Florida For Family Of 3 - October
Discussion
bakerstreet said:
shoebag said:
Please avoid SeaWorld. Keeping Orca whales confined inside swimming pools for so called entertainment is cruel, inhumane and outdated.
In short, watch Black Fish. Always in the top 10 for documentaries on iTunes. Also if your boycotting Sea World, where does it stop.. Do you boycott Aquatica, owned by the same corporation and on the next lot, or how about Busch Gardens where they have animals in captivity....
grr. get's my goat.
surveyor said:
Why not jump all over a Holiday Thread with one sided environmentalist claptrap. While I do see where some of them come from, let's not forget the dolphins, the fish etc all kept in tanks. Let's not forget all of those aquariums in people houses, nor those animals that eat.
Also if your boycotting Sea World, where does it stop.. Do you boycott Aquatica, owned by the same corporation and on the next lot, or how about Busch Gardens where they have animals in captivity....
grr. get's my goat.
Good luck trying to reason...Also if your boycotting Sea World, where does it stop.. Do you boycott Aquatica, owned by the same corporation and on the next lot, or how about Busch Gardens where they have animals in captivity....
grr. get's my goat.
surveyor said:
Why not jump all over a Holiday Thread with one sided environmentalist claptrap. While I do see where some of them come from, let's not forget the dolphins, the fish etc all kept in tanks. Let's not forget all of those aquariums in people houses, nor those animals that eat.
Also if your boycotting Sea World, where does it stop.. Do you boycott Aquatica, owned by the same corporation and on the next lot, or how about Busch Gardens where they have animals in captivity....
grr. get's my goat.
I recommended quite a few other places and just said I wouldn't do Sea World again. I agree that the photo of an employee fondling orca wasn't really necessary. Also if your boycotting Sea World, where does it stop.. Do you boycott Aquatica, owned by the same corporation and on the next lot, or how about Busch Gardens where they have animals in captivity....
grr. get's my goat.
It may get your goat, but Sea World situation gets many people's goats. Orca shows are stopping in Cali this year and give it 10 years and they will have stopped in Florida too.
You know what's really weird - some people think that "Blackfish" is actually a documentary.
That said, I don't agree with the concept of forcing any kind of animal to perform for our entertainment, be that a Killer Whale, a dancing bear or a racehorse.
Sea World does some quite outstanding animal conservation, rescue and rehab work, in addition to the circus acts. I am a supporter (both morally and financially) of their Manatee rescue program.
That said, I don't agree with the concept of forcing any kind of animal to perform for our entertainment, be that a Killer Whale, a dancing bear or a racehorse.
Sea World does some quite outstanding animal conservation, rescue and rehab work, in addition to the circus acts. I am a supporter (both morally and financially) of their Manatee rescue program.
Muskythedog said:
Right thanks for all the suggestions, had a good luck and we have come up with the following:
4th October for 10 nights (comments taken on board about even 14 days not being long enough but due to holiday entitlement from work and other commitments this is the longest we can stretch to).
Hard Rock Universal Hotel, standard room only.
Orlando Flexi Ticket Plus (2 adults, 1 child)
Decent enough Virgin flights from Manchester,
Price £4,100
Now the price we have at the moment is from Travel City Direct (£4,400+ direct with Virgin) and includes car hire. We are thinking of knocking this off and getting about on the transfer bus and taxi, saves us the hassle of driving and extra/over cost of insurance. Does anybody have any thoughts on these please?
Going to do some proper shopping round to nail the price down now we have a good idea of what we want.
I love the Hard Rock Hotel and it is brilliant for visiting Universal - you can walk there in 5 minutes, you get in early as a hotel guest (useful in the first few days) and everyone in your party gets an unlimited fast pass so you can be done by 11am and retire to the pool! We are going again for a week in the summer but my kids are of an age where they don't want to do Disney - if you are doing Disney as well you definitely want a car. In fact, as others have said, if you try and get around Orlando without a car you will regret it - it is the land of the car. The Hard Rock even has valet parking for a bargain $25 a day 4th October for 10 nights (comments taken on board about even 14 days not being long enough but due to holiday entitlement from work and other commitments this is the longest we can stretch to).
