Where do I begin planning?

[cornishfrogboy]

The key to the thread may be in the opening entry.. ‘Florida’... not ‘Orlando’.. or not.

Orlando is imho, just a tiny part of a whole and in no way representative or even similar to the rest of the State.
People who have only been to Disney or even only Orlando have not in my opinion been to Florida. They have been to Disney.. or Orlando.
It would be interesting to see what the OP is actually seeking from their vacation.

As an example, I no longer even enter Disney parks, but like Orlando and love Florida. That is us, not everybody else. My boys like ‘big rides’ and therefore are more BG, SW, Universal, 6 flags and Thorpe Park.

As was rightly said, every DIBBER has different aims and aspirations when planning their vacation. For many, the parks are just a fraction of the whole whilst for others, they are everything.

[Vinniecat]

If you are doing universal I would recommend staying at one of their hotels for part of the stay. Choose one that is walkable to the parks and your children will be fine spending some time on their own.

[cornishfrogboy]

Originally Posted by Vinniecat

If you are doing universal I would recommend staying at one of their hotels for part of the stay. Choose one that is walkable to the parks and your children will be fine spending some time on their own.

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Further to that good advice, I would suggest budgeting at least one night at one of Royal Pacific, Hardrock or Portofino in order to check in early and get 2 full days of Express pass in Universal and Islands. It makes a big difference.

In addition look at Club level upgrade. We paid £68 for ours in August. Besides a slightly upgraded room, you get access to the Club lounge on both days, check in and check out.
In this lounge are ..
A help yourself fridge full of soda cans.
Snacks.
Breakfast
Lunch nibbles
Happy hour with free wine and beer
Evening hot food (don’t get excited, only pasta or similar.
Huge tv
Sofas
Games

Your family can come and go as they please, dipping in and out of the nearby parks. It really is a fantastic bargain if used wisely and helps defray the initially high appearing cost of a night in one of these three hotels... and that is before you consider the benefits of Express pass and a very nice room in a fine Hotel.

[JP81]

Originally Posted by coggie

Virgin Atlantic consider 12 year olds as adults price wise so as this is a family trip then the travelling alone isn' t relevant.

a 12 year old can travel alone with assistance from the airport /airline either side of flight.. So in reality alone and pay the full adult fare

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My post was how they compare on package bookings.
Yes the two Scheduled carriers have different pricing for flight only.
As a rule they are all the same for packages.

So, In general, a flight/hotel or flight/car booking, will consider an under 18 as a child.

Which is convenient for the majority as they don't want to pay thousands up-front for flights, so my post applies.