Non Disney Florida Trip - Where to Stay

[LydiaRodarte-Quayle]

Hi
We're planning a trip to Florida in April 2020 and would appreciate suggestions on where to base ourselves. We would be visiting:

Universal
Busch Gardens, Aquatica, Seaworld
Kennedy Space Centre
Gatorland

I guess it'll depend on which of these POIs we'll visit most frequently.
Kennedy Space Centre and Gatorland will only be 1 day visits but we're unsure whether the kids would want to visit busch Gardens more than they would Universal, or vice versa. They will be 13 and 11 and they love thrill rides. We did Disney last year and Hollywood Studios was their favourite park due to rides like the Slinky Dog, Tower of Terror and the like. They are not Harry Potter fans but the theming at Universal sounds like it could be amazing for anyone. On the flip side, the kids tend to be less impressed by simulation rides, which apparently is what Universal is known for (?)

The next thing I would appreciate some advice on, is how to get express access to rides at Busch Gardens and Universal. We have a smaller budget than we did for Disney so £1,000 for accommodation for 10 nights (in a 3 bedroom villa or apartment. We're not keen on a hotel room/s). If Universal has this sort of accommodation on site, we'd be happy to raise our accommodation budget to £1,500 providing it gives us access to express passes at the parks but I suspect not. It'll likely have to be Airbnb and the like. Is there another way to get express passes?

Thanks

 

[DISNEY1975]

For calculation purposes... $1000 BPS is US$1240. $1500 BPS is US$1860

Not sure where you would get a 3 bdrm for roughly $120 per night, unless maybe renting a private home at a weekly rate. Also keep in mind, April is Spring (school) Break/Holiday (Easter) season for the kids in the US. Prices are going to be higher than normal. If you can swap your trip to May, prices will be much more reasonable.

 

[Pumbaa_]

For universal express passes, they are included if staying onsite at their top 3 resorts. Otherwise they are sold by the day and would be around $189 pppd that time of year. Hotel nights will be closer to $300+ per night for a regular hotel room.

 

[Woodview]

I would think of going to Paris for Disney & Park Astrix

Or Holland for De Efteling or Toverland

All these are in easy reach of UK either by using your own car & going by car ferry or by Eurotunnel

 

[Upatnoon]

You might be able to stay 3 nights at a Universal Report hotel and 7 in a villa rental and make your budget.

$900 for the Universal hotel and $1000 for a 2-bedroom villa is doable and the path I would take.

 

[LydiaRodarte-Quayle]

For calculation purposes... $1000 BPS is US$1240. $1500 BPS is US$1860

Not sure where you would get a 3 bdrm for roughly $120 per night, unless maybe renting a private home at a weekly rate. Also keep in mind, April is Spring (school) Break/Holiday (Easter) season for the kids in the US. Prices are going to be higher than normal. If you can swap your trip to May, prices will be much more reasonable.

Thank you for the conversion!!
Yes it was a privately owned resort villa I had in mind.

 

[LydiaRodarte-Quayle]

For universal express passes, they are included if staying onsite at their top 3 resorts. Otherwise they are sold by the day and would be around $189 pppd that time of year. Hotel nights will be closer to $300+ per night for a regular hotel room.

Ok I had no idea the passes were that expensive. I did some more browsing this morning and I thought it was mentioned on a tripadvisor discussion board that they were about 70 USD per person. Might have been an old post. Prices rise that fast??

 

[LydiaRodarte-Quayle]

I would think of going to Paris for Disney & Park Astrix

Or Holland for De Efteling or Toverland

All these are in easy reach of UK either by using your own car & going by car ferry or by Eurotunnel

Disneyland Paris is on our hit list as well. Thinking of doing that in 2021. I had not heard of the Holland one so thank you. I'll check it out.

 

[LydiaRodarte-Quayle]

You might be able to stay 3 nights at a Universal Report hotel and 7 in a villa rental and make your budget.

$900 for the Universal hotel and $1000 for a 2-bedroom villa is doable and the path I would take.

Thanks a lot. I think you may be right! This sounds like the solution for us. I'll look more closely at the universal hotels for 3 nights.

I take it Busch Gardens have no express pass options? The villa rental could be nearer to that, so that we time our visits for late evening or early morning to avoid long queues and spend the rest of the time enjoying the villa resort activities... and the Kennedy Space Centre and Gatorland.

 

[DISNEY1975]

Also look into Discovery Cove. Its the most amazing park, all inclusive for the day. Often, for a nominal fee (extra $40 - 50ish pp), it includes a 14 day pass to Seaworld, Aquatica and Busch Gardens. They also give discounts to Seaworld area hotels (Seaworld, Aquatica, Discovery Cove are all basically on the same street. Busch Gardens is about an hour away) but there is a free shuttle from seaworld.

https://discoverycove.com/orlando/p...A4gk8WKKRJ6mW48rfrNfC8pdoM0bARaAaAu5KEALw_wcB

 

[fla4fun]

Thanks a lot. I think you may be right! This sounds like the solution for us. I'll look more closely at the universal hotels for 3 nights.

