I am spontaneously combust if someone does come and talk to me about Florida soon....

[FloridaKbear]

have you been to Vero Beach?

have you been to Port Orleans Riverside?

have you "done Orlando" without a car? Is it possible to get around on public transport from Disney hotels to I-drive and Seaworld, Universal etc?

where are good places to shop?

do you really have to book dinner reservations before you go? I don't know what I want to eat tomorrow let alone in a month's time on a Tuesday!

I have 8 billion other questions but they can wait... for now....

and I can't write a thread title properly I'm THAT excited but you get my drift right?

I have been to Vero beach - but a long time ago twas nice though.

Coco Beach is lovely, as is Clearwater.

Never been to Port Orleans Riverside.

Never done Orlando without a car - you will need one. Public transport takes forever.

If you are worried about driving over there - don't be. I drive, DH navigates.

Never made a dinner reservation yet - but if you mean in the parks, then yes I probably would - but we do not eat in them.

Not long now FloridaKbear

We go on the 25th July. We are swimming with the dolphins at Discovery Cove, doing Aquatica and Busch Gardens. Will also do Cape Canavaril.

Oh' there is a Premium Outlet down on the quiet side of International Drive - opposite Publix supermarket and near Dolly Partons thingymajic (sorry cannot remember the full name) - easy to find though.

I wouldn't like to do florida without a car. We all loved seaworld. I can recommend the vip tour at seaworld. It takes away all the stress of being in the right place at the right time. Best seats for shows and dinner next to shamu. We also loved the water parks.

The only meals we booked in advance was the disney princess breakfast and out medieval nights dinner. I use dinner in the loosest sense for the latter but still lots of fun. If we wanted a meal in a park restaurant we booked that morning.

Although it's possible to do Orlando without a car it would be much easier with one. Driving over there is very straightforward - even in the mahoosive Lincoln we were given last time. We had booked just a normal car, but the car hire company managed to screw up our booking so upgraded us to the largest car they had to apologise.

There is a huge outlet mall at the Universal Studios end of International Drive.

The only restaurant we have ever pre booked was one of the Disney park ones and we booked that morning for lunch. I think you do have to book some of the Disney ones weeks in advance, but we hate planning things too far in advance so would just go elsewhere to eat.

I love Florida.

The outlet mall at the northern end of I Drive (formerly called Beltz) is currently being done up. There are a few shops there but construction is still ongoing.

The best place to go re outlet shopping is Orlando Premium Outlets on Vineland Avenue near Sea World. A mention to Dolly Parton's entertainment centre was made in another post - it is near there but this has now closed and will be soon torn down to make way for a parking lot. The outlet has been so successful that more parking space has been needed so Dolly Parton's people were made an offer for their land.

Both the Florida Mall and Mall at Millenia are two v good shopping malls.

We have done Orlando without a car (have always stayed at the quieter southern and thus more pleasant end of I Drive) but if you are staying on Disney property a car is essential. Have never seen any public run buses on Disney property. Would suggest you use a taxi instead if you want to go to Sea World from the Disney resort area.

Reservations are of necessity if you want to eat at one of the more popular Disney resort restaurants for dinner (e.g the California Grill at the Contemporary Resort). Many restaurants in the World showcase at EPCOT are full for lunch in advance.

buy this we found it very useful...

oh and you might not need a car depending on where you are - we stayed in a hotel served by a disney bus - but it didn't take you to universal etc... so we did use the car quite a lot.

Attila - where do you stay? We always stay at the Sheraton Vistana Villages which is lovely.

Kbear - you could always rent a tom tom or similar when you get the car, but tbh it is easy - if I can do it, anyone can.

fym, we used that book too. The chart which shows which days were busiest/quietest at each park was very accurate.

You might find it useful to check out www.tripadvisor.com

bellavita

Last atayed at the Embassy Suites on I Drive. I thought it was a nice all suites hotel with good internet access (free) and free breakfast cooked to order. They also provided a free shuttle bus to Universal and Sea World.

Florida is a fantastic place to holiday with small children. We have done it twice with ours and are going again later this year.

I would be reluctant to do it without a car although that is just my personal preference. I would recommend that book too Fym, it was really helpful. We stay at the Vistana Resort in Lake Buena Vista and would definately recommend it.

Take an extra suitcase for all the bargain children's clothes you will be able to buy. We found that the Gap outlets were less than half the price here. Beltz mall was great although it is called something else now.

Cirque du Soleil was a great hit with the children also the Rainforest cafe and waterparks. A new waterpark Aquatica has just opened and sounds amazing.

I could waffle on about Florida all day!!

Thanks all, not ignoring you but been at work today!!

We are on Disney property so won't need a car for Disney stuff and I have family there that are happy to ferry us about to beaches and Space Centre (there is a shuttle launch while we are there - May 31!) etc, but did wonder if you can get off Disney property easily without a car. I think we'll hire one as and when we need it.

Thanks for all your comments and recommendations. I went on a website last night that blew my mind with information. Everyone was stressing that you must make ADRs (advance dining reservations) but the Kbears are very much "fly by the seat of our pants" kinda bears and don't want to book ahead really and we want to check it out first. We can get a boat to Downtown Disney from our hotel so evenings are covered anyway.

You could always hire a limo

yeah, a great big stretch Hummer!! LOL