Going to Orlando in August with Travel City!!!!

[lisagirlyUK]

Hi,

I am going to Orlando for the first time in August with all my family - 7 of us in all!! I dont know what we are in for!

I am absolutley dreading it in August but it was the only month we could all get time off so if anyone has any tips on how to cope it would be much appreciated!!!

Also, has anyone used Travel City direct? We have a 3 bed exec villa with pool but we dont know where - only that it is 1 of 4 locations? has anybody used them and could tell us the locations?

Just any tips or advice would be much appreciated - I got SimonV's book and am going to start working my way through it tonight!!!!

What have I let myself in for ?!?!?!

Many Thanks

lisagirly

 

[mkingdon]

Lisa

Sounds very similar to the holiday we booked last year.

The 4 locations were

Clear Creek
Southern Dunes

and 2 I can't remember

Be aware, Southern Dunes is a LONG way from WDW (35 -40 minute drive) which can have a big impact on your day.

I requested Clear Creek 13 months in advance and didn't get it.

I've booked with TCD again for this year, but fly drive only, and I'm booking my own accomodation.

I would try all you can to make sure you get a location as close to WDW as possible.

HTH

Craig

 

[bustersmum]

we have booked same the locations are the 2 mkingdon hasmentioned and bridgewater crossing and westridge.

 

[lisagirlyUK]

Thanks Mike,

we dont want to be too far away either! I might give TCD a call!

 

[Disney owl]

we flew TCd last August though we booked our own villa as we wanted to choose the location.

August wasn't as busy as we'd expected though we did go towards the end of the month. We didn't queue more than 30 mins for anything & used fastpass to the full.

Last August was very wet , it rained almost everyday. We had some very heavy showers!!!!! we found that the water parks had to be visited in the mornings as the rain came mid afternoon to teatime. Saying that it didn't stop us doing anything & when it wasn't raining it was very hot & sunny.

 

[kateave]

Hi Lisa
We're going to Orlando on 5th Aug for 2 wks with TCD as well!!!!!but staying in a friend's villa. and we live in gosport too!!!!!

We've been twice in august and both times it was very hot and humid with afternoon showers. was 110F with 98% humidity at animal kingdom. melt down!!!!!

take a bottle to fill up at the water fountains in all the parks, much cheaper than paying for drinks unless you want to get out of the sun and cool off in a cafe etc. we also took a cool bag backpack and bought drinks from the local supermarket,.

another is to keep a cool bag in the car with ice blocks which we brought with us so that when you get out of the park and back to your car(can be quite a trek out of MG) you always have a welcome cold drink. drink plenty of fluids and (and we all soon realised that we weren't going to spend many pennies as we were sweating too much)LOL

take good quality face cleansing wipes and cooling foot/leg spray.

pace yourself around the parks and realise that they really are that big and you can't do it all. so plan what you want to see and do.

if you get that hot go on a water ride! great fun for cooling off!in the heat you soon dry off .who cares about wet knickers!

friends went last year and had awful rain as said but our two visits were sunny apart from occasional showers in late afternoon -- we we lucky

roll on august
kate

 

[lisagirlyUK]

I couldnt beliebe when I told my husband you were going out ther the same time as us, with the same company and you live in the same town!! - spooky eh?!?!
Where in Gosport are you? We live in the hardway near to Priddys hard.
Well if you have any other hints or tips we would very much appreciate it!!!! are you taking any children? we are taking 1 - she will have just turned 3 (which meant we had to buy tickets for her - booh!) so your tips for keeping hydrated will come in very handy - actually my mum has already bought a cool bag!!!!

Speak to you soon!

lisagirly

 

[kateave]

Hi Lisa
i've sent you a pm regarding where i live smalller world than you think!!


another hint is to pack shorts in your hand luggage so before the plane lands, change into them as the heat can get to you as soon as you leave the airport doors. We all wore track pants/light summer trousers the first time we went and by the time we'd got the car and packed the luggage- felt like melting.and i'd wished i'd filled up the water bottles on the plane before we disembarked.

and trainer deodorant spray!!!!!sweaty feet need trainer socks LOL


enjoy your trip
it's magical
kate
got to get out the photos now and remember:wave2

 

[MARTINIUS]

August is a fine time to go - weather is not too hot and crowds are tailing off especially toward the end of the month. Buy multipacks of bottled water from Walmart etc and freeze them the night before so you've always got ice cold water all day - soft drinks will dehydrate you. Carry a small rucksack to keep them all in. Take/buy pushchairs even for ages 6-7 as they will get tired during the day. Have a mid day break and go back to the parks early evening fully refreshed after a swim/sleep. Dont wear shoes/trainers - buy a pair of good sandals like the all terrain types you see in the shops and wear with no socks - they really keep you cool and let your feet breathe and you don't have to worry about your feet getting wet. Above all don't rush and try to cram everything in - take it easy and remember you're on holiday - it's impossible to fit everything in during a 2/3 week holiday

 

[matty624]

Agree with everything said already. But how can you say that it's not too hot in August Martinius! Since 97 we've spent 18 weeks in Orlando, almost all of them during the months of August, and I can only remember 1 day, last year as it happens, when it wasn't boiling hot! It's still fun though...
One tip which I don't think has been mentioned, if there's a few of you (and 7 is quite a few), and you say you've got two cars, make sure you take either tri-band mobiles with you, or alternatively buy a couple of trac phones or similar when you get there, so you can keep in touch if the party ever splits up. Back in 2000 we made the mistake of going with the inlaws, we had a phone, but father inlaw refused to rent/buy or bring one. If they'd had one, life would have been much easier for us. However close you are, you're unlikely to want to spend every minute of a holiday doing exactly the same stuff!
Ian

 

[lisagirlyUK]

we already looked into this. i was about to buy a multi pack ok of 2 way radios until I posted on this site and found out that they are illegal in the US!!! So the very first thing we are going to do when we are out there is buy a set of radio's which I have been told you can get for $30.(though dont know where yet!)

Thanks

 

[matty624]

See this thread: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=496450
It's all about mobiles, you may well have seen it already...

'We bought Motorola 'Trac phones' from Walmart. I think they were $60 each, including some free call time. We bought a $18 top-up card for each as well. In total I think we each had 90 minutes available. We were there a month last August and each left with 45 minutes remaining. Unfortunately the time disappears after 3 months, but next year we'll only have to buy 2 more top-up cards at $18 to stay in touch with each other. Far cheaper than using tri-bands like we always use to. (IMHO)'

We tried radios one year, and I know some people swear by them, but we found that every single time we tried to use them, there would invariably be that many people screaming at one another on that frequency, they were completely useless. Other people appear to have had more success?
Ian