Florida tips and car hire

[Hacker Khan]

When you are 2 and 6 years old do you really care about any of the following?

Empire State Building
Liberty Bell
Golden Gate Bridge
Mount Rushmore
Grand Canyon
The Vegas Strip
The Whitehouse
Marthas Vineyard
Memphis

etc etc etc.

America has tonnes to offer and see but when you are a todller life tends to revolve around kids tv and toys, Disney is like heaven.

Bit of an assumption there. My 5 year old loved the strip in Vegas. One evening she gambled away all her child trust fund at The Venetian on the craps tables. Yes it mean that she won't be getting a penny now when she's 18, but on the other hand she did get comped a few Fruit Shoots in the casino. So everyone's a winner.

 

[Hacker Khan]

Agree with the above, the USA has so much to offer, Mount Rushmore, Hoover Dam, Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, t name the obvious few, but two kids of 2 and 6, unless they are deeply into natural wonders and engineering are not going to see the fun side of those things. Show them a 6 foot rat dressed in a tails and another in a polka dot dress, or Cinderella and their faces will light up and as a parent that's all you want to see.

They will if they see Yogi Bear and Boo Boo.

 

[palindromicbob]

The only thing I can say about cars is refuse to take a Dodge Dart. Horrible car.

Was over on family holiday last year (8 adults and no kids) and we had booked larger family cars only to find they didn't have them as returns had been delayed due to some really bad thunder storms meaning people weren't getting the cars returned in time to have them turned around. We had to take the smaller cars and the best of a limited bunch was the aforementioned dodge. Was a real struggle getting all the luggage in them.

Enjoy the trip. Really a once in a lifetime thing for me. Kids will love Disney and Universal is great although the best stuff there is likely to be a little over their ages. The 6 year old is going to really enjoy it. Harry Potter part is excellent and they'll both love the trip on Hogwarts Express between the two parks. The 6 year old would really enjoy the magic wands that activate things within the park. The wands are a bit pricey but a great souvenir. I still regret not getting one and I'm 35!

Epcot is a bit stale but the fireworks there were Epic and worth going for that alone but going in the evening.

We had got a 14 day park pass for the Disney parks and Universal and it worked out as the best deal. Lots of the Universal rides are virtual and I would recommend fast tracking the Minions ride. The kids will love it but it's not worth the waiting times.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

Go onto a website called The Dibb. Invaluable for a trip to Florida and the parks. All the info you will ever need is on there.

We used Alamo, get the extra insurance for peace of mind. They were seamless at collection, you can do it so you have a barcode letter which you shove under a scanner and walk past the desk, straight to the cars. "Take any from the row sir". Brilliant.

Best holiday we ever had. The two bits of advice I would give, with kids the age you have. Don't try to do too much in a park in one day. By early evening the park is full of over tired kids with stressed parents. Do go back in the evening and see the fireworks displays at Magic Kingdom , definitely, and Epcot, optional. Magic Kingdom was something special. Enjoy

 

[Val]

Disney planning, now there is a job in itself.

Use the My Disney Experience app and website and plan your fast passes and dining reservations there. You can book 180 days out and if you have a daughter, lunch at Cinderallas Royal Table is an experience but you need to book and pay for this 6 months out.

Dont think you need to cram all in a day, Magic Kingdom is easily 3 days to cover if you do it in easy bites, what we do/did was 2 days from 9am till 2pm then went a 3rd time at 4pm to see the evening parades and fireworks.

Animal Kingdom is a 2 day park IMO, the Lion King show is superb

Holywood Studios is great, easily coverable in a day if you time fastpasses and show times well

Epcot, not for everyone but its good to go round the rides before heading for a trip round the world showcase. Doable in a day.

Water parks are great particularly Typhoon Lagoon, Blizzard Beach is good too but TL is our favourite, it has the most amazing wave pool you'll ever come across.

Outwith the parks you have Downtown Disney and Disneys Boardwalk both worth and evening trip.

Disney is an amazing experience for small kids and big kids like us all. Go and embrace it and have a ball BUT have a plan and dont try and wing it.

 

[Hacker Khan]

Go onto a website called The Dibb. Invaluable for a trip to Florida and the parks. All the info you will ever need is on there.

We used Alamo, get the extra insurance for peace of mind. They were seamless at collection, you can do it so you have a barcode letter which you shove under a scanner and walk past the desk, straight to the cars. "Take any from the row sir". Brilliant.

