Traveling To Florida!

LaurajC

Hi, I have a family holiday coming up in September this year to Orlando, Florida for 2 weeks! It's our first time going and I have a few questions about going there!

1) Most of our passports are up in october and for some reason I thought we had to have 6 months left on them for traveling to the U.S, is this the case as i can't find any info on it??

2) Which parks can we not miss?

3)Can anyone recommend the cheapest place to buy tickets for all the parks and also how much time would need to be spent in each park?

4) Most importantly what's the shopping like?

Please also feel free to give any good information you have when traveling to Florida, Thank you!

Vivienne23

Hi Laura I went a few years ago , really enjoyed universal studios and definitely the shamu show at seaworld , as for shopping I didn't buy much u have your usual gap, hilfiger, Ralph Lauren at outlet centres but like the ones here they can be hit and miss , we stayed on international drive so u can get the tram thing ( think its called dolly ) that's very handy , one thing I was disappointed with was the nightlife but we were only there for a week incl travelling flights etc and we tried to get lots in while we were there , loads of people say if u can go to Clearwater beach do , that means hiring a car , enjoy the hols and the all you can eat breakfast buffets ! We also went to Disneyland just for the sake of it while we were there , I wouldn't recommend it myself unless u have children with you

johnayo

LaurajC wrote: »

Hi, I have a family holiday coming up in September this year to Orlando, Florida for 2 weeks! It's our first time going and I have a few questions about going there!

1) Most of our passports are up in october and for some reason I thought we had to have 6 months left on them for traveling to the U.S, is this the case as i can't find any info on it??

2) Which parks can we not miss?

3)Can anyone recommend the cheapest place to buy tickets for all the parks and also how much time would need to be spent in each park?

4) Most importantly what's the shopping like?



Please also feel free to give any good information you have when traveling to Florida, Thank you!

As far as parks are concerned, if you have kids under 10 or 11, Disney is probably best otherwise Universal Studios is the best. Depending on where you are staying,(we stayed on International Drive) Orlando Premium Outlets was close and good. Also Florida Mall was close and some excellent shopping there.(or so wifey tells me).

Meg meg

I travelled to America in January (To New York and Florida) When we travelled our passports had to be valid for 6 months after our holiday.I'm not sure if it depends on your destination.

If you are doing Disney land make sure to give yourself plenty of time at the parks as you'll have to factor in queues for rides although you wont have queues as long if you're going in September.Give yourself at least one full day in the parks though.
And enjoy your holiday !

zzdp

the 14 day unlimited 6 park pass is best that covers universal ,seaworld, bushgarden and two water parks , i think it was about 240 euro each.

We spent $400 on ticket for 4 to disney magic kindom for a day at by 10am everyone wanted to leave.we felt we had to go as we were in florida but unless you have a kid under 7 it is a waste of money (my kids were 9 and 14)

We stayed on IDRIVE FOR ABOUT $60. long days are spent in the parks, but the parks are not as big as we thought.Queues are long, what we did was booked in on site in universal for one night this gave us fast passes to the park for 2 days and early entry. we booked into the hotel at 6.30am (we just brought an overnigh bag, leaving the rest of our stuff in the hotel on Idrive,) and was in the park at 7am . this cost around $290 for the night for the four of us but worked out cheaper than fast passes and make some difference.

having a car is a +

try get to bushgardens, great park and less queues are short and nighttime show was the best

steve-o

LaurajC wrote: »

1) Most of our passports are up in october and for some reason I thought we had to have 6 months left on them for traveling to the U.S, is this the case as i can't find any info on it??

Irish passports only need to be valid for the duration of your stay in the US.
http://dublin.usembassy.gov/consular/validity-of-irish/eu-passports.html

coylemj

steve-o wrote: »

Irish passports only need to be valid for the duration of your stay in the US.
http://dublin.usembassy.gov/consular/validity-of-irish/eu-passports.html

+1 Instead of 90 days, you will get an entry permit/visa which covers the reminder of the passport. I went to NYC for Thanksgiving in (late) Nov 2011 with a passport which expired in early Jan 2012, the agent in Dublin airport didn't even remark on it.

keezer

The best tip i can ever give anyone staying in Orlando and doing universal parks is stay in one of the universal hotels for one night, Hard Rock , Portfino or Royal Pacific even if staying in a villa or hotel just pack an overnight bag for one of these hotels and check in very early, park opens an hour early for hotel guest for harry potter, usually room is not ready but you get your key. Your room key is an unlimited fast pass and can be used from park opening on your first day to park closing on the second day. You don't give it back and usually works out cheaper the buying a fast pass on the day that only gives you one go on each ride.

Also it means you can relax have a drink and not worry about driving.

Our first time was one night in the hard rock, then 7 nights followed by another 7 nights another year. No need to be stuck in the park all day, come and go as you please without having to worry about the que .You can walk to the park or take a boat etc.

Spook_ie

www.undercovertourist.com can be a good place to look for tickets. We've been to Florida a few times and are heading back this June. What tickets you buy really does depend on the ages in your group. Ours are all teenagers now, so we wont be going near Disney - ours love Universal Studios and staying on site for even one night does give you the bonus of unlimited express ride tickets which is great, we stayed in the Portofino last time and we're trying the Royal Pacific this time around. We are flying with Aer Lingus and we purchased their 14 day 2 park ticket for 109 pp which is a good price.
As others have said Busch Gardens is also well worth a visit. Part of our holidays are spent in Orlando and the rest down in Sand Key (south of Clearwater) so if you have access to a car a trip to the beach is lovely.

Also, if your budget does allow it, a trip to Discovery Cove is fantastic !