Hello my names dylan I have promised my children that i will take them to disney world florida next august/september and i have a few questions i would be very very grateful if you could answer.
Firstly does anybody know of any Bargain websites that sell these holdidays
does anybody know of any trusted websites that sell the theme park tickets, i know there are a good few on the net offering but who can i trust?
would it be better to book a hotel on the park or just out of the park, will it be any better?
basically im looking for the cheapest option but the best for my children, please help all appreciated.
Hi Dylan,
Not sure there is such a thing as a cheap florida holiday lol. We went for the first time last year, booking through Thompson. Would I use them again? No. Suppose I had better elaborate on that. Its not because there was an issue with the holiday, that was brilliant - its because I was lied to in order to spend more money with them and then they lied further basically saying I was lying (I have an 18 page complaint letter I sent to them that they ignored which is a masterpeice, cross referencing proof of where they lied to me). I finally got the issues partially resolved and the cost of the mis-sold items removed from my booking but only when I got ABTA involved and after 3 months of messing around (funnily enough the shop manager 'moved on' too). The holiday itself was brilliant so the only thing I would say if booking through any company like Thomson is be very weary of what they are telling you because in my experience they will say anything to get you to spend money - know what you want before you go in and stick to just that. One thing to be aware of if you are booking through a tour operator offering a free car, its not free at all. Once you add on the insurances etc. that you need to add on before they will let you take it you are paying the same amount if not more than you would using a company such as carhire3000 (I used them last year and have booked again with them this year - they are a broker so I think in the majority of cases the rental will be with Dollar Rent-a-Car, maybe Alamo or one of the others at the airport).
We are going again on 16th August but this time have booked things separately. We have booked the flights through expedia, with Continental being the cheapest (its a codeshare so the flights are with Virgin). This has given us some flexibility so we are going for 17 days as this made no difference in the flight costs. I have researched and booked the villa separately. Its costing us slightly less booking it this way than it did last year. Last year we went for 3 weeks but the rise in prices overall we are saving about £1,000 on what we would booking through Thomson for 14 days and this way we know we are much closer to the action in the villa and know exactly our location rather than allocated when we get there which last year worked out great, but you never know.
Last year we booked our disney/universal etc. tickets through http://www.floridatix.co.uk who price matched those that they werent the cheapest on and we got the tickets a few days later as it was quite close to the holiday. I actually was looking at tickets the other day and they werent the cheapest and wouldnt price match against some that I found cheaper so I have used themeparkticketsdirect.com for our disney/universal tickets as they do a deal covering both at the minute and fhrow in a kids eat free card (usually £11). The best thing to do is to work out what parks you will want to go to and then search online for the cheapest deals you can get - you can always search the internet for reviews of the company but beware people tend to write about horror stories rather than good stories so take some of the reviews with a pinch of salt because there is always a disgruntled customer somewhere (its usually me lol)
Ive not really answered your questions fully but there isnt much to go on. Best thing to do is work out what suits you (hotel or villa) and then take it from there.
Dave
Not sure there is such a thing as a cheap florida holiday lol. We went for the first time last year, booking through Thompson. Would I use them again? No. Suppose I had better elaborate on that. Its not because there was an issue with the holiday, that was brilliant - its because I was lied to in order to spend more money with them and then they lied further basically saying I was lying (I have an 18 page complaint letter I sent to them that they ignored which is a masterpeice, cross referencing proof of where they lied to me). I finally got the issues partially resolved and the cost of the mis-sold items removed from my booking but only when I got ABTA involved and after 3 months of messing around (funnily enough the shop manager 'moved on' too). The holiday itself was brilliant so the only thing I would say if booking through any company like Thomson is be very weary of what they are telling you because in my experience they will say anything to get you to spend money - know what you want before you go in and stick to just that. One thing to be aware of if you are booking through a tour operator offering a free car, its not free at all. Once you add on the insurances etc. that you need to add on before they will let you take it you are paying the same amount if not more than you would using a company such as carhire3000 (I used them last year and have booked again with them this year - they are a broker so I think in the majority of cases the rental will be with Dollar Rent-a-Car, maybe Alamo or one of the others at the airport).
