Need advice before we book Florida holiday from anyone who has been please!

[howmuchchoccanIeatb4iexplode]

What tips would you give with regard to staying in hotel verses villa?

What parks are the best?

Are they far from each other?

Which flight company and travel agents were good to you?

Any other things we might need to know as we are absolutely clueless on Disneyworld but want to get the best out of this once in a nlifetime trip.

Thanks!!

Will watch with interest. KBear went recently if you search for her threads. Haven't sorted otur tipr for next easter yet ! What age are your dc ?

NEVER NEVER NEVER Fly with USAirways. That's my top tip

I avoided all the parks like the plague and stayed with family so afraid I can't help you there. Hope you have a fab hol

they will be 16 down to 4.

why not US airways? got my interest there!!!

That's the 2nd negative I've heard about US Airways today on different sites

Oh I'm so excited for you. We were there a few months ago and it was brilliant.

We stayed in a villa and I would definately recommend it. It's way cheaper than hotels, you can cook your own food, most have pools and a large deck area for BBQ, basically a home away from home. Better for kids too if they like the pool, no lugging towels and sundries down to the communal pool. Pool toys are cheap at Walmart.

Parks? Well we did what was suitable for the dc's we had with us and they were all under 8 so I suppose it depends on the age group going. The disney parks are not too far from eachother and well signposted within the WDW grounds. The other parks of interest, discovery cove, seaworld, busch gardens etc are a bit away from WDW so a villa central to all would be great if you want to do all parks.

What ages, how many, what interests do you all have?

Well, where do I start with US Airways...

Firstly, they charged my account double the amount of the tickets which resulted in them clearing out my entire account and (were it not for the fact I have other accounts) would have made sure I had no money for a bank holiday weekend.

The airplanes were pretty dirty - apparently due to the fact that they got rid of the cleaners to save money and gave that job to the air hostesses. (they had been in dire financial trouble and the US government had to bail them out).

Some of the air hostesses were extremely rude. For example, my brother was drinking something or other and an air hostess came round with a bin liner and clicked her fingers at my brother indicating she would like the can. My borther said he hadn;t finished it yet and she snarled "well you'd better not throw it on the floor".

It took AGES to get the money back that they had taken form my account too, and they did everything they could not to pay it until the last minute, employing all kinds of delaying tactics.

The food is dire too.

Need I go on?

the main part of Orlando is the street of international drive. From one end is sea world to the other is wet n wild with universal in the middle. We stayed on I-drive but at the quieter sea world end, at the other end it's pretty commerciallised with restaurant after restaurant. Handy to drive down to, but good to get away from. We stayed in hotels so cannot compare to villas but i imagine the villas are lovely. Disney is away from Orlando by about 40 mins, but all 7 resorts are there so there's tons to do. Flights I'd recommend are BMI and delta, (they're interlinked) the planes and staff were the best imo. Virgin was ok, American airlines poor, BMI def stood out.

Would definately 2nd the villa over a hotel. A villa is a home from home and you can hang around the house and rest inbetween those mad park days. Believe me you will need it - Florida parks are fab but really knackering.

You can also catch up on washing and drying, which is great if you need to.

All the Disney parks are great. We also love Universal Studio's and Island of Adventure (they are both part of Univeral). Sea World is a must too.

We always flew Virgin or BA. My parents have their own villa - so that is free for us .

You should check out booking the flights and villa separtely VS a package and see what is cheaper.

The parks are all within 20-30 mins of each other.

My DH used his Sat Nav out there, to avoid getting lost all the time.

What time of year do you want to travel to Orlando?. It can get very busy at Easter and it can get very humid in August. This is also important as that will reflect in the cost of the airfare. Also due to rising fuel prices the surcharges on top could work out very expensive.

Don't use a travel agent; book both flight and accommodation online.

The only UK based carriers that fly direct into Orlando are BA and Virgin. Other UK based carriers will fly into Sanford which is about 1 hour east of Orlando. Would not use any US based carrier. For less hassle I would fly direct into either Orlando or Sanford rather than fly into another US city (changing planes at US airports can be time consuming to say the least and you could miss your connecting flight to Orlando as a result).

All children over the age of 10 will pay adult prices at the theme parks. All the parks are good but your elder children may enjoy the two Universal parks more.

Do your own researches thoroughly on the net and purchase "The Brits Guide to WDW". Purchase park tickets online.

If you take your credit card to the US do inform the credit card company of your holiday plans before you leave the UK. They may well stop your card otherwise if you do not hence this caveat.

Americans like photo id and some places will ask you for this when making purchases or collecting tickets. If you have such a thing take your photocard driving licence along with you.

Do not forget to take out adequate travel insurance for you all!!.

We have taken our DDs (9 & 6) twice and are going again in November. We always go with Virgin and they have always been fantastic. We stay at an apartment in the Sheriton Vistana Resort in Lake Buena Vista. It has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, kitchen and Lounge. Spacious, well - maintained and very close to Disney, about 10 mins in the car. I have stayed on International drive which has some good restaurants but prefer Lake Buena Vista as it is quiter and closer to Disney.

I would recommend hiring a car as it makes life much easier. Although most hotels run shuttle bus services to the parks.

It is a fantastic holiday with children of all ages ours were 2 & 5 the first time and 5 & 7 last time. They loved The Magic Kingdom and Islands of Adventure best. I would definately include these parks. You do need to plan carefully which type of tickets you need as the price varies ( online ticket agencies have the best deals - but opt for one that sends tickets not vouchers as you will have to queue again upon arrival at the park to exchange your vouchers). Happy to answer any questions if I can.

