Disney Florida - Likely damage
Discussion
944fan said:
I have made the fatal mistake of epxlaining to my Disney Princess obsesed 3 year old daughther what the castle is on the DVD splash sceen of Disney DVDs. After telling her about Disney Land she said can we go, and I said of course, one day. Now she wont shut up about it and has told all hear friends and teachers at pre-school that she is going.
Out of interest has anyone been recently who can tell me what the likely damage is for this holiday? 2 adults, 2 kids, villa, tickets, flights, car hire. Are we talking a couple of grand or closer to 10?
We've booked to go at the end of October, staying on the park in Orlando. scheduled flights with Virgin from MAN. Fully inclusive eating plan for two weeks for four, two adults, two children - £6.5k plus spendsOut of interest has anyone been recently who can tell me what the likely damage is for this holiday? 2 adults, 2 kids, villa, tickets, flights, car hire. Are we talking a couple of grand or closer to 10?
We went in 2008 when it was around £2600 for 4 flights (May - Virgin) but I think it would be a lot more now.
Park tickets were about £600 advance ordered off the internet and picked up there but we did do the Disney 4 park package (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, MGM and the Animal one), Seaworld, Aqualand, Gatorland, a fan boat, 2 Universals and I think one other. Needless to say you don't NEED to do all those parks, it would be much cheaper to just do the Magic Kingdom but once you're there, you just might as well do it...
You can always do Kissimmee on the weekends for the cruise which is all free but you will have to cough for the fairground rides.
We got very jammy on the villa at £495 for two weeks (expect more like £900 now) but god, they're huge and great value compared to Europe and we hired a Dodge Charger for about £350 for the two weeks. Again, you don't NEED a Dodde Charger, an economy car means you usually still get a V6 under the hood.
You have to pay to park but eating out at some pub restaurants can be very cheap (I believe we paid something like $2.50 for kids meals at one Irish tavern place opposite Old Town). Buy drinks before entering the parks to avoid costs though I seem to recall they offer free refills...or maybe that was wishful thinking.
Overall, the cost, flights apart, compares favourably with a European holiday.
Park tickets were about £600 advance ordered off the internet and picked up there but we did do the Disney 4 park package (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, MGM and the Animal one), Seaworld, Aqualand, Gatorland, a fan boat, 2 Universals and I think one other. Needless to say you don't NEED to do all those parks, it would be much cheaper to just do the Magic Kingdom but once you're there, you just might as well do it...
You can always do Kissimmee on the weekends for the cruise which is all free but you will have to cough for the fairground rides.
We got very jammy on the villa at £495 for two weeks (expect more like £900 now) but god, they're huge and great value compared to Europe and we hired a Dodge Charger for about £350 for the two weeks. Again, you don't NEED a Dodde Charger, an economy car means you usually still get a V6 under the hood.
You have to pay to park but eating out at some pub restaurants can be very cheap (I believe we paid something like $2.50 for kids meals at one Irish tavern place opposite Old Town). Buy drinks before entering the parks to avoid costs though I seem to recall they offer free refills...or maybe that was wishful thinking.
Overall, the cost, flights apart, compares favourably with a European holiday.
we have 3 weeks for next years school summer hols 2 adults 2 children (11 and 9),Virgin flights, 4 bed top villa, 7 seater mini van = £6500, park tickets and spending will be another £2.5k to £3k i expect (thats how much it was year)
compare that with 2 weeks in a thomascook hotel cramped all in the same room with no car for £4500...
we'd go every year if we could afford it
compare that with 2 weeks in a thomascook hotel cramped all in the same room with no car for £4500...
we'd go every year if we could afford it
pherlopolus said:
we have 3 weeks for next years school summer hols 2 adults 2 children (11 and 9),Virgin flights, 4 bed top villa, 7 seater mini van = £6500, park tickets and spending will be another £2.5k to £3k i expect (thats how much it was year)
compare that with 2 weeks in a thomascook hotel cramped all in the same room with no car for £4500...
we'd go every year if we could afford it
i agree nothing else matches up for me compare that with 2 weeks in a thomascook hotel cramped all in the same room with no car for £4500...
we'd go every year if we could afford it
My wife and I went for our honeymoon last year (big kids, I know).
Went in January so it was a bit cheaper than summer, we spent about £4k in total and we didn't really buy that much when we were there.
2 weeks stay in Best Western Lakeside, did all the Disney Parks, both Universal parks, Sea World & Space Centre plus a shopping trip.
I can see it being £10k for a family of 4 easily, especially if you spend a bit in the mall.
Went in January so it was a bit cheaper than summer, we spent about £4k in total and we didn't really buy that much when we were there.
2 weeks stay in Best Western Lakeside, did all the Disney Parks, both Universal parks, Sea World & Space Centre plus a shopping trip.
