First Trip to Orlando - a few new questions...

[Suivi]

Hello from Austria!

My first trip to Orlando is coming closer and I have a few new questions about my trip. There are questions in this thread which would better fit into an other Forum but I think there are so many Threads on this website and it’s more ordered when I put all my questions into one thread. I hope you can understand.... This Forum gives so much information… and I sometimes don’t know “what is that” or “is this important for me”….

We will be in Orlando from May 15th – 29th 2005. We will do half of the time Themeparks and the other time excursions. We decided not to rent a car, so we try to book our hotels near the parks we will visit during this time. One big question is if we can do excursions like going to a beach (East or Westcoast) by public transport?!

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But first my travel plan and my questions in detail:


HOTEL May 15th to 19th: "Holiday Inn Maingate to Universal "Orlando
Parks during this time: Universal Studios and IOA, Sea World, Wet’n’Wild


HOTEL May 19th to 22th: "Candlewood Suites Orlando"
Parks during this time: nothing
excursions: Orlando DownTown, beaches,….etc.


HOTEL May 22nd to 28th "Holiday Inn Nikki Bird Maingate Themeparks"
Parks during this time:
Monday: Epcot/Illuminations or MGM/Fantasmic
Tuesday: MagicKingdom (incl. Spectrom/Wishes)
Wednesday: Busch Gardens
Thursday: Typhoon Lagoon + excursions
remaining time: excursions


HOTEL May 28th to 29th "Holiday Inn International Airport"
Departure May 29th morning



1) What do you think in general about this plan?


2) The Hotels are already booked – so "which-parks-to-visit" is mostly given, but do you think of any small changes?


3) The 2 Disney days: We will definitely do MK, because I think this is a “to do” Park and we would like to see Spectromagic and Wishes. But I’m not sure about the 2nd day?! Epcot/Illuminations or MGM/Fantasmic?!? I think both parks are really good… I think a 2 day Park Hopping Ticket makes no sense, because the time is too short. I’m tending to MGM, because of “ToT” and Fantasmic… or would you do rather Epcot? It’s so difficult to decide…

3.1.Concerning crowds: Is it a good idea to do Monday: Epcot or MGM and Tuesday: Magic Kingdom?


4) Is it possible to walk from the Holiday Inn Maingate Universal to the entry of the parks?


5) How is public transport in Orlando? Is it possible to….

5.1. ….e.g. to take a bus to Downtown Disney at 8pm and return at 11pm?
5.2. ….do excursions like Cocoa Beach, Cape Canaveral,….by bus?
5.3. Are there any public bus stations near the “Holiday Inn Nikki Bird Maingate Themeparks”


6) Which excursions would you recommend?
We thought about DownTown Orlando, Cocoa Beach, maybe Cape Canaveral,….. but we don’t know what’s really worth going for??? Which places, attractions, beaches…. can you recommend and are easily to reach within 1 day by public transport?!


7) Any tips for cheap and good restaurants? Or special restaurants.... for example a table in front of a large aquarium….



Well, I think that’s all for the moment. I hope you can understand my situation… it’s my first oversea flight, first trip to USA, first trip to Orlando and there are sooooo many questions… but I would like to thank you very, very much… you helped me so much planning my trip to Orlando!


Best regards from the pretty cold and snowy Austria,
Chris


:thewave::thewave::thewave::thewave:

 

[mhingher]

Are you sure you only want 2 days in Disney? May will be a very busy month there b/c of the anniversary celebration, and it's possible the parks are very crowded...I don't know anything about those hotels, but it's definitely not possible to walk to a theme park from there. I believe most offsite hotels in the area offer some type of transportation to and from the parks. I suggest you call them directly. And as far as going to a beach, I don't think Orlando is too close too any beach...I think it's atleast an hour trip, possibly more. Busch Gardens is also about an hour away. But I think your best bet is to contact the hotels directly with your questions. THey'll have more accurate information. Have a great time!

 

[emmalgin]

at least part of the time....... Also look at suites, timeshares or larger accomodations. You could go stir crazy (outside Candlewood) in smallish hotel rooms (depending on number in your party). In addition if choosing hotels find ones that include a breakfast (big $ savings).