Would really recommend looking up everything about the theme parks and planning carefully what you want really want to see.

A Brit's Guide to Orlando and Disneyworld is a really good book that tells you stuff like which days are the quietest for each theme park and describes all the attractions fully. The parks are massive and can be very busy, depending on which time of year you go, and you'll be able to sort out a plan beforehand on which attractions you'll head for first to avoid the worst of the queues.

Animal Kingdom is the park that's best for all ages, imo.

Wow - this is when I love mumsnet, and even dh has been reading your answers and thinking it's great

Thanks for all that info!!

Crunch - some more questions! where did you get the villa from was it a website?
Did you use Orlando airport?
Where did you organise the hire car from?
Did you use travel agents or did you book it all yourself online?

Winestein- that is shocking! TBH i would of though a US airline was the tops for customer service, thanks for the warning - think i will steer clear!

Mamablue - where did you get the park tickets from - was it online?

Atila - we are hoping for next year, early July time, but we want to book it in next 2 weeks so we can plan. DH very poorly and i think the certainty of going will help his frame of mind.

Love2bake - that is a really good point about a villa having washing and drying facilities! Never thought of that but it would be a great help.

Ambi - this is where my ultra thickness comes in When you say 7 resorts do you mean parks?

Theangel - that guide sounds a great idea. As you can tell, what I need is an idiots guide. Am bad enough clutching my Legoland plan for dear life or i get lost.

Hi Howmuch

We booked online, airline, villa and park tickets. We found it way cheaper than a WDW package online or through an agent.

We flew to orlando international and had about 30-40min drive to our villa. Google Orlando vacation villa - you'll be amazed by how many sites come up so chose carefully and if possible see if you can find one where you deal direct with the owners and cut out the agent.

Organised car hire online. Dollar car rental which you can google. They have satnav for about $11 a day but they're not too expensive to buy over there if your staying for 10 or more days. Also you can use again if you decide to for another holiday.

Definately get the park tickets on line. Way cheaper than one day entry and queue not so long when you have prepaid tickets.

I would recommend getting a book like the one mentioned before. We have 2 different books and both were packed full of brilliant ideas, tips and advice.

The time of year is obviously something that each family plan for depending on their own commitments and ability to travel at particular time due to work etc but I would definately put HUGE emphasis on considering how everyone in your group will react to the HEAT. We went in April and even it was too hot for us! All I can say is stock up on powerful sunscreen, protect scalps and eyes and drink lots of water.

One last thing. Try to find out when the school/college holidays are over in Florida. We got the tail end of Spring Break - MADNESS.

If you want those two books I can post to you though they have footnotes in but still up to date.

We flew Virgin which was great, no problems and great service.

Stayed at a Disney hotel - Port Orleans Riverside - was fabulous. A sprawling resort with small buildings set in lush planting of palm trees and bushes, beautiful. A riverboat to take you to Downtown Disney, buses outside the door to take you to all the parks and back again. Very convenient and FREE - two exhausted kids at the end of the day/evening, hop on the bus, home in 10 mins.

I personally loved it and surprised myself because I'm not a hotel person usually and prefer to self-cater BUT this was my holiday too and I didn't want to clean up or cook anything or push a trolley round a supermarket and we ate out three meals a day for three weeks and I LOVED IT.

Our budget was $200 a day and we never went over and often carried money over to the next day. Eating out is so cheap and the dollar is so weak - you are laughing all the way to the bank!

How much do these sort of holidays cost? Rough ball park figures for flights, villa, park tickets? We had planned to go next year but are still unsure whether we can afford it.

Fast Pass as many rides as you can and wherever possible use the single rider lanes at Universal if you don't mind being split up.

And if any of your party are veggie prepare them to live on v little for the whole time

Villa prices are very good - around £450 a week for a large 4 bed villa with private pool.

Flights, on average, betwen £500-600 per person; obviously can be much dearer depending on who you fly with and time of year. We have just priced up it for 3 (DH, me and DD) for week before Christmas and it is coming out at £1200 in total with Virgin.

Park tickets can be a big expense depending on how much you want to do, how much flexibility you want and how often you want to go. But would budget at least £200 per person esecially for a fortnight - if you want to do more than just Disney that is.

Flights £400 each on Virgin

Hotel - lots at Disney (I have fab cousin that got me fab discount) but you can look on Disney website for prices.

Villa - from about £500 a week roughly and
they are usually enormous with a pool etc.

Park entry - not sure about Disney (again, fab cousin with fab free tickets!) but Universal one-day, two-park ticket was $340.

Discovery cove - $268 each person (about £140) but worth every penny, meals are included and it was a great day. That includes a 7 day ticket for Seaworld. You can also get deals that include Aquatica and Busch Gardens.

I think the orlando flexi ticket parks are better than disney we always enjoy them more as a family when we go (we have been 10 times) they are also cheaper.

Virgin are the best to book with imo brill for the kids and help you sort everything when you are there

Villas are better than hotels because you have a private pool and loads of space, If you want a relax for a few hours the kids can play in the pool and won't moan about going out.

I am veggie and have no problems in Florida - lots of options I have found, although more resticted if only eating in parks.

We had a pool right outside our room at our hotel (7 pools in total at the resort). That was an upside to the hotel thing for us, chatting to other people from all over the US and UK and the kids making friends. They were never really crowded because most people were at the parks all day.

And I preferred Disney to Universal mostly. Disney know how to put on a show and how to make every single person feel special. Fake it may be but it's so nice when people are NICE!