I can see it being £10k for a family of 4 easily, especially if you spend a bit in the mall.
grumpyscot said:
Went last year and paid £400 each for Disney tickets only to find that they closed the Magic Kingdom at 6pm and wanted you to pay another $50 to stay till 11pm.
£400 each? How did you manage that - you can buy an annual pass for less than that?MK does close at different times depending on the time of year, and when there are special events on, but these are rare. You can see the park opening times months in adance and it's one holiday where you do really need to do a bit of advance planning so you'll spot these sorts of things.
Planning also prevents those situations where you spend half the day wondering where to go that day - if you're going to theme park, you really want to be there, inside and ready to go, at opening time. It's costing £500+/day to be there so you need to get some value out of that!
We are just back a couple of days ago from 3 weeks there & did all the parks. To keep the costs down I'd not hire a car & I'd stay in a budget Disney hotel & use their excellent free transport system (every 20 mins) & you get extra time in the parks (one night we were at the Magical Kingdom until 2 am) also a free bus to/from to the airport is included. Regarding food, we found we only had/needed 2 meals a day (usually the first one a 3 course breakfast in my case!)
If going for more than one week (& one week would be fine for all the Disney parks IMHO) I'd stay near universal on I drive & walk there (yes walk!) or take a free hotel shuttle (same for Sea World/Aquatica) Wet & Wild will be even closer. A free bus can be had for Lego Land (great for sub 10 year olds) when buying tickets & the same for Busch Gardens (both pick up just off I Drive)
My youngest is nearly 6 & he coped fine in the heat/humidity & was on the go non stop from 10am until 10/11pm most nights at the parks.
He is just under 47"s so didn't get on some of the bigger rides but over 44"s would be a good minimum height to be as not to miss out on too much. Not many rides with an over 52" restriction so my eldest didn't miss out on much being just under this.
If going for more than one week (& one week would be fine for all the Disney parks IMHO) I'd stay near universal on I drive & walk there (yes walk!) or take a free hotel shuttle (same for Sea World/Aquatica) Wet & Wild will be even closer. A free bus can be had for Lego Land (great for sub 10 year olds) when buying tickets & the same for Busch Gardens (both pick up just off I Drive)
My youngest is nearly 6 & he coped fine in the heat/humidity & was on the go non stop from 10am until 10/11pm most nights at the parks.
He is just under 47"s so didn't get on some of the bigger rides but over 44"s would be a good minimum height to be as not to miss out on too much. Not many rides with an over 52" restriction so my eldest didn't miss out on much being just under this.
CO2000 said:
We are just back a couple of days ago from 3 weeks there & did all the parks. To keep the costs down I'd not hire a car & I'd stay in a budget Disney hotel & use their excellent free transport system (every 20 mins) & you get extra time in the parks (one night we were at the Magical Kingdom until 2 am) also a free bus to/from to the airport is included. Regarding food, we found we only had/needed 2 meals a day (usually the first one a 3 course breakfast in my case!)
You wouldn't stay on-site for 3 weeks without a car, would you?Thinking about saving money, if you get free Disney dining then staying on site and not hiring a car would be OK as long as you didn't mind eating nothing but fast food for the whole time you.
If you had to pay for food then it'd probably be cheaper to hire a car and eat off site. Even if you get the basicm quick service ding plan, free, upgrading to a higher level dining plan is pretty expensive.
Obviously budgets have limits, but in the great scheme of things you can get a little car for not that much. The freedom it gives is well worth it and it might even save money on taxis and being able to eat off-site food etc.
Edited by Deva Link on Friday 27th July 18:59
My wife, son (14 years old now) and I go to Orlando every year and it is easily a 10 grand holiday. Last year was our tenth trip out there and even with the cost it is just the best holiday you will ever have. Comparing it to anywhere else in the world is just a waste of time as it has no comparison, Disney is by far the most expensive attraction in Orlando with universal and bush gardens being much better value.
Having said that it sounds like Disney is the main reason for your trip so you will be unable to avoid the cost of it , we usually visit Disney every other trip as we prefer universal and bush gardens. What I would say is avoid the place from last June until late September, mid October to early June is by far the best time to go both in terms of weather and queues.
Having said that it sounds like Disney is the main reason for your trip so you will be unable to avoid the cost of it , we usually visit Disney every other trip as we prefer universal and bush gardens. What I would say is avoid the place from last June until late September, mid October to early June is by far the best time to go both in terms of weather and queues.
Astonished at some of the prices here.
We went 3 years ago. 2 adults and a 3 year old. Flight, car, and 4* hotel £1,600. Spent about £500 on park tickets.
3 years before that 2 adults and a 8 year old. Villa, car and flights about £1200. £700 on tickets (more inclusive passes).
