Planning a trip for Sept 2013

[karen1987]

Hi everybody, first post here! Apologies in advance as I'm sure this has been asked a ton of times before, but it would be really useful to get some advice from other travellers...

Firstly, my partner and I looking to go to Disney World for 2 weeks in early September this year, and will likely stay at one of the All Star Disney hotels as we want to stay on site for the atmosphere, park early entry and transportation benefits.

We'd like to know the cheapest and most recommended place to order Disney park tickets, and also how we book trips to Busch Gardens and Universal Studios? We're not too fussed about Sea World.

In addition, I know its a 'how long is a piece of string?' sort of question, but realistically how much should we aim to budget for food and the occasional gift shop purchase? We are both vegetarians and don't eat huge amounts, or buy many souvenirs if that helps!

Thank you

 

[wilma-bride]

Hi and to the DIS.

Currently, the cheapest place to buy park tickets (if you want the 14-day Unlimited ticket) for Disney World appears to be through WDTC UK at £255 per adult.

For Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure, it really depends on how many days you plan to spend at each park and whether you might want to 'hop' between the two parks.

If you only plan to spend one day at each park with no hopping, your best bet would be a 2-day base ticket at $127.79 (through Undercover Tourist). If you want to visit more often, you can buy a 2-park unlimited ticket for around £100 (AttractionTix is £101 per adult).

For Busch Gardens, you can currently buy a 1-day ticket which includes the all-day dining plan free. The single day ticket, purchased through the Busch Gardens website is $85 plus tax per adult.

Are you planning to drive while in Orlando? If not, you can either use public transportation, in the form of Lynx buses, to get to Universal or a taxi (however, that could work out expensive if you visit on more than one day).

For Busch Gardens, you can use the free transportation. More info here

As far as spending money, you are right. It really is a 'how long is a piece of string' question. Having visited several times, we tend not to buy much int he way of souvenirs now. Nor are we big shoppers. For our family of 2 adults and 1 10 year old (with a big appetite) we tend to budget around £100-£150 per day.

If you haven't yet booked your trip, you might be better off holding off for a little while to see if Disney US releases any free dining offers for September. This could help you save money on food/drinks.

 

[karen1987]

Thank you very much for the advice, its been very useful for our research