I've gone and done it . . florida here we come!

Karen_uk

2009-06-11 19:51:23

well, I was looking today and found a better price for my son and I to go, and then found an even cheaper price to go for 21 nights. I have to pay adult price for him when I travel but we have paid £1900 for 21 nights staying at the Quality Inn INternational. That price also includes 21 day Ulitmate Disney pass each, and 14 Day Orlando Flex ticket plus. I am not going to take up the free car hire it came with as the gold insurance for it was priced at £545.00 and I believe that I could get cheaper than that anyway? Also includes inflight meals.

So, holiday booked and paid for, we fly out on July 16th (oops miss one day of school) from Gatwick unfortunately....my stepdad is going to pay for us to Dolphin Swim at Discovery Cove for a brithday present, and I am thinking that hopefully we will head off maybe to the beach somewhere too (any suggestions about where would be welcomed)

I know I have to do the online visa waiver thing, but is there anything else apart from currency and just getting sorted? Is there anything else I can do to start planning? I will be thoroughly reading the threads on here, but I think at just over £315 a week each, including the tickets for Disney and Orlando is a great deal. (I hope it is anyway) I got a similar quote for this holiday via Thomsons which came in at £2865 without the park passes!

The only things is its a Monarch flight and I understand their seat pitch isnt very good . .

I have two quotes for car hire, one includes all inclusive insurance and for an extra £80 the gold ~ which one should I go for? both are from usa car hire and seem to be the cheapest?

Also, we will probably want to go to Kennedy and possibly down to the Everglades, can we get good deals on trips over there as I dont know if or when we would want these. also would it be cheaper to book discovery cove over in the US or via one of the sites before we go?

Sorry for all the questions, this is just not the holiday I was planning on or expecting but definitely well needed. Now I just need to tell work not only am I going in 5 weeks but that I will be gone for 3 weeks

Anything else any help suggestions feedback or links to good planning sites would be apprdciated. But thanks for all your help so far.,...you've been great!

Debbie

2009-06-11 20:19:37

Re: I've gone and done it . . florida here we come!

You are better booking discovery Cove before you go as you are guaranteed to hopefully get the dates you want then. We went August last year and booked six months in advance as it would have been impossible once we got there as it was peak season. Its an absolutely fantastic day though. Meals and drinks are also included in the price :tup

As for the trips I dont know if they do them or not as we had car hire. Its a two hour drive to Kennedy Space Centre at most.

bubble123

2009-06-11 20:20:03

Re: I've gone and done it . . florida here we come!

hello,

bet your glad you have booked now? how exciting!! That seems like a very good deal to me, lucky you..... as for the car hire i have no idea, lol. discovery cove i think you have to pre book quite early what date you want to go as it can get quite busy, not sure on the prices once over there.

there is a ticket information centre in the hotel reception, they have a leaflet on all sorts of day trips, everglades, beachs etc you should ask them for one after you check in, they also have all the info leaflets on opening times etc, also if you change your mind about the bus you can buy the passes from this desk thats what we did. i mentioned restaurants etc in another post didnt i?

theres also a booklet i think allready in the room gives you voucers, money off things etc, comes in handy!! im so excited for you..... :sun2

joan123

2009-06-12 07:14:38

Re: I've gone and done it . . florida here we come!

Hi

You don't need the extra car insurance if you are the only driver. All it does is cover you for extra drivers and pays for your first tank of petrol so that you can return the car empty. Much cheaper to fill the car up before you return it or alternatively you can pay for the tank of petrol when you pick the car up, although paying car hire company for petrol will work out more expensive than doing it yourself it will still be a lot cheaper than 80.

Karen_uk

2009-06-12 08:27:17

Re: I've gone and done it . . florida here we come!

Debbie, thanks for the feedback re D.C I will look at getting the trip booked

We "swam" with dolphins when we went to the Dom Rep, but at the time my son was 2 so we could only interact with them on a platform, now he can swim a mile and Im hoping that the interaction will be much better for him.

Bubble, thank you, yes I am very excited so much so, I only had an hours sleep last night with things going round in my head LOL but thank you for the tips and I will look out for the money vouchers too. And I'm still thinking about the car, but also wondered maybe having it for 2 of the 3 weeks, not the first few days and not the last few, but just trying to find out if they deliver to the hotel or whether they are close by.

Joan, I PM'd you but thank you for your response, that was really helpful.

Thanks everyone

and the helpful tips are appreciated

jwhiting

2009-06-12 08:56:07

Re: I've gone and done it . . florida here we come!

I am pleased for you Karen, sounds like a great deal. 21 nights in Florida!!! That is just superb, I am just a little envious......

Kennedy Space Centre is an easy trip east from Orlando and I would do that in the car. You can get coach tours, but if you have paid out for the car (or insurance in this case) it makes sense to use it for a short trip like Kennedy. You can also factor in some time to visit Cocoa Beach (and maybe Daytona) if you make an early start. I do prefer the beaches on the west coast, but if you are over on the east coast you might as well pop along and spend some time at the beach.

