How to travel to Orlando on a budget

MB05

From reading forums discussing the Revolut Card it seems a lot of US ATM's apply a charge to use it unless you are a customer of that ATM's bank or your bank has a deal with a certain bank over there. I read that the ATM's at the WAWA gas stations are fee free.

dodzy

MB05 wrote: »

From reading forums discussing the Revolut Card it seems a lot of US ATM's apply a charge to use it unless you are a customer of that ATM's bank or your bank has a deal with a certain bank over there. I read that the ATM's at the WAWA gas stations are fee free.

Thanks for that. Would still be good to get an idea of actual charges impose from the US banking side.

MB05

I'd say the average is about $3 but I think someone said using the ATM in Disney cost $6.

naughtysmurf

The onsite Disney chase atms were $2, onsite at Hard Rock Hotel at Universal was an eye watering $16

WAWA gas stations are zero as far as I know but best check it out

I did consider revolut but they are not without issues & I didn't want any hassle while over there, knew I only needed to make three withdrawals

Sinister Kid

naughtysmurf wrote: »

The onsite Disney chase atms were $2, onsite at Hard Rock Hotel at Universal was an eye watering $16

WAWA gas stations are zero as far as I know but best check it out

I did consider revolut but they are not without issues & I didn't want any hassle while over there, knew I only needed to make three withdrawals

The post office do a pre-paid mastercard you load with dollars, not sure what the charges are.

http://www.anpost.ie/AnPost/GeneralTemplates/ProductsAndServicesForex.aspx?NRMODE=Published&NRNODEGUID=%7bD387B0C8-71DB-4B24-B445-0046B82DC6EA%7d&NRORIGINALURL=%2fAnPost%2fMainContent%2fPersonal%2bCustomers%2fMoney%2bMatters%2fForeign%2bExchange%2fChoose%2bthe%2bPostFX%2bMasterCard%2bCurrency%2bCard%2ehtm&NRCACHEHINT=Guest#how

Gamebred

If you buy universal tickets do you need i.d entering the park? we were gonna buy tickets between 6 and use them on alternative days?

naughtysmurf

Yeah I know but I also knew that any bank charges I incurred for using my debit card three times was going to amount to less than 1/2% of the overall holiday cost so in the overall scheme of things I was fine with that

naughtysmurf

Gamebred wrote: »

If you buy universal tickets do you need i.d entering the park? we were gonna buy tickets between 6 and use them on alternative days?

They will take a finger scan as you enter the park first time & each time afterwards, the ticket you use is associated with your finger scan, another person using it the following day will have issues & questions to answer

You may get away with it but they will ask a lot of questions about previous visits & times of visits etc on the other hand you may well be escorted off property, not worth the risk IMO

From memory, we had to sign them also & everybody carries id over there, saying you've no id on you won't work

Liordi

Sometimes, if there are issues with the fingerprint they will take a photograph of the cardholder so every time that the card is scanned, their picture comes up.

Gamebred

Aye was worth a shot least I found out now instead of trying it in October cheers.

naughtysmurf

Liordi wrote: »

Sometimes, if there are issues with the fingerprint they will take a photograph of the cardholder so every time that the card is scanned, their picture comes up.

They take your picture entering SeaWorld & Busch Gardens, issues or not

naughtysmurf

Gamebred wrote: »

Aye was worth a shot least I found out now instead of trying it in October cheers.

In fairness, Universal & Disney are pretty slick operations, not many loopholes that they haven't taken care of

slave1

naughtysmurf wrote: »

They will take a finger scan as you enter the park first time & each time afterwards, the ticket you use is associated with your finger scan, another person using it the following day will have issues & questions to answer

You are bang on, its a finger scan not a fingerprint scan, they take the shape of the outside of your finger, AFAIK they are forbidden to take your fingerprint.
But it's always dodgy, I've had to redo my finger a number of times and my daughters are much older now so they always have problems in Disney on the non-expiry tickets.
In all cases someone comes over we retry and eventually they press some buttons and we get through.
Never been asked for ID ever at a park

RocketRaccoon

Just a quick question for the op or for anyone else who has been.