Hard Rock Universal Hotel, standard room only.
Orlando Flexi Ticket Plus (2 adults, 1 child)
Decent enough Virgin flights from Manchester,
Price £4,100
Now the price we have at the moment is from Travel City Direct (£4,400+ direct with Virgin) and includes car hire. We are thinking of knocking this off and getting about on the transfer bus and taxi, saves us the hassle of driving and extra/over cost of insurance. Does anybody have any thoughts on these please?
Going to do some proper shopping round to nail the price down now we have a good idea of what we want.
RicksAlfas said:
Has the OP booked a car yet?
Not as yet! We have booked though basically what we said:10 Nights Hard Rock Hotel, Manchester - Orlando direct early October with Orlando Flex Plus tickets (3 adults as over 9 year old counts as adult for these). In the end Virgin hight street store just about matched the price of Travel City Direct (got it down to £3,900 compared to £3,850 from the website) so for the extra £50 we have booked with the high street - we get some extra check in benefits booking with them and also a 'real person' to speak to about things.
We've already booked our seats for both flights, closing the back row on the upper deck of a 747-400 - think this is £150 well spent. Probably also going to pay a little extra for the Virgin V lounge for the outbound flight.
For the car, going to either book something closer to the time or see how get on with the transfers (just about all the parks we want to go are Universal and all have transfers from the hotel) - if it's not working after a day or two we will hire a car when out there if we haven't don't already.
As advised earlier on the thread we are going to put together a timetable for the trip and aim to go to the parks early on in the day for the first few days, allowing a couple of rest/pool days for recovery. Going to spend plenty of time on the Dibb website looking at food - noticed theres plenty of suggestions depending on your budget, so should help to keep the spending in check.
We are thinking of doing the swamp/airboat tours - hire the car and spend some time there. Has anybody done this or got any other recommendations on non theme park stuff to look at doing if we get time?
Thanks for all the help so far.
You are not going to need any kind of transfer for Universal from that hotel (aside from Wet'n'Wild), because it is located within the park property. You can walk into Universal/Islands of Adventure/Harry Potter etc.
Without a car, your dining opportunities are limited to park restaurants with a couple of options across the street (Kirkman Rd) - Kobe Steak House, Orlando Alehouse, Carrabba's etc. That's not necessarily a bad thing, unless you are budget-concious - then you might find it a little spendy.
I can give you some less touristy suggestions that are better value, without hurting quality or entertainment - but you'll need the means to get to them. Uber service is very good here.
For airboats, the usual go-to is Boggy Creek Airboats on Lake Tohopekaliga, which is on the south shore, about 6 miles south of Kissimmee - so again, you need transport to get to it. It's well worth it for the ride and the wildlife.
Having lived in the area for some time now, I'd be happy to offer suggestions for non-theme-park entertainment (of which there is plenty) - but all are contingent on having a car to get to them.
Lastly, I think that hiring a car on spec, once you have arrived (versus organizing it from home, as a part of a package) is going to expose you to a financial ass-raping.
Without a car, your dining opportunities are limited to park restaurants with a couple of options across the street (Kirkman Rd) - Kobe Steak House, Orlando Alehouse, Carrabba's etc. That's not necessarily a bad thing, unless you are budget-concious - then you might find it a little spendy.
I can give you some less touristy suggestions that are better value, without hurting quality or entertainment - but you'll need the means to get to them. Uber service is very good here.
For airboats, the usual go-to is Boggy Creek Airboats on Lake Tohopekaliga, which is on the south shore, about 6 miles south of Kissimmee - so again, you need transport to get to it. It's well worth it for the ride and the wildlife.
