Florida help!

[sunshinefinally]

Hi just wondering if anyone could help! We are going to Florida in November time with 2 children 3 and 7 staying in a villa in Davenport!
We have booked Disney tickets and universal
Got car hire

Wanting to know what are must dos/ and how to save money?

Really would like to the kids in Disney T-shirt's mickey ears things like that is it cheaper to buy them over there or here in UK?

Also best value places to eat or is it best to eat in villa or mix it up?

Thanks for any advice!!

Which parks are you going to and how many days at each park?

To make the most of your time in each park, I’d advise getting there when it opens or even earlier. Try to leave your villa by 8 in the morning.

I’d also try and stay as late as possible, which will mean staying past the children’s dinner time, or at least having dinner on the way back to Davenport. The cheapest option would be to pack a picnic dinner. Many a time we’ve left a picnic dinner chilling in an ice-packed cool box either to be eaten on the return journey, or to be collected from the car when the dc get too famished!

There are several inexpensive grocery delivery services in the Orlando area or consider using Amazon Prime Now. You’ll still save a lot off of park prices even paying a small delivery fee.
You can save a lot of money by simply making a meal of a few signature Disney snacks rather than a dining at a table service (or sometimes even quick service) restaurant. That said, even Disney snacks are expensive. Part of my strategy to keep the kids away from snacks at Disney was to order a few snack items that I don’t normally buy. Fun size packs of cereals and Pop Tarts provided a distraction from the expensive ice cream and candyfloss swirling around us.
There’s no need to spend upwards of $4for a bottle of water at the parks when you can mosey up to a counter or restaurant that sells fountain drinks and simply ask for a free cup of ice water. We ask for a cup of ice water for each family member and always receive them with a smile. I also pack those squeezy capsules of dilutable squash for adding to the water you can get from drinking fountains around the park.
Pick up a few packs of glow stick bracelets, wands, and necklaces in this country and you’ll be sorted for the night parade for £3 instead of twenty dollars. Also buy an autograph book before you go.
Ask friends and relatives if they have any American pennies and quarters from past visits to the US. It may seem strange, but it will save on souvenirs once you’re there because there are penny press machines in the parks and kids love pressing pennies.
In my family, “Tinkerbell” brings each child a small gift each night we stay at Disney (usually purchased at Primark for £1 apiece). This strategy drastically reduces the whining for pricey park souvenirs throughout the day.

Oh thank you for your replies!
We are going to go to all Disney apart from blizzard beach as it is closed! And all universal! I want do sea world but prices seem a bit much?

Can you take pack lunches into Disney/universal? I was hoping we could to save money this way!

And I love the tinker belle idea! I'm defo going to do this! Ino disney is expensive and I would rather save money for nice treats and not just ice cream all the time!!

Go on the dibb webs you will find all the advice you need. I don't know where davenport is, is it in Orlando?

You can take a small packed lunch but not huge cool boxes. You'd just need to think how you would keep it cool in the high temperatures but you can certainly take snacks that won't melt eg crisps, cookies etc.

You can take sandwiches in, we did it last year, made our own lunches and took them in with us to both Disney and universal. We also bought bottles of water in Walmart, you got something like 24 500ml bottles for about $5 and we would freeze them overnight then take them with us in the morning and they would defrost throughout the day.

If you are on Facebook there are plenty of Disney selling pages with ears etc. A trip to Walmart will have you kitted our cheaply in Disney t shirts etc when you get there. Primark is also brilliant for Disney stuff.

I’d never take a packed lunch. It’s just too warm 🤢 warm sandwiches.

I’d also recommend the Disney Facebook pages. You’ll get all the advice,you need and more on there.

To be honest I didn't think it would be that warm in November? Iv never been in November before I went was I was 14 that was September time and it was hot then but thought November would be quite cool?
I'm not on Facebook unfortunately may have to join to do the Disney groups tho haha!
Thank you for all your advice I'm making notes of everything! Means so much! Thank you!

If you are staying in Davenport, you're near a big Target, and Walmart and both do Disney stuff, especially Walmart. We stay in the Davenport area when we go. You are pretty near stuff. We cut through Champion's Gate to get to the interstate and there's a good Publix supermarket there. It will still be warm in November, but take a jumper just in case you have cooler days. There are plenty of good places to eat around Davenport, too. Enjoy!

