[KadeSdad]

Booked for the last two weeks in April and looking for any advice or tips from any seasoned Disney travelers.

We opted for the Saratoga Springs Resort staying in a villa, took the deluxe dining plan along with a 14 day pass. We have never seen our four year old so excited, every morning he asks "is it time to go to Disney yet!"

Is it best to plan ahead or take things as they come? We are arriving on the back of their busy period as apparently their school breaks are between mid March to mid April, and the weather is supposed to be just about ideal as not being overly hot.

Apart from the Disney parks are there any other 'must see' or 'must do' attractions, places to see etc. Our resort is walkable to downtown Disney, apparently about 15 minutes if staying on the eastern part or the resort. We weren't planning on hiring a car, just bumming around the parks and using local transport services, but if a car is recommended then we can always hire one there I guess.

Any tips then, and yes I have already warned my bank account manager!

[Kerr]

All the parks are worth a visit. They don't do things by half.

Wet n wild for a swimming park.

SeaWorld a great day out.

Busch Gardens for the rides but that will be a drive.

[Kerr]

Also the Old Town in Kissimee for the Saturday night classic car cruise.

I think it's once a month but it's well worth a visit.

There is rides, go karts and shops to keep the kids and wife amused.

The quality of cars on show is something else.

[chrisbin]

How long have you got.....???!!!!

We are out there just before you (have to work around school holidays) and you're right, weather in April is just about perfect.

Personally, I wouldnt want to be restricted to Orlando only for the whole 2 weeks....but plenty of people do. Saratoga Springs gets good reviews.

Hear what you say about using Disney transport and walking to DTD but don't forget that USA is the land of the car.....for the sake of a few hundred pounds I would say that a rental car is well worth it and will give you a lot more flexibility.

The other "big" place to go is Discovery Cove.....but as your little one is too little for the dolphin swim you may feel its not worth it....theres quite a lot there that you would still be able to do, and its probably the most relaxed place in Orlando, but not cheap.

Outside of Orlando we love the Gulf Coast - Sarasota area in particular. Anna Maria Island and Longboat Key are more like Caribbean islands, but with all the services you expect of US mainland. The area is about 2 hour drive from Orlando. Busch Gardens is just north of there.

Other direction is Atlantic Coast - Kennedy Space Centre, Daytona....

At the end of the day, I'm sure your little one will be perfectly happy with Orlando and the parks, but it will be down to whether you feel Disney'd out!!

Best advice is to just go with the flow and enjoy everything for what it is!

Loads of useful stuff on www.thedibb.co.uk, if you haven't already found it!!

Enjoy!!!

[KadeSdad]

Originally Posted by Kerr

Also the Old Town in Kissimee for the Saturday night classic car cruise.

I think it's once a month but it's well worth a visit.

There is rides, go karts and shops to keep the kids and wife amused.

The quality of cars on show is something else.

This sounds great, I'll try and see if its over the time we are there, thanks!

Originally Posted by chrisbin

How long have you got.....???!!!!

We are out there just before you (have to work around school holidays) and you're right, weather in April is just about perfect.

Personally, I wouldnt want to be restricted to Orlando only for the whole 2 weeks....but plenty of people do. Saratoga Springs gets good reviews.

Hear what you say about using Disney transport and walking to DTD but don't forget that USA is the land of the car.....for the sake of a few hundred pounds I would say that a rental car is well worth it and will give you a lot more flexibility.

The other "big" place to go is Discovery Cove.....but as your little one is too little for the dolphin swim you may feel its not worth it....theres quite a lot there that you would still be able to do, and its probably the most relaxed place in Orlando, but not cheap.

Outside of Orlando we love the Gulf Coast - Sarasota area in particular. Anna Maria Island and Longboat Key are more like Caribbean islands, but with all the services you expect of US mainland. The area is about 2 hour drive from Orlando. Busch Gardens is just north of there.

Other direction is Atlantic Coast - Kennedy Space Centre, Daytona....

At the end of the day, I'm sure your little one will be perfectly happy with Orlando and the parks, but it will be down to whether you feel Disney'd out!!

Best advice is to just go with the flow and enjoy everything for what it is!

Loads of useful stuff on www.thedibb.co.uk, if you haven't already found it!!

Enjoy!!!

Excellent

One thing I since found out that its best to pre book the themed / special dining restaurants now as the popular stuff gets booked up. Just spent a hour looking what's on offer....holy shite where do you begin seems odd having to book two months before we get there!

Yes we did two weeks so we can do a week of Disney and then experience other parts, so Kennedy Space Centre is a tick, so will be Daytona but that might cost me several spa treatments in with that deal

Thanks for the website link, I'll have a good look over that.

Quite fancy cruising in a low rider too

[briers]

If you do end up hiring a car, [insert shameless plug] : http://www.carrentals.co.uk/

We are listing about £187 for 2 weeks at the mo. Depends on how much you want it, plenty of public transport options.

[Chris100]

Hey there,

We've been to Orlando a lot (10 times in the last 9 years) and I would highly recommend getting a car, as well as Disney you have universal studios which is must visit as is Sea World and Kennedy space centre. For a water park head to aquatica and for a day trip head to bush gardens in Tampa ( will take about an hour in the car). Don't restrict yourself to Disney but it will be hard not to as its your first trip, plenty of nice places to eat around Idrive etc but to be honest the economy over there has it some areas hard, we where there in October and could believe how much it has changed in just a year.

