I think you will struggle to get half board or AI in Florida as most of the hotels are room only.

Where in Florida are you thinking of, Orlando, Miami, one of the beach resorts?

luci

Hello,

We went to Orlando in May 2009.. We stayed on International drive, i liked it there as we thought it was a good location for what we wanted.. We stayed at the Quality inn international on International drive, every morning we walked down the road to Ponderosa which was an all you can eat buffet breakfast for $3.99.. which was breakfast done nicely every morning lol..

There are many restaurants all along I drive, different prices something for everyone..

We got the bus to the parks, ddint find this a problem at all & cheap..

Theres an I ride trolly which services all of I drive & i think you can but a weeks pass for $10 whichs great..

If you want to take the bus to Disney you can take the I ride trolley to sea world cross the road & the bus for disney comes & takes you.. We met some lovely people while waiting.. This bus is the lynx bus you can also buy a pass for this i think this one is $17 for the week, this bus also services I Drive aswell

I do have some posts on here from when we went to Orlando if you can find them there maybe something helpfull in there for you..

I dont think America really has AI hotels & to be honest in my opinion i wouldnt do half board there are many choices out there most of which i would say may be better than the hotels (some hotels) you will be spoilt for choice.. It may also work out cheaper aswell..

Thanks for your replies guys.
Luci i'm not sure where, me and my eldest like the idea of going to Miami but my youngest would like to go to Orlando so to be honest i'm trying to get cheap and cheerfull I thought it would be a bit of a struggle to get AI there, I found looking at other destinations it was better to pay that bit extra and know if anything you still got meals and drinks if that can't be done then it can't it's no problem.

Bubble thats very interesting, I will search that hotel now and who was it you flew with? all I can think of is Continential airlines and Virgin holidays. Sounds great that there are many local bus stops around and resturants near by, this has settled my mind about driving. I was just thinkng flights, airport transfers, hotel, spending money, food money, park passes, transport is it really possible to do with around £3000? I really would like to make this happen after 18 years of going to Cyprus and the girls can see their dad for the first time in 2 years.

Thanks again guys, your really helpful
CourtneeLouise x

Hello,

You welcome.. We flew with Virgin Atlantic from Manchester & booked our hotel seperatley, i always find this best with the some holidays.. Hotels you can search around different websites & get the best price once you have found one you like..

I think your budget is definatley doable.. As i mentioned before there are many all you can eat restaurants which we liked for breakfast ponderosa $3.99 also they used to give you a card & every $10 spent you get a stamp once you have collected 10 stamps you get $20 off your next purchase..

Again in the evenings, so many choices we went to cicis pizza a few times again $5.99 all you can eat we really liked it.. with everything though personal choice.. Theres some other lovely places around aswell had some great steaks etc.. so food you can eat as cheap or expensive as you like really..

I would first find your flights & when you have a price you like, book.. then also have a hotel in mind, to book after....

Theme parks we brought our tickets out there..

Transfers we got a taxi in arrivals cost around $40 + tip to I drive.. Remember though we flew with Virgin so went in to international airport MCO.. if you fly with some charter companys you will go in to sanford, your travel would be slightly more as the airport is ferther away, again you need to weigh up in your total cost..

You can also book transfers before you go, i would think beeing 3 of you this would be best..

Also i found using the public transport very easy to get used to & quite frequent.. as i also said you can meet some lovely people on your journeys.. i dont fancy driving over there either.. Lol.. so this option is cheap & cheerfull in my opinion..

I have a map of I Drive will try & find if they have the website then that way you can see all the stops & whats where etc.. we were in the middleish..

http://www.iridetrolley.com

This is the trolley that services I Drive..
If you click on things to do this will show you for example restaurants, which are at what stop etc..

I think the ponderosa we ate at was at stop 10 & our hotel stop 15. walked this every morning & took about 10 minutes..

Also sea world is on one of the stops further up & aquatica etc, wet & wild...

We also walked back from Univeral studios the one day over the freeway took about 20 minutes i think.. Theres a free bus also to there which you can book from your hotel we just decided to leave before the return & walked

Thank you so much for helping me with this just priced up to leave on my eldest daughters 16th birthday (5 july) for 3 weeks and for -

Flights
Airport transfers
Bus pas
Hotel
$60 spending money every day x 3 weeks

= £2615

which is brilliant! just need to add the excersions on top and this is the first place I looked apart from a package deal on virgin holidays which was £6000 for just flight & hotel!.