Everything is expensive, partly because it's a tourist trap, partly because of the exchange rate. You can find out prices at Disney online and compare to buying here - costumes are definitely something to buy ahead, ears I don't no. It's worth being prepared to make some picnics for lunches and carry drinks as much as possible unless you go for an unlimited cup deal, we just prefer water anyway. Restaurants there are very busy but you can see menus online and reserve tables in advance. Outside of the parks there's good value restaurant chains (remember to add sales tax and 15% tip to the price) and lots of coupons online for buy one get one free or free kids meals - plus the portions are huge and they box up leftovers.

We went a good few years ago and it was 2$ to the pound it was dirt cheap, sadly its not as cheap now. Best thing we bought was a cheap polystyrene cool box, filled it with frozen drinks every morning. Go on the Walmart site and enter your accommodation address and find your nearest store, everything is a bit cheaper there. All the Disney tat was cheaper outside the parks some Mall,s had alike a discount Disney shop, if your kids are going to collect and swap Pin badges try and take some with you from Discount stores or Ebay, the staff on site always have them to swap.
We went here several times as they have Car and Bike nights, not rowdy and very family orientated
www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g34352-d116924-Reviews-Old_Town-Kissimmee_Florida.html

Check what's on
myoldtownusa.com/category/events/

Oh thank you for all this info! Yes I was just thinking about a cooler box... my kids mainly drink water so that's good and I can have there!
I was looking at the princess for a day for my daughter... wow oh wow how expensive?! She will have to do with me buying the dresses before and doing her hair... ridiculous prices!

Sea world.... is it worth going? We would probs only go once... but the prices seem a bit steep!

When I last went we ate out at the ponderosas and sizzlers! Been told they are not here anymore!

Agree with pp. The Dibb is s very informative and friendly forum about Florida. here

We went to Discovery cove, it was expensive but I felt it was worth it, I can still remember the kids faces but not the cost!, we had to book a year in advance, sea world is good, but Discovery cove is a total different experience.
We found this book was worth every penny
www.amazon.co.uk/Brit-Guide-Orlando-2019-Guides/dp/0572047487/ref=sr_1_1?hvlocphy=9046510&hvnetw=g&keywords=brits+guide+to+florida&hvadid=259079490162&qid=1554798957&s=gateway&hvpos=1t1&hvdev=c&hvqmt=b&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&hvtargid=kwd-370166652887&adgrpid=54674982393&hvrand=15691695473797822636&sr=8-1

The second time we went as I was sick of seeing that mouse we drove to Miami, had a mooch around mainly the beach, then moved away from Miami
Stayed in a Motel near this shopping centre
www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g34667-d143773-Reviews-Sawgrass_Mills-Sunrise_Broward_County_Florida.html
Went to this beach
www.visitflorida.com/en-us/cities/hollywood.html
We had a nice 3 days in the area, it was cheap and different

When we were there last year our villa had the refillable bottles from the parks in the kitchen. Not all parks do them, certainly the waterparks do, but the bottle is about $16 but you can refill them for free all day on day of purchase then 99 cents on other days. There are some restrictions, like you can only fill up every 15 mins or so, but one between us meant nobody went thirsty during the day.

Also factor in paying for parking it was $25 per day at Universal!

If you are going o the parks, check ticket prices over here at Attraction tickets as we got a great price on them last year. Memory maker and the magic bands at Disney are also great. We got tons of photos and wearing the band meant we weren't scrabbling to find tickets.

Also meant to say that the last twice we have gone, we bought Seaworld tickets here in the UK and got free parking for the 2 weeks. We love the rides there and tended to go early (for opening) to get onto the rides before the queues built up.

Buy your Disney pins to trade in the park before you go, from eBay. It will save you a fortune and kids love doing it plus it stops them wanting stuff in the park shops as they are more interested in trading with the cast members. Search Ebay for Disney pin trading and we got free lanyards too.

And if anyone in your party has a birthday or (imaginary) special occasion, tell them at the parking booth and sometimes they let you off the parking.

Don’t buy pins from eBay unless they are 100% authentic and not fake. It’s not fair to trade with people who have real pins.