Hello,

Well we went to Orlando in may this year for 10 days & stayed on international drive. We booked flights & hotel seperatley as i think you can save alot of money of the brochure prices this way, just my opinion though, were looking to go back next year aswell.

The flights you have priced so far seem a very reasonable deal!! I think if you hire a villa you will need a car. Also i dont think your sons age will come in to it with the park tickets etc as i thought he would need an adult ticket anyway, may be wrong. Aughust would be alot busier, queues etc than october, there is another topic on here somewhere & october actually seems a very favorable month to go.....

We brought all our tickets while in Orlando as we didnt want the full disney tickets we only wanted the base tickets to visit the 4 main parks so this can work out cheaper which it did for us! However if you are going to do universal, sea world, busch gardens, wet & wild you may be better of to buy an orlando flexi ticket as this will give you entry to all these places, if you have a search around see what prices you can find.....

Hotel will probably work out cheaper than a villa, if you stay on international drive, you are close to alot of shops, restaurants etc so you wont always have to drive there & back of a night after a meal etc which if you like a drink with your meal would be nice! again just mt opinion, we will stay on international drive again when we hopefully get to go back.....

as to the car hire cant help im affraid, as we didnt drive over there, however on our next trip we may consider hiring a car to get to the beach etc for a day, we found the buses easy to use & worked out alot cheaper as we didnt have to hire a car, pay the parking prices in the parks & then the price of gas etc.

Just had a quick look and on attraction tickets direct the orlando flexi ticket is currently 159 pounds & the child age only goes up to 9 years. You can also visit Aquatica which we didnt but looks really good, i would like to go here next time!!

on another website disney base tickets for a 4 day entry to the 4 main parks is $212, so depending on the exchange rate i guess maybe around 150 pounds at the moment this was an adult ticket, you can buy less days aswell depending on which parks you wanted to visit!

Hi

Thanks for your info..

How do you get from the airport to the hotel if you get them separate?
Which is the best place to look and get a hotel on International drive?

Just had a look at the Flexi ticket and that might be the better option for us
as its all the parks we are more interested in other than Disney..

Thanks so much

We booked with hotelopia, which was origianally midas hotels, you pay per room not per person, we just took the room only option & we went to ponderosas for breakfast which is an all you can eat buffett for $3.99 just a short walk down the road.

Also we got a taxi from the airport to the hotel, we flew in to the international airport & a taxi was just under $40 plus tip to international drive.

Anyone over the age of 12 will be classed as an adult for flights and even younger for park tickets.

I guess you will need a car if you want to go to Clearwater and Busch Gardens. If you're going to stick to Orlando you could probably manage without a car although we always have a car as it gives you greater flexibilty to go where you want when you want and its so easy to drive out there. Dont forget that as well as the car rental charge and insurance, there's petrol and also parking fees (chargeable at most theme parks). Staying in a hotel on International Drive is probably best if you dont want to hire a car.

I am not sure about prices of villas but I reckon if its just the 4 of you then you are probably cheaper booking into a hotel.

As for space shuttle launches - I have just checked the NASA website and I cannot see any planned launches for October 2010 (although this could change).

Whatever you decide to do - have a fab time and enjoy. I love Florida!

I'm going for the third time in August, I always book independently, 1st time I went I booked a flight directly with the airline (Mytravel) and bought a week in a villla for £250 from an ebay seller.

2nd time, booked a flight drive with Travelcity direct as they were the cheapest, booked all accomodation separatley from various online agencies, eg ebookers, expedia etc. look for reviews of hotels on trip advisor, gives you loads of actual customer reviews, very helpful.

This year, we have booked largely with expedia, 16 nights, flights from manchester to Newark , then connecting flights to Tampa, 3 nights in Tampa, then drive to Ft Myers for 2 nts hotel, then drive to Ft Lauderdale , 4 nts hotel, then drive to Orlando for 7 nts Villa ( Ebay again, 4 bdroom for £350) then back to Tampa for flight home.

not had any problems so far. advantage of a DIY package is you can do exacylty what you want. I dont want the hussel & bussel of Idrive and would go mad in a 1000 bedroom hotel for 14 nts, plus , it's cheaper.

i would definately,do it d.i.y,it really can work out,quite abit cheaper.
we are also going in oct 2010.it is a fantastic time to go,we absolutely love,the halloween parties.the weather is great & the crowds,are manageable at disney,as well.
because of the age,of your children,you would be better off looking at,a townhouse,or a hotel suite,as 2 weeks in one hotel room,won't be ideal.
we have a town house,already booked,on windsor hills,which is close to disney & close to shops & restaurants,but can't book flights,until either nov or dec.i am looking at prices,round about the £300 mark.
i would say,to get the most out of your holiday,definately hire a car.it is so much easier,especially for getting to clearwater & busch gardens.it is handy,for all the shopping,you will be tempted to do,as well.
i use
http://www.disboards.com
and
http://www.thedibb.co.uk
these sites are more geared towards,orlando & the parks.
you will get a wealth of information,from these sites,just don't be shy to ask.
you will love florida,my hubby draws the line,going every year,so i have to wait till next oct,and i can't wait!
tracy

Hi Tracy 99 ,We are going in October 2010 too also a family of 5, Please could you tell me where the option is to buy flights for 350 is , as I'm looking at virgin at moment and they are coming up at 537 each, totally confused sorry! Thanks Lelly

Are you looking at the difference between October flights during half-term holidays and those outside of half-term? That will often be the price difference.

We want to go 2 weeks before half term and return half way thru half term from 9th to 25 th, I am getting around £537 for virgin flights at moment dont know whether thats a good deal or not .

Might be worth trying to price your flights as a "Fly Drive" (which includes car hire) with http://www.virginholidays.co.uk as this can sometimes worth out cheaper than buying just the flights from http://www.virgin-atlantic.com.

Another thought, with teenagers in the party you might find it worth looking at buying as a package holiday as some of the charter operators (like Thomson, First Choice and Thomas Cook) will often extend special prices to teenagers. Virgin Holidays also do teen pricing whereas if you DIY and book flight-only you will pay an adult price from the age of 12 years.

I know you have had lots of advice to DIY but as this is your first venture to Florida, can I also suggest you don't discount the idea of using a good travel agent who can recommend options and hopefully seek the best price for your party.