I know it's gone up, but I reckon 2 adults and 1 kid could do it for a lot less than 10K!
We went 3 years ago. 2 adults and a 3 year old. Flight, car, and 4* hotel £1,600. Spent about £500 on park tickets.
3 years before that 2 adults and a 8 year old. Villa, car and flights about £1200. £700 on tickets (more inclusive passes).
I know it's gone up, but I reckon 2 adults and 1 kid could do it for a lot less than 10K!
surveyor said:
Astonished at some of the prices here.
We went 3 years ago. 2 adults and a 3 year old. Flight, car, and 4* hotel £1,600. Spent about £500 on park tickets.
3 years before that 2 adults and a 8 year old. Villa, car and flights about £1200. £700 on tickets (more inclusive passes).
As someone who's been probably 20 times, using all sorts of methods, I'd love to know how you did that!We went 3 years ago. 2 adults and a 3 year old. Flight, car, and 4* hotel £1,600. Spent about £500 on park tickets.
3 years before that 2 adults and a 8 year old. Villa, car and flights about £1200. £700 on tickets (more inclusive passes).
There were a couple of years where we (2A+2C) went with Travel City Direct (who had their own planes but went bust and the name was bought by Virgin) for under a couple of grand but they were very much the exception. One year we were in a 4 star DownTownDisney hotel and the manager was chatting and in conversation said they got $30/night per room from TCD.
Deva Link said:
surveyor said:
Astonished at some of the prices here.
We went 3 years ago. 2 adults and a 3 year old. Flight, car, and 4* hotel £1,600. Spent about £500 on park tickets.
3 years before that 2 adults and a 8 year old. Villa, car and flights about £1200. £700 on tickets (more inclusive passes).
As someone who's been probably 20 times, using all sorts of methods, I'd love to know how you did that!We went 3 years ago. 2 adults and a 3 year old. Flight, car, and 4* hotel £1,600. Spent about £500 on park tickets.
3 years before that 2 adults and a 8 year old. Villa, car and flights about £1200. £700 on tickets (more inclusive passes).
There were a couple of years where we (2A+2C) went with Travel City Direct (who had their own planes but went bust and the name was bought by Virgin) for under a couple of grand but they were very much the exception. One year we were in a 4 star DownTownDisney hotel and the manager was chatting and in conversation said they got $30/night per room from TCD.
From memory, we go the accommodation for about £150 for two weeks. I suspect that maybe they had some minimum occupancy levels to meet, so had discounted rather heavily.
We kept tickets down by being selective as to which parks we went to - and not forgetting I got in free to one park as it was my Birthday.
Edited by surveyor on Friday 27th July 23:53
Thanks - we had a dear trip in April this year, although with a stroke of luck Disney changed their free dining offer into April (I think it covered every month this year apart from April and Dec, but then they added it from 13th April, which was the exact day we had planned to go) but I wouldn't mind going back in October.
Trouble is, although we don't go mad with spending time in the Disney parks, we do like to stay on site - we've done other hotels and villas and it really is a different sort of holiday when you stay in Disney. But then a reasonable level hotel costs per night what you spent for 2 wks! And you could spend way, way more.
The really cheap hotel deals don't seem to be out there any more.
Trouble is, although we don't go mad with spending time in the Disney parks, we do like to stay on site - we've done other hotels and villas and it really is a different sort of holiday when you stay in Disney. But then a reasonable level hotel costs per night what you spent for 2 wks! And you could spend way, way more.
The really cheap hotel deals don't seem to be out there any more.
The prices here have shocked me too, I am not saying they are wrong, just scary.
I have been twice, each time for two weeks, a different park or water park every day, a mustang rent a car, fantastic apartment at Bahama Bay (if you like a drink and have kids it is perfect) and eating what we want when we want. Each time two adults and a kid.
I will admit to doing so much homework that it became an obsession, shopping around and using vouchers, fitting my life round the holiday instead of vice versa. I went in October both times and the last time it incorporated halloween, but the queues during the day were very small. Nighttime was horrible and I would not do halloween again.
But both times it cost under five grand all in.
I have been twice, each time for two weeks, a different park or water park every day, a mustang rent a car, fantastic apartment at Bahama Bay (if you like a drink and have kids it is perfect) and eating what we want when we want. Each time two adults and a kid.
I will admit to doing so much homework that it became an obsession, shopping around and using vouchers, fitting my life round the holiday instead of vice versa. I went in October both times and the last time it incorporated halloween, but the queues during the day were very small. Nighttime was horrible and I would not do halloween again.
But both times it cost under five grand all in.
I'm here right now,
Just got back from Epcot.
Have to say since we last came here in 2005 a lot has changed, drinks & food prices in the park take the p1ss somewhat, and waiting times on the rides are ridiculous with several breakdowns and a serious lack of communication to people waiting in 95+ degrees heat queues.
