Family of 7 looking for Orlando break Aug 2011 - inc. Villa & Car

[jawaid87]

Hi all,

new member just joined today after reviewing a few very good posts on cheap flight deals and accomodation recommendations.

Having been the the USA a few times in the last decade, to various places inc New York, Chicago, Washington, Indianapolis, Florida etc. I took the family to Florida in 2008 for a one off holiday - and we did everthing over 26 days, all the Disney Parks, all the Universal parks, Gatorland, Kennedy space centre, busch gardens, Kennedy space centre, arabian nights, shopping and loads i cant remember.

The last time we went we flew manchester to philadelphia, then onto orlando. Rented a villa in Calabay Park for the full term, and big ford E150 van - man was that thirsty !!

Supposed to be a one off holiday (very expensive) but the kids liked it so much i'm looking to do almost the same again this year. I want to take the kids to Orlando, 3 weeks, villa holiday, flexible during school hols, but they're not fussed on the Disney parks and just want busch gardens and Universal as the big hitters. Checking flight prices, I almost want to cry.

In 2008, flights, villa and car hire cost around £7500 for 7 of us.
Park tickets a fair few grand on top, but i booked them separately. Checking over the last couple of weeks, flights alone are up near £5-6k, villa £2k and car hire around £800, i'm looking at around 9 to 10 grand before i even get out there..... damned expensive in my books.

I've read through some older threads and seen deals to Jacksonville, and others via Iberia using BA, but they are all but expired.

Can anyone advise what offers are available on flights at the moment, I dont mind booking it all separately if it saves me money, i'm sure we can spend the savings in the parks and shops. Do the airlines do cheap discount flights when they lay additional flights on, and if so is it best to wait it out in the hope of a better deal?

Best deal i can find at the moment is 9th or 10th Aug for 3 weeks, from London to Miami for £520ish pp. This includes a stop off in Madrid i think for 1 or 2 hours and 14hr trip time. Has anyone used this route before? and advice or recommendations - i'd really like to book and pay for the flights in full this weekend - so i can worry about digs and car hire in the coming weeks.


Thanks

Jav

 

[wayneg]

Hi Jav Welcome to DISboards.

Who ever does a one off holiday to Orlando?

Not used that route, flights are the difficult part (as you are finding out) its just a matter of being patient or swallowing the cost. £520 is quite a good price and worth considering but maybe do a little research on Google 1st.

Have you considered a 2 bed Villa at OKW or SSR with free dining? initally looks expensive at £4,662(less £140 Quidco) but how much would you spend on food? I estimate we spend approx of £25pppd x 7 = £175 x 21 days = £3,675 add £2k for the villa = £5,675 probably over £1,000 cheaper staying onsite. You would also have to buy park tickets to get this deal but you will be buying them anyway if you stay offsite wouldn't you?

All I can suggest for flights is keep watching the forums and searching the flight sites.

 

[jawaid87]

Hi Wayne,

thanks for the warm welcome.

I know it was crazy thinking it would be a one off, especially when we crammed so much in. I actually thought the kids would be sick being dragged around the parks all the day, but they loved it. What they loved most of all though was the privacy and comfort of having your own villa and pool, and to be honest the wife and I found that to be brilliant too.

Although we were busy almost every day, I think we spent a few hours each evening in the pool and it was so refreshing. I think a villa is even more important this time as the kids don't want to do much queueing in the parks and want a more relaxing trip - well thats the plan - i bet it all changes when we get out there and if it does well we get the best of both worlds.

Thanks for the tips, but I dont understand what OKW or SSR are? Are they villa's in a complex with shared pool (private pool is real important to us)? Do you have a link to the deal you were referencing?

Thanks

Jav

PS. The £520 trips via Iberia are now down to the last 9 seats - and i need 7 - omg - panic is setting in !!!

 

[wayneg]

Post #17 here has pics of a 2 bed villa at OKW. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2607662&page=2
OKW= Old Key West
SSR = Saratoga Springs Resort

If a private pool is important to you then no use, they have a main pool then smaller pools around the resorts but none private.

This August will be our 3rd time at OKW and we love it.

Location is great 5-10 mins to the Disney parks and you can get boat to DTD (or walk from SSR)
Simple choice for me as I don't like Villas offsite, OKW is everything we like but sounds like offsite villa is way to go for you.

If you did want more info pages here and link to get prices.
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/old-key-west-resort/

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/saratoga-springs-resort-and-spa/

http://wdtc.disneyinternational.com/

 

[jawaid87]

Wayne,

thanks for posting links and info.
I'll check them out now.

I suspect I'll need to keep an eye on things as a private pool is the essential element of our holiday, all the rest is secondary.

