* ~** ThemeParks megathread **~**

dcfc

Guys
Anyone know the best way to buy tickets for the theme parks or where to get them at a discounted price.

jack presley

dcfc wrote: »

Guys
Anyone know the best way to buy tickets for the theme parks or where to get them at a discounted price.

I just bought the Orlando Flex ticket from American holidays and it cost me €202 per adult. It gives you 14 days access to Universal Studios, Wet n Wild and the 2 Seaworld parks. It doesn't include Disney though.

Hopefully there;s not a cheaper way or I'll be very upset...!!!

ryaner777

Whatever ones you go for if your budget can stretch to it get the priority passes, it makes the time in the parks so much more enjoyable. If theres a group of you even get two or three between you and share them throughout the day. you'll get two groups through the priority queues and rides faster than a group in the normal queue.

Enjoy the holiday.

ryaner777

oh and I also bought mine from american holidays but that was two years ago and I went for the same ticket as we stayed across the road from sea world.

masterK

14 Day flex ticket is $242 (€175) here:
http://www.undercovertourist.com/orlando/attractions/tickets.html

slave1

I just bought tickets for our Easter break and after extensive web searches went with attractionticketsdirect, don't fall for cheaper 'vouchers' which are not real tickets as you need to queue up to exchange them for real tickets.

ncmc

Definitely don't buy from American Holidays or Tour America, in my experience, they are some of the dearest tickets around. As mentioned previously, www.undercovertourist.com are good, as are www.mapleleaftickets.com and www.tickemania.com. They are all official ticket sellers, so you won't get conned. There is really no such thing as cheap tickets, all the companies seem to be much the same price, if they are too cheap be wary!

Here's a tip, if you sign up to the monthly newsletter of the Disney discount website, www.mousesavers.com there is a link in that every month that offers discount for Undercovertourist (for all tickets, not just Disney) it's only a few dollars, but every little helps!

It comes on the 15th, so you might be too late for this month, but you would definitly get it next month.

Dr Nic

Bump.

Going for 3 nights in Easter with herself.
Staying very close to Bogatell beach

Looks like
Beach x3 mornings

Then...
Sagrada familia
Parc Guell
Casa Battlo
CosmoCaixa


Any recommendations for things to/eat at night?
We're not big drinkers
Thanks!

Dr Nic

Forgot - shopping too! Any advice?

Ciara471

Can anyone recommend a city in Europe with a theme park near it. There are 5 of us going over for maybe 4 days so we're looking to spend a day in a theme park and also be near a city with good nightlife and things to see and with a convenient airport and not too expensive. Not Port Aventura or EuroDisney either. Any recommendations?

Fr Tod Umptious

Ciara471 wrote: »

Can anyone recommend a city in Europe with a theme park near it. There are 5 of us going over for maybe 4 days so we're looking to spend a day in a theme park and also be near a city with good nightlife and things to see and with a convenient airport and not too expensive. Not Port Aventura or EuroDisney either. Any recommendations?

Sorry if this is way off what you are looking for but I will put it out there anyway, there may be others who are interested.

There is a fun fair in Luxembourg City called Schueberfouer that runs from mid August to early September.

It's huge and very good fun for a night out. It is also based walking distance from the centre of the city so you can have your night life afterwards if you want.
They do sell beer at the fair too and great local food.

Not sure who flies into Luxembourg airport but I got there by driving from Frankfurt Hahn, Luxembourg is about 2 hours away.

Ciara471

Thanks for the reply. It's more roller coasters and the like that we're looking for. Also should have mentioned we're going in October so it should be somewhere that's still open in October. Thanks though!

rossie1977

blackpool, still open in october, loads of rollercoasters and valhalla is probably best indoor water ride i have ever been on (and been to every major themepark on earth) great nightlife between central and north pier especially if ye are there friday-sunday and its cheap

if not there liseberg in gothenburg is open a few days in early october

snorrie

You could try Europa Park in Germany.
http://www.europapark.de/lang-en/Home/c51.html

It's just over two hours drive south of Frankfurt and it's open in October. Cities nearby are Strasbourg and Freiburg. Strasbourg has the French flair but feels German too. Freiburg is a university town in the middle of the Blackforest, so there's plenty to do and see around about.

Sorry, I just realised I recommended a theme park with cities near it. The OP asked for a city with a theme park nearby. I hope the info is useful nonetheless.

Jimmy Garlic

Tivoli in Copenhagen.

Pythia

Port Aventura is near Barcelona http://www.portaventura.co.uk/portaventura-map

DaleB91

Well lads, im off to Barcelona with the Fiancee and her parents for a 10 day holiday. My idea of holidays is sitting on a beach or pool side lapping up the sun with a nice cold beverage or two But herself is talking about the sites and theme parks and the things that are gonna take me away from my beach Anyone recommend anything that i might enjoy with her over there and still get to relax doing it? Ohh and i paid for my passport last Friday, whats the lenght people are waiting for it now a days? The one in the post office said 13 days max but i know few my friends waited over a month and i need it by the end of June

bubbaloo

This has been asked before (see link below)! Have a great time. It's a fantastic city!

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056023133

culsoh

You should have your passport by then.

