So confused

[mouseseekers25]

Thinking of booking a two week trip next July. 2 adults and 2 older teens but I'm so confused trying to sort out the best accommodation and/or tickets to get.

We would all definitely want to do universal parks and Volcano Bay

Disney wise all 4 want to go to Epcot, 2 want to do MK, 2 want to do HS (other 2 don't mind doing this) no one wants to do AK. Not too fussed about Disney water parks.

Would all like to do Busch Gardens

Would like to do a couple of pool days or just non theme park days at other places.

Happy to drive but equally happy to do Ubers.

Not fussed about staying on site, but understand that it may be worth it for express passes at universal? And again no parking charges but would we need a car if we stay on site?

Is genie+ a necessity these days?

How much £ to budget for food for 4 adults for 14 days. Would be happy to stay somewhere with a kitchen to cut down on breakfast and non park day costs. I think it will be too warm to carry around lunches in that heat?!

Basically I don't know where to start
It's been 10 years since we last went and I think a lot has changed.

Also do they have single rider queues at the parks? We would be happy to use this more to get shorter queue times.

july is hurricane season so be aware of that.

best value is by booking Disney accommodation for say ten nights and universal for four. You will save that way due to the cost of fast passes. Absolute best value is by booking when they are doing free Disney dining.

Busch Gardens is in Tampa, not Orlando , so you’d need a car or something to get there.

I didn't think you could get fast passes for free anymore with hotels? I thought you had to buy Genie + Do you know which Disney hotels have free fast passes?

The previous poster is referring to Universal.

Disney changed their fast pass system last month, and you have to pay.
However if you stay on site you will benefit from early entry (30 minutes before park opening) which doesn't sound much but you can get a lot done by getting a head start.
If you stay in a deluxe resort there is usually one night a week after hours for Epcot and Magic Kingdom in the summer months.

I can answer some - i recommend The Dibb as an excellent forum site for all things Orlando.

I would say that currently using Uber/Lyft is cheaper than hiring a car and really easy.

If you want a kitchen then you are probably best offsite in a villa, be mindful when booking that traffic in Orlando is crazy busy and book close to the parks - we stayed in Four Corners area a couple of years ago, really close fo AK park - found it very well placed.

Whether it is worth booking a universal hotel really depends on your budget and attitude to queuing - at the 3 expensive hotels you get an express pass for each member of your party for each day of your visit (so 2 days of EP for a 1 night booking) this is definitely the cheapest way to get express passes, plus you get early entry, normally to one of the parks.

It may well be worth buying day tickets for Disney if you only want to do 2 days in those parks each, I think once you get to 3 days a UK 14-day ticket is the cheapest option.

I personally wouldn't have thought it would be worth staying onsite at disney when you only want to do a couple of days, they currently offer 30 minutes early entry and some form of dining plan (dependent on the hotel) for 2025 dates, but you would have to book at least 5 days and 14 day park tickets to qualify for the dining. Disney hotels are very expensive for what you get. You can book fast passes earlier with a disney stay, but not from the UK and this is the paid fast pass which isn't included in the room rate.

When deciding if you need Genie + or express passes I would look at Touring Plans - they have estimates of waiting times for all of the rides at all of the parks at different times - I found paying for their subscription and getting their app was really useful - it gives current wait times (normally more accurate than those posted at the parks) and predicts if that time is going to drop and if so when.

Most big rides do have single rider lines.

As for budget - how long is a piece of string? If you are able to travel outside of school holidays and prepared to fly indirect this can significantly reduce your costs. I would say minimum of £2k per person for flights accomodation and tickets? Food in the parks is very, very expensive. I have in the past made up sandwiches to take in with us, I freeze water bottles and keep those in the rucksack to keep them cool. Eating out in Orlando away from the parks isn't too expensive, but you have to weigh up travel times. We like eating at Disney Springs which is much cheaper than the parks but more expensive than completely off site options.

If you factor in the fact that you don’t need to hire a car and a dining plan (if on offer) and early access then Disney accommodation is often good value.

Think about the sleeping set up, as this will have the most impact on budget.
If the teens are not sharing a queen, you may need two rooms, or a suite hotel with sofa bed in living area. Or an apartment or villa.
Worth looking at DVC points for your Disney stay (David's or DVC Rental Store) to book bigger units.

If staying within Orlando, Uber/Lyft is easier than car hire. Many hotels charge for parking ($25/day) and Disney also charges for off-site guests at the parks. This soon adds up. To give you an idea we paid $30-$50 to/from the airport. Trips around Disney property averaged about $10. We mostly used the free onsite transport but booked ride shares to go to restaurants and shopping.

Currently at Universal Dockside, well worth staying here as the buses to the Universal parks are fab.
Hire a car for your time in Orlando and you can travel anywhere (Kennedy Space centre always worth a visit)

We're here atm, staying in vista cay with two teenagers, all booked via TUI and it's been amazing so far. We are getting Uber / Lyft everywhere with no problems. Been to universal, magic kingdom, discovery cove and typhoon lagoon. We have been using Orlando crowd calendar and WeatherBug app a lot to plan where we go day by day. Have literally walked onto most rides, hardly any queues, I think the last 2 weeks in August are normally quiet. Have you joined 'it's Orlando time' on fb? I've found that really helpful.

Regarding food. Do you cook your own meals at home - from scratch? If you do then you'll find the park food generally very poor quality - too salty, too sweet, too many bright unnatural colours (if not standard fry brown). Think ultra-processed food.

Generally, I'd recommend a quick bit of toast in the morning. Hit the park early (before the heat rises). Get back to base for a home cooked full lunch (pasta is good, quick and filling). Rest up/pool for a couple of hours. Hit the parks until close. Do NOT eat at the park. Saves time, money and health.

As a general rule we found that the shopping at Publix (think Waitrose) was around double the cost of UK Aldi. Expect that and you won't be shocked.

Don't bother with WDW Lightning Lanes and don't waste money on Chinese souvenir tat.

Accommodations with kitchens and washing machines mean that you only have to take half the clothes you might normally take. We do carry-on only for a two-week trip.

Universal Express Path is a far superior product to WDW Lightning Lanes. The latter requires you to be on your phone all day long to optimise it. Currently International guests are not able to make advance selections on WDW LL - unlike US/Canada - and puts you at a serious disadvantage (unless you use all the secret tips and mechanisms to defeat the rules).

The cheapest way to get UEP is to stay at one of the deluxe Universal hotels. You only need a one night stay to cover everything at the current parks over two days. HOWEVER, by the time you visit, the new Epic Universe park should be open and that could put a spanner in the works. Sign up for details on dates, packages, etc.

I know this is a few months old but hopefully still helps.

Busch gardens has a bus which picks up from icon park on international drive which is free so you don’t need car hire. We have just done 2 weeks there and used Ubers all the time and still added up cheaper than parking/fuel and hire would be