Thanks

Jav

 

[disneyholic family]

funny you should mention iberia to miami....
friends of ours are flying to miami next week that way...
i was really surprised when they said they were flying iberia via madrid to miami...
but when i checked kayak.com, iberia came up cheapest for me as well...

i've been checking the flights for a few months now, and this is the first time iberia is coming up as the cheapest....

if you haven't already gone for it, you should snap it up...i can't imagine anything is going to be any cheaper for august...

i probably won't take that route, as i have some frequent flyer mileage that i'm hoping to use once we nail down dates....i think i have enough for two economy tickets....that would mean "only" buying another 4.....so even if iberia is cheaper, i'm better off using the mileage...

 

[jawaid87]

funny you should mention iberia to miami....
friends of ours are flying to miami next week that way...
i was really surprised when they said they were flying iberia via madrid to miami...
but when i checked kayak.com, iberia came up cheapest for me as well...

i've been checking the flights for a few months now, and this is the first time iberia is coming up as the cheapest....

if you haven't already gone for it, you should snap it up...i can't imagine anything is going to be any cheaper for august...

i probably won't take that route, as i have some frequent flyer mileage that i'm hoping to use once we nail down dates....i think i have enough for two economy tickets....that would mean "only" buying another 4.....so even if iberia is cheaper, i'm better off using the mileage...

Beth thanks for the advice, and its good to know that others are using this route. Its around £100/ticket cheaper than the next option, and as you say it might be the best deal going at the moment. I just feel that the £378 deal to Jacksonville might reappear if extra flights are layed on.

I'd hate to book the Iberia option today only to find the offer back on tomorrow. My intention is to wait until Sunday evening - then book whatever the deal. If I dont do it this week, I never will.

Thanks again

Jav

 

[disneyholic family]

Beth thanks for the advice, and its good to know that others are using this route. Its around £100/ticket cheaper than the next option, and as you say it might be the best deal going at the moment. I just feel that the £378 deal to Jacksonville might reappear if extra flights are layed on.

I'd hate to book the Iberia option today only to find the offer back on tomorrow. My intention is to wait until Sunday evening - then book whatever the deal. If I dont do it this week, I never will.

Thanks again

Jav

you're right - if i were you i would probably wait too £520 isn't exactly cheap....
i keep thinking that whatever the economists are saying, the economy just isn't getting any better.....it seems to actually be getting worse....at least from the point of view of the regular guy on the street....so if people perceive that things are worse, they're going to be less likely to spend a lot on holidays...so fewer people means more empty airline seats....so maybe prices will go down..

but then again, the airlines can just remove planes from their schedule and push people together into fewer flights so they don't fly with empty seats...

it's all such a gamble......i really don't know how to advise you...
and with so many seats to buy, you really have to be even more careful than the 'regular' traveler...
i have to buy 6 this time, two more than what i'm used to (for DIL and SIL)...
and i see it's making a major impact on the cost of the trip.....flight, accommodation, food, tickets...obviously half again as many people should be more expensive, but when i see it in black and white it's a shock...

 

[fairytale]

Hi Jav, and welcome to the Disboards

We are a family of 6 so not to far off yourself at 7. Last October we delayed booking our flights in the hoping of finding ones cheaper later on in the year much to my disappointment. If anything our flights just kept increasing and increasing to the point were we cancelled our trip. This year as soon as our flights were released at 11 months out I snapped them up at a price I was happy to pay.

I suppose what I am trying to say is that if you see a price your happy to pay do it especially if you have your heart set on going this year.

Once your flights are booked you know your going and the fun part of your planning can then begin

I also second Wayne's suggestion of OKW/SSR. With a big family you will not begin to believe how much money you will save having all your food included from snacks to Counter service meals and Table service meals. Would you believe in our first week of using free dining in 2009 we kept all our receipts and had already clocked up $2500 dollars on food, all this been free, I wish we had continued adding up for the full three weeks as I would love to have know how much we saved altogether.

I also apprecaite everyones "wishes" are different to others and if a private pool is essential to you I am sure there are other member who can offer you guidance on places to stay also.

Good luck

 

[wayneg]

in our first week of using free dining in 2009 we kept all our receipts and had already clocked up $2500 dollars on food, all this been free, I wish we had continued adding up for the full three weeks as I would love to have know how much we saved altogether.

Only 3 of us but I kept all reciepts for 21 nights, $3,430.69 so for 7 people that translates to $8,004

 

[GibboFLA]

Hi and again welcome to the Disboards.

I'm with you on the private pool thing, we have tried a condo with a communal pool, might as well got in the car and gone to Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon as we had to walk back to get stuff three times (more towels, goggles etc!). Waking in the morning having a coffee while the kids throw themselves into the pool is great. The space and eating options of a villa are very appealing. I see what Wayne is saying about the dining plan, but I personally would not want to spend every day, all day, visiting and eating in Disney.

The flights are a real scare this year, but we have been in October before, now going in August, and paid £575 direct LGW - MCO. As always if you see a flight/schedule at a price you think is worth it - book it! The don't check anymore

I had a real hard time searching for a villa this year, spent hours, and a lot of the ones I would have booked are already taken for the school holidays. Again if you have the flight you can be confident booking a villa.

