Orlando disney tickets

bernyh

Hi

We are off to Orlando next month, for 10 days, didn't think we'd get there but it's finally nearly here.

We never booked any attraction tickets here, we are a little confused as to what to go for, we have a 5 year old daughter so it's all about her.

My question is, where should we buy the tickets over there? And what do ppl who have been there before recommend for us?

Thanks a million

turbodiesel

went 3 years ago and bought the tickets in advance from http://www.orlando-ticket-deals.co.uk/ and found them to be the cheapest althought the sterling rate was good. be sure to get the kids eat free card, lots of places take them. Also we had booked a villa through an agency. The guys who managed the property popped by to clean the pool, turned out to be from liverpool. details attached....

RayCon

Hi ... we're off to Orlando this coming Weds. Always buy our tickets from undercovertourist.com (prices in US dollars - exchange is fantastic at the moment :cool:)

Im guessing it's 2 adults & 1 5yr old girl ... so Disney Parks are going to be your main interest. You say you're going for 10 days - are you planning on visiting a park of some sort on each day ?? If so , Disney has 4 main parks:
Magic Kingdom - a must - it's the main one with the Castle and loads of other stuff like Pirates Of The Caribbean etc
Hollywood Studio's - excellent park - it's got Playhouse Disney, Honey I Shrunk The Playground, Tower Of Terror (not for the 5yr old) and Rock N Roll Rollercoaster (again , not for the 5yr old)
Epcot - Good park ... some good stuff in it like Soarin but we found 1 visit was enough
Animal Kingdom - our least favourite - found nothing good about it at all - even though they were hyping the new Yeti / Everest thrill ride - it was firly tame.

The also have 2 water parks ... Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard beach - haven't been to either so can't comment.

The biggest pain in the arse with Disney is the whole "magic your way" or "hopper" .. quite simply it's like this :

Magic Your Way means this type of ticket lets you into one of the four main parks for that day. You can't leave that park and enter one of the other parks on the same day and you're NOT entitled to entry into any of the Water parks - you pay seperately for those if you only have Magic Your Way tickets. Think of these as basic park tickets with no extras.

Park Hopper Tickets allow you to jump from park to park as much as you want over the course of the period for which you bought the ticket ... so in other words , if you bought 7 day Hopper Tickets - you can come and go from park to park as much as you like for 7 days - the 7 days start from the moment the tickets are first used. Again you're NOT entitled to entry into any of the Water parks ... for those you need ..

Park Hopper Tickets + Water Park Fun tickets.

Obviously the more you want , the more you pay. Probably the best option for people travelling from Ireland , planning on spending all their time in the parks is :

Disney's 14-Day Ultimate Ticket (2010)
Entitles you to 14 days of unlimited admission (hopping allowed) to:

• Magic Kingdom®
• Epcot®
• Disney's Hollywood Studios™
• Disney's Animal Kingdom®
• Blizzard Beach
• Typhoon Lagoon
• Disney's Oak Trail Golf Course
  (tee time reservations are required and subject to availability)
• Disney's Wide World of Sports® Complex
  (valid only on event days; some events require an additional admission charge)
• DisneyQuest® Indoor Interactive Theme Park

(you could visit all the parks, every day for 14 consecutive days!) Key Points:

1. Ticket expires 14 days after the date of first use - you activate it by entering your 1st Theme Park.
2. Valid for the year 2010
3. Days do not have to be used consecutively.
4. Parking is not included, but the FastPass is; all Disney tickets sold include it.
5. Water Parks are subject to seasonal closure.

and it's the best value :

Adult (10+) £ 233.19 (thats Sterling - so €262 approx)
Child (3-9) £ 202.10 (€227 approx)


The Universal Parks have got some activities for smaller kids (Barney , Cat In the Hat, Scooby Doo, E.T. etc ) but mainly it's for older kids / teens / thrill riders ... but it's where we go ...

We buy the Orlando FlexTicket Plus ...

Adult (10+) $284.95 (€203)
Child (3-9) $264.95 (€188)

Enjoy unlimited admission for 14 consecutive days to:

• Aquatica
• Universal Studios
• Islands of Adventure®
• SeaWorld® Orlando
• Wet 'n Wild® Orlando
• Busch Gardens® Tampa Bay
• plus Universal CityWalk® You receive same benefits to Universal CityWalk® as the "Party Pass" does but for 14 (fourteen) consecutive days, not just one! At the Universal CityWalk® venue that would require a party pass you hand over your ticket, they scan it and hand it back. From that point onwards, your 14 days (for Universal CityWalk®, the nightime area) are counting down.

