Advice on family trip to Orlando

Kenny Bania

Hi all,

Looking to book a trip to Orlando for later in the year, for 2 adults and 2 kids (they'll be 4 & 6 by the time we go), but it seems to be a minefield of information out there and too many opinions, and hard to dissect which are biased & which aren't.

Does anyone with experience have some sound advice for us Orlando first-timers?

Main queries would be as follow:

• Best time of the year to go? I heard mid-November is good, because it's off-peak and weather is warm but not too hot.
• Where to stay? Don't want somewhere too cheap - a good location with amenities would be more of a priority here.
• How long to go for? We're thinking 8 nights (9 days).
• Should we book through a travel agent? If so, who? We want direct flights if possible.
• I always thought it was just Disneyworld in Orlando, but my wife tells me there are lots of other parks there too - Universal Studios, etc. Which ones should we definitely make sure we get to?
• How do we get around between parks & hotel? Rent a car? Public transport? Taxis? Or do some places provide shuttles? Are they far apart?
• Anything else you can think of?

There is so much info out there, but a lot is from travel sites that want you to book with them, so it's all very biased.

Many thanks in advance!

jester1980

So in Orlando there are 4 disney parks, 2 universal parks and Sea world, outside orlando you have legoland and Busch gardens, if only doing 9 days id stay in orlando maybe.

So parks depend on kids ages maybe, ive done two disney parks in a day, say animal kingdom in morning and epcot at night, Universal parks are fantastic as well and highly recommneded.

Ive been Sept, Oct and Nov and all good times to go, weather is good for all these months but its Orlando and you get the odd shower anytime of year,

If concentrating on disney you could stay in one of the disney hotels, they range from cheap enough to expensive, ive stayed in some of the cheaper ones and were fine, kids loved them and some moderate ones which were great too. Disney do packages for hotel and tickets and can collect you from airport, in disney you have free buses that bring you to parks adn bring you also to downtown disney (shopping, eating district) so wouldnt need a car there, you could rent a car at the end do do universal and if you wanted to go to outlet malls or anything

Another accom idea would be any hotels on international drive, you would need a car most likely for the week here though as would need to drive to parks, International drive is full of shops, lovely restaurants etc.

Also if loking for package deal, buy the sunday world this week, i do always see 3 or 4 companies offering great packages but they are certain dates, worth a look though,

Kenny Bania

Cool - so we'd likely be focused on the Disney Parks, and then make trips to Universal to for a couple of days.

Are there queues in November? I've gone to Alton Towers numerous times before in early October when kids are still in school, and it's great - you queue for nothing.

So if we stay in a Disney hotel (any recommendations?), we can use free buses to get around, and then can just rent a car to go to Universal Studios for a couple of days back to back? Our kids are young, so I assume Disney would be the priority here. Not interested in Sea World for obvious reasons.

Where is the best place to book? Will get the Sunday World and have a look - but any other recommendations? What about flights? Best to book direct with Aer Lingus, or go through a travel agent?

Finally - can we just decide our schedule when we're there, and buy tickets in the parks on the day? Or do we need to buy park tickets in advance??

Many thanks for your help.

naughtysmurf

Early November would be good, AVOID the week of Thanksgiving, the parks will be rammed, no quiet times to visit anymore, just less busy times, they put up all the Xmas decorations in early November, up to that it's all Halloween, October is a nice time to visit also

With the kids being that young, stay onsite at Disney or a cheaper alternative would be any of the hotels on Hotel Plaza Boulevard in Lake Buena Vista, these are on disney property just not Disney owned, within walking distance of Disney Springs for bars, restaurants, entertainment
etc, most if not all of these hotels have regular bus transportation to the parks every 30 minutes, Disney world is the size of San Francisco, it covers a big area

Again, taking into account the kids ages, I wouldn't bother with Universal this trip, it's mainly geared towards older kids & adults, my 2c, two days at Magic kingdom, one day at Animal kingdom, one day at Hollywood studios & one day at a Disney water park, leaves you a couple of days for shopping etc

Get your tickets here before you go, attraction tickets direct or undercover tourist I can recommend, have you priced them? Not cheap

International drive wouldn't be my cup of tea but that's just a personal choice

We normally DIY it, book everything separate but tend to stay in a villa because our kids are older, price it up yourself & compare it with a travel agent, make sure you have good travel & medical insurance

Many non Disney hotels have significant resort & parking fee payable locally so factor that in also, public transportation isn't great & not worth the hassle with two small kids

jester1980

As above dont go thanksgiving, last thursday in Nov, that week is busy

But apart from the q's are not so bad in November, obvisouly big rides still get q's but you get fast pass.