Barcelona is a lovely city, so perhaps you should see some of the sites. Monseratt is lovely, Nou Camp Stadium is also good if you've an interest in football and Portaventura Theme Park is a great days fun!

cubaboy

Hello,

My wife, my one year old and myself are heading to Orlando in July and were looking for some advice on what to do. We've hired a car and plan to go to the Kennedy Space Center one day. Neither of us are particularly into roller coasters so is it worth paying the price of the admission to the theme parks?? Would Sea World be more appropriate for someone with a buggy??

thanks in advance for your suggestions,

cubaboy

rossie1977

seaworld is mostly water based shows that you sit and watch in large arenas so i would recommend that, there is only 2 coasters in the park and one water ride anyway, its an easy enough park to navigate too

most of the rides in islands of adventure/busch gardens would be too much for small children however the disney parks would be appropriate for this age group especially epcot and magic kingdom and the incredible themeing especially in magic kingdom will keep the younger kids happy

outside of that, maybe a trip to the beach, orlando is only about a hour west of beaches like cocoa beach, daytona beach and florida beaches are incredible and would be a shame to visit in july and not spend a day or two at the beach

screenshot

I think if you are making your way over to Orlando go to at least 1 park. I dont do roller coaster either but there is a lot to have a look at in the parks aside from the roller coasters, epcot and magic kingdom recommended. You should go to Universal city walk (no entry charge)one evening and check out the atmosphere. And as other said do at least one beach day!:)

cubaboy

Hi guys,

Thanks for your responses. We're spending the second week of our holiday in Clearwater so we'll get some beach time in as well. I suppose what I wanted to clear up was is it worth it to buy expensive tickets for a park that we won't really get the benefit from. From what you've said it seems Seaworld is a definite and maybe Magic Kingdom as well.

Do you know where is the best place on-line to buy tickets for these parks before you go, I hear this was the way to go since they would charge an arm and a leg when you get over there??

Thanks again for your advice.

rossie1977

its $72 per person for seaworld on their own site, that ticket allows you to visit the park for 7 days http://www.seaworld.com/Tickets/Visitors.aspx

one day ticket to magic kingdom is going to cost $85 for adults and $79 for children over the age of 3 http://tinyurl.com/6alw4ab you are probably not going to get the parks cheaper than that unless you do the flexi ticket

cheapest way to get park tickets is by doing a timeshare presentation, every hotel in orlando has one time share rep, you have to sit through 1.5-2hr of them trying to see you a condo but at the end you should be able to pick up single day ticket to seaworld/disney for about $40 per person

jack presley

rossie1977 wrote: »

cheapest way to get park tickets is by doing a timeshare presentation, every hotel in orlando has one time share rep, you have to sit through 1.5-2hr of them trying to see you a condo but at the end you should be able to pick up single day ticket to seaworld/disney for about $40 per person

Aaaaagghhh!!!!! Do not go to a timeshare presentation. They are torture and not worth the free ticket. I've never been to one in Orlando but have sat through one in Vegas and Hawaii and never again. They always go on longer than advertised. I probably don't help matters by trying to catch them out and asking stupid questions but basically you'll waste a half a day of your holiday unless you go to one very early in the morning and all to save $100 or so. Is it worth it? I don't think so.

lynchie

jack presley wrote: »

Aaaaagghhh!!!!! Do not go to a timeshare presentation. They are torture and not worth the free ticket. I've never been to one in Orlando but have sat through one in Vegas and Hawaii and never again. They always go on longer than advertised. I probably don't help matters by trying to catch them out and asking stupid questions but basically you'll waste a half a day of your holiday unless you go to one very early in the morning and all to save $100 or so. Is it worth it? I don't think so.

+1
I was asked to go to one in Orlando last year. For the sake of $100, I didn't fancy being picked up at 6:30am for a drive to some complex an hour outside Orlando. Your on holidays, you can do without the hassle!

sambora

This is a pretty good thread. Gonna revive it to see if there are any new reports from this year. I'm planning on visiting at the beginning of August.
Anyone have any really good / reasonable restaurants and bars recommendations?

xxtattyberxx

Ok so last night made a complete balls of things and booked shannon to london thinking this was the airport the oh told me to book, i was wrong so now looking at tryin to either change the flights or just book new ones.

My question here is where have people flown to and how did they make there way to alton towers. Im hoping to avoid renting a car and take public transport.
Am hoping to fly from knock/shannon / galway but which airport would ye sugges flying to.
Also any feedback on hotels close to alton towers would be much appreciated

thanks in advance

**Timbuk2**

As far as I know, the nearest airport to Alton Towers is East Midlands Airport. I'm not sure how'd you get to Alton Towers from the airport though - I read somewhere you have to get a bus into Alton and then another bus to Alton Towers. Renting a car seems to be the easiest way.

If you don't book new flights, you can still get from London to Alton Towers by train. The nearest stations to Alton Towers are (I think) Uttoxeter and Stoke-on-Trent. You can't go direct from London to Uttoxeter but you can go direct (via virgin trains: www.virgintrains.co.uk ) to Stoke-on-Trent, which leave from London Euston.

Another option to consider is, seeing as you are going to London, Thorpe Park ( www.thorpepark.co.uk ). It's located shortly outside of London, about 30-40 minutes by train (nearest station is Staines and trains leave from London Waterloo: see www.southwesttrains.co.uk for details!). There's a Shuttle Bus between Staines and Thorpe Park.

Or if you are going with really young children, maybe Legoland Windsor (near London) would be another option. You can go to Windsor and Eton Central station from Paddington (by changing at Slough: see http://www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk/ ) or you can go to Windsor and Eton Riverside station from Waterloo (direct: see www.southwesttrains.co.uk )

Hasmunch

I went in a gang of about 10, we flew into Liverpool and hired rental cars.
The cost was divided by 5 so it wasnt too bad but we also got a weekend out in liverpool.

Was a great weekend but there is probably cheaper ways to do it. As Timbuk2 said i think east midlans airport is the closest to alton