I will take a look at the link now Thank you.
CourteeLouise

I had thought at first you were meaning Orlando - I've only been there in passing so can't really recommend anything.

We have stayed in a few places in Florida though, just over a year ago we flew to Tampa, stayed St Pete's downtown, over to Melbourne, down to Ft Lauderdale, over to Naples and up to St Pete's beach. A few days in each (11 nights I think, then 2 in NY on the way home). Had a great time, but I'd struggle to recommend what you could do without a car. With a car I'd say do both of your choices if you like. Miami is rather expensive though. I don't know how you'd get to Miami without a car from Orlando. Same with the other beaches. Maybe someone else can recommend some transport?I don't remember seeing trains, only buses and I don't know how far they went. I'm sure there might be something though?

Hi lesley
Just looking at prices and yes, Miami is very expensive so at the moment I have my eye on Orlando. Tampa seems very tempting though, do you think I could go there on a budget of £3000? thats including spending money. I will take a look around at prices for Tampa now, is there any tour operators you could reccomend?

Thanks
CourtneeLouise

Looking good

which company are you looking at flying with?

If your thinking of a package or tampa i just read, maybe try monarch, thomson or thomas cook?

Amtrak has two trains a day from Orlando to Miami, but you would really need a car in that area.

Hey guys,
not getting any luck. I did find 2 weeks in i drive with first choice for £1800 !!!!! but can't find it again now I really want to make this happen and it's not at the moment. Can't afford to pay £3000 for just flight hotel and park passes.

CourtneeLouise

Google THE DIBB (Disney Information Bulletin Boards)

Theres a wealth of info on there regarding holidays in Florida & Orlando, and plenty of people who book DIY.

I'm going in Aug for 3 weeks, myself, hubby, son 16 and daughter 12.

Were doing a FC / Thomson package and with attraction tickets, car insurance & Gatwick parking added its come in just under 7 grand
Thats staying in the Rosen Inn @ Pointe Orlando on I Drive, which is a cheaper hotel.

Some hotels have free shuttle buses to parks and back

Remember to budget for all your meals, drinks (it will be hot) transfers if not included & taxis, or buses. Then there is the tipping which is expected.

Hello folks. I hope somebody can give me advice regarding Orlando and where to stay. My wife and I have decided to take our 2 daughters next summer(school hols. Julyl/August). Although we are well travelled I've never driven on the "wrong side of the road", so a car is out of the question. Due to the childrens ages (will be 10 and 4) we will spend more time at Disney rather than Universal so have been looking at hotels nearer Disney. We have recently been looking at prices for this summer for 2 and 3 weeks and the best prices seem to be with the Thomas Cook group.Does anybody know if any other tour operator will do cheaper package deals? We originally looked at the Disney hotels but realised we will probably get 3 weeks at a lesser hotel for the same price, which will enable us to do all the attractions and also have rest days. Do all hotels do shuttles to all attractions? Could somebody recommend a child friendly hotel near to shops/bars/restaurants? Does anybody know when the brochures for summer 2012 will be on sale and is it best to book early like it is for the med/canaries etc?
Thanks in anticipation.

Hello

We booked with Greatlatedeals.co.uk last year and have booked with travel republic this year. We didn't hire a car and we got around fine with the buses, they offer really good bus services to all the main parks. We are staying at Quality Inn & Suites in Kissimmee (which has really good feedback on Trip Advisor) this year which is nearer Disney, they offer a free breakfast and shuttles to the parks. This is also nearer the shopping district. We bought our park tickets when we got there last year, but it seems as though it's cheaper to buy them here first (just going on our experience). If you join the website mousesavers.com, they have a link to a reliable ticket site.

Hope this is of some help, but please feel free to ask anything else

Thanks for the reply. I have been looking at a hotel called Clarion Inn which is very close to Disney/shops/retaurants etc. If the prices for next year are similar to what they are charging for this August then we would definitely be able to afford 3 weeks. Does anybody have any info on this hotel? I do know it has had a full refurb and changed name/owner in the past couple of years.