International Drive

[doddi92]

I've been to Florida once before but that was with my family and we had a car! Around December time me and my boyfriend are planning to book a 3 week holiday to Florida, staying on International Drive. (Our social life is now non-existance due to trying to save up!) It's working out about £700 each for flights and hotel, the hotel has incredibly bad reviews, which to be honest we're not bothered about, we're going for the parks and days out exploring, not to chill by the pool. However I'm concerned about getting about. The hotels that are working out cheapest have scheduled transport, and there for we are limited to times when we leave our hotel and come back from the park, and apparently you have to book early morning the day before to get on the earlier buses. We know we can get to the parks, but is there an easier way to get to the parks that are more flexible, and if so what are the prices. I've heard of the I-Ride but I don't know much information about it at all.

Also, we want to go to Discovery Cove and Kennedy Space Centre, is there a way of getting there by bus? Money's going to be limited and we figured buses will be th cheapest way round it.

Any comments will be appreciated as we're now starting to plan our holiday (I'm a planning FREAK!) Thanks in advance, Myah

 

[goofy4tink]

Trying to get around Orlando and the surrounding area, using public transportation, isn't easy. You may be able to book a tour bus ride to Kennedy Space Center, but I'm just not sure. As for getting there via public transport, I don't think it can be done.

Most of us have found that if you aren't staying onsite, at a theme park, it's best to have a rental car rather than rely on the hotel shuttles. It is basically a case of 'you get what you pay for'.
Really, I am not trying to be snide or negative, but if you are going with the cheapest hotel you can find, you most likely aren't going to get many 'amenities'....they aren't going to provide great service to and from the various parks.

 

[Lewisc]

What hotel? Some of the bad hotels are really bad. Mold. Carpets that are water stained/cigaratte burns. Towels that are so thread worn they won't dry at all. One of the lower rated Knights Inn (I think it closed) had dead bolts that didn't work and was a hang out for people with drug issues and ladies of the evening. I won't take the time to search but I think there was a murder on site.

The cheap hotels share shuttles. You might not be able to get a reservation the night before. They don't run extra shuttles. Once the bus (maybe even a van) is full you're on your own. The shuttle might not be free.

At least some of your savings will wind up paying for taxis. At least once you'll either miss your return bus or want to stay in the park after the last bus leaves.

Some suggestions:
1) Disney value. Free airport transfers. Good Transportation. Lynx bus to SW. You might be able to either get a room discount or free dining.
2) DTD hotel. Decent transportation but you'll have to pay for transfers.
3) Sheraton Safari hotel has decent shuttles. You might be able to end your day in DTD and either walk or take a taxi to your hotel.
4) Rent a car. Check the UK board. You probably want to rent through a third party that includes insurance and a tank of gas.

List the hotels you're considering and the rates (US dollars).

5) Split your stay. Stay at a Disney value for the days you plan on visiting WDW. Move to an I-Drive hotel later in your stay. I-Trolly does a decent job getting you from I-Drive hotels to SW, Wet N Wild and close enough to Universal if you're willing to walk (long walk but doable).

 

[chartle]

5) Split your stay. Stay at a Disney value for the days you plan on visiting WDW. Move to an I-Drive hotel later in your stay. I-Trolly does a decent job getting you from I-Drive hotels to SW, Wet N Wild and close enough to Universal if you're willing to walk a long a bit.

This is what I was going to post.

Also to the OP the I Ride Trolley (really just a bus) does not go all the way to WDW.

I looked it up once and there are Lynx buses that can get you to the TTC early.

I have never read a positive post from anyone who took an off site shuttle to the parks except for the DTD and Bonnet Creek properties.

 

[TaraPA]

I've stayed offsite on I Drive once before. I stayed at Springhill Suites which did have a "scheduled" shuttle to & from Epcot only. It was not convenient at all! It was a shared shuttle with 3 other area hotels. You had to reserve it the day before, and it filled up FAST. It went at 8am & 10:30am to Epcot, then returned from Epcot at 6pm or 10:30pm. The ride was an hour to Epcot (with the other hotel stops) and then you had to figure in the time to transfer to whatever park you really wanted to be in that day. Also - the offsite busses drop off & pick up the farthest from the parks - and one night the bus was late for the 10:30 pick-up - I was not comfortable standing alone (I was there solo) WAY OUT in the Epcot parking lot, at 11pm.

