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cynder · 29-06-2011 11:55am

I flew to brimingham, my mother lives in the west midlands and i rented a car and drove up, car rental was cheaper than the bus and train tickets, £35 for 2 days, a vw polo.

There are buses that go to alton towers from the city centre, you can also get the train from birmingham to Uttoxeter and then get a bus to alton towers . I would say manchester/liverpool would be pretty close as well.

Savman · 29-06-2011 12:31pm

While East Mids is probably geographically the closest, I'd still be looking at Manchester or Birmingham as viable alternatives. The selection of cheap flights would be better too, I'd imagine.

If jumping on a train well it doesn't really matter which, you'll be ending up at Stoke On Trent regardless.

You can still do the trip from London, OP.

billyhead · 29-06-2011 8:29pm

As a matter of interest would people here recommend going to Alten Towers if your an adult or is it just for kids?

cynder · 29-06-2011 8:52pm

billyhead wrote: »

As a matter of interest would people here recommend going to Alten Towers if your an adult or is it just for kids?

Wicked fun for adults..... Rita queen of speed nearly gave my 60 year old mom a heart attack......

Kids over 4 foot 9 can go on all rides..... Think it's 4 foot9

ck086 · 29-06-2011 10:18pm

Go to Alton Towers, I've been 3 times in the last 3 yrs and plan on going again. Easiest way we done it was flew to manchester then got a taxi straight to the theme park. Think it cost about €350 but it was a mini bus and fit 8 people on it. It's definitely worth it to just go there directly. Have also rented a car from manchester but of course we got lost and it took us 2 1/2 hrs to get there!
How many of you are going? If there are 4 or more you should try and stay in one of the hotels on site. You get discount park tickets and it makes the whole weekend even more fun as the hotels are themed. You also get into the park an hour before normal ticket holders so can get to the busy rides before the queues start.
Look on their website or ring them up coz sometimes they have special offers on.
Enjoy!

Munster_Gal · 29-06-2011 10:33pm

I've gone a couple of times and flown into Birmingham - I rented a car with Avis and drove to Stoke On Trent where I stayed in a hotel.
Worked out pretty cheap over all.
The Weathervane in Stoke is pretty good and cheap also

Savman · 29-06-2011 10:35pm

billyhead wrote: »

As a matter of interest would people here recommend going to Alten Towers if your an adult or is it just for kids?

My personal opinion of Alton Towers is that it's extremely spaced out and the rides themselves are excellent, but short in length. I'd still choose Blackpool every time.

Alton Towers is still a good day out, but I have never felt the need to return and do not see why an overnight would be needed. It's in a pretty remote part of the country, really isolated from civilisation. It's a day trip destination IMHO.

loadz · 30-06-2011 5:21pm

Hi

I would like to go to Wales or south of England with the wife and two kids for a week or so and i was looking for any recommendations on where's good to go. We would get the ferry from Dublin to Holyhead or Rosslare to Pembrooke and drive to wherever from there. I was thinking along the lines of Alton towers or some of the other theme parks or else just go to Devon or somewhere like that just to relax and have a good time. Any advice from guys who have done either would be great.

piaget · 01-07-2011 9:46am

Would recommend Bluestone, been there twice now with our 2 kids, nice theme park next door too but get there early. Ferry from Rosslare to Fishguard and then about 30 min drive.

loadz · 01-07-2011 3:26pm

Thanks piaget, will take a look at that and see what its like.

Charles Gamble · 03-08-2011 12:33pm

Hi,

I am going to the 2 universal theme parks in orlando next weeks for a couple of days with some friends. Any recommendations on what we should for food and drink while there? We don't want to spend too much money. Can you bring in your own, how does that work?
Many thanks for any help.

Charles

rossie1977 · 03-08-2011 5:36pm

what you are and what you are not allowed bring in http://www.floridareview.co.uk/practical-information/food-in-theme-parks.shtml

my advice is get a buffet breakfast in the morning, some hotels do their own and places like sizzler or Ponderosa (located on i-drive) do these for about $5-8 and then you are set till about 1pm

there are plenty of eating establishments in citywalk universal but that means leaving either of the parks, in universal itself your choice is between finnegans bar and grill (an irish themed bar) or mels drive in (a 1950s themed diner), in islands you have mythos and confisco both heavily themed and prices match the themeing

LJD10 · 04-08-2011 12:10pm

Charles Gamble wrote: »

Hi,

I am going to the 2 universal theme parks in orlando next weeks for a couple of days with some friends. Any recommendations on what we should for food and drink while there? We don't want to spend too much money. Can you bring in your own, how does that work?
Many thanks for any help.

