Orlando Help

allanb49

Myself and my girlfriend are looking to spend two weeks in florida on the international drive, we're just wondering what kind of budget would you need to enjoy yourself over there is it pricey

Both of us are very light drinkers with a beer once a month at most so rule out drink money what would we need to bring? Cheers for the help

Ms Inquisitive

Admission into the parks can be quite costly, but you can get park hoppers type passes which will last the 14 days. So search through these and see which one best suits your needs!

Travel can be done on your own budget. Taxi are relatively cheap but if you're getting taxis for a fortnight then the costs will soon stack up! However, there is a trolley which travels the length of the Drive. It arrives at each stop at 20 minute intervals and I highly recommend it for getting from one end to the other. Some outlet malls are also situated at one of the stops.

The majority of hotels offer courtesy shuttles to Universal Studios, however, transportation to Disney can insur a charge as it is a further drive away.

Eating can be done at your own budget. And it is the typical tourist restaurants which know how to charge. We found ourselves often getting take-out from local restaurants and eating it in our room after a long days trapsing a theme park. Of course, City Walk at Orlando is a must do for eating and the only really place we found for pubs and nightclubs.

Finally, if your gonna go shopping, I can recommend enough the Florida Mall. It's only cost €10 in a taxi (the trolley doesn't go that far)!!

Your budget can depend on how much you want to spend! You can splurge out but you can also have days where you don't spend more than a couple of dollars on food.

tweet-tweet

HI, myself and my bf were in orlando in april. we too are virtually non-drinkers and what we wanted most was to enjoy the parks and stuff and shop. we found a tourist office on I-Drive. Ask someone and they will tell you. In there we enquired about the I-Trolly. However, it actually worked out better to use the local bus as it goes further than just the drive. We got a weekly ticket. I can't remember the exact price but I know it was cheap. It goes to Disney and Universal and to the two biggest outlet centers as well as to the airport. There are a few different route numbers but its easy enough to figure out. http://golynx.com/ is the website and it would probably be worth having a look at the fares etc. and printing out some maps. Whereabouts are you staying? The parks are expensive enough but all theme parks are! They are definitely worth the money. and you just pay a one off and then just your lunch or whatever within the park. if you want more advice i'd be happy to give it. i can recommend good shopping places and i would defintiely recommend going to bennigans for dinner one night. very reasonable and a good feed. we ended up there nearly every night! anyhow, let me know where you are staying and if you want further information.

allanb49

Thanks for that really helpful Much appreciated.

miselemeas

Highly recommend BAHAMA BREEZE at the bottom end of I Drive for great food and atmosphere, Caribbean style, at reasonable prices. You can sit out on the patio sipping a drink and they call u when the table is ready.

While you are down around that area be sure and try out the Crazy Golf - open until 11 pm every night.

Epcot is very well worth while, also Universal.

deisemum

We're off to Orlando this coming Saturday. I booked my tickets already and I should have my Disney tickets by Tuesday. Universal and Island of Adventure and Discovery Cove was just a printout job. I'll route out the links to the tickets and post them here.

We're staying at the Quality Suites near Universal. We're going to try and avoid hiring a car.

daveg

miselemeas wrote: »

Highly recommend BAHAMA BREEZE at the bottom end of I Drive

Best restaurant EVER.

daveg

deisemum wrote: »

Discovery Cove

You'll love this place. Are you doing the dolphin swim? We brought my son a few years ago and we all really enjoyed the place. Very expensive though.

deisemum

daveg wrote: »

You'll love this place. Are you doing the dolphin swim? We brought my son a few years ago and we all really enjoyed the place. Very expensive though.

I was in Orlando in 1994 before we had the children who are now 10 and 12.

They are booked to do the dolphin swim. I'm not going to bother with the swim.

I'm currently making lists of things I must bring. Just noticed last night that our flights are changed and we have to go from JFK to La Guardia which is the last thing we wanted

deisemum

These are the sites I booked our tickets.

http://www.universalorlando.com/promo_unlimited.html you can get 7 consecutive days at Univeral and Island of Adventure hopper tickets for $86.99 + tax.

For disney I got 6 days hopper tickets, 6 days is the same price as 3, 4, or 5 days. I got them at www.undercovertourist.com. I'm expecting the tickets by next Tuesday. You can also pick them up over there.

I booked the Discovery Cove tickets on their website. I'd recommend booking that before you go as it's limited to 1000 people per day.

allanb49

Hey does anyone know how much it is into disney at the gate? We're just wanting to go to Magic Kingdom, Epcot and Disney MGM. Can you get tickets on the door or can you just buy the bundles?

Lil' Smiler

tweet-tweet wrote: »

and i would defintiely recommend going to bennigans for dinner one night. very reasonable and a good feed. we ended up there nearly every night! anyhow, let me know where you are staying and if you want further information.

