Planning a trip to Orlando - where to start?

[susant63]

Hi all

I've used the DLP board for the two visits we've had to Disneyland Paris.

DD will be 8 in July 2014, so we're planning to visit Orlando for our summer holiday. I've been to Orlando once as a child, and a couple of times as an adult - with my late parents and my sister and her DH. My sis did all the booking and planning, so it's all new to me

So, where do I start?

There's only 3 of us - me, DH and DD. I'm inclined to think a villa will be too big for just 3 of us. As she's an only child, we ideally want somewhere with a pool and the opportunity for DD to play with other kids when we're having some down time from the parks - she likes to meet 'friends' on holiday.

I'm just not sure where to start with the planning - it all seems a bit overwhelming!

I'm just starting to read through some of the messages, but would appreciate any hints and tips you can offer

Thanks
Susan

 

[chmurf]

first of all a few questions

When ?
How long ?
Where ? (onsite would be perfect)

that's a start.

 

[susant63]

Thanks for the reply.

We're planning to go Summer 2014, during Scottish school holidays (July - Aug) for 14 nights.

Susan

 

[susant63]

OOps - missed the where!

Ideally onsite, although i've heard its pricey!

 

[flortlebap]

OOps - missed the where!

Ideally onsite, although i've heard its pricey!

It can be pricey if you're more interested in staying in cheap Idrive accommodation and spending a lot of time off site.

However, for us, not having to pay car hire and making use of free dining means staying on site works out at pretty good value. We visit restaurants every night so the free dining is a must for us.

The value accommodation can be a good option too if you prefer on site. We loved POP (although no free dining there!)

It's an expensive time of year to go, so it's about finding the best deals.

A great place to start is the unofficial guide to Disney - read it cover to cover and you'll be an expert in no time! Plus, you've been before, so you'll have some good base knowledge

 

[WiganTony]

Firstly I would look at getting flights booked. Currently, flight prices are still expensive compared to previous years. Consider connecting flights from Glasgow/Edinburgh that could be cheaper, and also flights into Tampa rather than Orlando.

That said, there have today been some extremely cheap air fares on offer through some Irish Travel Agents, but these involve getting to and from Shannon/Dublin. For example, I have seen a Shannon-Gatwick-Orlando, returning Orlando-Manchester-Shannon for around 700 Euros, and that is travelling PE (Premium Economy) UK-MCO and return. I understand that on the return journey, you could request that your baggage be checked only to Manchester where you could then get a train back to Glasgow/Edinburgh, and not take the subsequent Manchester - Shannon flight. You would still have to book a single flight (plus baggage) from EDI/GLA to Shannon, but this cost plus an overnight hotel would still be considerably less than paying PE from the UK to Orlando.

However, I would be a little wary of this strategy should, for example, if the return flight was overbooked or delayed, Virgin could in theory re-route you on Delta to travel Orlando - Atlanta - Dublin, and hence you could end up paying a small fortune for flights back to Scotland on the day you land.

As for accommodation, onsite can be pricey. We have been fortunate for the last two visits (and our August 2014 stay) that we booked and got the free Disney Dining Plan with our stay at Old Key West. This worked out at approx. £175/night for three of us but we do have most of our meals at Disney covered.

A quick check on the Disney website for 2 weeks arriving 15/07/14 at All Star Sports is £1176 (approx. £83/night) for accommodation which would give you the benefit of the Extra Magic Hours in the parks and use of Disney Transport direct from hotel to parks. If you rented a car, you would not pay for parking at the parks (approx. $15/day) and you could still eat "off-site" where prices are cheaper.

A cheaper option could be to stay at one of the Downtown Disney area hotels which offer a frequent bus service to the four main Disney Parks, plus are within easy walking distance of Downtown Disney and the restaurants in the Crossroads area of Lake Buena Vista. I have just checked on Hotels.com and you can get a room for the same dates at the Best Western Lake Buena Vista Resort Hotel for £1,001 - if you book via the Quidco cashback site, you could get 10% cashback on this making it approx. £900 (or approx. £65/night).

(Just noticed that the same website currently have Disney's Caribbean Beach resort available at substantial discount for £1,280 for the 14 nights which is a superior hotel to the All Star Sports noted above).

Ticket wise I guess you would have to have some idea of which parks you wanted to visit e.g. just Disney and their waterparks, or combine with SeaWorld/Aquatica/Busch Gardens and/or the Universal Parks.

If just visiting Disney, the UK 14 day tickets would be suitable as they give unlimited access to the theme and waterparks, plus Disneyquest (approx. £800 for three of you). It does, however, start to get more expensive if you want to add on the other parks, for which there are quite a few permutations of tickets available. If you could give an idea if you wanted to visit other parks, then hopefully others can advise on the most cost effective options for you.

A final thought may be to look at using one of the Orlando "specialists" such as Complete Orlando or Val Ramsey at Travel Councellors, who can pull together a "tailor made" holiday should you be a little wary of booking things yourself.

HTH.

 

[susant63]

Wow - loads of info! Thanks!

Theres just so much to take in.

Where do I get the 'unofficial guide'?

Thanks
Susan

 

[flortlebap]

Wow - loads of info! Thanks!

Theres just so much to take in.

Where do I get the 'unofficial guide'?

Thanks
Susan

This is the one... https://www.google.co.uk/shopping/p...r=2&ei=jT_FUpK3M6HB7Ab2mYCYDQ&ved=0CF0QpiswAQ

I bought the last one on iBooks too.

It also gives you a discount on a subscription to touringplans.com which I can't live without! Although many people prefer easywdw as it's free. I find TP more accurate and easier to navigate.

 

[Claymore]

Theres some good deals going, if you book directly with Disney Travel.
We've been going for years and this is the first time weve booked with them.

We do the Disney Cruise sometimes too, and always book that via DCL direct.

Try and get the Animation resort - it lovely and great for kids.

and with kids.... always always always get the meal plan and tickets.
It seems dear when you get it, but it saves fortunes when you get there

 

[mmrocks]

One of the best value resorts is the Art of Animation. Your daughter will love the Little Mermaid section. You will find that you will have to pre book your dining reservations especially if you are there during a free dining promotion. If your daughter loves the princesses a character meal is the best way to meet them. There are also great character meals with other characters too,the dining plan is a great way to meet characters without standing in long hot lines. And it will be hot and humid in July.

 

[mmrocks]

One of the best value resorts is the Art of Animation. Your daughter will love the Little Mermaid section. You will find that you will have to pre book your dining reservations especially if you are there during a free dining promotion. If your daughter loves the princesses a character meal is the best way to meet them. There are also great character meals with other characters too,the dining plan is a great way to meet characters without standing in long hot lines. And it will be hot and humid in July.

 

[queendisney]

One of the best value resorts is the Art of Animation. Your daughter will love the Little Mermaid section. You will find that you will have to pre book your dining reservations especially if you are there during a free dining promotion. If your daughter loves the princesses a character meal is the best way to meet them. There are also great character meals with other characters too,the dining plan is a great way to meet characters without standing in long hot lines. And it will be hot and humid in July.

As this is a value resort you won't get the free dining. If you added the dining on then you might as well stay at a moderate resort and get it for free. But even then you still only have the QSDP (which is what we like best as can't be doing with planning where and what time I want to dine months in advance and then booking it all, we like to eat when we want and in what ever park we happen to be in) so if you want the next dinning plan up you will still have to pay more at the moderate. There are often offers on Old Key West (delux resort) where you would get the DDP for approx. the same price as a moderate.. So much to consider hey?! What you need to think is will it work out better for you to stay in AOA and pay OOP for food.