While you wait for replies have a look through some of the existing threads, such as the theme parks sticky near the top of the page

yeah, i have been thank you

but i was just wondering if someone has done more or less exact same thing that i am trying to get and get them to expalin it, while i copy their whole holiday
i read in another thread you have to pay 18 dollars or soemthing to park in some disney parks, i can't remember ever paying to park in one of the parks?

though i did go 5 years ago, so maybe its changed?

i just wanted my own thread so i can ask specific questions as well as using everyone elses knowledge and hopefully some other posters can feed off of this thread as well and ask questions and give their knowledge

thanks, great web site by the way

Hello, we are going to orlando in may, i booked our flights with virgin atlantic for 400.30 (sorry no pound sign on comp) each & our hotel on international drive with midas hotels which cost 254 for the total stay which is for 9 nights, so we have our holiday which comes to 1054.60 for the 2 of us i didnt think that was bad.
as for the park passes im waiting untill we get out there as i dont want entry to all the places so this option will be better for us.
virgin do offer good flight prices if you search & are a little flexible with travel dates your propably able to get the best prices, when are you thinking of going?

that price seems really good, i wouldn't mind some of that

though, i'll be going for 2 weeks, i was gonna do the whole orlando then clearwater, but i think i'll just go orlando then drive out to the beach on a couple of days maybe?

you know, i have no set in stone plans, thats why i want some ideas off of here, my girlfriend has never been, so she was saying august time, but i've heard it too hot in august (??) plus we have no children, so i don't have to go in the summer holidays, when i assume it will be even more humid and worst of all packed to the rafters (though i realise it will always be quite busy), which do you think is the ideal time to go for a couple with no restrictions?

best for price, weather and less queue times

yours sounds a really good deal though, i will look into that, i'm gonna sit down with a travel agent on saturday, but virgin are doing 5% off if you book online and another 5% off, if you book for 2010 in the next couple of months, so that seems a good deal, plus they throw a hire car in with the package, i was thinking of staying in international drive, just to be near all the restaurants and bars, like i said, last time i didn't really go out drinking alot as we had young kids with us, but this time i wanna stay out abit later, though walking round hungover might put an end to that idea

any info you got would be a great help

well you will pay alot more for a package deal thats why i did ours seperatley, some people dont like to do this, i dont mind. we were either going to do may or september wasnt 100% sure at first, was leaning towards may & obviosly decided on may! however i think september time would also be a good time to go, or maybe i read somewhere else last week in august & first week in september!?

If you go on to virgins website there prices are around the 400 for flights in september at the mo, i personally think you`ll save alot of money by not going to a travel agent, if you go get your quotes then when you get home check out the flights on virgin atlantic & bring up the hotel details on midas hotels or another hotel website & just see the difference? i think i found it to be quite alot.

im not sure if its on here or another website some people dont find the free car hire to br beneficial (not sure if this is virgin or other companys) they have actually said by the time you have paid your extras etc its cheaper & better to rent from dollar cars maybe!? i will try find where i saw this for you so you can have a read.

i like international drive, as you said its right in the middle, you got shops, bars & restaurants etc right where you want. maybe you wouldnt need a car hire for your whole stay as universal studios, sea world etc are on international drive (or near) & some hotels offer free shuttles & this would be better than paying parking charges etc.

yeah, i also was told by someone a few years ago, that they went with theri whole family and had a hire car chucked in with the package, but when they got to their hotel (which i think was the quality inn plaza on international drive?) the transport was so good, they didn't bother picking up their hire car?

i'll lookinto everything you suggest, like i said, your price seems alot better than the virgin brochure's, i think i'll go travel agent then just for a round figure of what they are charging and then book everything seperately online, when i went last time it was late september, weather was okay, not boiling hot, but you could still go water parks and that and not feel cold.

You will find it cheaper if you avoid school holiday times. That cuts out July and August. The weather is worst in summer too, very humid and wet with a risk of hurricanes. June, July and first half of August are also extremely crowded in the parks. I believe October (not last week which is half-term) is a good time. Also avoid Xmas and Easter, obviously and Thanksgiving which is late November.

