Have you ever gone to Orlando and NOT done Disney??

[Kitty 34]

My brother and his family are thinking about going to Orlando next Spring Break. They want to try out Universal and maybe a few other tourist spots. The last time they went ( a few yrs ago) they just did WDW.

He's wondering if they will really regret NOT doing Disney when they go???

 

[Tay N Evie's Mom]

We've gone to Orlando 2 times without going to WDW. My parents lived outside of Orlando and we flew in for their 40th anniversary-our twins were only 18 months old and we didn't want to attempt WDW at that point-they were too young to enjoy it. We also went on DCL last March and had booked our air through DCL, so our flights were on the days we embarked and disembarked. Our twins were 3 at the time and I regretted not going to WDW then. Now, I always incorporate WDW into our plans when we go on DCL-I feel that I can't go to Orlando and not do WDW. If your brother goes to Orlando regularly, he may not miss skipping WDW this time, but if he only goes every few years he may regret it.

 

[Pixie_Dust]

We are going this Oct. to do Universal's HHN and Busch Garden's Howl-O-Scream, and not spend any precious time or money at WDW, although we will spend some Disney Vacation Club points to stay at the Beach Club Villas so we can go to Stormalong Bay. Disney has not added any major attractions in the last few years, have they? I think we've done WDW very thoroughly in the past.

Cheers

 

[mrsstats]

I own a timeshare at Westgate Vacation Villas. We go every year and never so to the Disney Theme park. (Of course, we have no children). We just enjoy the whole area, we will go to Downtown Disney and walk around. We do spring training baseball games, we did the Kennedy Space Center, Daytona on Bike week.

 

[Robinrs]

Last May my 8yo son announced to me that he NEVER wanted to do Disney again. Not in any anger, it's just that he felt like he had done all he needed to do there. We've been back to Orlando 4 times since and only went one more time when a great friend invited us down for a free day. It was great but we haven't been back since.

We have APs to BG, SW and USF and we just LOVE Orlando. There is so much more to the city than Disney!

 

[Greaser69]

Are you NUTS?

 

[alde]

Having just recently returned from Orlando less then a week ago, I'd like to offer my 2 cents here.

It was our intention to do the parks and the parks only. I'm sure that Orlando has more to offer, but this was our main focus. And although my wife and I are not park fans, it was a vacation more for my 11 and 7 year olds. Time and money certainly limited our choices to US / IOA and just the MK. As I've said in other posts here, the cost for doing US / IOA for 5 consecutive was not much more that MK for 1 day. I'm not bashing the Disney cooporation as I have no clue what it takes to run these parks, but as a consumer I felt that single day cost was outrageous. I seriously don't see where Disney "themes" are better than what Universal has to offer. I know all about the "themed" hotels, I could really care less. If money were no object, sure .. I would love to stay on sight .. if for anything the convenience.. However, the FOTL thing is hard to beat at US / IOA. Does Disney offer somethign similar other than e-nights and early entry??? Quite franky, if I ever go back to Orlando, I will plan on seeing the city at least once, spend a bit more time enjoying the hotel, definately go back to US / IOA. But .. as far as Disney is concerned... I seriouly doubt I will be back.

 

[Wonderlandmom]

In a couple of weeks I will tag along with my DH to his conference and leave the kids with Grandparents here. We plan to enjoy the resort and pool(his conference is off property and very few hours), shop at DTD, enjoy Boardwalk and have several PS's. Places we would not choose with the kids. Don't really want to do the parks without the kids this time. We have been to the parks enough in the last year, that this relaxed Disney trip sounds enticing ! Plus we will be going as a family soon enough anyway. Can do some Christmas shopping too !

 

[cindyf]

Last April my husband, daughter (7) and I decided to go to Orlando and skip the parks, We stayed at VWL for the weekend and got the flavor of disney then went to Vero Beach. It was fine while we were at VWL but when we got to Vero I felt like I had been "in Town" and hadn't visited my best friend. Husband and daughter seemed fine about it. We are now planning 9 days in Feb 2003 and you can be sure we will be HOME.
cindyf

 

[tink2dw]

I just can't imagine going all the way to Orlando and NOT riding Rockin'Roller Coast or Tower of Terror or seeing C of Progress or Tiki room. Some things just call to me and I couldn't Not do WDW!!

 

[Disney Talker]

We once took a short weekend trip and skipped Universal, which we ended up missing greatly..No WDW trip is the same without a couple of days at Universal thrown in too..IMHO

My DH went to a job interview in Orlando once, but did not go in the parks of course as he did not have the time or money. He did go to the Marketplace one evening called me from there and brought me back a small gift..

