Florida Holidays

[Jags..class]

Hi, just wondering if we have anyone who been to florida, its it worth paying the extra to go with Virgin, is International Drive a good place to stay? taking 2 teenagers with me, would i be better taking then to Universal parks instead of the disney parks?

thanks

 

[Deloodid]

Virgin are a great airline for Florida, plenty of entertainment on them screens on the headrest,
International drive is great because everything is a quick bus ride away.

If you drive tho it doesnt matter.

there is 2 Universal parks and a frew Disney, and if u got the time Buish Gardens too. try go to them all

 

[Joao Moutinho]

The universal parks are good, but disney is amazing however old you are

As a teenager, I can vouch for this

 

[Deloodid]

i must say as well, 1 park will take 1 full day. also try go at a time when the kids aint off school, less queues, i find January 5th onwards is best.

 

[Jags..class]

Thanks for the replies, i'm going next summer, June 2013, will the american schoolkids be off then?

Will look at a combo pass to try and save mone

 

[Joao Moutinho]

Thanks for the replies, i'm going next summer, June 2013, will the american schoolkids be off then?

Will look at a combo pass to try and save mone

Probably, don't they get like ridiculously long summer breaks?

 

[Deloodid]

just keep looking online for good park deals, some say get 2 park tickets get a 3rd free. plus you will find good ticket deals over there too.

 

[Deloodid]

Probably, don't they get like ridiculously long summer breaks?

yeah 2 hour wait on some of the rides, and then 30 min wait on the fast passes. on a none school holiday u wait 5-20 mins in a normal queue, straight on with a fast pass.

 

[chicoazul]

Virgin are quite expensive mate but I've got a mate who works for them and they're trying to make inroads in the long haul tourism market so you might get a good package off them. British Airways, Thomas Cook & Thomson all flying into Orlando as far as I know too as I went there a couple of years ago.

I wasn't a huge fan of i-drive, plenty to do on it but it was a bit meffy in some parts, it's the main area though and better placed than say Kissimee. I done Orlando and Universal and for teenagers and adults I'd defo say Universal is better. There's two sides to it so you can do it over two days, it's superb like. The place is worth visiting of an evening time too as there's some nice themed restaurants and bars.

Car hire is cheap and so is the petrol (gas for the USAers) so I'd say to pick one up for a few days. You can drive over to Tampa in just over an hour and then further west to the Gulf of Mexico to St Petersberg and Clearwater which have some nice beaches. On the east of the peninsula there's the Kennedy Space Centre (Center for the USAers) which I enjoyed like.

There'll be lids who know loads more about this area than me so hopefully they can help fill you in on it. Enjoy like.

 

[Alphonse]

Younger kids would love Disney but we had a great time at universal. I drive is better for Universal, Kissamee better for Disney. We got a 4 park ticket Universal, wet and wild, Busch gardens and Sea World. Would go back tomorrow. The airline we went with was Direct Travel or Travel Direct or something like that. No idea if they are still going but was fantastic. Got upgrades to first class.

 

[Phyllis Stein]

Hi, just wondering if we have anyone who been to florida, its it worth paying the extra to go with Virgin, is International Drive a good place to stay? taking 2 teenagers with me, would i be better taking then to Universal parks instead of the disney parks?

thanks

Virgin - no idea.
International Drive - same.
Make sure you hire a car with air con.
Disney is a bit tame, though they do have a few awesome places to eat.
Do the water parks like blizzard beach and splash mountain as well as Universal studios. I expect you would all like a weekend in Miami as well.

 

[Deloodid]

Universal Studio, and Island of Adventure (Both next door to each other) (Both owned by Universal) is the best park. All the Disney parks have something worthwhile most Disney parks have a parade or firework show daily.

 

[pfim]

Probably, don't they get like ridiculously long summer breaks?

The school year usually ends between the first week of June and the middle of June, depending on what part of the country you live in.

If you're going in very early June you may be able to avoid some of it.

 

[Phyllis Stein]

From my experience it wasn't the school kids that were a nuisance.

 

[Jags..class]

Will just have to go when it packed, no choice.

Anyway just been looking at Discovery Cove, expensive but looks like it could be worth it.