Charles

as the other poster says get a big breakfast into you before you get to the parks in dennys, macdonalds or one of those cheap hotel buffets and then just grab a snack in the parks. There are loads of burger and pizza places. I always find Im never hungry walking around the parks as Im too preoccupied with the rides and whats going on around me....6 weeks to woohoo

Columc · 16-08-2011 11:09am

Hey Guys,

Me and a friend are going to a convention in Anahiem for 2 days we are staying in anahiem for the week. We are staying in the hilton from 19th to the 26th of october.

Just wondering what other things to do around here. We are going to goto disneyland since it is just across the street. We would like to head into LA for a bit, and go around there.

Is there any suggests to things to do. We were thinking of going to six flag moutain theme park also.

How is transport over there? I heard that the public transport is quite bad and you do need a car to drive around.

Any tips and advice will be great

clogher71 · 22-08-2011 5:05pm

Hi

I was there five years ago, and I would say you do need a car. In my opinion there is not a lot around there. We drove to Las Vegas from there, well worth 2/3 nights&its not all about gambling!. They will probally push a G.P.S. on you at the car hire desk, we declined, all you need is a good map and a passenger who can read them!.
We rented from a small local company near Disney but I cannot remember the name of them, there will be plenty of flyers in the hotels/resturants.

john mayo 10 · 03-10-2011 2:49pm

I am thinking about booking a weeks holidays in cambrills park salou for next may. We are bringing our 2 children with us aged 4 and 2. Was just wondering if anyone had been there,what is it like and is may quiet or busy ?

Buttynic · 26-10-2011 11:05am

Hi, I was the first week in October and it was quiet. The place is frequented by alot of Spanish families at the weekends though so it filled up then.

Saying that I found this place amazing for kids. Definately worth a trip and great value for money.

Taxi from the airport is €35 each way which is pricey enough but it's the only real way to get there. it's about a 15 min trip.

If you have any questions on the cost of things there or anything else let me know.

All in all we had a super time and will be going back.

Lemlin · 10-11-2011 4:46pm

I'm aware there are plenty of threads already on this but just wanted to see if I could drum up a few new opinions. It'd actually be a good topic for a superthread.

Going to Florida and New York in April next year for honeymoon. Looking at buying tickets now on undercovertourist.com or one of the other ticket websites.

We're only going to have 5 full days in Florida and are aware that there are alot of parks available including:

Magic Kingdom
Epcot Centre
Hollywood Studios
Animal Kingdom
Universal Studios
Islands of Adventure
Sea World
Busch Gardens
Aquatica
Wet 'n' Wild

A 3 day plus extra day free ticket for Disney would be €185. That's without park hopping. Hopping is €30 extra.

A 2 day universal ticket is €93 without hopping. Hopping is €16 extra.
The hopping seemed like a good idea but then alot of people are saying its very hard to get through even near a full park in a day.

Having looked at the parks we were thinking about visiting the following over the 5 days:

Magic Kingdom
Epicot
Universal Studios
Islands of Adventure

From reading threads on here, it looks like Islands of Adventure seems to be the best with stuff like The Simpsons, The Hulk, Harry Potter etc. Is Universal Studios itself good?

Then we want to go to the Magic Kingdom because we have a 2 year old so wanted to pick up some Disney stuff for him.

I read a description of Hollywood Studios and it seemed to be very based around 30s and 40s cartoons and we wouldn't be mad into those. Would it be worth visiting?

Animal Kingdom is definitely out as we just don't seem interested in it from the descriptions given.

Is there anything people would say they definitely wouldn't miss in the other parks?
Anyone fit to give a brief overview of what types of rides etc. are in parks.

Was wondering what if we skipped Epicot and just went to Magic Kingdom for a day and then got a flexticket so could go to Sea World, Islands of Adventure and Universal. A flexticket would be €197 and then whatever the cost of the Disney ticket to the Magic Kingdom.

jack presley · 10-11-2011 9:07pm

I just did 7 days in Florida so I'm not far off what you're doing. We did a day each at the 2 Universal parks, a day at Disney, a days at Wet N Wild, a day at Seaworld and a day by the pool, at the hotel.

If I was asked to recommend how to spend your days, I'd definitely do 2 days at Universal anyway, one day in each of the parks. These were my favourite and although I'm not a fan of Harry Potter, that area of the park is very impressive so definitely don't miss that if anyone in your group is a fan. Universal's also very handy to get to if you're staying on International Drive.

Our day at Disney we were at the Magic Kingdom and as it's so big, we didn't get to see everything. We had a car and it's still a bit of a trek to get there so be prepared for a very long and tiring day with tons of walking. Your kid will love it though. We arrived a t about 9am and stayed till about 8:30pm and were absolutely knackered at the end of the day. By the way, you can pick up Disney merchandise just about anywhere so I wouldn't go to Disney just to pick up some stuff. I'd give Epcot a miss though, I don't think the kid would enjoy it.