What do you recommend doing before travelling? Park tickets etc. We are going as 2 adults so no kids to worry about. Won't be hiring a car, just ubers and hotel shuttles.

What would be the best outlet style mall? I'm thinking along the lines of Jersey gardens in Jersey.

arrianalexander

RocketRaccoon wrote: »

Just a quick question for the op or for anyone else who has been.

What do you recommend doing before travelling? Park tickets etc. We are going as 2 adults so no kids to worry about. Won't be hiring a car, just ubers and hotel shuttles.

What would be the best outlet style mall? I'm thinking along the lines of Jersey gardens in Jersey.

For what it's worth we are doing are honeymoon next year split between Orlando and new York

So far we have ordered tickets for universal / Disney off attraction tickets, we still are in two minds over tickets for New York sight seeing so far

Next stage is flights

Then hotel , we are leaving hotels until last in case they dates we want to fly change etc , we won't know what exact day we are flying until we see flights

RocketRaccoon

arrianalexander wrote: »

For what it's worth we are doing are honeymoon next year split between Orlando and new York

So far we have ordered tickets for universal / Disney off attraction tickets, we still are in two minds over tickets for New York sight seeing so far

Next stage is flights

Then hotel , we are leaving hotels until last in case they dates we want to fly change etc , we won't know what exact day we are flying until we see flights

We're going for honeymoon too!

RoryMac

RocketRaccoon wrote: »

Just a quick question for the op or for anyone else who has been.

What do you recommend doing before travelling? Park tickets etc. We are going as 2 adults so no kids to worry about. Won't be hiring a car, just ubers and hotel shuttles.

What would be the best outlet style mall? I'm thinking along the lines of Jersey gardens in Jersey.

I'm just back a week after 9 nights in Orlando & 5 nights in St Pete.

I'd recommend getting all park tickets before travelling, it's far cheaper. We got 2 week tickets for Universal for around €250 each from Tour America. We ended up going to Magic Kingdom for 1 day & paid at the gate, it was over $500 for 3 adults & one child(actually 2 kids but one was over 10 so adult price).

For Outlets I'd recommend the outlet at International Vineland but tbh we preferred the Florida Mall which is huge and prices not too different from the outlets. Mall at Millennia is nice too but shops are more up market(Chanel, Louis Vuitton etc)

MB05

RocketRaccoon wrote: »

Just a quick question for the op or for anyone else who has been.

What do you recommend doing before travelling? Park tickets etc. We are going as 2 adults so no kids to worry about. Won't be hiring a car, just ubers and hotel shuttles.

What would be the best outlet style mall? I'm thinking along the lines of Jersey gardens in Jersey.

Are you staying on International Drive? If so then both Premium Outlet Malls are easy to get to without a car. They top and tail the route taken by the little i-ride trolley bus that goes the length of international drive. I think the number 8 lynx bus also does a similar route. Florida mall is also easy to get to by bus from most of international drive. It's more a typical American Mall rather than an outlet but it has some of the chain stores like Macy's and JC Penneys.

If you are staying nearer Disney I am sure there are other outlets like Lake Buena Vista that others would recommend but I've never been as I stay on international drive when I go.

As for tips, yes definitely get your park tickets before you go as the UK and Ireland get much better rates than everywhere else (we get 14 day unlimited for what the Americans pay for 4 days!). What parks do you want to do? You might be able to bundle them for a small saving and get a few freebies thrown in. Shop around though as prices can vary wildly. I'm shopping for mine at the moment and the strength of the Euro is definitely helping the UK sites look more competitive than the Irish ones.

Have a look at the outlet mall websites. Sign up closer to the time as they email additional money off vouchers to people on their mailing list and these are often more usable than the ones in the coupon books you can get over there. On that if you are on international drive you will see these coupon books in hotel lobbies, shops, the i-ride trolley bus etc. Pick some up as there are coupons for various outlet mall discount books or even places to eat etc.

Consider getting a Revolut or similar card that you can get much better exchange rates on. Not only will it get you a near perfect exchange rate to use in the US, you can use it to pay for your park tickets if you use a UK website that quotes in STG. STG is trading at 90p to the EUR at the moment which is brilliant.

