First Orlando Family Trip - ticket suggestions please

[timzagain]

I posted this in the Theme Park section, so if you've read it before please bear with me.

I really need some advice on what tickets to buy for our July trip. HELP!!!

Copied from my earlier post:

DH and I will be in Orlando with our 3 girls from July 8 -19. The girls are 15,15 and 9. We don't want to spend every waking moment in the parks - we'd like to see aside time for just relaxing at the hotel pool, at visiting relatives nearby.

We will probably be staying on I-drive. Neither of us is keen on driving in the US (we drive on the opposite side of the road), I hate driving even at home! We've chosen a hotel with shuttle service to the park, but are contemplating renting a car.

DH has never visited Orlando before. The only must-do on his list is Sea World. He says he's not much into rides - but my DH is a thrill seeker by nature.

DD # 1, aged 15, has been to Orlando at least 6 times with her bio dad. In her view she's been there and seen all of that, so she's not too picky.

DSD also 15 visited Disney(MK) about 6 years ago while on a whirlwind FL trip with her swim club.

Youngest DD, 9, spent two days in Orlando (one at MW, one at Sea World)with me about 2 years ago en route from a family wedding

I visited Orlando about 12 years ago with eldest DD (MK, Epcot, SW).

The cost of this trip is so astronomical for us (travelling from Barbados) I don't see us doing this again in any hurry, so we're trying to cover as many bases as we can. The must-dos on my list include SW, Universal, a Disney water park, MK.


I'm thinking of 2 day + water park option for Disney but I haven't figured out the best combination of tickets to buy. We've budgeted about US $1500 for tickets. (not included DD#1, who's bio dad will be buying her park tickets).

I would welcome your suggestions so that we can get the optimal ticket (including non-Disney) choices for our money!

Thanks for your help

 

[goofy!]

For the Universal/Seaworld part of your vacation, I would highly recommend staying onsite at Universal, especially since you don't care to drive. There are usually good deals to be found and you won't need the extra expense of a rental car. Both Universal parks are withing walking distance along a landscaped walking path from all of the hotels. From the Hard Rock, it is about 5 minutes to enter CityWalk, from Royal Pacific - 7 to 10 minutes depending if you stop to smell the roses , and from Portofino about 10 -15 minutes.

Also, if you stay onsite you get FOTL - or front of the line privileges. While it is not really the actual front of the line - your hotel key does serve as a permanent express pass (similar to Disney's fast pass) for unlimited entrance into the express lines for each ride as many times a day as you want. This really allows you the flexibility to get a lot done in the parks and then be able to go back to the hotels and enjoy their fabulous pools!

Also, there are shuttles to Sea World, so you wouldn't have to drive that portion either.

For the ticket quesion - How long are you staying and how many days are you planning for each park? That would help us help you make a decision.

 

[timzagain]

Thanks for your reply. We'll be there from July 8 - 19 - because of our flight schedule, we won't have the opportunity to do anything on the first and last days, leaving us with 10 full days to play with.

I'm thinking we'd probably spend no more than 7 days visiting parks. The last thing I want right now is an overscheduled vacation! I need some downtime (ok I'll be honest, I need some shopping time!) and I'd like to spend some time visiting relatives who live nearby!

Will look into the onsite hotels again - we'd originally tossed out that idea because it would blow our budget.

I'm also thinking that we'd probably have to trim down our park wish list, to something more manageable financially and physically. My youngest dd (9) would probably have a major meltdown if I didn't allow her some unstructured time.