Key Points:

1. You could visit Universal Studios Florida®, Islands of Adventure®, SeaWorld® Orlando, Wet 'n Wild® Orlando, Busch Gardens® Tampa Bay (80 miles from Orlando!) and Aquatica in one day. Remember you have 14 consecutive days with your ticket.
2. The 14 days start when you activate the ticket (by entering any of the parks).
3. You do NOT need to use the ticket every day to keep it valid, the ticket is valid for 14 consecutive days, regardless of how many times you use it.
4. With Flextickets you do need to show photo I.D. sometimes. Government issued I.D. is required. U.K. visitors, usually your passport or the new driving licenses (a Bum Bag is a good way of keeping tickets/passports etc dry and safe).
5. Please ensure you have each member of your party: sign the back of each ticket, print each name on each ticket, the valid thru section is to help you remember when your ticket will expire (i.e. 13 days after you first use it).

Basq

Don't buy them there... buy them before you go at UndercoverTourist - they work out cheaper!

Used them 3 years back when I went to Orlando.

EDIT: RayCon got there before me.. snap!

EDIT 2: Enjoy it.. I loved every park except Epcot, which I was hugely underwhelmed by.

St Senan

I will say that if you are staying on International drive you wont need a car Nearly all hotels have shuttles to the theme park Universal studios /Island of adventure. The Iride shuttle $1.25 per adult will take you to Seaworld . To get to Disney land take the Iride down to stop 29 south their you will get a Lynx bus number 111 to Disney. Lynx bus will cost $2 per adult each way. If you are staying more than 1 week then get a Iride pass to cover your stay it works out cheaper $7 for a weeks pass. The Iride shuttle wait time is between 10-15 mins the Lynx Bus wait time is between 15-20 mins wait time.
the only way you will need a car is that if you are staying somewhere outside International drive like Kissimee or LakeBuena Vista. Regarding attraction tickets you can either buy online or buy them from the Attraction desk at the hotel or from the front gate at the park. This year we bought our Sea world tickets at the front gate and we got a second day free. Make sure to bring you passport or ID to the theme parks.

ncmc

Would also agree with buying your tickets before you go, as stated already, undercovertourist are good, you could also try www.mapleleaftickets.com or www.ticketmania.com these are all authorised ticket sellers, so no danger of getting ripped off.

For a 5 year old, Magic Kingdom is a must, it's the quintessential Disney park and it has the most to offer for a child that age.

I would also recommend Animal Kingdom, especially if she likes animals. There is a nice dinosaur play area and some fantastic shows like Flights of Wonder (a live bird show) and Festival of the Lion King which is a fantastic production of Lion King with live dancers and puppets.

I would skip Epcot, doesn't have a lot to offer a 5 year old.

Depending on time, you could also visit Disney Studios, but I don't think it has a lot to offer a 5 year old. There are some live shows though and it is a nice park overall.

Don't underestimate the amount of walking you will do. I would strongly recommend getting to the parks first thing in the morning to beat the crowds and heading back to your hotel for a couple of hours in the afternoon for a rest. You can return to the same park that day even without a hopper ticket and you only pay for parking once. The parks are cool at night, well worth seeing.

WDW1111

I've used undercovertourist a few times too and can highly recommend them (although I believe some of the other sites mentioned above are equally as good). Real tickets not vouchers. If this is your first visit I would recommend sticking to Disney only and getting the Magic Your Way base tickets. Don't bother spending the extra money on hopping or water parks etc, trust me the 4 main parks are huge, you won't have the time or energy to hop parks. Get the 10 day ticket, it costs very little extra once you go above 4 days.

With the base ticket you can do one park only on any one day, but you can leave and come back to that same park later in the day. With a 10 day ticket you could do (for e.g.) 5 or 6 proper days and use the remaining days to pop in for evening fireworks shows after a shopping or pool day.

ncmc

WDW1111 wrote: »

I've used undercovertourist a few times too and can highly recommend them (although I believe some of the other sites mentioned above are equally as good). Real tickets not vouchers. If this is your first visit I would recommend sticking to Disney only and getting the Magic Your Way base tickets. Don't bother spending the extra money on hopping or water parks etc, trust me the 4 main parks are huge, you won't have the time or energy to hop parks. Get the 10 day ticket, it costs very little extra once you go above 4 days.

With the base ticket you can do one park only on any one day, but you can leave and come back to that same park later in the day. With a 10 day ticket you could do (for e.g.) 5 or 6 proper days and use the remaining days to pop in for evening fireworks shows after a shopping or pool day.

+ 1'000'000, you will be wrecked from doing one park a day, especially with young kids. Definitely not worth spending extra money on a hopper ticket for your first trip.