Future Strategy!

[Forkbeard]

Originally Posted by Andybear

Thank you I’ve done solo trips to DLP several times and thoroughly enjoyed them. This will be my first solo trip to Orlando though. I don’t have a partner and none of my friends want to go so it’s either a solo trip or I don’t go. My last visit was in 1997, I was married then, and I’ve wanted to return many times, I decided this would finally be the year I'm most looking forward to Animal Kingdom as it was still being built in 1997.

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You're welcome Us oldies have to stick together!

I very much admire people who go solo. Well done!

Animal Kingdom used to be a least busy park, something you could do easily in a day. It's now heaving most of the time, thanks to the excellent attraction Flight of Passage.

We used to look forward to easier days, but now every day is a busy one Seems wrong to complain about how great everything is and how there is so much to do we don't like it

[Guest]

I'm trying to plan our next trip. We're a couple in our early thirties. The last time we went we tried a lot in a fortnight- 3 hotels and Universal, Disney (incl mini-golf and TL), Busch, Discovery Cove and Seaworld. By the end we were knackered, unhappy, and a bit "entertained out" if you get me. Too much engineered fun. Yet somehow 2 years later we wanted to go back...

We booked to stay in WL for the whole 2 weeks for this year thinking we would take it easy and try to create a hybrid resort/theme park holiday, sticking to the Disney bubble. But as I sit and look at my itinerary now, somehow Busch, Seaworld and DC have snuck back in. We are not doing Universal but now I don't know how on earth we managed to squeeze it in last time. As it is we only have 1 morning and the evening before we go home pencilled in to just hang out in the resort. We are aiming for half days so early starts then back to the resort in the afternoon for a couple of hours. However given we aren't early risers but are champion faffers and have never made a rope drop yet in 2 trips I don't know if we are being realistic. We will just have to go with the flow and not get wound up if the plans don't come to fruition!

[Forkbeard]

Originally Posted by Fluzz

I'm trying to plan our next trip. We're a couple in our early thirties. The last time we went we tried a lot in a fortnight- 3 hotels and Universal, Disney (incl mini-golf and TL), Busch, Discovery Cove and Seaworld. By the end we were knackered, unhappy, and a bit "entertained out" if you get me. Too much engineered fun. Yet somehow 2 years later we wanted to go back...

We booked to stay in WL for the whole 2 weeks for this year thinking we would take it easy and try to create a hybrid resort/theme park holiday, sticking to the Disney bubble. But as I sit and look at my itinerary now, somehow Busch, Seaworld and DC have snuck back in. We are not doing Universal but now I don't know how on earth we managed to squeeze it in last time. As it is we only have 1 morning and the evening before we go home pencilled in to just hang out in the resort. We are aiming for half days so early starts then back to the resort in the afternoon for a couple of hours. However given we aren't early risers but are champion faffers and have never made a rope drop yet in 2 trips I don't know if we are being realistic. We will just have to go with the flow and not get wound up if the plans don't come to fruition!

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I understand totally about being "entertained out".

We don't need to do it... but somehow we always want to try

If I plan for example one ride on Soarin' then a couple of the party will say "I want to do it more than once".

Same for the parks. I've tried to miss out the odd water park, but someone will want it put back in. Same if I do one visit to a certain park.

They say how tired and hungry they are and how they are looking forward to resting... 30 mins into a food break they are asking what's next on the plan

[duchy]

Originally Posted by Forkbeard

Some great plans there folks! Love reading plans

We narrowly missed Irma's effect. It's the troubling thing about that time of year. We did get some heavy rain days though and were soaked through mid-morning a couple of times

Changing hotels is nasty. Had to do so recently, a few times


Busch is a tricky one without a car. Has some great thrill rides though and Howl-O-Scream is better than HHN as I found out last year for the first time.

I agree about your 3 week comment. So hard to not want to see everything you loved from your last visit. Hard too if you have kids asking to see something special.

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What is nasty about changing hotels ? Unless you are really disorganised it's an hour out of your day packing . I couldn't imagine staying in one hotel for three weeks , really boring.

There's free transport available to BG , not tricky at all without a car !

