Orlando Travel Forum

Hi,

I am avoiding all the Orlando parks over the Christmas/New Year period. We have decided to do a couple of nights on the Gulf Coast over New year but this would mean doing Busch Gardens on either 1st or 2nd January - these fall on Friday and Saturday - are they likely to still be busy?

We are there for 4 weeks and are having a nightmare trying to sort out what we are doing and when as our family members are only coming for 3 weeks and a week of that is over Christmas and New Year so we need to avoid the parks!!!

Hello, can anyone give me some good, safe areas to check out for a 3-month-stay in the Orlando area? My husband and I are looking for 2bedrooms, a pool available, patio or screened porch.We will spend between $1000 and $2000 a month. Everything is so geared to the whole Disney vacation, I'm having difficulty just finding a quiet house or condo where we can live.We would like to be less than an hour from the beach and able to drive to the theme parks and Orlando itself. We are coming to the area Jan and staying through end of March. I know there must be places to look, but I can't seem to find them. Thanks for any help.

Hi everyone and thanks in advance :-) Are the dining packages available REALLY considered value for money or should we just pay as we eat?

I was wondering how crazy it is this time of year and what off site hotels are great to stay at. Will be two adults and a 12 y.o.Maybe someone could suggest something else to do besides the parks if they are crazy.Thanks

Can someone confirm how easy it is to use travellers cheques in Florida, in particular Orlando?

I have been several times and never used them as in other areas of the world it proves a pain to get them exchanged and you end up paying twice on the exchange rate - once when you buy them and again when you exchange them!

Travel Insurance doesn't cover more than £200.00 in cash so it's risky carrying more - although this is what we normally do!

We have the option of taking it out at an ATM but then we often get charged £1.50 - £3.00 per transaction and if the exchange rate drops we lose out further!

So back to the original question, a friend of mine has just been to Orlando and like me he had never used travellers cheques, people he was with had them though and he said they were as easy as cash to use and he would definitely use them in future - he said there was no messing about trying to cash them in exchange booth etc etc and that they were taken everywhere!

Does anyone else know any different???

Hi! All....Need some clarification on this....

We are renting a MPV with Dollar for our 5-day trip in Orlando. It says in the contract...TIME AND MIEAGE COVER ONLY...what does that mean?

1. Unlimited travel within the period of rental and unlimited miles?
2. UNlimited travel within the period of rental and chargeable mileage beyond an average day estimate?

Could anyone help us? Not exactly sure what it means.

Btw, i will drive from the Orlando Airport to Rolling Oaks Drive along West Irlo Bronson Hwy. Need to know....do I merge into Highway 535 from Florida Toll 417 and travel along W.Irlo.Bronson? Thanks

Dear All,

We are traveling as family of 6 headed towards Orland coming Nov. We want to purchase the 3-day pass at Disney and noticed that Florida residents get a special rate of $134 as compared to $219 (out-of-towners). We were wondering....

1. If I get a friend living in Florida to purchase for us this Florida resident's special, would the park management require EVERY INDIVIDUAL in our group to show proof of ID? Univeral theme-park doesn't require us to.

2. Or would they simply require the original purchaser to show proof when collecting tickets and let us through as normal tourists?

2. Are there any Florida VT members out there who could make a call on our behalf to inquire about this (we're overseas in Singapore). T

As you well can see...this is a hefty savings for a young family of 6! hahahah.

Thanks.

DOES ANY1 KNOW IF TERROR ON CHRUCH STREET IS STILL OPEN AS OF 10/9/09 OR HAS IT BEEN SHUT DOWN? THANKS

This year we plan on doing some more exploring of Florida so will be doing lots of driving to different places, so is it worth paying for a toll road tag, if so how much would they be per week?? did look at them last year but forgot the costs.

Cheers.

hello,

Is there any 24 hours Food outlets in MCO airport, and can I bring food & drinks on board Delta, UA domestic flight?

The breakfast menu on board does not suit my diabetic diet, I need to plan alternative for the 5hrs domestic flight. Any suggestion is most welcome.

Hi,

I am in the process of booking Park tickets for 11 of us travelling to Florida in December.

I am a Travel Agent and that entitles me to various discounts if I purchase tickets on the gates at Guest Relations.

Only 4 of us are Agents so I need to know if it's worth taking this discount or just buying one of the various multi park tickets here.

Does anyone know how much individual tickets are for Sea World, Aquatica and Busch Gardens?


Thanking you all in advance!

Been about 3 years since we were last in Orlando and used to eat at Ryans ( Whistle Junction) restaurants in International Drive area and out in St Cloud but believe both are long gone. Is there any alternatives that you can suggest? Am aware of the Golden Corral, Sizzlers etc but really looking for something as close to Ryans style (all U can eat steak in particular)as we can get.

Any suggestions gratefully received as we are going over in about 4 weeks

can anyone suggest a 4 star hotel? Will be in Orlando end of Sept.

Pros / cons on hotel.

THANK YOU

RMcGowen@aol.com

Hi I am thinking of staying at one of these hotels as they are close to Old Town, can anybody give me any info on them please good or bad I don't mind.

