orlando firstimers(again)

[poey]

hi,and thanks for all of your tips.We're flying manchester to orlando int.,with virgin.any tips there?we've been told that blizz. beach is better value than wet & wild, is this true?any views?also told animal kingdom is a must.i've bought a brits guide 2003 and got a lot of ideas from that.we haven't ordered any tickets for the parks as yet,so again any info would be great.(i'll try not to run with scissors in my hand!)

 

[Martin S]

Poey,

Cant help on the Manchester thing, my only advice on the flight is that if you havent prebooked seats make sure you get there earlyish so you get some good seats together and away from the Toilets.

On the Water park its a personal thing - Wet and Wild has got more thrill slides IMHO but has NO theming at all, Blizzard Beach is simply fantastic to look at - def my favorite. I seem to remember you saying you had 2 young daughters. In that case you may want to consider Typhoon Lagoon instead as it has a great wave pool and lots of sand.

Personally I like Animal Kingdom as I like the theming and the Tough to be a Bug show but I wouldnt call it a must see over any of the other parks. Its probably got the least amount to see and do out of all of them.

Hope that helps

Martin

 

[UKDEB]

We usually fly Virgin into Orlando International, but we've never flown from Manchester. Plenty of people here have, though, so I'm sure you'll get some advice. If you have the Brit's Guide, read up on the chapter about the airport and familiarise yourself with the place - it has a double baggage collection system which is not complicated, but a little unusual. I could give you all kinds of tips for getting through the airport quickly, but I don't want to bamboozle you with too much information on a first trip. The best piece of advice (which you've already received from several people on your other thread), is to remember that you are on holiday, chill out and enjoy it. It is like no other holiday destination: tiring, total sensory overload, potentially stressful (if you don't follow the 'chill-out' advice), but SO MUCH FUN!

To me, Wet 'n' Wild is a concrete eyesore on the side of a road, but then I can't swim and don't enjoy water parks. Given that I have to visit them for the sake of others in my party, I would much rather be at a themed Disney one. I would say that BB has a slight edge over Typhoon Lagoon due to the over-the-top theming.

Yes, I think AK is a must do, but I think all the WDW and USF parks are must do's. I can't imagine visiting Orlando and not doing one of them, but I know plenty of people do. I'm not really up on all the current ticket options as we tend to buy Annual Passes for Disney and Universal. However, I'm sure it would be helpful for those who are able to help, to know which parks you plan to visit (Disney, Universal, Sea World, Busch Gardens, etc) and the duration of your stay.

 

[Aceman88888]

Water Parks-

Blizzard Beach IMO is by far the best and the theming awesome. You will have a hoot there especially on the family raft ride (ours sank and we were stopped by the attendant from climbing out!). Summit Plummet is unbelievable but leaves you with a tingling back for a few hours!. The downhill 'ski' run which you ride on innertubes is probably the best and if you manage to aquaplane across the bottom pool and bounce off the inflatable safety wall you will get an enormous cheer from the crowd!

Typhoon lagoon is also very good with possibly more to do for the under 5's than Blizzard. My only concern is the wave pool. Even though I swim quite well, when the wave hits and you cant touch the bottom, it's very scary indeed getting your orientation back after swallowing a couple of gallons of disney pool water.

We 'n' Wild has more flumes I think than the others but the thing that puts me off is that it's right on the side of an 8(?) lane highway intersection and it's not my idea of fun swimming with such concentrated localised polution (perceived that is).

I'm hoping to find this time River country and give that a go as a few people I have spoken to thought it was excellent if a little lacking in flume laden thrills.

Onto Animal Kingdom..... Yes, probably worth a visit but not a must see IMO. You can get a helping of wild animals along with awesome coasters at Busch and if you're caught between the two, I would not hesitate to pick Busch every time.

 

[rob@rar.org.uk]

The great thing about Orlando is that the theme parks offer such a variety that eveyone will find something they enjoy. Animal Kingdom is my favourite, and we visit it several times during each holiday. Best thing is to sample each one and decide which you like best!

Ace, I think River Country is closed (for good).

Regards

Rob

 

[Fantasia Sam]

The problem about being a first timer is that you do feel you have to do everything - I know I did and I was absolutely wiped when I returned from Orlando, I needed another holiday

I'm with Deb on this - Wet'n'Wild scares the living daylights out of me - more to do with going up concrete staircases which have gaps between the steps that you can see through and you can always tell how high you are. There are some great flumes there but I just never feel "safe" my preference is with BB or Typhoon you really feel you are on a beach. Sadly I haven't been to either in a while as my DBF can't swim and it's not much fun doing the rides on your own, still that leaves more time for shopping. The theming at both BB & TL is fantastic and at BB there are some great flume rides - just as good as W'n'W - a couple even better

I think you have to do all of the Disney Parks for the experience. AK is good fun and ther is plenty to do there - some people say you can do it in a half day but to get the real beauty of the park you need to stay there longer and really look around - the Disney imagineers really went to town here.

