Three Week Holiday...

[Melcatfish]

Hi

I am a long time browser of the Dis and first time poster.

We are planning a trip in a year or two (OK so I am planning ahead!)

We are hoping to go for three weeks, and I wondered whether you would recommend spending all three weeks in Orlando or two in Orlando and one at the beach.

Current favourite option is to stay in a villa - advice and recommendations about these will also be much appreciated.

Our group will include:

Me - 24 - Still a big kid but scared of rollercoasters
Darren - 30 - My husband - in all honesty not a big theme park fan
Helen - 46 - My Auntie, an even bigger kid than me
Rodney - 50 - My Uncle, looking forward to Kennedy Space Center
Elizabeth - 14 - Reluctant flyer but determined not to miss out.
Rebecca - 11 - Excited but temperemental teenager in waiting

For my Auntie, Uncle and two cousins this is certainly a once in a lifetime trip so we are planning to do Discovery Cove and any other "must do\see's" that we can come up with.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Mel

 

[KayleeUK]

Hi Mel

Welcome to the Dis !! What a wonderful holiday you are going to have. You will get some great advice here

We have only been for 2 weeks before and have spent it all in WDW But lot's of people like to split up a stay with a week at the beach. We do plan to do this on one of our many planned trips

What time of year are you planning to go?

I would definately get a few guide books, amoung my favourites are the Brit's Guide and Passporter.

Can't wait to hear more about your plan's

Kaylee

 

[neo's white rabbit]

Just personal opinions here, there are others far more experienced than I regarding Orlando, but as someone who writes about travel and does a fair bit of it I'll just throw my in general comments ...

I'd go for a villa with a big group because (if it was me) I'd like the space, privacy & ability for various age groups to do what they like. As in 99% of villas have a private pool, some have games rooms, nintendo, playstations, numerous tv's and videos, family room plus a second sitting room...plenty of bedrooms and bathrooms, kitchen, laundry facilities ect

I like www.villas2000.com

Of course, I'm sure others would say staying 'on-site' is a must. Again, personal choice.

We're also 'doing' Discovery Cove in May...expensive maybe but I can't see anyone who's done it who wrote a bad word about the experience, quite the opposite. Although at this point I'd take issue with trying to book a Special Occasions package - my do they make that difficult

Keep an eye on the posts regarding theme park ticket bargains - then make a decision on what suits your group. Whatever you do someone will come up with a slightly cheaper alternative or option We've used www.ticketmania.com Tickets seem to go up every year so, with the ones that don't expire, it could be worth buying those early to save money in the long run so long you are sure you will actually go.

Again, personal opinion, but on a longer break I'd head for the beach for a change of pace - we're going to the Gulf Coast for the Memorial Day weekend as we figure the parks will be mad busy while we're there. Of course the beach may be mad busy too LOL If I was there for 3 weeks I'd spend the last one someplace else.

Gather ye coupons while ye may - lots of discounts to be had Check out The Entertaiment Book which comes out yearly and this year was available for $25 rather than $35 and postage free to the UK.

Get SimonV's book for whichever year you are going - you won't need another for Orlando!

And, finally, stick with these boards as there is heaps of useful and up to date info to be found!

 

[Melcatfish]

We will have to go during school summer holidays as Darren and I both teach.

I have been frantically reading trip reports and other Florida websites and I am sort of leaning towards 3 weeks in ORlando as there are beaches all over the world but there is no where else like Orlando!

Is the Brits guidebook the one which gives you all the useful extra info like park busy days etc... I saw something about that somewhere and thought it would be really helpful.

I am hoping that they will keep repeating the Florida Fun in the Sun tickets as they seem like great value and I have a feeling I will want to keep on going back to the different parks over and over.

I have looked at the on site hotels and although I would like to try one I think that for three weeks we will appreciate some private space and the ability to make our own meals - I find that even when I go away for a short time I end up craving stupid foods that you can't get in restaurants! I am hoping someone can recommend a good area for villas which is located conveniently for most parks.

Cheers
Mel
xx

 

[neo's white rabbit]

There are lost of villa sites, but I like the one I mentioned above. I could bore you with why Once you decide which place you want to be at you can just search for what's in that area.

Yes, The Brits Guide to Orlando is SimonV's book. Currently in WHSmiths and 'all good bookshops' I would imagine

 

[galaxy]

Hi there

We are also going for three weeks this year. In 26 days to be precise

I would agree with others that a villa would be your best choice.
We also booked through villas2000, no problems so far, will let you know more when we return.