Very few hotels expect full payment up front.

 

[goofyernmost]

I urge you to rent a car. I just rented a mid-sized from Thrifty for $189.00 per week, unlimited mileage. You cannot pay for "excursions" for that little. Driving around the area can be challenging but it really doesn't take that long to get into the grove of it and you can go anyplace, anytime. An excursion will only get you where they are going and you can only stay within that timeframe.

I don't think you have a vision of just how big WDW is. It is miles and miles from the entrance to the parks, especially MK.

If you plan was to stay on-site and only do Disney then transportation isn't really necessary but anything else requires, in my humble opinion, a convenient way to get around.

As for the "plan"...again my opinion but I don't see how some of that is possible with a car much less without one. Busch Gardens is 70 miles away from the Orlando area. (I'm talking Kissimmee) The Orlando word is used to often because Orlando itself is 25 miles away from Disney. By the time you got there in a bus it would be almost time to leave and come back. The Kennedy Space center in Cape Canaveral is well worth a visit and almost any beach is a good one but remember that you are in the center of the state and it is at least 60 miles to the ocean either direction.

If I were doing it I would change a few things like, if your going to Typhoon Lagoon why go to Wet and Wild (same thing...different place). I would strongly recommend no less then 4 days at Disney, with one (at least) park hopper day. All the parks are not to be missed and even though you will not begin to see it all, at least you can get a taste for each one. The one day park hopper is for at Animal Kingdom day. It doesn't take all day and then you can jump back for one of the evening fireworks shows at another park.

Whatever you decide I hope you have a great trip. BTW, if you like buffet style restaurants there is no better price or better food than the Golden Corral. Again unless you happen to have a hotel within a short walking distance transportation is necessary. Local buses are available but rigid in there schedules. You will have to plan your life around their schedule.

 

[cocowum]

I agree with the other posts, to do the things you are planning to do, while staying off-site, you will need a car. Also, I think you'll find that 2 days at Disney is not enough Good Luck

 

[SeaSpray]

6) Which excursions would you recommend?
We thought about DownTown Orlando, Cocoa Beach, maybe Cape Canaveral,….. but we don’t know what’s really worth going for??? Which places, attractions, beaches…. can you recommend and are easily to reach within 1 day by public transport?!

Here's the web site for Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, it has a page with directions from Orlando and it claims to be 45 minutes from Orlando, so it definitely appears that you could do this as a day trip. I don't see anything about public transportation though.

http://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/index.asp

Hope this helps

 

[Suivi]

I really would like to be 10 days at Disney - you can believe me - but we will be only 13 days in Orlando and we will have the 5 park Flex Ticket and we will do also other things like excursions, beach,…etc. so maybe we can do 3 day Disney but that’s the maximum because so we have at least 8 days themeparks, means 5 days for other things.

Is “rent-a-car” really necessary to make some excursions around Orlando? I’m wondering because Orlando is such a tourist place... Infrastructure should be very good….. isn't it?!

Should I do less Universal/Sea World/Busch Gardens and more Disney? But I planed only 1 day for each park...

I think we can do 1 day MK, 1 day Epcot and 1 day MGM.... Do you think May will be very crowded, because of Birthday celebration??

 

[Suivi]

at least part of the time....... Also look at suites, timeshares or larger accomodations. You could go stir crazy (outside Candlewood) in smallish hotel rooms (depending on number in your party). In addition if choosing hotels find ones that include a breakfast (big $ savings).

Very few hotels expect full payment up front.

Hi,

what do you mean with “look at suites – could go stir crazy in smallish rooms”…. are the hotels we decided too bad? We are only 2 person in our party. We decided the Holiday Inns/Candlewood Suites, because we get a special staff-rate at Holiday Inns/Candlewood which is 29,- USD per night/room.

