* ~** ThemeParks megathread **~**

Been to Alton Towers. Well worth a visit. Pay as much as you can afford for tickets as it helps you beat the queues. We flew into East Midlands and hired a car but Im sure you could get a bus from Nottingham 4 or 5 miles from East Midlands Airport. Alton Towers really is in the middle of nowhere with very narrow roads leading to it so a bus would probably be your best bet.

frodi wrote: »

I'm heading to Orlando with the family in June as well. Love the advice above. One further thing I would like to know. The water parks have that you should wear "water shoes" because the ground can get hot. I am presuming that this is something like flip flops or jelly shoes or are they talking about something else altogether?

Sorry for the minor hijack.

yeah flip-flops is what they are talking about

Apologies in advance for any repetition and for the long post - alot of the above posters have already mentioned good places to go but heres my two cents:

We always purchased our tickets at the park gates but there are loads of different ways to get them just make sure you are getting what you want. Sorry cant be more help with a ticket source.

Usually head over in September as its very quiet, unfortunately June is high season its going to be hot and crowded. Drink lots of water especially walking around the parks.

Malls:

Mall at the Millenia - very nice mall, more high end shops such as Tiffanys, Abercrombie, Banana Republic, Victorias Secret, Bloomingdales etc. Recommend you eat at the Cheesecake Factory but not on Sunday after church is finished as its madness to get a table. Theres a nice shortcut (avoids the I-4) to the Millenia from International Drive as well, head down the end of International Drive towards the Prime. Go past the Festival Mall and you'll come to a set of lights (entrance to Prime is across the road) turn right and head up over bridge, at the lights turn left. Go straight down and the Millenia is a short distance down on the right.

Festival - this mall is still quite empty, theres Steve and Barrys which is great for cheap t-shirts and jeans etc. Vans Skate shop (expensive) also has a skate park in the shop. Hot Topic is here also. Foodcourt is not great but Coldstone Creamery does nice Ice Cream. Bed Bath & Beyond and Old Navy have stores across the road - theres a Dollar Tree too. Think this used to be called Beltz (I hate the place with a passion).

Florida Mall - this is on the road to/from the airport. Older mall but its absolutely huge - well worth going to. Varied shops, decent food court and theres a nice mexican restaraunt here too.

Outlets:

The Premiums are to put it simply the best outlet. Designer gear - Ralph Lauren, Tommy, Zegna, Armani, Reebok, Adidas, Nike, Gap loads of places. Food court is crap tho. There also another outlet near the Premium, as you are heading into the Premiums from the I4 you'll cross the Orange Blossom Trail turn right and head back towards the 192 and theres an open air outlet a short distance down on the left, last year they opened a Tommy outlet there and theres Old Navy and Gap as well. Can be better value here than other shops. Also has the first roundabout we found in the US!

Prime - they were still renovating this when we were there in December (it was a complete kip before) hear its quite nice tho (second hand info).


Activities:

Seaworld is fantastic, fun attractions great shows were the Sealions, Dolphins, Killer Whales - dont ask me for their names and rollercoasters. The Kraken is great fun plus the Budweiser horses. We will definitely go back.

Universal Studios - the old park is definitely a bit dated and tbh boring. We much preferred Islands of Adventure and would really only go back to Islands. There are some redeeming elements - The Mummy, Jurassic Park. Islands of Adventure is far superior - better rides such as the Hulk, Duelling Dragons, Spiderman, Jurassic Park, Popeye (you get soaked) Ripsaw falls (again you get soaked), and Doctor Doom.

Disney - it can be magic if its the first time, but I feel its more for younger children. The magic kingdom is very dated and Space Mountain and Thunder Mountain just dont compare to the other parks roller coasters.

MGM - Some good shows Lights Motors Action, Tower of Terror, Indiana Jones. Queues for the Rock n Roller Coaster were nuts even with the Fast pass was a 3 hr wait so we skipped that since it was late in the evening.

Animal Kingdom - this park has really improved over the years. Animal attractions are good, Kilimanjaro Safaris and the boat ride are a good laugh with the right driver. The Expedition Everest is a fantastic roller coaster cant recommend it enough. Cant talk about the water rides - was freezing the day we were there so no way were we risking getting wet. Good day out though would recommend it.

Epcot - not really much to talk about. Test Track is ok, restaurants were jammers so we left and got dinner elsewhere. We didnt really do much here again very dated looking now and not a lot we were interested in seeing.

Downtown Disney - good for going out in the evening with bars and clubs. The Lego shop, memorablia shops, etc. Highlight is Cirque Du Soleil (sp) if you are in Orlando you have to see this show absolutely fantastic. Foodwise theres loads of restaurants and a Planet Hollywood. The cinema here is very nice as well but bring a jumper its a freezer inside.

Busch Gardens - memories a little hazy on this one been about 2 years since there. Bit of a drive in the car, but has lots of great roller coasters, shows etc. We had a good day out and would recommend if possible going here.

Arabian Nights - We went to this show last year and had a good time. Foods rubbish (worse than airline meals) but the show is decent enough.

Sky Diving - if it takes your fancy Sky Dive City in Zephyr Hills is a great place. Very friendly staff etc and prices are not too bad.

Last year we also caught a Tampa Bay Lightning hockey game. Would definitely go back to one of these and again prices are quite reasonable even for great seats. Real american experience with loads going on around the arena when theres a break in play.

Food:

As a general rule we avoid any of the restaurant chains that you will see all over the place - we've had two bad experiences with these places and wont ever go back.