If your kid is only 2 years old, you could probably give the water parks a miss but they might like all the shows at Seaworld.

jack presley · 10-11-2011 9:11pm

Sorry meant to say, your 2 year old won't be able to ride a lot of the good stuff at Universal/IoA (Hulk, Spiderman, Simpsons etc.) but they have a good thing called 'child swap' where you queue together and one parent waits while the other goes on and then get their go without having to queue again.

Sherfin · 10-11-2011 9:43pm

Would definitely recommend the flexi-ticket. Had a great time in Orlando last year. The flexi ticket allowed us to do a day in SeaWorld (Shamu show was amazing ) another in Wet n Wild. Rest of the time tho was spent in Universal/Islands because it was that good. All these are relatively near each other. We could have walked to Universal or WnW if we wanted (no car) and Seaworld was only a short bus hop away. Kids were a bit older (9+12) but there was stuff in Uni/IOA for the younger kids - Cat in the Hat, Jurrassic Park, Shrek, ET. Ended up buying the express tickets for the last few days to go on favourite rides again.
My favourite holiday ever, enjoy

rossie1977 · 10-11-2011 10:36pm

disney is more oriented towards children while universal (especially islands of adventure is more geared towards older teens and adults), there is very little for a 2 year old to do in islands, most of the rides there would be far too extreme for someone so young, ditto busch gardens (wait about 10 years and you bring them back to those two) there is more for young kids to do in universal

seaworld is a great family park and is a must do with a child imo, so is magic kingdom, animal kingdom is also a good family park because you can get up and close to the animals and they have some nice family oriented shows on offer

Lemlin · 11-11-2011 11:49am

jack presley wrote: »

Sorry meant to say, your 2 year old won't be able to ride a lot of the good stuff at Universal/IoA (Hulk, Spiderman, Simpsons etc.) but they have a good thing called 'child swap' where you queue together and one parent waits while the other goes on and then get their go without having to queue again.

I think people picked me up wrong. The 2 year old isn't coming with us. We just wanted to get some stuff for him over there. We thought he'd be a bit young for everything so were planning to go back over in a few years with him when he's older.

I think we've settled that we are going to buy the Flexiticket which costs €197 each and will give us access to:

Both Universals
Seaworld
Aquatica
Universal City Walk

for our entire stay.

Then we can just buy Magic Kingdom one day tickets for €60 and go there one of the days.

bigjoe · 11-11-2011 12:07pm

Maybe it is because people don’t go to it as much as other parks is why it dose not get much of a shout. For me Epcot is by far the best. Epcot is the only one I bothered going back to and I will go back again.

It is more adult orientated which for us is better. I will admit I don’t like standing in line with screaming kids.

Universal is also a must.

jack presley · 11-11-2011 12:13pm

Lemlin wrote: »

jack presley wrote: »

Sorry meant to say, your 2 year old won't be able to ride a lot of the good stuff at Universal/IoA (Hulk, Spiderman, Simpsons etc.) but they have a good thing called 'child swap' where you queue together and one parent waits while the other goes on and then get their go without having to queue again.

I think people picked me up wrong. The 2 year old isn't coming with us. We just wanted to get some stuff for him over there. We thought he'd be a bit young for everything so were planning to go back over in a few years with him when he's older.

I think we've settled that we are going to buy the Flexiticket which costs €197 each and will give us access to:

Both Universals
Seaworld
Aquatica
Universal City Walk

for our entire stay.

Then we can just buy Magic Kingdom one day tickets for €60 and go there one of the days.

Well then your laughing (no offence to the kid. I'm sure you'll miss him and all that). Your plan sounds good. We had the same flexi ticket and got the day pass for the magic kingdom and it worked out grand.

The only difference is that we did wet n wild instead of aquatica by that was only because it was near our hotel. You'll have a ball, I just wish I was going back!

nkay1985 · 11-11-2011 12:21pm

I've been to Orlando three times now, including this time last year for my honeymoon. If you're only going to have 5 days in Orlando and haven't been there before, I think you're probably making a good choice. With there being so many Disney parks, there are only a handful of good rides/shows in each one that you wouldn't want to miss. The consequence of this is that it's hardly worth doing Disney without doing them all.

The last two occasions I've been there we got the two week ultimate pass for Disney which allowed us to visit some parks more than once and leave others early if we were done or whatever.

In your circumstances, you can do Islands of Adventure and Universal in two days. You might not get to everything you want but you'll get most of it. Wet 'n' Wild is fun while still being a fairly laid back day out. Some of the shows in Sea World are good alright and it's probably worth a visit. And I didn't get a really good look at Aquatica as my wife was sick the day we were there but the Kraken rollercoaster there is the best one I've ever been on in any park I've been. You absolutely can't miss it!