Thanks

I realise we will have to travel to the beach but just wondered if anyone can recomend which beach would be best to go to? We have a toddler with us and want to let her play at the beach and paddle in the water, heard some of the waves are crashing so no use for paddling. have heard about Cocoa Beach and Treasure Island but dont have much info? Any info will be great. Thanks v much.

hi everyone,

i have seen this question before so appologies if i am repeating it. just needed some advice on our holiday to orlando on sept 1st 09.

my question is ( i panic everytime we go!!) do you think we have enough money for our holiday?

we have hotel/car paid for and are staying on international drive. we do not have credit cards and will be dealing in cash/travellers cheques( we have done this each time we have visited and found it fine) but as we have no cards we only have what we are taking.

i know we have $200 dollar deposit to leave at the car hire place as we have no cards and i know we have a deposit to leave also at the otal but unsure of exact amount.

we are taking £3000 in total and as we have seen much of the atttractions before we know our itinerary and wont need park hoppers as we can only manage 1 park a day so will be buying the magic your way base ticket for disney for 5 days. i think this totals about £450 for all of us 2 adults and our 7 yr old grandson.

i have worked out that after ticket purchases for all the parks we want to see and other attractions we should be left with about £1800, do you think this will be enough?? we dont eat in high top restaurants and dont have breakfast included in hotel.

any advice would be very much appreciated as its been 4 yrs since we last went and i have no clue of meal costs ect now, we wont be doing extravagant shopping just a few bits and bats

thanks in advance
louise

hi i was wondering if you know how i can get reduced tickets for disney and universal in orlando??
ill be staying at the bahama bay resort

I'm coming into Orlando next weekend, on a long-distance Greyhound from New Orleans. Then I transfer to an even-longer-distance flight back to UK (via DFW!) That's a long time travelling.

So my question is, is there any shower available either at or near Greyhound bus station, or inside MCO? How about Lynx Central Station or Amtrak.

Or is there a fairly low cost hotel with an hourly rate could take me in for four hours max?

I'm coming into Orlando next weekend, on a long-distance Greyhound from New Orleans. Then I transfer to an even-longer-distance flight back to UK (via DFW!) That's a long time travelling.

So my question is, is there any shower available either at or near Greyhound bus station, or inside MCO?

Hi We are comig to Orlando for the first time and bring with us our 3 month old baby. We intend to use a taxi sevice now and again. Do we have to provide a baby car seat for the loacal taxi,s or do they provide such equipment? What are the regulations in the usa on the use of baby seats ?

Many Thanks
John

My family and I (My husband and 3 children and I) will be visiting Orlando in October and I was wondering what the best and cheapest way is of buying the theme park tickets. We have not visited Orlando before and have been getting mixed messages from people on the best way to buy the tickets. Some are saying buy them here in Scotland and others are saying wait until you arrive in Orlando. Can anyone please clarify this for me as we are on a limited budget and want to get the most for our money and as many sights as possible.

Has anyone attended the American Idol Exper. at Hollywood Studios/WDW??
It looks like you have to buy tix. and am wondering if it is worth it?
My 13 yr. old daughter is a big fan.

Planning to Visit both Disney and Universal Studios for 5 days. Which area can prove to be better under this circumstance? Any specific 1 or 2 star hotel for me and my 16 yr. son? Were planning to use hotel shuttles to reach and work our way out the parks at night since shuttles service are kind of unpredictable (sometimes).

I'm thinking of treating my family of 4 to a performance at Sleuth's Mystery Dinner Theatre.

Does anyone have any opinions on this joint? Is it worth what they charge? I'm assuming the shows are all kid friendly?? (kids are ages 10 + 11).

Thanks for yr opinions!
Debbie :-)

Is it possible to view Disney fireworks from anywhere OUTSIDE the parks?? If I park in the lot and go to the main gate, would I be able to see anything?

Thanks!
Debbie

I'll be arriving in Fort Lauderdale on December 24th and am planning to rent a car and either drive over to the West Coast or up to Orlando. My wife really likes to visit the Universal Studios. Question would be whether it's a good idea to go and visit the Studios on December 25th? Did anyone ever experience the crowds on x-mas day? If it's too crazy, we'd rather spent our two remaining nights on the West Coast.

Any input is appreciated...

Thanks in advance!

Cheers,
Robert

We are planing a trip to Florida for the first time in May 2010. The problem is i have no idea how long we will need in the different parks. i dont want to buy 14 day tickets for Disney and find i have only used them for six. We also want to visit Universal studios, space centre, discovery cove and other atractions. i will be going with my wife, daughter, son-in-law and two grandaughters.

Travelling to Orlando, Florida from England with 19 people, and one person in an Electric Wheelchair.
We need to arange an Airport transfer to Lake Buena Vista. Know of any good companies who do airport transfers and cater for disbabled people?
Thanks

Is it worth it to buy the meal pass at Universal Studios. How is the food?

Hi!

Can anyone recommend anything for 4 adults and 5 children (aged 5, 10, 10, 12, 16) to do in Orlando for New Years Eve? It is also 1 of the adults birthdays on 31st.

Our other option is to get a babysitter to stay in and watch the kids whilst we adults go out! How would we get a reputable sitter? In England they are Ofsted Registered and CRB checked to ensure they are safe but obviously I don't know what the equal thing is in USA.

My other question is regarding the Orlando Magics, my 10 year old is demented on Basketball and in the UK we sadly son't get the chance to watch professional games! Can anyone tell me when the schedule for December will be released for the Orlando Magics and how we get tickets? I'm going round in circles on their website!

We are travelling 11 Dec-8 Jan so anything anyone else can recommend other than the obvious please feel free to reply!