Anyone got a Disneyworld / Florida holiday planned - Part 4

[ChippyMinton]

Hope no-one minds if I start another thread as the old one is full?

Or are you all in Orlando now?

We never bothered booking anything in advance and found that it only mattered once. We were there at the end of July BTW so it wasn't quiet.

I struggle enjoy a holiday that is planned right down to every meal. We much prefer to be spontaneous. I hate all the planning that goes along with it as well. I did do a lot of reading up on it and took loads of advice from MN - thank you Hulababy, but in the end we did what we wanted when we wanted.

To be fair, not having small kids in tow meant that it didn't matter.

It is worth booking if you want to eat early evening and with children - places do get booked up then.
I was glad of my bookings when we walked into places and the wait times were 45minutes plus
You often have to wait outside in the heat

Some restaurants you won't get into unless you prebook like Be Our Guest

I found in the past, booking wasn't needed so much but the last couple of times it was more important if you went to eat at standard meal times in specific places. Since the wide spread use of the dining plans things really are busier in our experience. Fine if you book well in advance. Otherwise it was an hour to wait for a table at least and some places were out of bounds completely such as Be Our Guest, Sci Fi Diner, etc.

However if you're flexible about when and where, or happy to go with quick service if need be, and you are there outside of the busiest times - Christmas and Easter by far the busiest, followed by October half term, spring bank and 4th July. We found this February, week with Presidents Day and the princess runs very busy at Disney, esp Magic Kingdom - then you don't need to book. And we found at Epcot there is so much to choose from you don't really need to either apart from places such as Akershuh.

We only go for a week lately so we have little flexibility - one day per park (6 days, 6 parks) - so planning is important for us to best utilise our time. When we've been for a fortnight in the summer (often less busy in the parks in our experience) we tend to have some days planned and flexible on others.

It depends what you want from your holiday I find. For me the most exciting part of a Disney trip is planning :)

We always stay on site in Disney so eating on site makes sense. If you're in a villa or hotel on I Drive then you're probably more likely to eat offsite so may not be bothered about booking up. Character meals like Cinderella's Royal Table and popular restaurants like Le Cellier book up 6 months in advance. If you're not that bothered about where you eat, or you don't mind eating outside "normal" eating hours then you should be fine.

If your holiday coincides with the US spring break then some rough planning will be required as it's one of the busiest times of the year.

Has anyone hear booked with ocean Florida?

I've never heard of them stiddleficks - sorry I can't help.
I did google 'ocean florida reviews' and reviews seem variable.

"Ocean Holidays Ltd (trading as Ocean Florida) hold licenses with both ATOL and the Travel Trust Association. We act as an agent only for the separate products you have selected. This is not a package holiday but a dynamic package made up of separate elements from separate suppliers".

The words "dynamic package" would have me running fast in the opposite direction. It is not the same at all as a "standard" package holiday.

A dynamically packaged holiday is much like a packaged holiday except that there is more choice in individual travel components and the combination of components is fluid.

Choice of hotel + choice of flights + choice of airport transfer = dynamic holiday package

They also state:-
"Any changes in fees from such suppliers/operators (including transportation costs, fuel costs, dues, taxes, fees such as landing taxes or embarkation/disembarkation fees at ports/airports and exchange rates) and services means that the price of your travel arrangements may change after you have booked your holiday".

This is general info:-
The stitched together nature of dynamic packaging means the onus is on the consumer to check that their entire package is protected. Remember that foreign travel providers are under no obligation to protect your money so it is imperative that you do your research. Especially be wary of online portals that claim to 'help you build your holiday'. In effect these sites are acting as intermediaries and the fine print will tell you that they are not responsible for delivery of services - only for arranging the holiday. Also be wary of sites that link you to other sites to buy additional travel components (e.g airline booking sites that link to separate hotel sites or car rental sites). These 'packages' fall into a legal grey area that legislation is struggling to catch up with.

TBH you would be far better off booking it all directly with the airline and accommodation provider.

Hi, we have booked with ocean Florida. End of May 2017 , 2 weeks. Really shopped around for not only a good deal but as a family of 5 wanted to make sure we had everything as perfect as could be! Personally found Ocean Florida to be helpful and knowledgeable. Been in regular contact with them and happy so far! X

Just to forewarn anyone thinking of booking Disney's Caribbean Beach hotel in the next year, they are apparently doing extensive renovations to the place. The restaurant and food court and pool bar will be closed (but alternatives available) and several whole sections of the accommodation will be shut off for refurbishment.
We'd already booked to stay there and were only notified of the disruption by our travel agent last week. They offered to either move us to a different hotel or reduce the price by quite a significant amount.
Just wanted to let people know in case they were considering it as a hotel option.