Aww!!! Bennigans!!! One of my fondest memories as a kid of going to Florida, i loved that place!! The food was soooooooooooo good!!! I always remember a clown lady outside making me a balloon poodle. had hoped to return there during the summer when i thought i was going to the States... another time I suppose

BJJDUB

There's some strange answers on this thread !

Firstly Orlando is a very cheap destination if you can manage your own budget!

The problem some people tend to have is that they overspend in the shops simply because things are so cheap - for example Wrangler Jeans 10.98 + tax USD in Walmarts two weeks ago. When people see prices like this they tend to buy a lot.

Setting that aside: -

A previous poster have confused the Lynx bus service with the I Ride Trolley. The I Ride Trolley is a bus type service which covers International Drive from the Prime Outlet Mall on the Northern most point of I Drive to the Premium Outlet Mall which is down south on I Drive.

There are several restaurants on I Drive which offer good food at good prices - try as many a you can! Bennigans (sad attempt at being Irish themed) is ok and in my opinion not better than ok!. TGIFridays in very resonable, they have excellent offers on. Bahama Breeze is good but hardly the best restaurant ever!!. Olive Garden is also good and reasonable. Ponderosa Steakhouse (personally I don't like it but its an eat all you want buffet so the value for money is very good).

Citiwalk restaurants (Hard Rock is located here) tend to be a bit more expensive than I-Drive restaurants.

Downtown Disney restaurants also tend to be expensive. Raglan Road Bar / Restaurant is located here - its a very big Irish Themed Bar and Restaurant. In my opinion its very expensive check the prices at the door before you decide.

The best restaurants are located off of I-Drive in the residential areas - but they tend to be either a little expensive or in some cases very expensive. If you are looking for a really good meal and are willing to pay the price - send me a PM and I will send you some restaurant details.

I wouldn't consider shopping at the Florida Mall - go to the Outlet Malls on I Drive. There's a Walmarts halfway between I-Drive and The Florida Mall (corner of Sand Lake Road and John Young Parkway) - its open 24 / 7. Excellent value for money.

allanb49

Thanks BJJDUB, can you shed any light on the pricing into disney, we just wanna go for the sake of saying we went, how much are tickets at the park gates?

rossie1977

allanb49 wrote: »

Thanks BJJDUB, can you shed any light on the pricing into disney, we just wanna go for the sake of saying we went, how much are tickets at the park gates?

$76+ tax for one park for one day

personally i would do all the other parks first ie. universal/islands of adventure, seaworld, wet and wild, busch gardens BEFORE disney. Its crowded and its aimed towards younger children so be advised.

adders

allanb49 wrote: »

Thanks for that really helpful Much appreciated.

If your looking for a nice villa to stay try www.tropicalretreat.co.uk This is a spacious single level home with a private pool, 4 bedrooms (2 king size masters suites), 3 bathrooms, sleeps 2-10. Only 2.5 miles from the famous Walt Disney Magic Kingdom.

BJJDUB

adders wrote: »

If your looking for a nice villa to stay try www.tropicalretreat.co.uk This is a spacious single level home with a private pool, 4 bedrooms (2 king size masters suites), 3 bathrooms, sleeps 2-10. Only 2.5 miles from the famous Walt Disney Magic Kingdom.

Looks like a decent villa judging by the website! Is it located somewhere around Formosa Gardens Blvd / Funie Steed Road?

Villas tend to be very economical to stay in (my personal preference is to stay in a villa). The only thing is you really need to be driving.

adders

BJJDUB wrote: »

Looks like a decent villa judging by the website! Is it located somewhere around Formosa Gardens Blvd / Funie Steed Road?

Villas tend to be very economical to stay in (my personal preference is to stay in a villa). The only thing is you really need to be driving.

The villa is in Oak island Cove, just off the 192, 5 mins drive from the Magic Kingdom.

hunnymonster

I use www.vrbo.com for places to stay in florida and never had a problem. some lovely places for a fraction of hotel prices too.

ncmc

allanb49 wrote: »

Hey does anyone know how much it is into disney at the gate? We're just wanting to go to Magic Kingdom, Epcot and Disney MGM. Can you get tickets on the door or can you just buy the bundles?

Allanb49, you can buy both the bundles or the single day tickets at the entrance to any of the parks you have just mentioned, however as someone previously posted, this is the most expensive ways to buy. You would be much better off buying a three or four day bundle and going to one park per day. Can I also suggest Disney's Animal Kingdom as a park that is great to visit, it does not have as many thrill rides as the other parks, but has an amazing Safari and nature areas. It is actually my favourite park. Check out www.allears.net for all the various ticket options, there is a section that actually works out what tickets would suit you best by asking a few questions. It is worth noting that it is probably a little cheaper to buy your tickets before you go, but not that much. You might save $10 per ticket over the Disney gate price.