First timer needs Park Ticket help please!

[Guest]

Apologies if this has been asked hundreds of times!

We are going to Orlando for the first time in October and I'm trying to get my head around park tickets-especially with all the talk of ticket prices going up next week!

There will be 3 adults and 2 children going for 2 weeks and obviously we want to do as much as we can as this really is a once in a lifetime trip for us (Disney, Universal, Legoland, Sea World, water parks etc). Although we definitely want to do Disney, our boys are more excited about Universal and Leoland so I'm struggling to decide whether to go for the all included passport plus/freedom type tickets or if I'd be better off buying seperate ones.

I would also appreciate any advice on any attractions/places that we could afford not to go to as I understand that a fortnight isn't really long enough to squeeze in going everywhere and doing everything-as much as I'd like to!

Any help would be gratefully received as my head is spinning!

[Twinkletoes47]

Hi - and welcome to the Dibb

I know exactly what you mean, I'm sure someone will be along soon but in the meantime the forum search at the top of the menu on the right is invaluable

My advice would be to use the Dibb Bible amazon/Brit-Guide-...ney+world+2017

This, along with the Dibb, is everything you will need IMHO

Good luck

[Caroian]

Welcome to the Dibb!

Honestly, it sounds like you might be trying to cram a bit too much in to 2 weeks. We recently went for 3 weeks fitting in a similar amount, but doing so in 2 weeks would have meant not doing anything properly. I appreciate you say your children are excited by Legoland, but it is a reasonably long drive and I think doesn't offer much that you can't do in Windsor. Certainly I'd think about doing Legoland OR Seaworld, but probably not both, but obviously up to you.

As far as tickets go, you often just have to do the comparisons in the various sites. There are links at the top of the "Tickets" forum. Many of the "Passport" tickets are actually just a set of different tickets bundled together. For Disney, an Ultimate ticket will allow you to come and go for the entire time, park hopping as you please and will include waterparks too. It also includes the Memory Maker package, allowing you download all your rude photos and group pictures taken by photographer son the parks for no extra charge.

The Universal two or three park bonus ticket will allow you also to come and go for the whole time and automatically includes park hopping, which is required to ride the Hogwarts Express. The other tip you'll hear a lot is to book one night in one of the deluxe hotels at Universal in order to get free Express Passes that allow you to skip the regular lines for most attractions. Staying in a hotel is the cheapest way to get these for your party size, and will likely increase what you getting in a day.

[Clamshell]

Originally Posted by Caroian

It also includes the Memory Maker package, allowing you download all your rude photos and group pictures taken by photographer son the parks for no extra charge.

See more...

I didn't know photo pass offered a rude photo service! Do you have to tip extra for that!

[Caroian]

Originally Posted by Clamshell

I didn't know photo pass offered a rude photo service! Do you have to tip extra for that!

See more...

Ha, bloomin autocorrect (or fat fingers!)

Mind you, some photographers do seem keen to get couples kissing all the time!

[tonymc]

And another welcome.

As noted above, trying to fit in all of the parks would really be trying to do too much, and you wouldn't really be getting best value from tickets.

I would stick with Disney tickets - you will need a couple of days at each of the theme parks - 8 days gone plus a couple of Water park days (total 10 days), then if you get a Universal ticket, at least 2 if not 3 days to cover it all.

Looking at prices, the cost for a ticket covering all the different parks comes in at around £558 (from Orlando attractions). Getting just 14 day Disney and Universal tickets would reduce this to around £470.

HTH.

[Guest]

We're taking my 70 year old mum with us so we'd better avoid the rude photos!

Thank you so much for all your help and advice-this website really is a godsend! I definitely appreciate that it's not possible to do it all. I need to prioritise where we desperately want to go and be realistic about how much we can comfortably do in two weeks (especially with two under 10 year olds and an oap!) I will also look into the option of staying at night at Universal.

Thanks again, what a wonderful group of people you are!

[willo65]

I would also echo the comments around Legoland, although I haven't personally been I wouldn't want to spend a day of my holiday there when I could go another time back in the UK.

Universal for one night is a great plan and really helps with the Express passes if you stay in one of the 3 top tier hotels.

[averthan]

I don't really have much to add, except to say that the previous advice given is good.

Disney Ultimates and a couple of days of Universal hoppers (staying at Universal hotel) is the most economical way of doing it and you will have more than enough to fill your time.

Be prepared for this trip to be your first 'once in a lifetime' trip

[Nimbus]

There are ways to save a bit of money on tickets but it starts to make things complicated and also reduces flexibility. Usually, one of the best ways to save money is to drop some of the parks you plan to visit. For example, not going to the Seaworld group of theme parks will save about £90 per person.

Otherwise, the primary saving comes from deciding between Disney 14 day Ultimate tickets and Disney Magic Your Way tickets. MYW tickets can be a little cheaper - for example, you can get a 5 day MYW Base ticket for £250 which is around £65 per person cheaper than an Ultimate ticket.

The 14 day Universal tickets aren't that much different in price to the 2 or 3 day Universal tickets, so there's not a huge saving to be made there. You can get 1 day tickets for Seaworld which are slightly cheaper, but if you plan on visiting Busch Gardens and/or Aquatica as well then it's cheaper to get a 14 day ticket.

Still, compared to the overall cost of the holiday, the savings that can be made by carefully selecting tickets are tiny.