I take it Busch Gardens have no express pass options? The villa rental could be nearer to that, so that we time our visits for late evening or early morning to avoid long queues and spend the rest of the time enjoying the villa resort activities... and the Kennedy Space Centre and Gatorland.

Busch Gardens has something called Quick Queue, and I know there is a fee for the unlimited one. Perhaps visit their website for more details. Sea World also has the Quick Queue option. I know there are some hotels near Sea World that give you a complimentary Quick Queue for one time on each ride or you can buy the unlimited. I do not know if Busch has the complimentary option.

The main issue I see is that you want to do things on opposite sides of the state. If you stay near Busch Gardens, it will be about three hours (more if traffic is bad) one way to Kennedy. From the Orlando area, it’s about two hours to Busch and about an hour to Kennedy. There are a lot of vacation rentals in the Davenport area, which is just southwest from Disney. If it were me, I would look in that area so you are kind of centrally located.

 

[Tattylou]

The main issue I see is that you want to do things on opposite sides of the state. If you stay near Busch Gardens, it will be about three hours (more if traffic is bad) one way to Kennedy. From the Orlando area, it’s about two hours to Busch and about an hour to Kennedy. There are a lot of vacation rentals in the Davenport area, which is just southwest from Disney. If it were me, I would look in that area so you are kind of centrally located.

This was my thought - the places you want to see are pretty spread out. Maybe break up your stay to a couple of different locations so you aren't driving 2+ hours to/from in the same day. We stayed at CoCoa Beach when we did Kennedy Space Center and we stayed by St Pete Beach when we did Busch Gardens. Orlando was our stop when going from Cocoa to St Pete.

 

[Pumbaa_]

Universal express passes. Are not a set price but varies based on day. Busy times are mor expensive than low season.

 

[writerguyfl]

The next thing I would appreciate some advice on, is how to get express access to rides at Busch Gardens and Universal. We have a smaller budget than we did for Disney so £1,000 for accommodation for 10 nights (in a 3 bedroom villa or apartment. We're not keen on a hotel room/s). If Universal has this sort of accommodation on site, we'd be happy to raise our accommodation budget to £1,500 providing it gives us access to express passes at the parks but I suspect not. It'll likely have to be Airbnb and the like.

Unfortunately, only the Premier hotels at Universal Orlando include the Universal Express Unlimited pass. Those hotels are the Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, Hard Rock Hotel, and Loews Royal Pacific Resort.

The only Universal hotels with larger rooms are the Cabana Bay Beach Resort and the Surfside Inn and Suites at Universal's Endless Summer Resort. The Dockside Inn and Suites is scheduled to open in March 2020. That property is the sibling hotel to the Surfside Inn and Suites. It's anticipated to be identical in rates because the rooms and amenities are identical.

That said, it's important to note that Universal's suite hotels are nothing like a 3-bedroom villa or apartment. For example, the Dockside Inn and Suites calls their suites: 2-Bedroom Suites. Personally, I find this deceptive because they are only 440 square feet (about 40 square meters) and they do not have a living room. It's strictly two bedrooms and a bathroom. No living room.

If you're looking for large villa or apartment, you won't find it at Universal Orlando. Plus, a quick glance at rates in April 2020 shows the cheapest rate for their "2-Bedroom Suites" to be around $190/night (about £150).

To add yet another wrinkle, the Universal area is located in Orange County Florida. Orange County effectively bans property owners from renting out their entire house/condo via sites like Airbnb. So if you want a villa/apartment, you'll need to go with a timeshare (Marriott Vacation Club, for example) or head to the Disney World area. The counties surrounding Disney World do not prohibit entire house/condos from being rented on a weekly basis.

This was my thought - the places you want to see are pretty spread out. Maybe break up your stay to a couple of different locations so you aren't driving 2+ hours to/from in the same day. We stayed at CoCoa Beach when we did Kennedy Space Center and we stayed by St Pete Beach when we did Busch Gardens. Orlando was our stop when going from Cocoa to St Pete.

I think you and fla4fun have the best plan. Splitting up this trip into at least two separate stays is probably the best idea.

 

[Darcy03231]

For a condo near Universal look at Vista Cay resort. I believe they have some three bedroom condos. I looked into renting there once, but with 12 people we would have needed two condos so I decided to rent a house instead. If you want to go that route we rented here:

https://www.vrbo.com/3806567ha
It took us about 20-30 minutes to get to Universal from there.