As for tickets we bought Fun in the sun passes which gives us unlimited access to all the disney parks, disney quest, kennedy Space Centre, a character breakfast and more!
We bought annual passes to the Universal parks and for Sea world/Busch gardens (the best deal to let us visit as we want)

We are staying a a hotel in Clearwater for 2 nights /3 days in the middle of our holiday to allow us a break from the parks.

the best advice is to start browsing these sites bookmark your favs and write it all down again and again just be prepared for the late nights and dreams of tickets, parade times etc to take over your life

happy planning

 

[neo's white rabbit]

Galaxy: Have a wondeful holiday. If you have time on your return I'd be interested in your thoughts on Clearwater and what you did/liked as we have also booked (3)nights there, at the Best Western Sea Stone Resort.

 

[squitty]

Hi and Welcome to the boards

We have been to Orlando a couple of times for 3 weeks
We always stay put. Even when we were lucky enough to go for 4 weeks we still stayed put
DH prefers it this way. He always drives us to the beach for the day. That is enough for us.
This allows us plenty of days where we can just sit by the pool or go shopping.

Villas are the way to go, we have always used: www.privatevillas.co.uk to book our villas. As for the locations of the villas everybody's opinion is going to be different.

Whatever you decide I am sure you will have a great holiday. Happy planning

 

[signtalker]

Hi there, and welcome to the boards its never to early to plan!!!!!
were off for 3 weeks in May, usually we do 2 weeks, but this time weve pushed the boat out and are trying 3 weeks, we have a villa and will just travel around if we need to hit the beach(driving is second nature to us, we live in the country so mileage isnt a problem!).
Have you thought about boggy creaks airboat ride, and also silver springs nature park, there are lots of things to see other than the theme parks, my advice would be Simon Veness's A brits guide book, and also start posting all your questions on here(were a friendly bunch!)

Jules

 

[DisneyBB]

We have always gone for 3 weeks and done lots of combinations. One time we stayed two weeks near Disney and 1 week on North Reddington beach, near Clearwater. At first we thought great, we needed the peace, but after 2 days we missed all the parks and wished we could go back. After that holiday we have done 2/3 days either on a Cruise or by the beach, but we have always left days at the end of the holiday to go back to Disney. I think if you try to do everything in two weeks you will not enjoy it as much. If you could get the 30 fun in the sun then you can go to the parks when you like. Maybe go to the beach for a couple of days, but the hassel of packing up may not be worth it. You could always rent a villa for three weeks, and just take a small bag down to the beach for a couple of days.

Signtalker - Where do you find out info on Boggy Creak ? Do they have a web site ?

 

[neo's white rabbit]

DisneyBB

http://www.bcairboats.com/

The Entertainment Book Orlando 2003 (yes the one you never used ) has 2 coupons with up to 4 admissions at 50% off per coupon for Boggy Creek.

 

[WDWfan uk]

Hi Mel Welcome to the boards!

I would split your trip - we have had three week trips or just under - and like to spend a few days at a beach resort e.g. Clearwater Beach, Sarasota or Vero Beach and we also have relatives in Florida who we spend a few days with.
We have also stayed at an off-site hotel for some of our time in Orlando and then moved to an on-site hotel to be immersed in Disney!

Planning is great fun and it's not too early to start- looking forward to seeing more of your posts

 

[DisneyBB]

Thanks Neo's White Rabbit. I think I may be getting another entertainment book, didn't notice that voucher But I will be looking forward to the boat ride

 

[neo's white rabbit]

Yes, I think we will too DisneyBB - especially now we have the discount coupon It's a standing joke around here that I've turned into the Coupon Queen LOL

 

[vernon]

I would use the villa as a base, but plan a couple of breaks in the middle just to get a taste of the beach, a change of pace, and to give everyone a break from each other. No matter how well you all get on, sharing a house for 3 weeks is a potential for strife. I would plan in a few breaks so everyone gets a break from the others. Depending on how well you get on with ( or can control) the teenagers maybe something like a week together in the villa, then the others go visit the gulf coast for a 2 night break, another 6 days together and you and DH visit the Atlantic coast (so it gives you different experiences to talk about). Then maybe allow your aunt and uncle to go away for a couple of nights while you and DH look after the kids. I think the chance for a couple of days away from the kids for your aunt and uncle would be gratefully accepted. It will break up the holiday and IF any tension is created it allows everyone a chance to cool off and forget it. If you dont have that tension, then you've got some non shared experiences to chat about. Maybe you'd rather stay a couple of nights at a Disney hotel instead of the beach, it's certainly a fun thing to do, but IMHO that's a little harder to justify/explain if you have accomodation just a couple of miles away. Depending on what you like some alternate places to visit are Savannah in Georgia which has an interesting history or St Augustine on the Northern Atlantic coast http://www.oldcity.com which I believe is the oldest city in the USA and looks like a really fun place to visit as a couple.

I would also look at renting two cars instead of one "team bus" it does allow you to go off and do different things if you so wish and if you get two "economy" models it's not going to cost much more than one larger car. Even if it's only for 30 minutes drive, being able to get away from someone/thing thats annoying you is invaluable and being able to seperate the kids , even for just 30 minutes may be the difference between keeping the adults sanity or not.