I can recommend Sweet Tomato its down International Drive past Wet n Wild on the left hand side of the road. You pay about $10 and pick what you want from the salad buffet, then choice of soups, baked potatoes and deserts etc with as much as want. Makes a great break from the usual fast food that everywhere seems to serve for a good price.

If you can head to Celebration, its a bit stepford wives with the perfect families, houses and town etc but has some excellent restaurants - Market Street Cafe is very nice. Cheese and bacon fries are great . Couple of other places to be checked out as well.

Already mentioned Cheesecake factory - quick tip order the cheesecake for desert as though you are eating in. Have a bite or two then get it boxed to bring home instead of ordering the slices to go (eating in gets a bigger slice).

Theres a few nice looking restaurants down the far end of international drive away from the Wet N Wild part that look very nice. But we havent gone there yet just driven past.

Chilis on International Drive is nice as well - chicken wings smothered in hot sauce are great.



In relation to car rental you can rent if you are under 25 as long as you have a full driving license you just pay a daily surcharge sorry cant remember if its $15 or $25 a day (think its $25). I always use Hertz if booking with them register for their number 1 club online first (its free) this gets you a discount straight off. Prepay if possible - this is basically an all in price for everything you'll need. They try and offer you extra insurance at the desk when collecting but just decline this. I usually return the car full but you can also opt to return empty and its not that much more expensive than the service stations. Just be careful with what you agree to and sign as they will try and screw you for more money if they can.

Again sorry for the long post, if i think of anything else ill add it on or if anybody has any questions i can do my best to answer them. All of the above is purely personal opinion and experience.

nah rent a small car and you'll be grand. We flew into nottingham, stayed in stoke-on-trent for 2 nights and drove to alton towers each morning. About 40 mins away and you have the flexibility of your own car.
Great weekend - highly recommend it.

You can go by coach from Dublin

http://www.celtichorizontours.com/celtichorizon/Main/Product-2006.asp?iEventID=1844

jimmycrackcorm.. in my experience, packages are best.

Got 10 nights in Orlando (staying in Best Western Movieland on International Drive) including flights on AmericanHolidays.com

basquille wrote: »

jimmycrackcorm.. in my experience, packages are best.

Got 10 nights in Orlando (staying in Best Western Movieland on International Drive) including flights on AmericanHolidays.com

Would agree with you here Basquille but we were in the Quality Inn Plaza last year which was excellent by the way (microwave, fridge, cable tv, air con etc.).
You can get that hotel for €350 for 7 nights on it's official site so if you got return flights for say €500 (aerlingus) you're talking 700 per person.

We got 2 standby places last year for 600 (including charges & transfers).

How much would 10 days typically set you back?

basquille wrote: »

Myself and the girlfriend got the package (10 nights in the Best Western Movieland, and return flights) for €1,644 (so €822 each).

EDIT: €500 with Aer Lingus? Don't think so - flights to Orlando in June with Aer Lingus is working out at €686 each!

Ah right, was looking at may, works out at €530 return.
Make sure you have everything done by 3pm in the day as the heavens will open like clockwork




Aside, for anyone else looking on interested in Orlando.
Panorama have a sale on today for the first 3 weeks in June:
€500 for direct flights (monarch) and accom. - 7 nights
www.panoramaholidays.ie

Basquille, I was in Orlando at the start of June two years ago. Crowd-wise and weather-wise it was fine, yes the weather is hot, but not unbearably so. You just have to use the noggin and drink lots of water and take regular breaks in indoor, air-conditioned areas. June would be considered the start of the peak season and the further in to June you get, the more crowded it becomes. However June would still not be as crowded as July/start of August.

The Fastpass is not a stupid idea, it is a great time saver! You don’t really have to queue to get them in the first place and then when you come back at your allocated time, you join a vastly shorter queue. If used smartly, you can cut the wait time at the major rides from over an hour down to 5-10 minutes! Plus it is free! The only catch is that you can only hold one fastpass at a time, so make sure to prioritise. www.allears.net is a great site for explaining all the various ticket options and it also explains the fastpass system in depth.

With regards to the park hopper option on the ticket (which allows you to visit more than one Disney park per day) I personally do not think it is worth it. The parks are huge and you will be tired after slogging around them in the heat, I personally could never see myself doing more than one in a day. Plus they are all situated quite far apart, so it’s not like you can just hop from one to the other in a couple of minutes.

To the person who asked about the water shoes in the water parks, I wore crocs when I was there last year and regretted it, you have to take them off going down the slides or else you could lose them and that means you either have to leave them at the top or else hold them as you go down. I would recommend the water shoes that stay on tight, so you don’t have to worry about your flip-flops flying off!

ncmc wrote:

The Fastpass is not a stupid idea, it is a great time saver! You don’t really have to queue to get them in the first place and then when you come back at your allocated time, you join a vastly shorter queue. If used smartly, you can cut the wait time at the major rides from over an hour down to 5-10 minutes! Plus it is free! The only catch is that you can only hold one fastpass at a time, so make sure to prioritise.

the theme park experts don't agree with you though, this guy gives reason why fastpass does more harm than good http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/200602/45/

getting to the park before it opens, going on single-rider lines when the crowds start to arrive will result in getting through the day quicker. As mentioned we had all islands of adventures rides done 3 times by 1pm on Easter Monday this year. I used express pass (same as disney fast-pass) in islands of adventure 3 years ago and we were lucky to get each ride done once by 6pm with all the waiting around

Hi, Can anyone tell me the best deal or a family ticket to Portaventura Theme Park in Salou? Family 2 adults and 2 children heading there in August and wondering if it is best to get tickets in Ireland or at the Gate of the theme park. Also do tickets cover admitance for the water parks too.

Thanks...Bojangles