Having lived in the area for some time now, I'd be happy to offer suggestions for non-theme-park entertainment (of which there is plenty) - but all are contingent on having a car to get to them.
Lastly, I think that hiring a car on spec, once you have arrived (versus organizing it from home, as a part of a package) is going to expose you to a financial ass-raping.
Muskythedog said:
We've already booked our seats for both flights, closing the back row on the upper deck of a 747-400 - think this is £150 well spent. Probably also going to pay a little extra for the Virgin V lounge for the outbound flight.
Definitely worth the money! Much more relaxed upstairs - much quieter and you get let off before the masses in the queue for immigration (don't hang around leaving the plane...)Appreciate you're not sure what you're doing but if you were looking to hire a car for the duration of your hols I'd do it over here. The automatic system at Alamo is a doddle to use and you miss the sales pitch at the desk.
Matt Harper said:
I can give you some less touristy suggestions that are better value, without hurting quality or entertainment - but you'll need the means to get to them. Uber service is very good here.
Having lived in the area for some time now, I'd be happy to offer suggestions for non-theme-park entertainment (of which there is plenty) - but all are contingent on having a car to get to them.
I'm open to suggestions! Always nice to get away from the crowds. (I already endorse the Fish on Fire!)Having lived in the area for some time now, I'd be happy to offer suggestions for non-theme-park entertainment (of which there is plenty) - but all are contingent on having a car to get to them.
Muskythedog said:
Not as yet! We have booked though basically what we said:
10 Nights Hard Rock Hotel, Manchester - Orlando direct early October with Orlando Flex Plus tickets (3 adults as over 9 year old counts as adult for these). In the end Virgin hight street store just about matched the price of Travel City Direct (got it down to £3,900 compared to £3,850 from the website) so for the extra £50 we have booked with the high street - we get some extra check in benefits booking with them and also a 'real person' to speak to about things.
We've already booked our seats for both flights, closing the back row on the upper deck of a 747-400 - think this is £150 well spent. Probably also going to pay a little extra for the Virgin V lounge for the outbound flight.
For the car, going to either book something closer to the time or see how get on with the transfers (just about all the parks we want to go are Universal and all have transfers from the hotel) - if it's not working after a day or two we will hire a car when out there if we haven't don't already.
As advised earlier on the thread we are going to put together a timetable for the trip and aim to go to the parks early on in the day for the first few days, allowing a couple of rest/pool days for recovery. Going to spend plenty of time on the Dibb website looking at food - noticed theres plenty of suggestions depending on your budget, so should help to keep the spending in check.
We are thinking of doing the swamp/airboat tours - hire the car and spend some time there. Has anybody done this or got any other recommendations on non theme park stuff to look at doing if we get time?
Thanks for all the help so far.
Didn't think you could book your seats until three months before the flight. I've just booked with Virgin to fly on the 30th of September and this is exactly what I was told., so I'm interested to know how you did this when the seat reservation system isn't open yet. If you have, then I will be speaking to Virgin tomorrow. 10 Nights Hard Rock Hotel, Manchester - Orlando direct early October with Orlando Flex Plus tickets (3 adults as over 9 year old counts as adult for these). In the end Virgin hight street store just about matched the price of Travel City Direct (got it down to £3,900 compared to £3,850 from the website) so for the extra £50 we have booked with the high street - we get some extra check in benefits booking with them and also a 'real person' to speak to about things.
We've already booked our seats for both flights, closing the back row on the upper deck of a 747-400 - think this is £150 well spent. Probably also going to pay a little extra for the Virgin V lounge for the outbound flight.
For the car, going to either book something closer to the time or see how get on with the transfers (just about all the parks we want to go are Universal and all have transfers from the hotel) - if it's not working after a day or two we will hire a car when out there if we haven't don't already.
As advised earlier on the thread we are going to put together a timetable for the trip and aim to go to the parks early on in the day for the first few days, allowing a couple of rest/pool days for recovery. Going to spend plenty of time on the Dibb website looking at food - noticed theres plenty of suggestions depending on your budget, so should help to keep the spending in check.