Thanks for your answers!
bst rgds,
Chris

 

[java]

Unfortunatly Orlando is not as public transportation friendly as you would think. Most hotels offer shuttles to the parks(although I have never heard of the one you are talking about) But any of the other places you listed- Cape Canavaral(about 2 hours from Disney) and Busch Gardens in Tampa(2 hours the other way) would require a rental car. Really not a big deal and will make your travel much easier- those hotel shuttles are few and far between. Now if you were staying onsite at Disney that would be a slightly different story- they have buses that take you around all of disney property as well as the monorail and boats.- but again to do the other things you mentioned you would need a car. Another thing to mention here in Universal if you stay at one of their hotels you get something called FOTL access- means you don't wait on a single line! It is a great perk and worth the money to stay there- those hotels are fantastic(Portofino and Royal Pacific are the 2 we have stayed at and loved) Then you would not need a car for US IOA or seaworld. Perhaps if you really want to do the east coast suff you would be better off staing at a hotel closer to that area(vs. Orlando) for those days.

 

[Aidensmom]

4) Is it possible to walk from the Holiday Inn Maingate Universal to the entry of the parks?


7) Any tips for cheap and good restaurants? Or special restaurants.... for example a table in front of a large aquarium….

Holiday Inn Maingate is right across the street from the parking garage for universal, you can walk there.

When you go to Sea World, I recommend the restaurant attached to the Shark Encounter attraction, believe it is called Shark's Grill. One whole wall of the restaurant is the shark tank from the attraction. It is a neat experience.

Also, if you are going to Busch Gardens, I would definately rent a car. It is an easy drive from the Orlando area to Busch Gardens, as long as you avoid the rush hour traffic. It takes about an hour from Disney to Busch Gardens.

 

[Pluto4Pres]

If you were staying on site at WDW and planning to spend the majority of your trip at Disney parks and attractions, then a car would be optional. If you want to go to the beaches and other off-site attractions, a rental car is really the best way to go.

We always have had good trips going to Coccoa Beach from WDW. It is over 1 hour away. All beaches in FL allow public access. You can find great facilities on Rte A1A with parking, bathrooms etc. Cape Canaveral is another great thing to see in that area.

Have a great trip!

 

[ncbyrne]

The entire Orlando area takes in a huge distance. There is a public bus transportation system (Lynx), for the immediate Orlando area, but it is designed mainly for local commuters and NOT for tourists. If you do not rent a car, or find alternate means of transportation, you will find it extremely difficult to get around - things are NOT close together and with only a few exceptions, nothing is within walking distance. How are you planning to get to your first hotel from the airport?
You have a lot planned and I'm not quite sure what you mean by "excursions". Planning a day at Typhoon Lagoon AND an excursion might be a bit much, and almost impossible if you have to rely on busses to get you around. I also would recommend doing only one water park. Typhoon Lagoon is much nicer than Wet n' Wild.
At this point, I really suggest that you look more closely at finding definite plans for transportation as that will be a major issue.

 

[nearlychildless]

You will find public transportation is nothing like Europe;as every has told you you could do with out private transportation on park day but to go to beaches you will need a car. Maybe you could rent one for a portion of your trip.

 

[Suivi]

Maybe you could rent one for a portion of your trip.

I think this will be a good idea... thanks

 

[emmalgin]

Wow..... Great rate. I also think Candlewood includes breakfast. With only 2, no problem, but I'd research hotels on line. Honestly some of those hotels are lower end Holiday Inns. There are better ones.

 

[Suivi]

I think we will do 3 Disney days.

MON, 22.05, TUE 23.05. WED, 24.05.

Would you rather do…

MK – MGM – EPCOT

or

EPCOT – MGM – MK

???

 

[KIRSTIN'S MOMMY]

I would do MK,Epcot,and MGM, but that's just me because I can't stand AK. (sorry to all the AK lovers out there!) Also, did you already purchase your Flex ticket? If not, and you really wanted to do the whole trip Disney, that's what I would do. If you have, I agree with everyone, you really need to rent a car. US/IOA, SW etc. are no where near each other. Also, we went to Orlando 4 times last year, and I can count on 1 hand w/fingers left over the number of Lynx buses that we saw while we were there. I don't think I would count on them for transportation totally. Also, TL is MUCH nicer than Wet n' Wild, I would just do one water park as well. We've done both, and Wet n' Wild really doesn't even compare. Maybe that would give you another park day? As far as the Busch Gardens Cape Canaveral day trips, the Lynx buses service the Orlando area only, they wouldn't go to other cities. If you still plan on these, definately rent the car.