We are going again on 16th August but this time have booked things separately. We have booked the flights through expedia, with Continental being the cheapest (its a codeshare so the flights are with Virgin). This has given us some flexibility so we are going for 17 days as this made no difference in the flight costs. I have researched and booked the villa separately. Its costing us slightly less booking it this way than it did last year. Last year we went for 3 weeks but the rise in prices overall we are saving about £1,000 on what we would booking through Thomson for 14 days and this way we know we are much closer to the action in the villa and know exactly our location rather than allocated when we get there which last year worked out great, but you never know.
Last year we booked our disney/universal etc. tickets through http://www.floridatix.co.uk who price matched those that they werent the cheapest on and we got the tickets a few days later as it was quite close to the holiday. I actually was looking at tickets the other day and they werent the cheapest and wouldnt price match against some that I found cheaper so I have used themeparkticketsdirect.com for our disney/universal tickets as they do a deal covering both at the minute and fhrow in a kids eat free card (usually £11). The best thing to do is to work out what parks you will want to go to and then search online for the cheapest deals you can get - you can always search the internet for reviews of the company but beware people tend to write about horror stories rather than good stories so take some of the reviews with a pinch of salt because there is always a disgruntled customer somewhere (its usually me lol)
Ive not really answered your questions fully but there isnt much to go on. Best thing to do is work out what suits you (hotel or villa) and then take it from there.
Dave
Thanks for that dave, its very much appreciated, sorry to hear the bad news regarding thompson, il stay well clear, maybe i will book things sepretaly, thanks for he car hire advice too, did you find the driving easy or confusing
I wouldn't say dont use Thomson, but with personally I wouldnt because of the way they lied to me and then the customer services was absolutely appauling. So long as you have your eyes wide open with any Travel Agent and know what you want, then you should be OK.
As for driving, it was 3 weeks of blissful driving - it is so much easier to drive over there than over here because you have less idiots on the road. Everyone seems to wait until they get into their cars before they make calls on their mobiles though as I would say about 50% of cars the driver is chatting away
Not as much of an issue over there because its so much easier to drive but still think they should clamp down on it. When I got back home driving over here I instantly felt my blood pressure rise a little bit 
Another tip I would give is get your own sat nav and dont hire one. The cost from a hire comapny to hire one it works out cheaper to go to a walmart and buy one. We already had a Garmin so I just got an SD card with the US maps on it from ebay (for about £20) and put that in and it worked a charm.
As for driving, it was 3 weeks of blissful driving - it is so much easier to drive over there than over here because you have less idiots on the road. Everyone seems to wait until they get into their cars before they make calls on their mobiles though as I would say about 50% of cars the driver is chatting away
Not as much of an issue over there because its so much easier to drive but still think they should clamp down on it. When I got back home driving over here I instantly felt my blood pressure rise a little bit Another tip I would give is get your own sat nav and dont hire one. The cost from a hire comapny to hire one it works out cheaper to go to a walmart and buy one. We already had a Garmin so I just got an SD card with the US maps on it from ebay (for about £20) and put that in and it worked a charm.
dylan,
i would go to
http://www.thedibb.co.uk
and
http://www.disboards.com
these 2 sites,are a wealth of information,for all things,disney,universal & florida.
be careful though,as its easy to get addicted,to these sites,when planning a florida holiday.
tracy
i would go to
http://www.thedibb.co.uk
and
http://www.disboards.com
these 2 sites,are a wealth of information,for all things,disney,universal & florida.
be careful though,as its easy to get addicted,to these sites,when planning a florida holiday.
tracy
We have booked with INVALID URL just over £500 each, which includes flights & room only board. We go September this year!! 
If your mind is set on staying "on-site" at a Walt Disney World hotel, you might wish to consider booking your holiday (as a package) together with your park tickets from a tour operator. Many will have offers that allow for a free Disney Dining Plan which then includes certain meals and drinks during your stay. With a family with kids this can often save you a considerable amount.
September is a popular booking time for Florida holidays for the following year. I would expect you will see lots of advertising and offers to encourage booking if you wait until next month.
Finally, you will generally find travel in September much cheaper than August. I very much doubt you will find a "bargain" Florida holiday in August.
September is a popular booking time for Florida holidays for the following year. I would expect you will see lots of advertising and offers to encourage booking if you wait until next month.
Finally, you will generally find travel in September much cheaper than August. I very much doubt you will find a "bargain" Florida holiday in August.
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