So best take prepped sandwiches and drinks with you,
Most gimmicky toys in the parks can be bought at Walmart and local outlet shops for HALF the price
Our villa is 5 bed and £900/2 weeks, We have 2 vehicles, mine booked online through car2000, a Ford Fusion, £328 for the duration, 22mpg !!!! Which is pitiful but $47 to fill it
Park passes £400, that's Disney & Universal plus others!
Have seen very few characters mainly because of the heat no doubt and some attractions have disappeared!!! To be replaced by others
Mission to mars has been downgraded in its g-force due to amount of people being sick, which has ruined the ride for me, the car 'test track' at Epcot is closed down for revamp leaving only 'soaring' the only other decent ride but the queues were horrendous and fast passes all allocated before we could get any.
MGM, now Hollywood studios is not that good anymore, with limited shows and their main attraction an 'American idol' theatre!!!! WTF,. Star tours is still fun though
Universal studios is also under renovation with building work taking place between 'Disaster' & 'Men in Black' ride and queues for rides are horrendous, but the new rollercaster is pretty good.
So far, disappointing, but another week to go
Just got back from Epcot.
Have to say since we last came here in 2005 a lot has changed, drinks & food prices in the park take the p1ss somewhat, and waiting times on the rides are ridiculous with several breakdowns and a serious lack of communication to people waiting in 95+ degrees heat queues.
So best take prepped sandwiches and drinks with you,
Most gimmicky toys in the parks can be bought at Walmart and local outlet shops for HALF the price
Our villa is 5 bed and £900/2 weeks, We have 2 vehicles, mine booked online through car2000, a Ford Fusion, £328 for the duration, 22mpg !!!! Which is pitiful but $47 to fill it
Park passes £400, that's Disney & Universal plus others!
Have seen very few characters mainly because of the heat no doubt and some attractions have disappeared!!! To be replaced by others
Mission to mars has been downgraded in its g-force due to amount of people being sick, which has ruined the ride for me, the car 'test track' at Epcot is closed down for revamp leaving only 'soaring' the only other decent ride but the queues were horrendous and fast passes all allocated before we could get any.
MGM, now Hollywood studios is not that good anymore, with limited shows and their main attraction an 'American idol' theatre!!!! WTF,. Star tours is still fun though
Universal studios is also under renovation with building work taking place between 'Disaster' & 'Men in Black' ride and queues for rides are horrendous, but the new rollercaster is pretty good.
So far, disappointing, but another week to go
Edited by r1flyguy1 on Saturday 28th July 03:27
944fan said:
I have made the fatal mistake of epxlaining to my Disney Princess obsesed 3 year old daughther what the castle is on the DVD splash sceen of Disney DVDs. After telling her about Disney Land she said can we go, and I said of course, one day. Now she wont shut up about it and has told all hear friends and teachers at pre-school that she is going.
Out of interest has anyone been recently who can tell me what the likely damage is for this holiday? 2 adults, 2 kids, villa, tickets, flights, car hire. Are we talking a couple of grand or closer to 10?
^^This is, where it all went wrong. The castle on the cover is a representation of Neuschwanstein; Disneyland just have interpretations of this representation.Out of interest has anyone been recently who can tell me what the likely damage is for this holiday? 2 adults, 2 kids, villa, tickets, flights, car hire. Are we talking a couple of grand or closer to 10?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuschwanstein_Castle
You have just lost a week in Bavaria in a 5* Hotel, excellent food, flights to Munich, a hired Autobahn barge, and a diversion back over the Porsche museum and the Ring. All yours for 10k. Might probably have it for 4k as well, if leaving out the luxury bits.
Deva Link said:
CO2000 said:
We are just back a couple of days ago from 3 weeks there & did all the parks. To keep the costs down I'd not hire a car & I'd stay in a budget Disney hotel & use their excellent free transport system (every 20 mins) & you get extra time in the parks (one night we were at the Magical Kingdom until 2 am) also a free bus to/from to the airport is included. Regarding food, we found we only had/needed 2 meals a day (usually the first one a 3 course breakfast in my case!)
You wouldn't stay on-site for 3 weeks without a car, would you?Thinking about saving money, if you get free Disney dining then staying on site and not hiring a car would be OK as long as you didn't mind eating nothing but fast food for the whole time you.
If you had to pay for food then it'd probably be cheaper to hire a car and eat off site. Even if you get the basicm quick service ding plan, free, upgrading to a higher level dining plan is pretty expensive.
Obviously budgets have limits, but in the great scheme of things you can get a little car for not that much. The freedom it gives is well worth it and it might even save money on taxis and being able to eat off-site food etc.
Edited by Deva Link on Friday 27th July 18:59
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