Twice I used a taxi - it was VERY expensive. Over $50 one way to the parks.

I would strongly recommend looking for a Disney Value Resort - they can be found under $100 a night with a discount and you get free transportation to & from the airport (which you'd have to pay staying offsite), plus all the Disney transportation is right there at your fingertips. You didn't say how much your cheap hotel was offsite, but for the peace of mind of being onsite, it might be worth considering a value resort.

ETA - I see you did post what you're paying - but I don't know the conversion of pounds to dollars!

 

[chartle]

ETA - I see you did post what you're paying - but I don't know the conversion of pounds to dollars!

Its $1060 (as of the time of this post using Google) but without knowing the airfare amount and exactly how many days, you can't figure out the daily rate for this "hotel"

But based on what I can guess what the airfare may be, $700 RT (?). So subtract 700 from 1060 times 2 people works out to maybe $720 for 21 days so maybe $35 a night.

Also to the OP the rate shown may not include sales and hotel tax which will add about 13% to the hotel bill.

Also how are you getting to this hotel?

 

[Lewisc]

$35 /night hotels can be very bad. Some (many?) of the hotels on I-Drive charge for the Disney shuttle. Some hotels, even dumps, tack on a "resort" fee. I'm not sure you can even get a decent hotel on PL for $35.

I hope the OP lets us know what hotels are available.

 

[chartle]

$35 /night hotels can be very bad. Some (many?) of the hotels on I-Drive charge for the Disney shuttle. Some hotels, even dumps, tack on a "resort" fee. I'm not sure you can even get a decent hotel on PL for $35.

I hope the OP lets us know what hotels are available.

I did a quick Priceline search for Orlando and to my surprise found at least a page of $26 a night hotels.

The odd thing on the surface they seemed OK. I didn't do a lot of research but I did look at one of them and one of the complaints was the resort fee.

 

[Capt_BJ]

Getting to Kennedy/Cape Canav w/out a car is going to be $$ and offers little flexability.

If you can't afford a car the entire time (but that IS my recommendation), plan your days and plan to rent a car for part of the time. A cheap I-Drive room can be bad .. real bad ... ESPECIALLY for 3 weeks!

A comment you might not like here: skip Discovery Cove and use that money to pay for a car.

Of course 3 weeks in Orlando is never gonna be cheap & Europe has MUCH better public transportation then you will find in the US. Outside of getting around inside of major cities like New York (subways) and Chicago (the "L") you are going to struggle.

 

[goofy4tink]

Getting to Kennedy/Cape Canav w/out a car is going to be $$ and offers little flexability.

If you can't afford a car the entire time (but that IS my recommendation), plan your days and plan to rent a car for part of the time. A cheap I-Drive room can be bad .. real bad ... ESPECIALLY for 3 weeks!

A comment you might not like here: skip Discovery Cove and use that money to pay for a car.

Of course 3 weeks in Orlando is never gonna be cheap & Europe has MUCH better public transportation then you will find in the US. Outside of getting around inside of major cities like New York (subways) and Chicago (the "L") you are going to struggle.

What he said..times 100!!! He is right on the money. You get what you pay for. If you are staying in a 'hotel' that charges less than $50 a night, you are sure to have an issue.
I would also suggest dropping Discovery Cove and renting a car and/or staying at a better hotel.

 

[Lewisc]

I don't the age of the OP; if she and her boyfriend are under 25 renting a car will be expensive. There is a bus that goes to the Space Center a couple of times a week. I'm not sure if it's Mears or Coach USA. I think the market is foreign visitors that can't/won't rent a car.

http://www.kennedyspacecentertours.net/?event=offer.detail&offerId=5831 You can book at the KSC site. You can get a package that includes tickets or transportation only. Price it both ways. You may be able to get cheap tickets from one of the UK sellers.