To conclude, prices are higher than recently, it not going to get any easier for any of us, but there is nothing better than a good holiday to look forward to and as Fred Pontin used to say "BOOK EARLY"!

Happy hunting.

 

[jawaid87]

Hi Jav, and welcome to the Disboards

We are a family of 6 so not to far off yourself at 7. Last October we delayed booking our flights in the hoping of finding ones cheaper later on in the year much to my disappointment. If anything our flights just kept increasing and increasing to the point were we cancelled our trip. This year as soon as our flights were released at 11 months out I snapped them up at a price I was happy to pay.

I suppose what I am trying to say is that if you see a price your happy to pay do it especially if you have your heart set on going this year.

Once your flights are booked you know your going and the fun part of your planning can then begin

I also second Wayne's suggestion of OKW/SSR. With a big family you will not begin to believe how much money you will save having all your food included from snacks to Counter service meals and Table service meals. Would you believe in our first week of using free dining in 2009 we kept all our receipts and had already clocked up $2500 dollars on food, all this been free, I wish we had continued adding up for the full three weeks as I would love to have know how much we saved altogether.

I also apprecaite everyones "wishes" are different to others and if a private pool is essential to you I am sure there are other member who can offer you guidance on places to stay also.

Good luck

Only 3 of us but I kept all reciepts for 21 nights, $3,430.69 so for 7 people that translates to $8,004

Hi and again welcome to the Disboards.

I'm with you on the private pool thing, we have tried a condo with a communal pool, might as well got in the car and gone to Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon as we had to walk back to get stuff three times (more towels, goggles etc!). Waking in the morning having a coffee while the kids throw themselves into the pool is great. The space and eating options of a villa are very appealing. I see what Wayne is saying about the dining plan, but I personally would not want to spend every day, all day, visiting and eating in Disney.

The flights are a real scare this year, but we have been in October before, now going in August, and paid £575 direct LGW - MCO. As always if you see a flight/schedule at a price you think is worth it - book it! The don't check anymore

I had a real hard time searching for a villa this year, spent hours, and a lot of the ones I would have booked are already taken for the school holidays. Again if you have the flight you can be confident booking a villa.

To conclude, prices are higher than recently, it not going to get any easier for any of us, but there is nothing better than a good holiday to look forward to and as Fred Pontin used to say "BOOK EARLY"!

Happy hunting.

you're right - if i were you i would probably wait too £520 isn't exactly cheap....
i keep thinking that whatever the economists are saying, the economy just isn't getting any better.....it seems to actually be getting worse....at least from the point of view of the regular guy on the street....so if people perceive that things are worse, they're going to be less likely to spend a lot on holidays...so fewer people means more empty airline seats....so maybe prices will go down..

but then again, the airlines can just remove planes from their schedule and push people together into fewer flights so they don't fly with empty seats...

it's all such a gamble......i really don't know how to advise you...
and with so many seats to buy, you really have to be even more careful than the 'regular' traveler...
i have to buy 6 this time, two more than what i'm used to (for DIL and SIL)...
and i see it's making a major impact on the cost of the trip.....flight, accommodation, food, tickets...obviously half again as many people should be more expensive, but when i see it in black and white it's a shock...

Some excellent advice here, and thanks again, it's not falling on deaf ears.

The OKW or SSR options sound attractive, but I guess the food options are only if you are eating in a disney park or disney hotel? My plan this time is not to the whole disney thing, we got sick of queuing for hours at a time for rides last time we went and my eldest kids thought the universal and busch garden parks were more fun - each to their own i guess. This makes the SSR and OKW options less attractive for us, since I doubt we'd be spending too much money in those parks on food and drink. The last time we went , we either stopped at a restaurant on the way home or cooked in the villa, (which meant overall food bills werent too bad).

I imagine we'll spend every morning and evening around a pool, and the comfort of having your own pool at your disposal is just something we ALL remember.

Iberia flights at £520 are all gone now. I spent too long mulling it over I guess, but their are others available for £540 so I'm going to book the flights right after this email. Then i can start looking at villa's, cars and the entertainment deals.

Again, thanks to everyone for responding, the common theme seems to be book now before prices get worse, and that was the message I needed to spur me on.

Thanks

Jav

 

[wayneg]

Only you know what your family likes to do.
We are not onsite fans by any means, just as happy staying offsite and dining offsite but we have had 2 great stays at OKW and looking forward to 3rd. We are fortunate we go at least twice upto 4 times a year so while our August trip will be based around Disney our trip next month will have no Disney at all. If it was our only trip of the year I would be less inclined to stay onsite. We also don't do a lot of pool time, when we do we prefer a larger pool and somewhere to go meet other people, not a tiny villa pool just for us 3 but again personal choice, thats the great thing about orlando, caters for everyone.