Our first DIY holiday - September 2019 - advice please!

[kev007]

Hi guys

DW and I had ten days in Orlando at the end of May / start of June this year, staying at the Rosen nearest Universal and flying with Virgin. We had a great time and have booked to go back to Disney next October, staying at the Caribbean Resort for the first time so looking forward to that too.

We have ten days holiday from 10 September and were looking at going somewhere in Europe but we are now seriously considering Orlando again the main thing would be we have a pretty strict budget of £1,000 for flights / accommodation and around £500 for tickets (we brought some dollars back so will use for food, shopping etc). We will only be doing Universal parks.

We've never done a DIY holiday before but looking like that may be the cheapest option this time.

DW has located flights (hand luggage only) from Gatwick to Orlando and seven nights at the Avanti Palms hotel for around £900 and tickets for around £500 - this was a four day pass, base tickets so one park, one day.

Holiday genie website double standard room for seven nights with Norwegian Airlines flights £810 for the two of us. There was no mention of transfers, reserving seats etc.

Some questions -

What is the Avanti Palms like? Do the rooms have safes?
Can we get a Lynx bus from the airport to I-Drive? We would probably get an Uber or Lyft back.
Are these prices reasonable?
Is a week long enough? We would do the two parks plus Volcano Bay and then some shopping, relaxing, mini golf etc.
We would probably stay the night before at Gatwick, any recommendations on a cheap place nearby?
Might it be cheaper to book the hotel direct and then look for a flight or book them together?

Sorry for so many questions, we usually book a year or so in advance so very exciting that we may be there in just a few weeks!

We would really appreciate suggestions, advice, recommendation etc from fellow Dibbers as we want to book up this weekend and then start the countdown...

Thanks guys!

Kev

[ClaireNJ]

I don’t think that’s a bad price, if it’s £810 for hotel & flight for both of you & yes the rooms have safes, just been on website
We’ve done a week before & it’s long enough if you only do a few park days.
Enjoy your last min holiday 🇺🇸

[Mazascouser]

Beware Avanti has a resort fee that will push your bill up, think it’s $25 per day. There is a Lynx bus guessing No 42. Best look it up on the Lynx map. We did a week last Easter in the Rosen Inn International. Did 3 days plus 1 night at Universal plus shopping had a great time.

[kev007]

Originally Posted by Mazascouser

Beware Avanti has a resort fee that will push your bill up, think it’s $25 per day. There is a Lynx bus guessing No 42. Best look it up on the Lynx map. We did a week last Easter in the Rosen Inn International. Did 3 days plus 1 night at Universal plus shopping had a great time.

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Thank you, did wonder about a resort fee which would push up the price any other suggestions guys?

Kev

[JanetteP]

If you're only doing Universal, why not look at one of the Universal hotels? Have you looked at Tui and Thomas Cook as there are usually some real bargains for a package in September. You could then upgrade your Universal tickets to an annual pass to use on your trip next year.

[orlandoamber]

I note you say tickets are going to cost around £500 for a 4 day base ticket. The universal three park explorer for 14 nights comes in at around £278 at the moment. Would this work out better for you as you can park hop then too?

[daisymae]

Originally Posted by kev007

Thank you, did wonder about a resort fee which would push up the price any other suggestions guys?

Kev

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We are doing a week in September. I booked Rosen Inn at Pointe for £47 per night they do not charge resort or parking fees. We chose here as it is central to restaurants and bars so dh can finally have a beer if he so wishes as we usually stay in a villa. We are doing 4 nights at Rosen Inn, 1 nights in St Augustine, 1 night at pop century for MNSSHP for Disney fix and 2 nights relaxation at Hard Rock Hotel.

[cornishfrogboy]

Always Premier Inn Gatwick N for us (either one) and even if flying from LGW South as the monorail between works so well. There are currently some extremely good prices. I picked up a couple for next Easter at £29 a room earlier in the week.. albeit LHR, but all Airport hotels seemed to be in the mix.

We had the Ramada, close to Universal a couple of weeks back at £60 a night for 4 including breakfast and no fees. That might be an option, nothing special, but clean, tidy, good staff and a decent buffet breakfast (that saves you plenty). Taxi (and Uber would
be cheaper) was $40 from MCO.

I agree re the 3 day pass. Park hopping gives you flexibility, Volcano bay and the Hogwarts Express.

Hope it helps.

[kev007]

Thanks so much guys!

Kev