We are thinking of doing the swamp/airboat tours - hire the car and spend some time there. Has anybody done this or got any other recommendations on non theme park stuff to look at doing if we get time?
Thanks for all the help so far.
Trust me, you need to book a car. Several people have told you to do it on this thread and you will get spanked on the price if you decide to do it whilst you are there. We only paid £188 for a 'small SUV' for a week. My guess is that would be double if we did it there and then and there would be no guarantee that we would the size of car we needed.
bakerstreet said:
Didn't think you could book your seats until three months before the flight. I've just booked with Virgin to fly on the 30th of September and this is exactly what I was told., so I'm interested to know how you did this when the seat reservation system isn't open yet. If you have, then I will be speaking to Virgin tomorrow.
Trust me, you need to book a car. Several people have told you to do it on this thread and you will get spanked on the price if you decide to do it whilst you are there. We only paid £188 for a 'small SUV' for a week. My guess is that would be double if we did it there and then and there would be no guarantee that we would the size of car we needed.
Ref booking seats, clicked on this link from my confirmation email:Trust me, you need to book a car. Several people have told you to do it on this thread and you will get spanked on the price if you decide to do it whilst you are there. We only paid £188 for a 'small SUV' for a week. My guess is that would be double if we did it there and then and there would be no guarantee that we would the size of car we needed.
https://book.virginholidays.co.uk/yourbooking/?cm_...
Filled in my details and went from there. From what I can tell the pre-booking of seats is free if you wait until 90 days before the flight, but we took the option to pay extra £25 per seat for the privilege. Got an email confirming the change and it;s showing up on my online credit card statement so must have gone through OK.
Muskythedog said:
bakerstreet said:
Didn't think you could book your seats until three months before the flight. I've just booked with Virgin to fly on the 30th of September and this is exactly what I was told., so I'm interested to know how you did this when the seat reservation system isn't open yet. If you have, then I will be speaking to Virgin tomorrow.
Trust me, you need to book a car. Several people have told you to do it on this thread and you will get spanked on the price if you decide to do it whilst you are there. We only paid £188 for a 'small SUV' for a week. My guess is that would be double if we did it there and then and there would be no guarantee that we would the size of car we needed.
Ref booking seats, clicked on this link from my confirmation email:Trust me, you need to book a car. Several people have told you to do it on this thread and you will get spanked on the price if you decide to do it whilst you are there. We only paid £188 for a 'small SUV' for a week. My guess is that would be double if we did it there and then and there would be no guarantee that we would the size of car we needed.
https://book.virginholidays.co.uk/yourbooking/?cm_...
Filled in my details and went from there. From what I can tell the pre-booking of seats is free if you wait until 90 days before the flight, but we took the option to pay extra £25 per seat for the privilege. Got an email confirming the change and it;s showing up on my online credit card statement so must have gone through OK.
Muskythedog said:
Ref booking seats, clicked on this link from my confirmation email:
https://book.virginholidays.co.uk/yourbooking/?cm_...
Filled in my details and went from there. From what I can tell the pre-booking of seats is free if you wait until 90 days before the flight, but we took the option to pay extra £25 per seat for the privilege. Got an email confirming the change and it;s showing up on my online credit card statement so must have gone through OK.
Well I called Virgin and it does appear that I can book my seats now. I don't recommend booking flights through flight centre. We got a decent price, but they just don't know enough about what they are selling. I rarely write complaint letters, but on this occasion I will be. Asking for 10% of my booking back. May not get it, but I have to try.https://book.virginholidays.co.uk/yourbooking/?cm_...
Filled in my details and went from there. From what I can tell the pre-booking of seats is free if you wait until 90 days before the flight, but we took the option to pay extra £25 per seat for the privilege. Got an email confirming the change and it;s showing up on my online credit card statement so must have gone through OK.
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