Don't know whether this thread is in the right place or not, but anyway...

Thinking of going to florida/orlando with family, just discovered florida is actually the size of the British Isles. so driving from Orlando to Miami is alegedly about a 5 hour drive!

I'm looking for any advice or points people may wish to make - good hotels, bad hotels, good experience, bad experience - you get the point!

Thinking of going for 14nts but don't want to spend 2 weeks in Disney (obviously I will be going cause I have a 5 year old daughter).

look forward to hearing anything anyone has to say on the subject.

Thanks

Matt

Ooooh, you lucky thing - I would love to go back!
I went for 3 weeks, we spent one week in a Disney hotel (worth doing because you get to go into the parks earlier if you fancy getting up at the crack of dawn! and other advantages too), one week in a self catered house in Orlando and another in a self catered house near Miami. We drove between Orlando and Miami - wasn't too bad.

I found "the unofficial guide to disney" very useful - loads of useful tips and ideas to get the best out of time in Disney. All I would say is that it is really worth planning each day in advance to get the most out of it, and so you don't miss the parades and fireworks etc.

I went just after Christmas! It was excellent.

The theme parks are a must - but there are other things to do as well. I went to Kennedy Space Center, and also went to one of their National Parks.

You will need a car - there is no other way to get around.

There are a lot of houses in the Kissimmee area which are available for rent - saves soem money for use in the parks!

Originally posted by MrHelicopter

You will need a car - there is no other way to get around.


I'm afraid i don't agree, i never use a car because taxi's are cheap enough and if you stay in a hotel on the I-Drive then there's plenty of buses etc to ferry you around!

I went abotu 5 years ago and had a great time. We flew with Virgin into Miami airport and hired a car and drove to Orlando. I can't remember how long it took, it was a few hours but not 5 I don't think! Maybe my dad just drives fast?!

There's so much to see and do, we did Disneyland too and it was great, but could be done in a day or 2 if you have younger kids. We didn't go, but aparantly Bush Gardens is meant to be really good. We went to Universal Studios which was great fun, especially the Jaws set ride where you go round on a boat and mechanical sharks lunge at you and lots of other cool stuff (might be a bit scary for a 5 year old thou!). I can't think of all the stuff we did but there's tons to do, so many theme and water parks and museums to visit, as well as the outlet shops of course.

Can't remember much else about it as I was 15/16 and we only stayed for a week, but you won't get bored!

You might want to avoid going in high summer. There's plenty of air conditioning but outside can get very hot and humid. We have a place in Melborne on the East coast south of Daytona,qnd we like to go down after Christmas until Easter. Disney world is probably worth a couple of days, but there are plenty of other places to go. Busch Gardens is nice, Sea World with killer whales and performing dolphins. I don't much care for Miami myself, too much crime. You'll find the rate of exchange very much in your favor, and the prices very reasonable, much more so when we come in your direction.

I saw a holiday on 'TV Travel Shop' :blush: quite recently that was a multi centre deal. 7 nights in Orlando (car included for that part), 4 in Las Vegas on the strip, and 3 in Manhattan in a 3* for £699.

Don't know if it is still on, but Mr K and I were whinking of going..

Have a good time if you do, and send us a postcard! :clap:

K x

We are going next year too! We are really looking forward to it. I have started our planning already.

We went for a week in February 2002 and thoroughly enjoyed it - we didn't like the hotel we stayed much it was very basic but as we only slept there and kept and changed clothes it didn't really matter, but I wouldn't recommend staying at the Masters Inn in Kissimmee.

We will be going in "High Summer" but that is because I want to include my wedding anniversary in the trip as it will be our 25th next year.

I would recommend that you shop around for the best prices - we are going independently i.e. I am booking accommodation, flights, hire car etc separately. If I manage to get the sort of price for the flights that I got when I looked at what it would cost for the same time this year I will have got 4/5 star accommodation, 4 x 4 car (with gold insurance option) and flights for just under £750. If you want any further hints on this pm me - there really isn't any secret to it you just have to look around - the internet is wonderful for this!

Anyhow for carhire try: www.floridacarhire.com and before you book anything I recommend you have a look at the reviews on here:

http://www.holidays-uncovered.co.uk/index.htm these are people real experiences and although everyone's opinions differ it's worth taking them into consideration.

