Orlando this summer. Never been to America. Help.

[MsAdorabelleDearheartVonLipwig]

Dh is looking at taking us to Orlando this summer. I haven’t got the foggiest idea what to do. He’s looking at flights and villas and best time to go in August. What else do I need to know? Car hire? Holiday insurance? I haven’t even been on a plane in twelve years. Kids have never flown at all. Don’t know a thing about holidaying in America. Totally clueless. Anything I should know?

We are going for the first time in Oct half term for 2 weeks. First long haul with DC but was soooooo much cheaper flying into Miami. Need to start a spreadsheet

We went the last two weeks of August and honestly it was fine. Yes it was hot so you needed to drink lots of water. It was so exciting for the kids they didn’t seem to notice the heat. Plus there are water fountains at most of the parks and the kids just soaked themselves periodically which they found hilarious. The queues for rides were not too bad at the end of August and the brief afternoon thunderstorm and rain shower was often a welcome relief. Just occasionally they would cancel the evening parade at Disney World because of storms, so watch out for that, as you really have to see the electric parade. Fabulous holiday.

Driving is generally quite easy, because the speed limit is lower & the motorways have less traffic.

Food portions are enormous - and it's often expected that 2 people will share a main course, or ask for a doggy bag to take food home in, so don't over order.

You will be stunned at how many obese people you see. Including children.

These two facts are linked.

extinctspecies

Eat at self service places so you don't have to tip
Tips are between 18 and 23% and are expected
Sales tax is added on at the till so nothing costs what the price ticket says
Driving is easy. The roads are busy, but pretty straightforward. A satnav is a must.
We also went to Boggy Creek for an airboat ride and Kennedy Space Centre - not easy to do without a car
Parking at each park is $20 a day (it was in 2016 anyway)

@extinctspecies I've spent the last couple of months in Florida and can honestly say I see more obese people in South Wales.

Currently in Orlando.....expect the following
😳 bread is awful and very expensive ((£4 a loaf and it's just terrible)) and yes we have tried different stores and brands etc
😳 security lines at all the parks are very long
😳 the cost of Disney tickets is 😖😖😖
😳 the food and drinks in the parks is also 😖
😳Eating out and eating healthy? Not easy
😳 airplane seats that are remotely comfortable are expensive
If you are self catering be aware that food is expensive here especially simple things like bread mushrooms tomatoes a small iceberg lettuce was $1.68 at Walmart yesterday one small red pepper? $1.78! And broccoli was $4.13 a kilo That's not including state tax at 7.5%

Orlando is not a cheap holiday sadly.

Tipping isn’t 20%! It’s based on whether you liked the service and is suggested at between 15 - 20%.

When we were in Orlando 2 years ago the tipping "suggestions" on our meal bills were all between 18 and 23%.

I agree that it is an expensive holiday though.

Well where I live going below 20% is an insult. Even cheap asses i know don't tip under 20 unless they're seriously annoyed with the food or service.

@mimibunz aren't you from the UK?

august is hot in orlando but manageable imo
disney and universal all were selling water sprays and the shops were freezing inside so you can have a wander round them and cool down

kevinkeegablovesme I’m from Florida, living in the U.K. for 10 years so I guess things have changed during that time.

@mimibunz the last time I tipped 15 they came back out to ask me what the problem was!

Park tickets.

You are best to buy 14 day tickets here in the UK as you cannot buy these in the US. There are a number of sellers so shop around and try find the best price. All adult park tickets start from aged 10 but there is not a huge difference in the adult and child prices. You will be looking at around the 2.3k mark for Disney & Universal tickets for 4 ppl.

@Kevinkeeganlovesme lol, good grief! That seems rude to me.

I thought it was pretty rude!

Eating out can get expensive portions are huge so our teenagers often ate kids meal.

Food on the whole is pretty awful and came home craving plan vegetables and anything with out a sauce.

Not been to Florida but driven in California, Arizona, Ohio and Michigan all are quiet easy and other than downtown Detroit and LA.

Don’t get the English obsession with Florida and Disney but each to their own.

Hi. When we went in August, it was soooo hot! We hired a villa near Kissimmee and drove to the parks, all within 15/30 minutes drive. What we found worked best was to chill with the kids at the villa during the day and go to the theme parks at around 6pm for the evening. Most are open until 10/11pm so you'll still have hours there, and it's a lot cooler in the evening of course.

Walking past the hoards of people leaving the parks at 6pm was wonderful, knowing that the queues would be shorter, which they were. We went on the Harry Potter rides over and over again with no queues. Bliss.

Enjoy

How can you comment on Florida if you haven't been there?

And the blanket statement that the food is awful? I've had some of the best food of my life in the States, please don't generalise.

Cool been to the states on a least 5 trips one for 6 months eaten plenty of shit, even home cooked food covered in fucking honey glaze. Can honestly count on one hand the amount of decent meals out I’ve had. Most of the chains are truly awful. Like frankie and bennys in this country fucking awful but plenty of people eat there

Pearch in Phoenix very good and some Italian in Palm Springs CA.

You have too remember two people can sit i the same Restuarant and have the same meal and disagree.

I mean look at the chains in this country says a lot when both Witherspoon and Jamie’s Italian both serve the same quality meat.

£2.3k for park tickets? Wtf?

Yup. Park tickets are the big kicker on a Florida holiday.

It's a lot of money but bare in mind that the tickets will cover 14 days unlimited entry. Per day thats around £45 for all Disney parks (6 parks in total) and Universal parks (3 in total).

When you compare it to theme park prices in the UK it's actually better value.

Hmm. We’re only there for two weeks and I’m not visiting Disney six times!