First trip ever: where to stay for doing all parks?

[FrozenElsa]

I just started with planning a trip to Orlando in late 2015 or early 2016 for me and my sister. Well, that seems to be a long time until then, but since I´m from Germany I need some more time for planning. To be honestly, I don´t know where to begin. It is so overwhelming with all that things Orlando has to offer. But one thing is sure: We would like to visit the Disney theme parks, both Universal parks, Seaworld and Busch Gardens in Tampa. And we would also like to do two or three days off from the parks, maybe for shopping and relaxing. Thought about a 2 week stay.

Now I´m wondering if I should look for an off-site hotel on I-drive with shuttle services, or split our stay into 1 week at a Disney Resort and 1 week at Cabana Bay Beach Resort. I would like to avoid renting a car because I have never been to the U.S. and I´m a little bit worried of driving in a foreign country. So what do you think is the best place for us to stay? Thanks in advance for your suggestions. And sorry for my english.

 

[jm106]

I would do a split stay. Shuttles from many hotels are not really convenient, often stopping at multiple parks and sme charge a fee for the shuttles. You are left waiting for them at the end of the day where as WDW resort buses run continuous and direct park to each resort.
You get added benefit for staying on site for Universal like early admission and I think express pass with some( we didnt stay on their property due to cost.)
You can take a taxi or shuttle such as Mears to get to SW and BG. I have used Mears to get from WDW to Universal and SW a long time ago but now I just rent a car/drive.

 

[CyndiLooWho]

We only ever stay offsite, at Wyndham Bonnet Creek, but I did want to address your comment about driving. We are US citizens, but we lived in the Netherlands for two years, and I drove all over the Netherlands, France, Belgium, and a little bit of Germany. It's not that big a difference.

The main things that will drive you nuts is that 1) in most states, the law is right turn on red provided traffic is clear, and 2) slow people drive in the left lanes of all major roads, including the interstates (motorways). Also, in most places, cars have the right of way over pedestrian traffic (yes, we got ticketed for not yielding to pedestrians when we lived overseas). Otherwise, it's a matter of familiarizing yourself with the American terms for common road signs (exit = ausfahrt), and knowing what the line colors / breaks mean (red curb - no parking, dotted line - passing ok, etc). Check out the licensing requirements, buy a North America update for your TomTom and have at it.

So don't be afraid to rent a car if you want to avoid taxis and buses. The public transport systems over here are absolutely abysmal compared to what you are used to. Buy a North America update for your TomTom and have at it.

 

[tobikaye]

Finding an off-site hotel with shuttles to the parks for the times you want may be difficult. If you choose not to rent a car, then I would split the trip up. I would do a week at WDW and from here I would find a shuttle/car service to get you the 2 hours away to Tampa for Busch Gardens. Then, I would do the week at US and do those parks and then just taxi to Sea World. While at WDW, you can shop at DTD and then while at US, you could hit the places at City Walk.

 

[FrozenElsa]

Thank you all! I think I will wait and see if we can get a good offer for a Disney Resort like the free dining. If so, then a split stay might be the best option for us. After 12 hours of flying the free Magical Express would be very useful, and we would love to stay longer in the parks with Extra Magic Hours.

For the second week I will think about renting a car (special thanks to CyndiLooWho). But I´m not sure which hotel to choose. We saw many pictures and videos of the Cabana Bay Beach Resort and loved it. But I also like the idea of staying on I-drive and having some other dining options in walking distance.

One question about Busch Gardens: I read about admission tickets which include free shuttle service from Orlando. Does anybody have experience with that?

 

[spiceycat]

here the ticket information - you don't need to buy from this place - it is just information
http://tickets.visitorlando.com/SeaWorld-&-Busch-Gardens/

you can compare prices to this site
http://www.ticketmania.com/

Kissimmee has changed - greatly - you can now to walk to restaurants, shops there too.

 

[dragonrider2014]

If you stay on I Drive, you could also use the I Drive trolley for shopping and stuff. You might want to look where they go. Also, if you don't mind a little walk, you can take the trolley to one of the hotels close to Universal and walk the rest of the way.

http://www.iridetrolley.com/index.html

 

[Brian Noble]

I just started with planning a trip to Orlando in late 2015 or early 2016 for me and my sister. Well, that seems to be a long time until then, but since I´m from Germany I need some more time for planning. To be honestly, I don´t know where to begin. It is so overwhelming with all that things Orlando has to offer. But one thing is sure: We would like to visit the Disney theme parks, both Universal parks, Seaworld and Busch Gardens in Tampa. And we would also like to do two or three days off from the parks, maybe for shopping and relaxing. Thought about a 2 week stay.

Now I´m wondering if I should look for an off-site hotel on I-drive with shuttle services, or split our stay into 1 week at a Disney Resort and 1 week at Cabana Bay Beach Resort. I would like to avoid renting a car because I have never been to the U.S. and I´m a little bit worried of driving in a foreign country. So what do you think is the best place for us to stay? Thanks in advance for your suggestions. And sorry for my english.

First, your English is much better than my German!

I would probably think about a split-stay, one week at a Disney Resort and one week at a Universal resort. If you do not drive, staying "off-property" will be very inconvenient and/or expensive. I would also skip Busch Gardens--it's a one-hour drive in each direction, and as you already want to do all the other parks plus have a few shopping days in a two week trip, I don't think you have time.

 

[FrozenElsa]

here the ticket information - you don't need to buy from this place - it is just information
http://tickets.visitorlando.com/SeaWorld-&-Busch-Gardens/

you can compare prices to this site
http://www.ticketmania.com/

Kissimmee has changed - greatly - you can now to walk to restaurants, shops there too.

If you stay on I Drive, you could also use the I Drive trolley for shopping and stuff. You might want to look where they go. Also, if you don't mind a little walk, you can take the trolley to one of the hotels close to Universal and walk the rest of the way.

http://www.iridetrolley.com/index.html

The I-Drive trolley seems to be a good option if we won´t decide to rent a car. Since we are planning to visit Universal for only two or three days, an off-site hotel close to Universal would be a good idea, too. We don´t mind a little walk. I have already been looking on google earth, but as a foreigner I can´t evaluate the walking distance from any of the hotels.

First, your English is much better than my German!

I would probably think about a split-stay, one week at a Disney Resort and one week at a Universal resort. If you do not drive, staying "off-property" will be very inconvenient and/or expensive. I would also skip Busch Gardens--it's a one-hour drive in each direction, and as you already want to do all the other parks plus have a few shopping days in a two week trip, I don't think you have time.

Yeahh, this could be true Wanting to do as much as possible in two weeks is probably my issue. Unfortunately, this will be a trip that I can´t afford to do every year, so I would like to do the most of it. I really love Disney, but I also love rollercoasters and that´s why Busch Gardens is a "must do" for me.

The trip planning is:

Disney 6-7 days
Universal 2-3 days
Sea World 1 day
Busch Gardens 1 day

So there are between 2 and 4 days remaining for relaxing and other stuff like shopping. What do you think about it?