If staying in disney id go to a disney hotel or as above a lake bunea vista hotel which we did as well. For me with youg kids id prefer the actual disney ones though as they have the busses, these busses run every 5-10 mins so never waiting long.

Google Disney hotels orlando and you cna mess about, out tickets in with your prices, this is where orlando hits you hard as ticket prices are not cheap. buying tickets at park each day may cost 100 dollars say, but you can buy 7 day unmilinted passes.

if staying witrh dinsey hotel you also get an extra 3 disney fast passes.

Ive stayed in cheap hotels from pop centruy, perfect and 4 or so pools to all star movies to more expensive ones, swan hotel and another one caribbena beach i think was called. i thought the cheap ones were just as good for kids in fainress. you are out all day, they are not 5 star but they do the job,

boccy23

Hi All

I will be staying on I-Drive.

Do I need a car or is public transport sufficient?

naughtysmurf

boccy23 wrote: »

Hi All

I will be staying on I-Drive.

Do I need a car or is public transport sufficient?

I-Drive = car, it's not impossible without one but an absolute pain in the ass if you are planning doing Disney, if sticking to Universal, SeaWorld, then you'd get away without one BUT driving over there is cheap & easy

Ruu

Most hotels have shuttles to and from Disney transport center so you could get away with not having a car but much easier with one.

What has been said already, go when there is no school holidays or American holidays. Plan your day and go on rides in the evening time when people are exhausted or at lunch times.

We stayed at a Comfort Suites across the road from Universal and it was fine. 10 minutes walk but saves the hassle of parking, you can even get a shuttle from the hotel next door if you need to with children.

FatherTed

I always tell people to spend a day at the Kennedy Space Center, less than an hour away from Orlando. Love that place, not sure if there are shuttles there because I've always driven in FL.

Palmy

You defiantly should hire a car to get around. It's very easy driving just make sure if you hire from the Airport to have a few US dollars on you as there is a few tolls to get out past the Airport. Rent somewhere that has a kitchenette and go to Walmart or Publix to buy food and drink. You will save a ton just by doing this.
October, November or Febuary-April are the nicest months for temperature .

gerberg

Hi specifically at Father Ted, going to Kennedy space center in two weeks, have general admission, for two adults, Space Enthusiasts but only there for one day, can you advise on places to go, within the centre? I tried the trip planner on their site but it doesnt say what is included in general admission?
Also have a second day free in the area, for two adults, any suggestions for the day... Universal studios?

hughes81

If you decide not to stay in a Disney Hotel, I would strongly advise renting a car! There are buses on I-Drive but I wouldn't fancy it with 2 young children, especially after a long day in the parks.

I've been in June/July before and the weather was bordering on torture and the parks were crammed.
We're going in May this year. November would be good once you avoid the Thanksgiving school holidays over there.

I got my Disney tickets direct from the Disney website yesterday. There's some sort of sale on until the end of March so I got 3 x Adult tickets & 1 child for about €1,300.
That was a 14 day including 2 waterparks and hopping option. Fastpass & Memory Maker was also included.


We have a 14 & 9 year old so we went with a villa in Championsgate rather than hotel. Cost for 11 nights was €1k.
As well as the extra space and comfort, we do save $$ on eating out.
Flights with Delta were going cheap when we got them - €375 each return but it's not direct.

If I had younger children, I'd probably lean towards Legoland rather than Universal Studios.
Most of the rides in Universal mightn't suit 4 or 6 year olds

gerberg

Okay so went and arrived back safely
Kennedy space Center well worth a visit, espeically for anyone with a passing interest in NASA program. If only just to see Atlantis in all its glory. I grew up during the start of the shuttle era, and to see the real thing was just wonderful
One piece of advise and to echo what i have seen here before, renting a car is the only option for a family in Florida, if travelling however i would caution that a GPS device from the car rental supplier, or a US SIM card in unblocked Irish phone is essential for getting around.