Bush Gardens is good but it's different - they have some great rides there and some good animal interaction - I haven't been there in a couple of years which to me means I can take it or leave it.

 

[richard3330]

I agree - We visited Wet 'n' Wild on our first trip and hated it - there is no theming and we left by midday - it is exactly what the others have said - A concrete eyesore on the edge of Int'l Drive. We found it dirty and overpriced and the life guards were mucking around and didn't seem to pay any attention whatsoever.

Our favourite Disney water park is DEFINITELY Typhoon Lagoon. The lazy river here is (I think?) the longest and IMO the best themed and easiest to find a ring on. DS (4) loves the massive wave pool - the waves really are massive and I must admit, I did enjoy Humanga Kowabunga (sp?) - A big water slide. At Typhoon Lagoon you can also snorkel with sharks which we all really enjoyed although it was a bit worrying at first! I also love those little Ice Cream 'balls' that you can buy here!

Yes, River Country is closed, and some people may disagree with me but I am glad it is gone - the lake was freezing cold and overcrowded and it was hard to spend a full day here. Hoepfully, there will be another Disney water park built as the other 2 get extremely busy - I have been to Blizzard Beach before and been turned away at the gate because it was to busy.

Richard.

 

[Disney owl]

Another vote for Animal kingdom we love the park & visit at least twice.
We've been to the character breakfast held there, Donalds breakfastsaurus ( spelling?) & thought it great. as well as donald duck there was mickey & goofy & a couple more I can't remember.

haven't been to wet & wild but didn't like the look of it , it's on a main road. really enjoyed blizzard beach & typhoon lagoon. Loads for the kids to do & lots of areas To chill out & relax.
We've ordered a 10 day disney ticket & have 10 days to go into the disney water parks too, so won't be wasting money visiting wet & wild.


also on our 1st visit to a water park we all got a little sunburnt even though we used a high factor sun cream. On our next visits I took sunblock cream & extra t-shirts & made the kids swim in t-shirts. yoou don't realise how much you are stood in the sun waiting for slides & just walking around. When i was on the lazy river rides ( where you float around in a big rubber ring) I also wore my hat & sunglasses!!!!!! I won't repeat my kids comments.

Take pool shoes /flip-flops the floor got very hot in the afternoon.





have a great holiday

 

[SidB]

I'm also not a swimmer but the rest of my family are, even my 6 year old. We've been to Typhoon Lagoon twice and loved it. Zoe wasn't too confident when the wave machine started up. The life-guards are excellent. I also love the Lazy River, and also wear a hat. My wife did the shark swim thing, and my daughter, who was 3 at the time insisted on counting her mum's toes, just in case !

River Country was awful. Obviously Disney got the same feedback and shut the place down.

I haven't done Wet and Wild. but if you have a Flex Ticket you don't have to stay.

Animal Kingdom is a must. We've done the safari twice, and the first time the commentary from the driver was outstanding. It's a nice small park and isn't too tiring for the young and old. I fall into both categories !

Be careful with the pre-booked seats thing. We thought we had these so didn't hurry to join the queue. Bad move. Virgin over allocated, so released our seats. We were lucky that we managed to swap with another family once aboard.

I guess that the type of tickets you buy can dictate which water parks you visit. The first time we visited we took the descision to buy a ten day Disney pass and it really worked well. We sometimes took half a day at the parks and then went to TL. My daughters were 3 and 7 and found it ideal. This year, when they were 6 and 10 we included Universal, IOA and Seaworld and found that this was the right combination.

Take the advise given and take plenty of high factor suncream. I'd also advise wearing hats.

 

[Mrs Dazzle]

Hi Poey - good to see you on board

Another round of applause over here for TL and Animal Kingdom. We're back to TL this October - given everyone the choice of here or BB, but nope, TL it is. My DD (10) and I love the wave pool - if you're not a good swimmer (like my DH) stand in the shallower end and you are absolutely fine. DD and I have to go mid-way because this is where you get the best waves. Although don't wear your prescription sunglasses like one of us did eek: , ok, me) last year - they got wrenched off in a particularly large wave right in the midde, but managed to swim down and rescue them

It's a very tranquil park - the Lazy River is just great, just watch for the photographers who try and get you (a) when you're trying to get ON your ring, or (b) as you're coming through one of the waterfalls (quite cold, not one of my best photos ).

Animal Kingdom is normally the first park we visit - it gives the feeling of being smaller than the others, it's so varied - and again peaceful. Beautiful place.