* ~** ThemeParks megathread **~**

Was there in June last year ! Cheaper to get tickets before you go. We bought tickets for a week and got the second week free it still cost us 400 euro approx and unfortunately ended up being a disaster as my 10year old son was 138/139 cm and was not allowed on the larger rides .

They enforce the 140cm rule rigidly so if any of your kids are smaller than that there are less options

We ended up going just 2 days so it was quite expensive. I think you get one entry into the water park but we didn't bother going.

You can buy express passes @ €20per person per day to save queing. Queues can be quite long - I seem to remember waiting for an hour and a quarter for a big water boats.

quick question; what age are you??

disney ie Magic Kingdom, Epcot and MGM are great for kids but for anyone 18 or over i would recommend maybe one of those not 3. ripleys is a complete waste of time, far better things to spend you time doing in orlando

if you are over 18; busch gardens in tampa and universal islands of adventure would be far more down your street

flexi tickets are available here, seaworld and wet and wild are great parks and worth a visit, if you buy flexi-tickets you get a free bus to busch gardens in tampa http://www.seaworld.com/Tickets/Visitors.aspx

wierdal wrote: »

Hi all

Just booked Orlando for June, first time going so quick question.

I've been told its cheaper to book the tickets for the parks online

Was given www.undercovertourist.com, is there any better(cheaper) sites

tickets I'm looking for are the Orlando FlexTicket, Ripleys Believe it or Not, Magic Kingdom, Epcot and MGM

Thanks

Wierdal

First of all, I have to disagree with Rosie about the Disney parks not being suitable for over 18's, me and my hubby are round the 30 mark, we have been to Orlando twice (going for a third time this year) and we absolutely adore the Disney parks. The rides aren't really big thrill rides like you might get at some of the other parks, but the theming and attention to detail is second to none and it's more about the overall experiance rather than thrills. I would also recommend Animal Kingdom (the fourth Disney park) it has some great rides and a wonderful safari and also animal trails. It is a really beautiful park.

With that in mind I would recommend a 3 or 4 day base ticket for the Disney parks (you can add a hopper option for an extra $45 which allows you to visit more than one park a day, but if it's your first time and considering the June heat, I wouldn't recommend trying to do more than one park a day). Undercovertourist works out at being about $10 pp cheaper than buying at the Disney gate. I have also used www.mapleleaftickets.com they are a similar price to undercover. Make sure you buy in dollars and let your bank do the conversion, if you buy in Euro the exchange rate is very poor.

With regards to Ripleys, I have never been to it (I thought it was a bit pricey) but it opens til about 12 midnight, so you could do it at night. I can't imagine you would save much buying online, I would wait until you are there incase you no longer feel like it.

I'm not much of an expert on the flex ticket, as i'm not a fan of those parks, but again, I reckon you would save about $10pp buing online. don't worry about the security of those two sites, they are very reputable and in both cases I have received my tickets very quickly.

rossie1977 wrote: »

and a total rip-off of busch gardens in tampa what annoys me most about disney in florida is the fact that the big attractions are spread all over the place, so each park has like max 2 big attractions. animal kingdom has the yeti ride but busch has sheikra, montu and kumba which wipe the floor with 90% of disney rides, busch also has a wonderful safari and animal trails and for the same price as a ticket to animal kingdom you can buy a combined ticket to seaworld/busch gardens

I haven't made it out as far as Busch Gardens yet, so I can't comment on that, but I HATED Seaworld as a park, I was so disappointed in it as I had heard great things about it. I thought the animal shows were lame and bar Kraken, I thought it had very little to offer. Also the constant pushing of Anhauser-Busch products (ie Budweiser) left a bad taste in my mouth. Didn't think it was appropriate in a theme park aimed at kids. That's part of the reason why I haven't bothered going to Busch Gardens, maybe I should give it a try.

