Booking Florida

[acg200587]

Hi, My husband and I are planning on going to Florida in October for two weeks with our two kids (6 & 4). We went to magic kingdom for a day drip in December whilst on a cruise and loved it although we didn't really scratch the surface in one day! We're just unsure what would be best to do in terms of booking. Should we book a full fortnight in a Disney hotel? A week in Disney and a week in Clearwater or International Drive for a fortnight? Our kids are still quite small so we don't intend to do parks every day. My husband wants to do universal too but I think they're maybe still quite young for that just now. I was shocked by some of the waiting times in Disney for rides one of them was 120 minutes! I didn't appreciate how much planning you really need to do first to make sure you get on everything you want to! Any tips and advice appreciated, thanks Amanda

[Laura_<3]

It's all personal preference really. We love the theme parks, especially Disney, so 2 weeks at a Disney hotel is perfect for us. Other people do split stays.

It depends on what you want to do You'll get a lot of advice on here!

[papamouse]

we did 3 weeks last year (and in 2012 idrive)

there is deffo enough to do just in Orlando for 3 weeks never mind 2.

When people take in a costal resort too, they usually do 3 weeks.

The best way to do Disney in On site as you are close to the action you get loads of perks and freebies. Best time to book tho is between April and November for the following year as they offer free dining at moderate and deluxe resorts.

eg this year we are at CBR and getting 1400 worth of free food! You also get to book fast passes 60 days out so can pick and choose what you want to do (to a degree) on park days.

If doing universal, a good plan is to book one night in one of their hotels, as they then give the perk of Front of the Line passes for 2 days - so you can maximise the fun.

SO In short the IDEAL holiday for me would be Disney 12 days, Uni 2 night/3 days then the coast - say Anna Marie Island for a week. Wouldn't get much change for £12k for that tho!

BUT there is no right and wrong way to do Orlando/Florida. Theres just what suits your family and ages etc. We were delighted stay on Idrive for 3 weeks, driving every day and had a blast...

[Guest]

Hi, we've stayed both offsite (as two adults) and onsite with our kids twice (3rd time this Oct). We do love being in the "Disney bubble" as hubby really can switch off from work entirely! We also pop back to our room mid afternoon for a nap (hubby) or swim (girls) before going back to the parks of an evening so it's not a full on park day. It will be a bit more time consuming doing this if offsite. It really depends on how you will be spending each day.

We got the free Disney Dining which made the overall holiday cheaper than staying and eating offsite with the £ to $ rate being so low (for us anyway).

A bit (or a lot in my case!) of forward planning and getting as much info as possible will help make your trip easier (but that's half the fun ).

[acg200587]

Thanks for all the replies. My initial thoughts after being in Magic Kingdom for the day were that I couldn't do it for a fortnight. But I suppose if you stay onsite you can do things at a more leisurely pace and plan your days better. I wish we could go for 3 weeks but can't take my eldest out of school for much longer than I already plan to. I just worry that if we book a twin centre holiday we may regret it if we're loving Disney. We like the look of the Animal Lodge to stay in at Disney and it's not too far away from Magic Kingdom where we'll probably spend most of our time.

[papamouse]

Originally Posted by acg200587

Thanks for all the replies. My initial thoughts after being in Magic Kingdom for the day were that I couldn't do it for a fortnight. But I suppose if you stay onsite you can do things at a more leisurely pace and plan your days better. I wish we could go for 3 weeks but can't take my eldest out of school for much longer than I already plan to. I just worry that if we book a twin centre holiday we may regret it if we're loving Disney. We like the look of the Animal Lodge to stay in at Disney and it's not too far away from Magic Kingdom where we'll probably spend most of our time.

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good to know what to like, but epcot, Hollywood studios are my 2 fav parks! MK is amazing but the others just shade it for me and and then theres animal kingdom - then 2 amazing water parks and that's just Disney! Universal, seaworld, busch, and a million other things around Orlando make it no1 for us.

but you will love just lying by the pool at the resort

we did 3 weeks in Disney this year - didn't bother with too much shopping or other places and are planning the same for 2 weeks this year.

gonna tackle Universal properly at another time