Just came across this thread. We leave two weeks today! Staying one week in Disney and one week in Universal. Our boys are 7 & 10.
I feel like I've packed the world lol.
Anything I should add to the case that I may not have thought about!? x

A great tip I was once given was to buy those neck cord/ lanyard things that attach to your sunglasses. That way when you take your sunglasses off when you go on a ride or into a restaurant, you minimise the risk of putting them down and losing them, or them falling off your head and breaking.
It's been especially useful for the DC who always seem to misplace their sunglasses.

Great idea! Thank you! My sunglasses normally end up bashed about inside my bag!

Waterproof ponchos for the downpours (got mine very cheaply on Amazon)

Small backpacks to take to the parks.

Don't bother packing any fancy clothing, it's not that kind of holiday.

"Small backpacks to take to the parks"

I find backpacks make me very sweaty. I took a cross body bag. Also as a glasses wearer I needed constant access to my bag for my prescription sunglasses and a backpack would have been a right old faff.

I have a back pack and a bum bag 😝

Anyone else going
We go in 2 weeks
So excited have packed most things
We have ponchos, I have a bum bag with lots of pockets
Sun lotion

Bit of advice please, we are going in August and I wasn't planning on taking a camera, just using my phone (IPhone 6) camera. Does this sound ok? I was just thinking it wil be one more thing to carry, and possibly lose knowing me!

I've done it with my big dslr, small compact and just my son gone at various times. Have you got memory maker?

Poptart we are doing this for the first time with DH's phone. Have always taken a camera before. I was ummming and ahhing but we would probably be taking the phone just in case for driving around. Also if you are going to use the My Disney Experience app to do Fast Pass etc then that'll be on a phone too, so you might end up carrying it anyway.

My main concern was that the photos would be good enough, but he pointed out to me that our camera is about 10 years old and the iPhone is now way better quality! So I had to agree and it's not my phone anyway so I don't care

Yes we've got memory maker so that will be useful in terms of photos at Disney anyway.
Good point merricats, my camera is donkeys years old so Iphone will undoubtedly be better quality!
Thanks all!

Hello again, this is such a useful thread. We are wondering about making a trip to St. Petersburg from Orlando to see a baseball game, Tampa Bay Rays against the Boston Red Sox. Have any of you made this trip and do you have any hints or tips?

We're going at the beginning of July for three weeks - can't wait. Have been before 5 years ago but didn't do Universal as the kids were smaller. This time we have the joint passes for both. WIll read the full thread tomorrow :-)

Few questions!!

We got a deal on park tickets through Attraction Tickets (i think that was the website) which offered free tickets to Cirque du Soleil at Disney Springs. We did consider going to this last time but ruled it out as we were so busy. I'm really looking forward to it, worried though that it won't engage the younger child. (He'll be 9. Just). Anyone been and would you recommend it?

We are staying offsite (Vista Cay if anyone knows it). We have a Publix supermarket next door which I recall as being more Waitrose-y and expensive and doesn't have the non-food which Walmart does. Last time we bought all our t-shirts and Disney souvenirs in Walmart as it was so much cheaper. We will have transport - recommendations Walmart vs Publix? And what foods have you tried in Florida which you would particularly recommend. We'll be eating out too, but will be having basic meals in the apartment too.

FInally, can anyone recommend an airboat ride place? Don't mind getting up early or travelling a wee bit, but not as far as the Everglades.

I have just booked for October 2018 in Port Orleans for 2 weeks. We did 3 weeks at Caribbean Beach in May last year but have gone for a different hotel purely due to the work being carried out. We are a family of 5 so a bit limited in Disney hotels that will fit us in one room. This time we upgraded our free dining plan to include 1 table service a day so I'm looking forward to planning those. I know we want to do Cinderella's Castle in Magic Kingdom for 2 credits, because we've never been. I booked direct through Disney and will add flights later (probably Thomson) and car hire (probably US Car Hire).

TinfoilHattie last time we did a trip with Spirit of the Swamp
spiritoftheswamp.com
They are only 20 minutes from Disney and easy to get to. It was great and had great reviews. I also see their name come up time after time on a Disney forums. I don't know how they compare to the full Everglades experience however having not done it.