Renting in Canadian dollars instead of USD

[purple hippo]

Some places offer last minute discounts, I would say most don't. And of course you run the risk of the place getting booked. The house we rent starts booking over a year in advance, and the price stays the same. For us, we're not willing to risk missing out on it, so we'll be booking for next summer's trip in the next couple of months.

Yes the house you rent is very nice, but it's not available for my dates. I am looking for something closer to Sea World Area as we won't be going to US or WDW this trip. There seems to be a limited selection of places to stay in that area compared to closer to WDW. There are tons by WDW but I have heard that traffic is horrible over the holidays and I don't want to spend time stuck on the highway just to save a few dollars...that seems too much like reality than vacation - especially when we aren't even going to WDW.

Personally if i was planning at trip during what is one of the peak seasons (usually parks experience closures on New Years) I would NOT wait to book. Once you're sure you're going I would book what you want and then stop looking for something cheaper. Sorry if that comes across as blunt, but that isn't a time of year that you'll find many discounts.

You're not blunt..just honest! If I had my heart set on a certain place then yes, I would just book it sooner, than waiting to see if it goes down in price. However, at the moment anyways, I am still looking for the right place. We have never travelled during the holidays - always in the fall when rates are normally cheaper everywhere, so I think I have a bit of sticker shock. We normally stay in a hotel with Airmiles or Points when we are in Orlando, but now that my kids are older (12 and 14) they need their own beds and that becomes costly - even with points and we don't use pull out couches. Considering how much you can get when renting a place for less than the hotel cost, and can save the points/miles for trips to places other than Orlando.

I think the hardest part for me is trying to figure out if it's better to stay in a condo closer to SW/DC or stay further out by WDW and get a house but brave the commute and possible traffic? Anyone experience issues driving from the WDW area over the holiday break (Dec 30-Jan 5) to SW area? Is it really that bad? How long would it take to get from somewhere close to WDW like Windsor Hills to SW on a good day in the time period? Maybe I just read about certain people's experiences and that was a bad travel day?

Also does anyone know what the border would be like crossing into the US on Christmas Day? We would be crossing at Lewiston or Fort Erie. Trying to decide if we should cross the afternoon of Christmas Day or if we should just leave early Boxing Day?

 

[Tanooki]

Have you considered a hotel package directly from Seaworld? It might be a little more expensive but you'd be right there (walking distance or shuttle) and most of them have a free breakfast included. They are opening new hotels this year (spring and summer) and one of them is a Staybridge Suites, which has suites with big bedrooms that would be great for your teens
With all the construction going around on I-4 (and it won't be over for a couple of years...), I would NOT rent a house near WDW if I was only going to SW or Universal. I haven't checked for SW hotels but we did get a great deal last year on a Universal hotel (Royal Pacific) on the Air Transat website in CANADIAN dollars and yes, you can make a hotel only reservation without booking a flight with them

 

[purple hippo]

Thanks Tannoki! I was not aware about the construction on I-4 so that mixed with increased traffic by Disney confirms that we will avoid staying that area since we won't be visiting WDW this trip. I had actually looked at vacation packages through SW or DC but they do seem a bit more expensive and the hotels I would choose to stay at in those packages I can stay with points and still get the QQ privilege so I decided that it wasn't worth booking a package. If a special comes up with a discount or more benefits I might reconsider, but I would just use my points if I am going to stay at one of those hotels. I actually have a reservation at the Residence Inn SW just in case so if I didn't find any better option I have that at least.

Thanks for mentioning Air Transat - will keep my eye on there as well especially since you can pay in CAD!

 

[Sue M]

How many in your party? If you don't need a house, there are plenty of hotels with suites (Hampton, Springhill, Fairfield, Holiday Inn suites, etc) near or walking distance to SeaWorld. And both Hilton and Marriott vacation clubs. The SW site has a list of their partner hotels. My brother stayed in The Marriott time share vacation club near SW. It was quite nice. That trip we stayed in the Hilton Garden Inn right across the street from SW and could see the fireworks from our room. We didn't need a suite as it was just 3 of us.

I wouldn't want to drive from out of town, the traffic in Orlando is horrendous. At all hours. Not my idea of a vacation battling traffic every day.

 

[purple hippo]

We don't need a house - there are only four of us (me, DH, DD14, DS 12). I was looking at the houses (especially ones with pool) as they offered more space than the condos and seemed to be pretty close in price - just not location. I have scrapped the idea based on other feedback I received about renting a house or staying near WDW as we won't be going there this time and just doesn't make sense with the traffic. We have stayed on site in the past at US and WDW and this is our first time at SW and haven't been down in a couple of years so I was unaware of the traffic issues. At the moment I have a reservations at hotels at Sea World so our commute will be negligible or we can walk or talk the shuttle. Unless I come across an amazing rental close to SW, we will stick with a hotel this time. I have a reservation already at the Residence Inn at Sea World and will see what other specials come up between now and then for other places. We aren't going until the end of the year so lots of time to find more deals!