 

[eeyore0062]

No, I couldn't conceive of doing such a thing! There are lots of things to do in Orlando, but to us, WDW is the heart of it all!

 

[Katiebug]

We completely skipped Disney in 2000. We did Universal that year, but still went to Pleasure Island and the Marketplace. I did miss it though.

But I agree that Universal is alot cheaper for families. Disney needs to take that hint.

 

[Buschfan]

We are about an hour and 15 minutes from Orlando and have not been to Disney since the first part of 1998 when McDonalds had a coupon for $10 off a 1-day pass. We just go past the Disney exits on I-4 and wave as we go by. We went to Disney before that when AAA had discounted Florida resident rates for 1-day passes during certain times of the year and when we used to get a discount with our Magic Kingdom Club card. I have not seen any discounts since 1998 and we have not gone back. I agree with the other posters that Disney is just too expensive for families anymore. We spend our frequent weekend trips to Orlando at Universal and Sea World as they offer a much more affordable option. We also go to Busch Gardens and Adventure Island when we aren't driving over to Orlando.

 

[Lisa P.]

Kitty 34:
The last time they went ( a few yrs ago) they just did WDW.... He's wondering if they will really regret NOT doing Disney when they go???

It depends on how big fans they are of Disney. If they really love the Disney parks and only get to Orlando every few years, they may later think they ought to have taken the chance to visit. But if they enjoyed it but didn't go nuts over Disney, they'll probably have a great time at the other attractions and just look forward to checking out Disney a few more years from now.

If they haven't been to USF/IOA or Sea World, these really are worth visiting! We've also enjoyed the Orlando Science Center, the HolyLand Experience and day trips out to the beaches. Haven't even tried some of the smaller attractions or reportedly beautiful state parks for canoeing and horseback riding. There's so much more to do that's FUN in central Florida!

alde:
...the FOTL thing is hard to beat at US / IOA. Does Disney offer somethign similar other than e-nights and early entry???

E-nights are only offered in busier times and Early Entry is only offered during the absolute highest crowd days of the year - major holidays, like Easter. It's no longer a daily thing. Staying onsite is nice for the transportation (if you don't have or don't want to use a car) and for the theme (if that really floats your boat) but we don't find it worth the mark-up in most cases anymore. Nowadays, when many people can get an All Stars motel room for $60/nt, Frommers shows that rooms can easily be had at Comfort Inn LBV for $25/nt, including breakfast. JMHO.

Back to the original question, we really enjoy the Disney parks a lot. Twice, we've been in Orlando for fairly short stays (2-3 days) and did not visit the Disney parks. I only missed it a little bit and we shopped/ate in DD. We also knew we planned a return to Orlando within the same year.

 

[floridalol]

Going to Orlando for the 7th time in November - this will be the first time we don't do Disney - we've been so many times that we will now wait until a lot more new rides are launched.

Just going to chill out and shop this time!

 

[eeyore0062]

I don't get this....

Disney was THE only theme park in Florida to NOT raise their ticket prices, or the prices of their AP's this year, and still complain, complain, complain... do they have to offer free admission? C'mon?

Disney has fantastic rates for Florida residents as well. Can't wait to move down there to take advantage of the savings.

If you just don't like Disney, say so, but don't say they don't do anything to make it more affordible!

 

[Buschfan]

Disney was THE only theme park in Florida to NOT raise their ticket prices, or the prices of their AP's this year, and still complain, complain, complain... do they have to offer free admission? C'mon?

Disney did not raise their prices, but the other parks are offering at least a $10 discount a day with promotions making their admission around $39. Universal has a $159 2 year season pass. Sorry, even when you become a Florida resident, you will not be able to find a discounted Disney 1-day pass.

 

[eeyore0062]

I wouldn't want a one day discounted ticket for Disney... you cannot possibly do all of Disney in a day. We will be getting the AP's every year, and they are a GREAT value!

 

[tinaluis]

Isn't that a mortal sin? Visiting Orlando without visiting WDW? LOL, just kidding. Seriously, we cannot visit Orlando without visiting WDW but we also visit US/IOA and some of the smaller attractions on I-Drive. For us a trip to Orlando is about doing the theme parks, all of them. We have, however, spent many, many more days at US/IOA because it is a better value. I wish WDW would be a little more affordable so we could spend a few more days there, but we still visit there on every trip.