If you play about online doing dummy bookings on different dates, you will soon get a feel for the cheapest dates and cheapest hotels. Then read the hotel reviews before you book. Cheap is OK, but not cheap and nasty! Yes, you will have to pay to park at the theme parks. You could avoid this if you stay at a hotel with free shuttle buses, but then you lose out on convenience, flexibility and speed.

yeah i personally think may or september would be good times to go. you dont want the weather too hot but nice enough!!

car hire would be good for your day or two at a beach, not sure on disney as i dont know what the prices of parking etc are & once you take in to account the cost to hire the car, insurance, gas, parking etc, maybe cheaper to do the shuttle to disney i believe the hotels charge for this, not sure on how much. as for the free shuttle to the other parks, its free so thats all good in my opinion! lol.

be interesting to see how much your saving will be.......

yeah, clean, but basic i mean really, i've done 5 star holidays before, so i know the difference haha, i just think with the kind of holiday it is, you don't need a really nice hotel with lots of amenities because you are hardly ever in it, well thats how i was last time?

there must be a decent 3.5 star on internatial drive, which is clean, comfortable and secure?

any suggestions?

well i agree, done 5* before & how nice it is, orlando as you have said is the kind of holiday your not really in your room apart from to sleep, so more for the spending money i say!! lol. were staying at the quality inn international on international drive, stayed here last time i went, was 10 years ago mind but still. i loved the location, was right next to the worlds largest mcdonalds & right near to shops & restaurants etc!! from what i remember it was nice, clean & good location. so thought we would stay here this time. also from what i have read on trip advisor etc there is security guards at each entrance to the hotel.

I just tried going on Expedia for you. 2 weeks from Sat 3/10/09. Hotel + flight to MCO. Then you can put the hotels in price order. Quality Inn comes up at £538 each, which sounds OK to me. Or you can change the flight and get alternative prices. Add a car if you want.

I just tried going on Expedia for you. 2 weeks from Sat 3/10/09. Hotel + flight to MCO. Then you can put the hotels in price order. Quality Inn comes up at £538 each, which sounds OK to me. Or you can change the flight and get alternative prices. Add a car if you want.

wow. that does seem good, can i hire a car when i get there? cos i'd like to ceck out what i need before i order and pay for it.

This seems really good to me, although i'm going in 2010, but some of the sites don't go up to 2010 yet, but this price seems really good, even though i realise i have to pay for the park passes as well, cos i will wanna go to all of them really, as i wanna show her round and seeing as i went 5 years ago, its probably changed abit and i can't remember it perfectly anyway.

i was bit worried about the total cost of holiuday onece you add spending money, but from what i remember i didn't really spend mich money in the parks because we used to have a big breakfast in one of them little buffet places, then grab a drink and soem fast food while i nthe park, meaning we didn't spend much money during the day, mostly we spent alot of oney on them bloody photos after you get on every ride haha, i don't think i'll bother wit hthem this time though, it was about ten dollars after every ride

i checked dominican republic 5 star all inclusive as an alternative to this holiday, but i really fancy something different as i went cuba a couple of years ago and i've got an aprtment in gran canaria for my sun bathing/drinking holidays, i'd rather go out everyday with the girlfriend in the days to the zoo and themem parks everyday, i'll be like the biggest kid there

i'm gonna chekc expedia now i htink, do you know what hotel they was listing?
was that with transfer from airport?

otherwise, how much is the cab to international drive?