And I don't think any honeymoon in Orlando is complete without a trip to the Magic Kingdom. Disney create an atmosphere and theme things like nobody else! And it'd be nice for your child to have something from there rather than any shop where the Disney stuff can be bought. We bought a lot of Christmas decorations etc and there's a story associated with them, you know?

The Flexticket is very good value. I ordered all my tickets from Attraction Tickets both times and had no issues. Prompt delivery and no problems with them at all.

Highlights of Universal for me? The Simpsons ride is very fun. Revenge of The Mummy is absolutely class. I've always enjoyed Terminator 3-D although it's probably aged a bit now. Disaster and Twister are probably worth experiencing. Shrek is a bit of fun. Of the shows, the animal actors one was the one I enjoyed the most. Good craic.

Islands of Adventue? Spiderman is very good. The Hulk coaster is something you have to try just because of the sheer acceleration. Doctor Doom's Fearfall is good if you can stand a drop from 150 feet! Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls have been broken down every time I've been there. Once, when it was open, we got all the way to the top and were the second from next to go over the top when the water stopped flowing. After a minute or so, all these workers appeared from hidden doors and escorted us from the ride as it had broken again! I'm not meant to go on that ride! The Bilge-Rat Barges are great craic - you can end up absolutely soaked. Jurassic Park River Adventure is a must-see and you'll get very wet here too. And The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is meant to be absolutely amazing but we didn't get there last year.

Where are you staying over there?

slave1 · 11-11-2011 6:03pm

Was there this April and all the parks were very quiet (even including Easter) went on ride after ride with no queues.
Given your timeline, I would skip Disney Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom.
You can go from the Magic Kingdom to Epcot via the mono-rail so you don't need to redrive (will need a hopper ticket though), we did Epcot during the day and then back to Magic Kingdom after the fireworks in Epcot, caught the fireworks in Magic Kingdom and then as most of the kids were gone had all the rides to ourselves (MK stayed open to 3AM one of the nights).
Went to all the waterparks and if you were just to go to one I'd choose Aquatica (across the road from Seaworld).
SeaWorld was a bit dated if you ask me, won't be going back again.

You do not need to go to a DisneyPark to purchase disney stuff, you can get it all at downtown disney (shopping area).
I shopped around and also used attractionticketsdirect.ie, they were the cheapest and supplied REAL tickets (not vouchers)

Enjoy!!!

Lemlin · 11-11-2011 6:14pm

nkay1985 wrote: »

Where are you staying over there?

Staying in Homewood Suites on International Drive.

Thanks for all the info above folks.
I definitely think the Flexticket is the way to go.

NiRiainRua · 12-11-2011 11:03am

Yes, Flexticket would be best for you.

You can buy some Disney Merchandise at Walmart, also Florida Mall
and Mall at Millenia, and outlet stores.There are several 24-hour Walmarts, with a built-in Macdonalds, Bank, walk-in Clinic, Optician, etc.
However, Disney always keep some items you can only buy there.
For a 2-year old though, you don't need to spend a fortune to keep him happy.

http://www.mousesavers.com/merchandise.html

Oafley Jones · 16-11-2011 9:49pm

bigjoe wrote: »

Maybe it is because people don’t go to it as much as other parks is why it dose not get much of a shout. For me Epcot is by far the best. Epcot is the only one I bothered going back to and I will go back again.

It is more adult orientated which for us is better. I will admit I don’t like standing in line with screaming kids.

Universal is also a must.

I absolutely love Epcot - well when I say Epcot I mean World Showcase - it's beautifully laid out and far more relaxed than the rest of the parks e.g. it serves booze unlike Magic Kingdom. Fond memories of drinking cocktails outside France.

Of all the Disney parks Magic Kingdom is probably my least favourite, maybe tying with Hollywood Studios, but despite that I'd always recommend people that if they're going to one, it has to be MK, purely as it's the most iconic and there's something special about walking up towards the castle. It's a really great park despite my ranking. The first phase of the new Fantasyland MK expansion will have just opened early next year as well.

The two universal parks are a lot smaller and I don't think you'd need more than the two days there. I found US to be slightly underwhelming and I was done with it after 7 or 8 hours. IOA is a lot more modern in terms of it's layout etc. and is a far more interesting place to spend time. Even I was impressed, although small and extremely crowed, with the Wizarding World of Harry Potter despite my sole knowledge of the series being the 5th movie.

Disney I found is a far slicker operation than Universal. Their parks are a lot tidier and their staff are far nicer to deal with. Disney staff seem to fall into two categories: nice OAPs and slightly manic over the top people who really seem to have bought into that Disney culture. Whereas the majority of Universal staff seemed to be slightly surly, disinterested teenagers, even their OAPS seemed angry. Disney do seem to make a big deal out of honeymooners as well.

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