Savman wrote: »

ROFL! It's the States for crying out loud, the forefront of corporate sponsorship pushing stuff in yer face. It's like the eejits a whole back saying they would boycott gigs in the new o2 because of the mobile phone company link :rolleyes:

I have no problem at all with corporate sponsership, I do however have a problem with Seaworld pushing Anhauser-Busch products in a theme park primarily aimed at children. I think it's highly inappropriate and it was an aspect of Seaworld I disliked.

wierdal wrote: »

Thanks for the advice

We already bought the orlando flex plus tickets (6 parks + tiy walk 14 day) off undercovertourist, $271 each adult so worked out good

Was only planning on going to Ripleys cause its the first time over there and want to get a bit of everything in

Thanks
Wierdal

I think you might be suprised by how much there is to do and how tired you will be in the evenings. I would strongly recommend not buying the Ripley tickets until you get there, you might not be able to fit it in. They aren't very expensive ($18.95) so can't imagine you'd save a whole pile booking in advance anyway.

Hi there

am hoping to do a 3 night (european) weekend break with 2 kids - one a 10 yr old girl and 12 year old "I'm bored" boy.........

any suggestions please for Weekend March 13 next......please include things to do / see / places to stay

Eurodisney is easy to get to. Easy Option

Ryanair to Beavauis. Hire a car from Avis and stay in either these two hotels for a budget which are Disney Sante Fe Hotel on the grounds or the Kyriad Marne Le Valee(Travelodge-esque).

Both have a bus to the Park so you can abandon your car in the hotel car park.

A 12 year old would not be bored in Disneyland and especially a 10 year old.

The two parks will take up two full days and the third day will be a day in Paris City for everybody, Eifell Tower, Champs Elysee and Hausmann Boulevard for some shopping in Printemps or shop in the outlet village in Marne Le Vallee Village 5 minutes from Disneyland.

looking at this site for theme park tix. 14 day disney and universal flexi tixkets. working out at 784gbp. this is cheaper than falcon are offering the one pass giving access to all the parks. what do u guys think? falcon chrging 900 for 2 the one passes. where this is really the same deal. checked undercover tourist and these tickets seem cheaper as well the site says they give the actual tickets.no e-vouchers and the like

try www.viator.com

try http://www.floridatix.co.uk

denmar wrote: »

Also consider buying the "express pass" for at least one day of your visit to Universal.

One other interesting aspect at Universal is that they have a single riders line! Was there in February and tho there were 3 of us we went thro the single line lane for a lot of the big rides and we bypassed long lines - once you get to the top you nearly always end up in the same car or as close as and you are in and out in no time!

greenman09 wrote: »

What do these express passes cost per person. Cud be in for these when visiting the studios. Do ye only get them at the park?

You can only get them on arrival at the park. They operate much like Ryanair - the more popular the day the more expensive they are. Usually Sat & Sun are peak times so the express pass is an extra $46. Middle of summer is $36 while if you go in early June the price is around $26. The cheapest Express pass is $20 and that is available on very few days during the summer - it is available all thro Sep tho. Check the Universal Website for details.

The other thing to consider is that they are valid for only one use at each of the participating rides or attractions. So you can't buy one and use it for all the family!

You can also prepurchase a VIP pass online before you go and this includes express - it is $159.99 on their site for a 2 park one day pass!

Two sites that are authorised by Disney to sell tickets are www.undercovertourist.com and www.mapleleaftickets.com I have used both in the past and the are reliable and send you real tickets not vouchers. I'm subscribed to a Disney discount email, there is a link in it that gives extra discount on undercovertourist.com tickets. Not sure if it works out as much saving, but sure every little helps!

http://www.undercovertourist.com/uni.../?pid=D1sc0unt

There will be a shed load of public transport from your hotel to Disney and from everywhere in the state to Disney to be honest. I wouldn't advise it though, Universal is great, like a whole other world, but Disney is for kids in my opinion. I enjoyed it when I was there, but I was eight.