Best holiday we ever had. The two bits of advice I would give, with kids the age you have. Don't try to do too much in a park in one day. By early evening the park is full of over tired kids with stressed parents. Do go back in the evening and see the fireworks displays at Magic Kingdom , definitely, and Epcot, optional. Magic Kingdom was something special. Enjoy

Very wise words there and I'd totally agree. I'd add possibly don't try and do a park every day and leave some chill time. Heat/humidity plus jet lag plus overexcited kids is never a great combination. We rested in the resort on the 1st day and did Sea World on the second as it is a bit more chilled than Disney. We also had another day in the resort later on in the week where wife and child sat by the pool and I went golfing. You see, always thinking about my family.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

HK - We did alternate days as you suggest although I wasn't as smart as you and so did not get to play golf (well done there). That worked well and kept us fresh. You can get have too much Disney, no really you can.

 

[srixon 1]

Busch Gardens is well worth a drive, and for roller coasters and thrill rides is much better than what they have at the Orlando parks in my opinion.

 

[Hacker Khan]

HK - We did alternate days as you suggest although I wasn't as smart as you and so did not get to play golf (well done there). That worked well and kept us fresh. You can get have too much Disney, no really you can.

The 5th green of a golf course was literally not even a stones throw, more like a stones 'casual toss into the air' away from our villa. So it would be rude not to.

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

I love these threads where people go out of their way to offer tips and advice based on experience and it is totally ignored.

 

[la_lucha]

I love these threads where people go out of their way to offer tips and advice based on experience and it is totally ignored.

The only bit I'm ignoring is the ones about golf. I know I won't be getting that in.
What sort of budget would you recommend. Staying in a villa so can cook most breakfast and evenings

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

To stretch your budget, look online for your theme park tickets before you go, much cheaper than paying for them at the gate. You will also come across coupon books that have all sorts of offers from restaurant deals to tourist attractions, shops, crazy golf etc etc. If you do get the chance to sneak in a round of golf lookout for online twilight deals, they can be silly cheap.

 

[srixon 1]

For food shopping we always use Publix. Much better than Walmart.

 

[la_lucha]

I've been quoted a crazy $50 per person per day for food and drink. Sounds a bit Ott?

 

[srixon 1]

I've been quoted a crazy $50 per person per day for food and drink. Sounds a bit Ott?

That's probably for eating out.

 

[Break90]

Some good advice already given.

The single best bit of advice given so far is to go onto 'The Dibb', spend a lot of time on there in fact.

Everything you need to know, forums discussing everything there is to know about Disney, Orlando in general, tickets, car hire, accommodation and everything else.

My biggest bit of advice (having been 5 times and off again in August for 3 weeks) is to have a plan. You don't need to stick to it to the letter, but having a basic outline and using things like the fastpass+ system for Disney rides will minimise the time you spend queuing, which with a 6 and 2 year old will be essential.

One other thing, if you are planning to visit Universal as well, look into booking a night at one of the onsite hotels (Hard Rock, Royal Pacific or Portofino. Not cheap, but if you stay one night you get two days of 'front of line passes', which means you can skip the queues on the majority of the rides (not Harry Potter). Again, depending on the time of year you go these are invaluable in terms of not spending hours queuing.

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

I've been quoted a crazy $50 per person per day for food and drink. Sounds a bit Ott?

That's probably for eating out.

Even eating out that is well over the top! Applebees is a typical american chain restaurant, last time I was there they were doing a 2 for $20 menu which was great. Breakfast will cost $5 to $10 a head. There are very often early bird offers if eating early suits you.

 

[Break90]

I've been quoted a crazy $50 per person per day for food and drink. Sounds a bit Ott?

Depends what you want and where you want to eat it.

Theme park meal (e.g hot dog, fries, drink will set you back between $10-15 a head (less for kids). A sit down in the parks is anything from $20-50 plus tip. Character dining (meet the characters etc) will be more but is definitely worth doing with youngsters.

Restaurants outside the parks are much better value, all you can eat buffet places like Ponderosa (avoid at all costs IMO) at around $10 per head, many chains will cost you approx $20 a head for starter and main.

Don't forget that tipping is expected at sit-down restaurants, most places will detail on the bill what the tip equates to at 18%, 20% and 25%.

 

[Val]

$50 per head per day will include all food and all drinks for table service most probably. You could probably do as a family $100 a day for food, drinks, fuel and parking very easily and bear in mind Disney is $17 a day to park. You can eat as cheap or as expensive as you like.

 

[srixon 1]

If you are going with somebody that is disabled and they have a blue badge, then take it with you. UK blue badges are recognised in the USA.