As a final hint I would say book as early as possible you may even get a free child place that way! If you don't want to or can't drive as Tinkabel said go for International Drive in Orlando, but you will need to book early to get anything at all there. Plan everything and make sure you take an alarm clock and comfortable shoes, even if you don't do the theme parks all the 2 weeks you will need them! Oh and I would recommend you buy any theme park tickets before you go you get a better deal that way!

Originally posted by tinkabel
I'm afraid i don't agree, i never use a car because taxi's are cheap enough and if you stay in a hotel on the I-Drive then there's plenty of buses etc to ferry you around!

I never understand people who don't have a car.

Yes taxis an the bus/tram etc are cheap, but you just don't get to see enough. Florida needs to be explored.

Back to the original question. Florida is wonderful. I've been 6 times, and am going again in September, although going to Sanibel this time.

You'd love it.

Go to Naples, on the western coast of Florida, dont bother with Miami, its not as nice as you think its going to be.....

Been to Florida 6 times!

If you aren't planning to stay in a Disney hotel be aware that many of the hotels in the Kissimmee/International Drive area aren't of a great standard...they are more like a motel with no corridoors and often doors opening onto the carpark. Saying that, rooms are often of a good standard.

Weather wise it does get very hot and humid and there are often thunderstorms in the late afternoon/evening. Although these can be quite severe they are usually quite short.

My final tip: make use of the all you can eat buffet places, breakfast starts at about $3.99 and dinner at about $10.99 and for that you can literally eat as much as you want! In the theme parks prices are ridiculous so it makes sense to fill up before you get there. Look out for Ponderosa or Golden Corral!

Have fun!

hope the weather is better for you than is was on Monday - was -2c in Orlando which upset my mate a bit because most people there don't own jackets.

They have been hit by lots of freak weather conditions on and off since the hurricanes and are suffering the fallout from Tsunami at the moment.

If I get chance I will speak to my friend over there..she enjoys swimming with the dolphins and has tonnes of photos of her with them.

Moon

im going sometime this year....maybe for a month...should be fun.


http://groups.msn.com/OrlandoCrazies

^ lots of info and help to be found on here. :)

(im gonna beat up mickey! :thumbsup: )

Couple of tips that I learned from a mate, they've may have been mentioned earlier but are worth noting.
1 Plan ahead. Especially which days you're going to the theme parks. The worst thing to do is sit over breakfast going " where shall we go" ? "I don't know where do you want to go" etc. To get the best out of the theme parks you'll need all day, so you should know where you'll be going when you get up (at 6.30)
2 Have the "all you can eat" buffet breakfasts. The amount of food is amazing. You can also have an all you can eat evening meal where if you want 6 steaks they'll give you 6. Don't be tempted to fill your plate to everest proportions though, it's very bad manners to pile it on and then leave some.
3. In the theme parks when you get to the first junction turn right. We Brits have a habit of going round these places clockwise so it should be less busy early on if you go the other way. Course if it's full of Yanks and Germans this might not apply.

we're going to orlando in may' can anyone tell me if it drops cold at night or not please?
I havent a clue what clothes to take' never been before but really excited.

Yeah Ponderosa is great value, good quality and the service we got was excellent everytime!

Originally posted by Rachylou
we're going to orlando in may' can anyone tell me if it drops cold at night or not please?
I havent a clue what clothes to take' never been before but really excited.
We went in May 5 years ago and didn't take anything heavier than a cardi/sweatshirt, but we were advised to pack a light waterproof jacket as they have storms - good job we did, one day it was thunder and lightning solid but we were on the way home then so it didn't matter! Rest of the time it was baking though, so shorts, tshirts and maybe a pair of jeans or cotton trousers for the flight.

Yep, something light and waterproof definately a good idea. Went once years ago with parents, and my dad insisted that we all take the poncho thingys that we bought at Alton Towers - my brother and I were mortified (being about 12 and 14 at the time!), they were bright yellow plastic with a huge alton towers logos! but fortunately, despite being August, it only rained a couple of times!

