Dublin to Orlando

Kayakswimkayak

Planning well in advance for a future family trip but looking for advice on a few things. Firstly, what times of the year should we avoid Florida from a weather point of view (hurricanes/extreme heat etc)? I've googled this plenty but would like to hear from real people who have experience. Secondly, when are the crazy busy times to avoid from a queuing perspective? Kids will be 11 and 13 (if we go when we think we will) and able to wait a bit but not for hours..... Finally for now, when are the Aer Lingus flights most reasonable? Had a quick look at prices there for next year and there was a huge fluctuation in some dates. Won't be going next year and I know things can change but we are just researching now to get an idea of what we need to save or how many kidneys we need to sellðŸ˜ðŸ˜ Thanks in advanceðŸ‘ðŸ‘

Greg81

I was in Florida twice. Mid June and December/January

Second option was way better for me. Less people. Normal temperatures (20-25) less humid.

June was crazy hot. Got few rainy days with thunder storms.

I was flying with Delta. Dub-JFK-Miami

rossie1977

Avoid Hurricane season anyway so July till October. It's extremely hot and humid in July and August so best to avoid Florida that time of year even if no hurricanes. June can be very warm but I wouldn't completely rule it out.

The parks are gigantic and walking around from attraction to attraction or queueing in 90+ degree heat gets very tiring after a while. In saying that you need warm sunny days (25c+) if you are planning on the water parks or going on rides where you will get very wet e.g Popeye or Dudley Do Right in Universal Islands of adventure

Avoid Christmas/New Year, Easter and Halloween as parks will be full to the brim during those periods.

My advice if you are visiting a park go as early as possible. If park states opening time as 9am be at gate at 8.30am or before. I can't stress how important this point is especially if it's a nice sunny day. Regardless the park it will be full by 11-12pm and those rides go from walk on at 9am to 1 hour wait times at 12pm.

Aer Lingus is fine. If direct it cuts out the hassle of having to change. Whatever you do don't book Ireland to Orlando via UK. It means you will have to go through immigration when you land in the States which can take hours in some cases.

Ireland to Orlando via US e.g Dublin/Shannon to NYC then Orlando is ok as Immigration takes place in Ireland and you can simply walk to your gate as soon as you land in the US

naughtysmurf

First three weeks of May & late October are usually very good weather wise, crowds build up towards end of May for Memorial Weekend & the start of summer, I'd avoid June, July, August & September as it's hot crowded & potentially very wet too, a slight drop in crowd levels mid August onwards when US schools reopen

Avoid Easter, Christmas & Thanksgiving crowds wise, it will be rammed, there aren't really any quiet times at Disney any more due to promotions, new attractions opening etc, just less busy times

We took ours out of school for Orlando trips, no regrets, have been last two weeks of March, last two weeks of May & last two weeks of October twice

If your budget can stretch to it stay onsite at Disney & Universal for some of your trip, the perks are worth it as regards pre booking fast passes in advance, early entry at Disney plus other perks, , one night at a Universal delux hotel, Hard Rock, Royal Pacific or Portafino will give you all unlimited express passes for both check in & check out days, check in at 7am , enjoy unlimited express pass untill park close on check out day

AL direct is great but expensive, we've also used United indirect with no issues

Cost wise I'd say in total depending on what you want to do & reasonable comfort level for both Disney & Universal start at 8k & work upwards, maybe consider doing only Disney OR Universal/ SeaWorld & Busch Gardens, you can't do it all in two weeks anyway, you will need downtime & non park days anyway, the typical 14 night holiday realistically is 9/10 park days maximum

Lau2976

It really depends on what your looking to do and the level of convenience you like. We spent a good bit for 2 adults and 2 kids when we took my OHs nephews. We did 2 weeks on site at Disney, a 3 night Disney cruise and then a few nights in universal before heading home.

I don’t remember the exact cost but I think it was over €10000 without the cruise.

This was early October and included a dining plan at Disney, the photopass at universal, MNSSHP tickets and a HHN ticket.

We really went over the top in all fairness, we could have done 2 weeks in Disney for about €4500 before flights. If flying direct (and I highly recommend it with kids!) anything sub €500 is a great price. Anything sub €600 is good.

If staying on site at Disney, you can get a pretty decent deal with free dining every year. If you stay in their hotel and get a 7-21 day ticket you get one of their dining plans for free. I kept an eye on the price before and it saved us a couple of thousand.

The add ons we paid for were great, if going in October I’d highly recommend MNSSHP but they definitely aren’t needed and we would have had a fantastic time without them.

naughtysmurf

As regards costs, you'll have the following to consider & factor in or out for a DIY holiday which we prefer

Airport parking Ireland

Flights X 4

Travel insurance (best with 10 million medical cover for US)

Esta X 4

Car hire or Uber / Lyft costs. If you opt for car hire use a broker this side of the pond that includes all your insurance, also factor in car parking costs at the park +$20/day. If you opt for a package holiday that includes car hire, it's often for a small car with basic insurance, you may have to upgrade both

Accommodation, Villa / Idrive or LBV hotel / Disney & or Universal onsite hotel or a mix of all or some of these, we've never stayed on Idrive, have done villas & onsite at both Disney & Universal, all have their positives & negatives

Day to day spending for food, drinks, snacks, parking, petrol, groceries etc, we budgeted $200/day for 4, some days were over, some days under but always enough for us

Tipping, for sit down meals, 15% minimum is expected, 18 to 20% is more the norm this applies even if you decide to stay onsite at Disney with the dining plan whether *free* or not so for every $100 you drop at a restaurant add $20. 10% at a buffet.

Many off-site hotels have a resort & or parking charges they add to the quoted price so keep an eye on what you're booking. Universal on-site hotels also charge for parking, by the time you travel on-site Disney hotels will also charge for European guests who stay, currently parking is free for us if staying on-site

Theme park tickets, could well be more than the cost of your flights

Haven't included general shopping or extra stuff like Blue Man Group / Gospel Brunch but these are descretionary spends, not my dept but the Mrs loves dropping $$$ on clothes, trainers etc

Hope that helps, it's a great holiday, your kids will be a great age for it, SeaWorld has some of the best coasters in Florida, Busch Gardens is great too about 1hr15 from Orlando, Discovery Cove is a great day, expensive but...

Irishder

Hi All,
Just booked flights from Dub to Orlando. Flying out June 1st and returning June 15th. There are 4 of us in total, kids will be 13 and 6 at the time of travel.

Will need to pick peoples brains on here regarding accommodation (Air BnB looks good for a gated community) car hire and park tickets.

Pity Orlando is not a sticky in this forum

naughtysmurf

Irishder wrote: »

Hi All,
Just booked flights from Dub to Orlando. Flying out June 1st and returning June 15th. There are 4 of us in total, kids will be 13 and 6 at the time of travel.

Will need to pick peoples brains on here regarding accommodation (Air BnB looks good for a gated community) car hire and park tickets.

Pity Orlando is not a sticky in this forum

For car hire I recommend https://www.uscarhire.com/ or http://www.discountfloridacarhire.co.uk/, all you insurance is included in the quote alternatively you could just use Uber & or Lyft, there may not be much in the difference pricewise at the end of the day especially when you factor in car parking costs

For Disney tickets, Disney direct, attractionticketsdirect are good, you can just pay a deposit & balance just before you go, there are many other reputable ticket resellers like undercovertourist

Personally wouldn't pay a premium for a gated community, most villa communities are pretty quiet unless you are looking for a resort type community with community pool, club house etc