The Everglades is a long trip south of Orlando, with 21 days/nights you can comfortably fit it in but it will be a long drive. As an alternative you may consider an airboat ride at Boggy Creek? Whilst it can in no way compare with the Everglades (it is a national park after all), it is still an amazing day (or night) out, and the airboat ride itself is pretty special. We did a coach tour, primarily so we could enjoy some beers with a BBQ (all included with the airboat ride) but it is easy to drive there yourself as well. Just google Boggy Creek, and you'll get the official site....

For a beach, head to the west coast...maybe Clearwater or St Petes. We've always had a good day out at both, but you may find some people recommend driving a bit further south to some other resorts. It all depends on how much driving you want to do? Clearwater is a comfortable drive (as is St Petes), so for a first time they will be special enough I would say (golden white sand, clear blue water etc), but definitely keep an eye on the weather forecast. No beach in the world looks that good in the rain!!!

Fire away with any other questions. Oh, and by the way, definitely book Discovery Cove as soon as possible!!! :tup

Karen_uk

2009-06-12 13:42:09

Re: I've gone and done it . . florida here we come!

Thank you

THe main thing I have to decide on and book is the car hire as I haven't done it as yet. I did get a quote via netflights which gave me the all inclusive rate of £309.00 for the 3 weeks, with a £97.00 (or 94) charge for the platinum insurance, so, am unsure whether I need that upgrade, I cannot get my head around it LOL

Also, am I better off taking cash, TC? or using a debit card. Ive always used a nationwide flex account before, but now they charge for their withdrawals abroad I am unsure what to do . . .

Also, my son LOVES mini golf and as such we will want to venture to have a go at these although looking at the prices today it will work out at about £15.00, is there any pass scheme which includes these or am I likely to find discount vouchers for these when Im over there?

Thanks again :rofl

jwhiting

2009-06-12 15:00:28

Re: I've gone and done it . . florida here we come!

Karen,
Mini Golf discounts are available for Pirates Cove, which is walkable from your hotel on I Drive. There is another one near Lake Buena Vista as well if you fancy a change of scenery. Best thing ever, get a hole in one (sometimes quite easy) on a specific hole of the day (you only find out at the end of your round) and you get a free round which can be used anytime. Nice touch I think.
Any of the Disney ones are great as well, but you won't find any discounts. Not that I know of anyway. Prices are steep to be honest, but it's a good way of spending an hour or two and the theming is superb.

£309 for 3 weeks car hire seems good value. The platinum part probably just affords a tank of petrol and an extra driver but do check if there is anything else included. I wouldn't bother, just take the car back full when you drop it off.

As for money, I was the same with Nationwide and used that extensively. In fairness though, it's not always easy to find a bank in Orlando that doesn't charge a fee (Bank of America for example charge $2 per transaction), so my advice would be TC's. Once again, you will often find quite a difference of opinion on how best to take money to the USA!!!

HTH
Ju

mehmeh1

2009-06-12 15:50:24

Re: I've gone and done it . . florida here we come!

Congratulations on booking!

As regards money, in the USA it is best to take dollar travellers cheques. Unlike the rest of the world, in America you use these like money, you do not change them at the bank. You just use them to pay for things and they give you your change in ordinary dollars. So you have the security of travellers cheques with the convenience of cash. However you should also take a credit card as back-up for spending in clothes shops say.

For research, a very useful website is http://www.allearsnet.com and I repeat, the 'Unofficial Guide' and also the 'Brits Guide to Orlando'. It is very important to do your research before you go!

Remember to budget for the parking charges at the theme parks, which will add up over three weeks.

Have a great time!

holqueen1

2009-06-14 12:11:37

Re: I've gone and done it . . florida here we come!

hi karen who did you book with i would like to have a look as the price you are paying is really good i am looking for november

Karen_uk

2009-06-14 15:05:35

Re: I've gone and done it . . florida here we come!

I found a good price via holidayhypermarket.co.uk but when I was checking something with the woman, she told me it was via Cosmos, so, went to their website which is monarch holidays and I ended up with an extra week for £130 less

the site for them is http://holidays.monarch.co.uk/ and they have some "hot deals" on at the moment for our dates, but by far the cheapest. Only downside Ive found so far is the luggage allowance which wont allow us much shopping space

Louise-lancs

2009-07-29 14:51:02

Re: I've gone and done it . . florida here we come!

We go 2nd April 2010 we thought we got a good deal for 5 of us for 3 weeks, 2 of the weeks being school holidays for £4400 including car hire :cheers

can't wait
oh and we have booked with Virgin

America/Canada Discussion Forum

Post a Reply

America/Canada Discussion Forum

Post a Reply

Get the best deals!

from our cruise, ski and holiday partners