You get the best deals in the summer months because Americans in general avoid the place. We Northerners congregate during the fall, and winter and are known in the business as "snowbirds". By the way, Florida is famous as a retirement place for Seniors, what you would call OAPs. Home prices can range from as little as $12,000 for a mobile in good shape, or a house about $50,000 way up depending on area. If you have Seniors with you there are early bird specials in most restaurants with 10% off.

Originally posted by buck
or a house about $50,000 way up depending on area.

Wow, what are the houses made of, cardboard, you could'nt get a decent car in the UK for much less than that!

Thanks for all your imput - I will take on board all of your advice. Thanks again.

Matt

house prices are quite cheap if you look around..but makes no difference as unless you are finding a cure for cancer they wont let you live there!

i cud get a v.nice place compared to what i have now.

grrrrrr....


when i go on holiday im gonna find sum old rich hag that wants to marry me and let me live a life of luxury :thumbsup: haha

Hi Theo, I'm a US citizen, but I'm not sure if a foreign non-senior citizen is barred from residency in Florida, as long as they are not a burden on social services. In other words if you can pay your medical bills and stuff it may be OK. I believe there are several Canadians living there without citizenship.

HMM
a few pieces of advice from an american:
- rent a car..
- try to find a timeshare thats available for rent. you can go food shopping and save yourself some cash in dining...
- if youre into rides = universal
- if youre there with littles ones = disney
- see the space center
- if you have time, hit busch gardens in tampa.. they even have a budwsier brewery on premises, its also where they keep those horses of theirs.
- across the street from busch gardens, theres a water park with slides and pools and all that fun stuff
- keep lots of bottled water on you, theyll charge you $5 for about 16 oz.
- COMFY SHOES
- travel around this time of year... from feb to about sept american schools are on various breaks... lots of travel which means higher rates

has anyone experienced internal flights with 'American Airlines' - I have some great flights quoted, but they have stop overs - which I'm not concerned about. However, my return flight is from Orlando to Miami, then Miami to Manchester - the connection only allows 1 hour between landing in Miami and departing on another plane for Manchester.

Is this enough time for me to collect luggage and check in for the other flight? What if there is a slight delay?

Perhaps Buck may have the answer for me - hopefully..

Matt

Originally posted by fierysatsuma
Is this enough time for me to collect luggage and check in for the other flight? What if there is a slight delay?

Matt

I flew with US Airlines when I went, changed in Philadelphia to get to Orlando. On the way in to the US, allow ages and ages to clear Immigration.

On the way out, check your bags in at Orlando - and the next time you will see them is Manchester. One hour should be OK to change terminals at Miami to get home.

Well, I've booked my flights and car. All I need now is 3 weeks of accommodation.

Has anyone ever been with lust the first few days accommodation booked and then booked the rest once you got out there?

Its such a big place I dont want to book 3 weeks in Orlando, or even be restructed to certain parts of Florida. I want to get up and thing 'sod it' i'll start driving south - how easy is it to do this in Florida? is it true that hotels/motels/B&B's are as frequent as bus stops?

Yeah I think you should be fine doing that - there's tons of "Quality Inns" and "comfort Inn" hotels - maybe just print off a few motel contacts before you leave from the internet with possibilities? Good luck! :)

Originally posted by babygem
Yeah I think you should be fine doing that - there's tons of "Quality Inns" and "comfort Inn" hotels - maybe just print off a few motel contacts before you leave from the internet with possibilities? Good luck! :)

Cheers Babygem

Look for locations for Days Inn and La Quinta too, they are everywhere. La Quinta being nicer than Days Inn, although depends on which one you stay at.........:cool:

I hate to be a party pooper, but I'd avoid buffets like the plague, i.e. Golden Corral and Ponderosa. I lived in Orlando for years, and I have seen some horrific things happen to food whilst eating there, I'll never ever eat at a buffet again. People taking bites out of stuff and putting it back for someone else to eat, etc, etc.

:gag:

You might want to try Denny's, it's good value, they have a huge menu and huge portions;)

I know it's many years since I went, but if you get the chance the Neverglades and Seaworld are well worth a visit if you like you natury stuff (as I do!)

:suspect:

Tries very hard to picture Neil at Seaworld.

:hihi:

Euw gross!! We ate at Ponderosa a couple of times and didn't see anything like that but I guess you jkust have to be careful!! From what I remember it was cheap with good service and nice food, but this is going back 6 years!