Having said that you will have a great time and you'll just want to go back year after year.

[pjs]

Think theme Park in the morning, Water park in the Afternoon.

And after 2 weeks of Disneyfication, warn your family not to be surprised when you lose the plot and twat someone wearing a Mickey Mouse costume.

+ Harry Potter rise at Universal needs doing. Even though I have never read a HP book or watched a HP film

+ Trip to Clearwater beaches

[KadeSdad]

Originally Posted by Chris100

Hey there,

We've been to Orlando a lot (10 times in the last 9 years) and I would highly recommend getting a car.

It looks like we will now, maybe wait until we are there

Originally Posted by pjs

Think theme Park in the morning, Water park in the Afternoon.

And after 2 weeks of Disneyfication, warn your family not to be surprised when you lose the plot and twat someone wearing a Mickey Mouse costume.

LOL!

+ Harry Potter rise at Universal needs doing. Even though I have never read a HP book or watched a HP film

+ Trip to Clearwater beaches

Cool, never thought of doing Harry Potter, I've never a read a line or sat through a full film but that attraction does look great.

[KadeSdad]

Hey and look at that, one of my previous posts in this thread hit number 2000

[chrisbin]

Originally Posted by KadeSdad

It looks like we will now, maybe wait until we are there

Not a bad plan as there are onsite rental offices...not sure how their rates will compare though

Originally Posted by KadeSdad

Cool, never thought of doing Harry Potter, I've never a read a line or sat through a full film but that attraction does look great.

Not been yet, but apparently the tip is to get there as soon as Universal gates open and go straight to HP. Other option is to stay at one of the Universal hotels for one night and you then get early entry privilege...

[Chris100]

Just be warned if you wait until you are there you will pay about 30% more than you would have pre booking the car hire. Also if it's a busy time of year even walking in off the street to hire a car cn be difficult, we choose to do this last year and we had to go to 5 places before we found a place with cars available and it was this terrible Chevy impala thing utter rubbish but it got us around.

[Chris100]

With regards to Harry potter in universal, the advice is correct to head past everything else and do the attractions in here first then do the rest of the park. No matter how empty universal looks you can be sure that the Harry potter attractions will be very busy, they were every time we have been.

[rogerxp]

Sounds like you're going to need some financial advice whilst out there - I'd better some along with you mate

[briers]

If you book on the day, there will be plenty of car rental desks don't forget to take your credit card as they normally hold $250 - $500 on the credit card as a deposit if you damage the car. Released on return of course.

[KadeSdad]

Originally Posted by briers

If you book on the day, there will be plenty of car rental desks don't forget to take your credit card as they normally hold $250 - $500 on the credit card as a deposit if you damage the car. Released on return of course.

No problem mate, we may well pre book for a few days in advance

[KadeSdad]

Originally Posted by rogerxp

Sounds like you're going to need some financial advice whilst out there - I'd better some along with you mate

Its bad enough now mate, will be off the scale after the two weeks no doubt we could do with a 'tag along sitter'

[rogerxp]

Originally Posted by KadeSdad

Its bad enough now mate, will be off the scale after the two weeks no doubt we could do with a 'tag along sitter'

I'll do anything for a couple of weeks in the sun mate .

[macck]

Hi have been to Orlando four times and still haven't seen half attractions on offer . Would defiantly recommend getting a hire car and take a trip to Daytona have a look at the museum etc and then go for a rip in a nas-car if the petty race experience is running.It's not all for the kids lol

[KadeSdad]

Originally Posted by macck

Hi have been to Orlando four times and still haven't seen half attractions on offer . Would defiantly recommend getting a hire car and take a trip to Daytona have a look at the museum etc and then go for a rip in a nas-car if the petty race experience is running.It's not all for the kids lol

Holy Shite, just looked and there are dates available at Daytona for the race experience, Indy 500 here I come

[Boz335i]

Visit one of the many gun ranges, some will only charge you for your ammo.
This is seriously good fun and will cost about £25 p.p. for an hour depending on how much ammo you use.
Don't forget to take your passport with you.

If you haven't done it before, start off with something like a Glock, then a 9mm then a .45 then maybe a .50 Desert Eagle.
Then go for an Uzi or some have WW2 machine guns like MP44 etc.



If you like water parks, then Blizzard Beach is excellent. Summit plummet is a great ride. These people are pussies, I got up to 65 mph

[KadeSdad]

Originally Posted by Boz335i

Visit one of the many gun ranges, some will only charge you for your ammo.
This is seriously good fun and will cost about £25 p.p. for an hour depending on how much ammo you use.
Don't forget to take your passport with you.

If you haven't done it before, start off with something like a Glock, then a 9mm then a .45 then maybe a .50 Desert Eagle.
Then go for an Uzi or some have WW2 machine guns like MP44 etc.

Now that does sound like a blast

Looks like we'll extending to three weeks at this rate , the wife has just seen that Nickleback are playing Orlando on the 5th May