[Nimbus]

Originally Posted by duchy

What is nasty about changing hotels ? Unless you are really disorganised it's an hour out of your day packing . I couldn't imagine staying in one hotel for three weeks , really boring.

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Clearly you're more organised than me. Just 1 hour to pack?

We've done a split stay once before. It's not what I'd call "nasty" but it is a bit inconvenient on the change-over day. My wife didn't care much for it though - probably because she does most of the packing/unpacking.

Originally Posted by duchy

There's free transport available to BG , not tricky at all without a car !

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True. But the free transport only picks up from certain places. So, first of all you have to get to the bus stop which may mean having to get a Lynx/I-Ride bus first. Then you have to wait for the bus and the bus will stop in a couple of others places before heading off to BG.

So, yes it's doable, but it just adds that extra bit of hassle.

For me, I've never fancied spending 3 hours travelling (1.5 hours each way) to go to BG. There's already enough to do around Orlando without journeying over to Tampa.

[ratmanscoop]

To me as an off-site guest with driver(s) it doesn't make that much different really. 25 minutes travel + 45 minutes entering MK after you deal with the vast parking area, parking tram, security, queue for, then riding monorail or ferryboat to the park itself, by the time you reach your first attraction you're pushing 75-80 minutes from where we stay at the edge of the US192.
Compare that to say 80 minutes travel plus 15 mins entering the park at Busch Gardens, there's not a lot in it other than less driving for the member(s) of the party responsible for that.

Assuming everything's open when we visit (the place is a damn ghost town on off-peak days), BG is likely to be one of the highlights of the trip for us next time with all the coasters on offer compared to the Orlando parks (Seaworld perhaps notwithstanding).

[Nimbus]

Originally Posted by ratmanscoop

To me as an off-site guest with driver(s) it doesn't make that much different really.

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With drivers and a car. Sure.

We don't drive when over in Florida. Hence, Forkbeard agreed that it is a bit more tricky without a car.

And if we stay onsite, getting to the entrance of MK is just a 20 minute bus ride away. And if staying offsite, it's just a 20 minute shuttle bus to Epcot and then a 20 minute ride on the monorail to MK's entrance (well, maybe a bit more than that, but you get the idea).

[Forkbeard]

Originally Posted by duchy

What is nasty about changing hotels ? Unless you are really disorganised it's an hour out of your day packing . I couldn't imagine staying in one hotel for three weeks , really boring.

There's free transport available to BG , not tricky at all without a car !

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I'm not disorganised. I can pack in 20 to 30 minutes.

I've done a different hotel each day (pretty much) for 3 weeks solid (west coast). Mostly just left my stuff packed on that occasion mind

HOWEVER... I hate having all my clothes go from hanging nicely to being folded back into my case and then there's the issue of dirty clothes, sweaty trainers, and also wet stuff, and toiletries.

It's just not something I relish and combined with the tight schedules we operate in Florida it would be "nasty" as I put it.

BG without a car... I guess it depends what we mean by "tricky". It's all the little things, like what happens very late at night. I think we left Howl-O-Scream at midnight(ish) last year. Is there a bus at midnight? How frequent are they? We wanted to pop off to Danny's Diner last year, can we get a bus from BG to Danny's I wonder?!? What if you purchase stuff like that huge bowl thing my partner purchased in BG one year.

There's a lady near me who walks a mile and a half to the bus-stop, gets her shopping and carries it back that mile and a half up a steep hill. She claims it's not "tricky" too

Originally Posted by Nimbus

With drivers and a car. Sure.

We don't drive when over in Florida. Hence, Forkbeard agreed that it is a bit more tricky without a car.

And if we stay onsite, getting to the entrance of MK is just a 20 minute bus ride away. And if staying offsite, it's just a 20 minute shuttle bus to Epcot and then a 20 minute ride on the monorail to MK's entrance (well, maybe a bit more than that, but you get the idea).

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We did some buses last year and it was a pain. Twice we got soaked to the bone. One time the driver dropped us off at the wrong spot. Not just us, but another family. Not sure if he played a trick on us or wasn't sure himself.