sorry, i just noticed you said it was quality inn on international drive

thanks

i think october,is a great time to go!
the weather is nice,the crowds are manageable & my favourite party,is on! i absolutely love,mickeys not so scarey halloween party you have to buy,an extra ticket for this,but i'm sure your girlfriend,will love it.
i think,you tend to see more rain in sept,than oct.
i was looking at flights for oct this year & found some for £320,which i think is a great price!
i have stayed at the comfort inn,on international drive & that was a good quality hotel,for the price,with a free breakfast,as well.there are a couple of comfort inns on international drive.the one we stayed in,was behind t.g.i fridays.it had transport to the parks,not sure what it was like though,as we had a car.
you will be better hiring your car,before you go,as it works out alot cheaper.we usually use usrentacar & find them to be very competitive.
you should be able to do 2 weeks,for about £450-£500 each,if you do d.i.y,as the hotels,are per room.not per person.
tracy

I'm sure you could hire a car when you get there, but you would need to check it has all the insurance cover you need, as Americans get cover with their credit card I believe. I expect your hotel reception could help you with that. This website http://www.fltours.com/ offers a service similar to our minicabs and they charge $60 one way from the airport to I Drive. I imagine a taxi would be a similar price.

I think Expedia only goes up to 11 months ahead, because that is what the scheduled airlines do.

You need to buy the Disney passes here before you go as the 14 day ones are only available in the UK. I really wouldn't rely on getting them cheap like you did before. I think that sounds very risky. You could have ended up with tickets that didn't work and then you would have thrown your money away. There is no way to tell whether the tickets are genuine and not used.

just looked on expedia,for flights this oct.indirect 7-21 oct,to orlando £298 each,from manchester.this will give you,a figure to start with.as already said,you will not be able to book your flight,for 2010,till 11 months out.do not let indirect,put you off,it really is no hassle,just make sure,there is enough time,between flights,as you clear immigration,at your connection airport,not orlando.there are some good savings,for an indirect flight.
i have already booked our townhouse,for 2010,just hope i can get the flights,for about £300-£350,then i will be happy.
don't think,you will need the 14 day disney pass,if you are doing the other parks as well,as this can be a waste of money,especially if,you are driving down to clearwater.decide on what you plan to do,then see how many days,you have for disney.
you have alot of planning to do,enjoy
tracy

i don't really wanna fly indirect, i wanna go straight in from london really, don't matter whcih airport, but i wanna go direct.

i showed my g/f some of the "cheap" hotels and she wasn't that pleased haha, so i think i'll have to get a little bit more expensive one that looks a bit better than a holiday inn, i don't mind, i don't think she understands that you will be hardly be at the hotel and she thinks they won't be safe for some reason (like break in's or something?), but whatever sehe wants i spose? i also did read alot of there reviews and there were alot of complaints, though i think alot of people on expedia complain about things i wouldn't generally complain about, trust me i stayed in a 5star hotel in varadero and it was lovely, but i read some of the reviews of it and some people hated it, i just think these people are moaners

is there any reasonable 4 stars?, the budget ones were like 600 pounds for 2 weeks including flight, excluding car, i wonder if for £750, you can get a 4 star one, i've been looking, but haven't seen any that i thought looked really good, the hilton on international drive doesn't look bad, preferably i want a free shuttle bus that goes to all disney and universal parks, do you know if these shuttles run at night to downtown disney?

The 14 day Disney pass only costs about a fiver more than the 7 day one and gives you complete flexibility to come and go as you like, maybe just for an evening, so in my opinion definitely a better option.

As to the hotel, well, Expedia give the Quality Inn 4 out of 5 based on reviews, which is a pretty high rating, compared with the other hotels offered. I haven't stayed there myself, so can't really advise.

If you also want a direct flight, then I think you should point out that she can't have everything!

direct flights,better class hotel,definately bumping the price up,as you go along.
personally,i would rather save the extra money,towards the spends,so you can do some truly memerable things,orlando has to offer.
a hot air balloon trip,is on my list for next year,as ours was cancelled in oct,we were well disapointed!
the budget hotels,do not mean dirty hotels,the comfort inn,we stayed in,was spotless,lovely big room,free breakfast,free shuttle,good location.it just might mean,it doesn't have,as many of the facilities,which you probably wouldn't use anyway.everytime,we have been to florida,our room,was just used to sleep in,we were never there,which is the case,for most people.
hope you find something to suit you both,
tracy