to Universal and from Universal to Disney.

 

[joolz1910]

Thanks for all the replies.

Mummycat, we paid £4177 for 5 of us.

Would we all fit in a taxi from MCO? There are 5 of us plus cases - wouldn't that increase the price?

Going to price up tickets on sites you have all mentioned - thank you.

 

[Princess Leia]

We have purchased Theme park tickets previously on Attraction Tickets Direct. You can pay a low deposit and there are no credit card fees. I have always found them really reliable. At the moment they are doing the 2 park universal tickets with free Legoland tickets.

 

[Kath2003]

Thanks for all the replies.

Mummycat, we paid £4177 for 5 of us.

Would we all fit in a taxi from MCO? There are 5 of us plus cases - wouldn't that increase the price?

Going to price up tickets on sites you have all mentioned - thank you.

You can book a Mears private van from the airport for $80 and between Universal and Disney for $60; it would probably be cheaper than two cabs.

 

[joolz1910]

Thanks Kath - that's what I was thinking we would need.

I have found the 14 day bonus tickets for £575 from Travel Republic. They seem to be the cheapest. Or would I be better getting the three day hopper? Not much difference in the price.

 

[Pluto&Tink]

I have suddenly realised that I am booking this trip 'DIY', it has only just occurred to me.

I have booked a flydrive with Travel City Direct.
I have booked OKW from 18-30th with Florida4Less.
I have booked Hard Rock Hotel for 16th - 18th with Hotels4U.

I still need to find Universal Tickets - any advice on where to get those?
Still need to sort out insurance, Estas and passports. I'm not taking th car, so will need transfers from the airport to Universal and then on to WDW - any recommendations?

Started to get scared of the responsibility of this level of organisation!

I always buy my Universal Tickets with Attraction Tickets Direct, reliable and have never had a problem with them, i'll be purchasing mine from them in a few weeks!

Mears transportation are brilliant for transfers, i purchased the transport i needed, collected the tickets from the airport upon landing, and when you need them to get you, you ring 24 hours before

hope this helps!

 

[welshraz]

Hi all,

I too am going for the DIY option this year. I love planning but I am terrified of getting something wrong/forgetting something! We are looking at a 17 or 18 night stay with 9 nights on I-Drive and 8 at CSR.

We are booking the Disney portion of our trip direct through the US site as we want free DDP, and flights through Virgin or maybe Expedia. They all seem to be about the same price for travel in early December.

Looking to book Universal tickets, but I am confused about what tickets to get. We want 5 day passes that will allow us to move between parks on the same day as I belive that you need this option to be able to go between the HP bits on the Hogwarts Express. Can anyone advise on what type of ticket we need/would be best?

TIA!!

 

[joolz1910]

Hi all,

I too am going for the DIY option this year. I love planning but I am terrified of getting something wrong/forgetting something! We are looking at a 17 or 18 night stay with 9 nights on I-Drive and 8 at CSR.

We are booking the Disney portion of our trip direct through the US site as we want free DDP, and flights through Virgin or maybe Expedia. They all seem to be about the same price for travel in early December.

Looking to book Universal tickets, but I am confused about what tickets to get. We want 5 day passes that will allow us to move between parks on the same day as I belive that you need this option to be able to go between the HP bits on the Hogwarts Express. Can anyone advise on what type of ticket we need/would be best?

TIA!!

The two park bonus tickets for Universal seem to be the best value. They allow you to park hop and are valid for 14 consecutive days. Travel Republic were cheapest when I looked.

 

[BlueGiraffe]

The two park bonus tickets for Universal seem to be the best value. They allow you to park hop and are valid for 14 consecutive days. Travel Republic were cheapest when I looked.

Although we don't plan to go to Universal for 14 days in a row, it does work out the best value. And we always look at it that if someone isn't well or the weather is really bad, we are free to come back another day. Also, when we last went in 2011, it cost $3 to park at Universal after 7pm. So there were a few nights when we would get there for just after 7 (parks closed at 10) and we would enjoy browsing the gift shops, or going on rides. We bought our Discovery Cove tickets from Travel Republic too. Had no problems with them so far.