orlando advice

[firsttime04]

please could any of your good selves offer any advice to my family and i ...we are going to orlando for the first time...........
travelling 12 november with virgin......they ok??
staying on international drive at the holiday inn..........????
not got any passes yet....so many places that sell.......any advice here would be fab.....
booked for discovery cove on the 25 november ....i know that this is thanksgiving but its also my 40th birthday too.......reason for the holiday....will it be busy on this day and daysleading up to the 25th........???leave for home on the 26th so not worried about after..............is it worth going to the welcome meeting....dont want to waste valuable roller coating time....
many thanks in advance for help
ian

 

[KayleeUK]

Hi Ian

Welcome to the DIS

Going to move this post over to the trip planning board for you

If you post your questions seperately it helps if someone knows the answer to just one of your queries It also means you usually get more replies

 

[Miffy2003]

Hi there and welcome to the boards

I will answer what I can and someone else will be along in a moment to answer the rest I'm sure

Virgin- I usually go with them and think they are fine. Seatback TV's etc but don't get excited about the games system if you're flying from Gatwick as I don't think (m)any have them fitted yet. Rumour has it this is being done soon, but I'm not sure if it's in time for your trip.

Tickets - how many of you are going and how long for - what are the ages of your party (ie are there children? Thrillseekers? etc)and do you have any rough ideas of what parks sound most appealing to you? For a first timer I thoroughly recommend getting a copy of Simon Veness' A Brit's Guide to Orlando book which will answer all of your questions and then some in an excellent, informative and easy to read way.

Yes it will be busy on Thanksgiving Day but as you will be at DC you should be OK as they only sell a relatively small number of tickets per day to keep things more "exclusive" and personal (which is reflected in the ticket price!). Days around Thanksgiving will be busier in the parks too.

About the welcome meeting - I wouldn't bother personally as I view them as a waste of precious park time (only my opinion though!)- but others like to go to them. You will get much more useful information from these boards

HTH for a start!


Karen

 

[UKDEB]

Hi, Ian and welcome to the DIS

We always fly with Virgin and have never had any problems. I'd say they are no better/no worse than any other large organisation. You'll get seatback TVs, but not the 'on demand' system Virgin operates on some of its routes, and no games.

Can't really help you with passes - we buy Annual Passes, so I'm a bit out of touch with the other offerings. If there is any chance that you could return within 12 months, or if you are visiting for more than 2 weeks, then I'd say APs are hard to beat.

I think DC is a fantastic choice for any busy day - they admit a maximum of 1000 guests per day, so no matter how busy it gets everywhere else, you will have a relaxing day. The crowds will almost certainly be busier during Thanksgiving week than the previous week. Make good use of FASTPASS and avoid Extra Magic Hour days (Disney opens one of its parks an hour early for its onsite guests):

MK - Sun, Thu
Epcot - Wed
MGM Studios - Tue, Sat
Animal Kingdom - Mon, Fri

I wouldn't bother with the welcome meeting. The jetlag will ensure you're awake at the crack of dawn on the first day, so it's best to take the opportunity to arrive at a park at opening time and get a march on the crowds. Stick around here and you'll learn far more than you will at any welcome meeting!