Orlando trip - need help

Flights aren't necessarily cheapest when first released.

Hi

I've just booked Orlando for next Oct/Nov. Flights are out.

It is definitely overwhelming, at first :)

Join 'Orlando Tips For Irish' on Facebook, they are so helpful.

Also join Tour America, Magic Vacations, Cassidy Travel etc.. on Facebook. They have had Orlando deals for the last few weeks.

We're going to Universal. You can book the park tickets at any time before you leave. And you can book through a travel agent. A 14 day pass is cheaper than the shorter passes apparantly. I was quote about €1800 for 5 x 14 day Universal Park ticket. We may do a one day to Disney trip, but buy the ticket there.

I have booked a premium Orlando hotel for the first few days because it willgive us all free fast passes to skip queues for our stay whilst in the premium hotel. then we are off to a cheaper Universal hotel so we can avail of the free bus into Universal.

It is daunting at first but it will get easier :)

I agree with some earlier posters - We travelled last year with 2 x 17 year old's and they had zero interest in Disney. They were more interested in Universal and Sea World which is great for anyone seriously into Roller Coasters. We based ourselves in Universal Hotels at end of International Drive and opted for Universal Annual Passes -(make sure validity dates suit your travel time as there are block out dates on the seasonal pass) these worked out cheaper than 5 day passes at the time and come with additional discounts - we had a family suite on top floor which I would recommend - it had microwave, coffee maker and Fridge. With annual pass you can get discounted hotel rates 30 to 60 days out from your arrival date. We booked the rooms further out than that to be sure of getting them and then cancelled that booking and booked when the annual pass room rates came out. We bought Lynx bus tickets which were posted directly to us in advance and tickets for IRide so we had lots of options to get around. You can also travel by Uber which we did a few times. With annual passes you also get 10% off food in the Universal Hotels. Didn't bother with the Express passes in Universal this time (we were there before) but the 2x 17 year old's opted for single rider passes a lot of the time which were actually great and worked out better than Express passes. NASA is well worth a visit - we got to see a rocket launch which was amazing - we booked the entrance tickets on a deal earlier in the year and then booked coach transport which picks you up and drops you off at a couple of places in Orlando. We have been 3 times and have never booked transport, however if you are staying in a Villa this might not be practical and you will probably need a car if you are a bit out of the way.

I used a crowd called theparkprodigy.com for our tickets to universal. Good price and includes early park access. They responded quickly to any queries.

The park booking thing is gone as of the start of January and you can park hop between parks to your hearts content. Last time we went last year we booked the flights in Feb and they were the cheapest. Car rental was cheapest in June/July and we went through magicalvacationhomes.com for the villa.

Fast passes are a bit weirder. You use the app to book rides up to 60 days in advance, problem is other people will sweep them up quick. So i suggest you get a fast pass for each day. However they cost money per person per day. Think its like 15 dollars more, for the newer and most popular rides they charge even more.

Then theres virtual queues for those rides, where you dont queue but get a time slot and group number. Can be a little stressful but you can definitely kill time in the parks.

Would suggest attractiontickets.com for the tickets. They're normally the best price for both sets of parks.

They will probably send you an email telling you that you have been rerouted to Heathrow and you need to get a bus from Heathrow to Gatwick. Don't click "accept"! In these circumstances it's useful to do some research and find the option that suits you best and call them. Any options will have to be on BA or their close partners. You could ask for the direct Aer Lingus flight, but they may say no to that, so the next best options would be from Dublin on American, connecting in the US.

Things changed here yesterday. We might go end of October 😀

based near snn. Deal we see is snn-ewr-mco and return mco-yyl-lhr-snn. 2500€. For two adults 2 children. United must be finishing the snn route so cannot come back with them. I added car hire on expedia and shows as 3150 for medium suv. We kight do a villa for 7 days and visit friends in jacksonville and daytona for remainder. A shame direct flights not plentiful at this tjme

@McSween, have you looked at pulling your dates back by 2 weeks, may be able to do United in and out of SNN

The last leg of return is lhr to snn after arrival from canada, a near 3 hour wait. Id happily stay in premier inn the night but wife says might as well get home.

i dont really say any other brilliant flight options just yet

If you’re arriving late afternoon or evening into MCO / Universal hotel, you’d be better off $$$ going to one of the cheaper hotels for the first night, check in to the Deluxe early the following morning, no point paying the extra if the parks are closed when you arrive, your bodies will think it’s midnight anyway, you can check in after 7am next morning , leave your bags & hit the parks

we have stayed at the Hard Rock, returning in May 25, villa booked but doing two separate 1 night stays at HRH to avail of 4 days of express passes

Thanks so much for the advice. Got a mail from Aer Lingus saying the flight was cancelled and they said there would be a follow on email with options.

I rang customer support and they said my only option was to go to Heathrow then travel to Gatwick, told them that was not acceptable.

They then offered me Dub-->JFK-->MCO told them no

They tehn offered Dub-->Boston-->MCO Told them no

THey finally agreed to Dub-->MCO direct. going and coming back a day earlier

Thrilled with that outcome, i owe you a pint.

Got a townhouse in Regal oaks, its about 20km away from Universal so not too bad. 14 day 3 park hopper ticket also booked through attractionticketsdirect.com. last thing to do now is book car hire. Any recommendations, i am hearing some horror some horror stories with people being charged extra fees at the desk when they try get the car. Also are we better off getting excess insurance from the hire company or is the 3rd party excess insurance better?

The costs definitely stack up don't they!

The first link, we’ve used three times, found them very good, everything you need is included, no upsell at the counter, if you choose their Alamo option, you can skip the desk & go straight to the garage & choose your car & drive to the exit where they scan your barcode

This one is very popular on The Dibb with UK travellers & well reviewed, afaik it includes all your insurance etc

https://www.discountfloridacarhire.co.uk/

Have been there twice,used Alamo both times. No issue with them,no push to upgrade even though we got an upgrade the second trip. another family that traveled with us had huge issues with extra costs when they arrived but i cant remember what company that was.

What kind of prices are you getting & for what vehicle type?

I’d say what you’ve got there is a road legal (insurance wise) base rate, you’ll have to start adding on the daily insurance you require, the sales agent will get teary eyed with joy when you rock up & the fun, game & will begin, personally in the land of litigation I prefer to be well covered.

I didn’t know what vehicles you were interested in but screenshot these last night from the uscarhire link I posted earlier, all Alamo vehicles for 14 days in June & the insurance cover included in price

Just booked the car rental with Alamo, 820 Euro for a full size for 16 days. Thanks for all the help. Do i need to get a visitors toll pass? I will be driving from MCO to Regal Oaks (Kissimmee) and then to universal. Don't plan on doing much driving outside this. Might go to NASA one day. Is there many toll roads on those routes and if so can you pay by card/cash? Is a visitor toll pass really required?

Thanks Again