There is probably loads more I am forgetting but feel free to ask me any specific questions you might have.

dodzy

Guys, need 2 days in universal studios. 3 parks. Best options on tickets? Currently looking at the 14day 3 park for 244€. Terrible waste but not seeing any better options?

naughtysmurf

dodzy wrote: »

Guys, need 2 days in universal studios. 3 parks. Best options on tickets? Currently looking at the 14day 3 park for 244€. Terrible waste but not seeing any better options?

Don't worry about the 14 day aspect of the ticket, buying a 14 day ticket this side of the pond is usually cheaper than buying a 2 day ticket over there

whiteley91

I got a one day ticket about 3 weeks ago and it was 180usd at the gate so it's very worth while to get the 14 day ticket if your doing 3 days!

Gamebred

1 day ticket for 180 is extortion, crazy price.

MB05

dodzy wrote: »

Guys, need 2 days in universal studios. 3 parks. Best options on tickets? Currently looking at the 14day 3 park for 244€. Terrible waste but not seeing any better options?

www.orlandoattractions.com are a little cheaper with an adult ticket costing €235.64. It says it's for UK visitors only but from contacting similar UK websites the Irish qualify for it too. Even if you don't want to use them www.attractionticketsdirect.ie say they will price match their competitors so I reckon you could get the same off them.

TimHorton

Gamebred wrote: »

If you buy universal tickets do you need i.d entering the park? we were gonna buy tickets between 6 and use them on alternative days?

Not the same situation but an Irish family I know bought 4 x Partly Used Tickets that had a few days left for small money , The seller told them what parks they visited on what days etc.
So they roll up to Universal and get challenged - When asked about previous visits Dad pulls piece of paper out with Details LOL , They are told to leave.
12 yr Daughter goes into Hysterics Crying and they all got let it for the next 4 days.
Embarrassing , But in the end worth it for them.

dodzy

TimHorton wrote: »

Not the same situation but an Irish family I know bought 4 x Partly Used Tickets that had a few days left for small money , The seller told them what parks they visited on what days etc.
So they roll up to Universal and get challenged - When asked about previous visits Dad pulls piece of paper out with Details LOL , They are told to leave.
12 yr Daughter goes into Hysterics Crying and they all got let it for the next 4 days.
Embarrassing , But in the end worth it for them.

As someone posted above, these operations are top notch. You won't be getting partly used ticket touts outside these gates.

Oafley Jones

dodzy wrote: »

As someone posted above, these operations are top notch. You won't be getting partly used ticket touts outside these gates.

They still try it, it's a fairly enduring scam and easy pickings, but they're quickly swept up by security. Remember that almost all of the parks tickets are bound to biometric (fingerprint) data of the purchaser.

RocketRaccoon

whiteley91 wrote: »

I got a one day ticket about 3 weeks ago and it was 180usd at the gate so it's very worth while to get the 14 day ticket if your doing 3 days!

Wow that is scandalous.

dodzy

RocketRaccoon wrote: »

Wow that is scandalous.

It may well be, but there will be a procession of people paying in there every day of every week. Massive cash cow. Fantastic operation most definitely but a serious earner for the owners all the same.

Lima Golf

Has anyone done the Halloween horror nights at universal? We just want a 1 night ticket (not an add on as won't be visiting Universal during the day) what's our best option? Attraction tickets direct only have the frequent fear pass (multiple nights) for €118. Will I just wait until we're out there?

Johann.

Lima Golf wrote: »

Has anyone done the Halloween horror nights at universal? We just want a 1 night ticket (not an add on as won't be visiting Universal during the day) what's our best option? Attraction tickets direct only have the frequent fear pass (multiple nights) for €118. Will I just wait until we're out there?

Yo

I did it last year for the first time, definitely worth it. If I remember correctly, we paid an extra €100 or so, to add it on to our park tickets, probably as you've mentioned above. However, we also only visited the one night. We also used the express which was an extra $100, which we paid locally. It was needed. The waiting times per 'experience' were crazy and the extra $100 allowed us to do everything in the one night, as we stayed from opening until about 1.30am. We didn't stop in between experiences, moved from one to the other.

I haven't experienced it having not used the fast pass, however it just looked like it was taking forever, perhaps another member could clarify that if having experienced it without!