Manc in London
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 6 Aug 2008
- Messages
- 8,169
Hi all,
Had some good feedback on here prior to a Gran Canaria trip so hoping that my brethren are able to offer some pears about Florida.
We are looking (me, wife and 3 kids) to go and the whole disney, universal joblot for three weeks. We are looking at November 2018 or around feb/ March 2019 for three weeks.
We have been quoted so far (based roughly on what you are able to price on this years prices) around £7500 for flights, hotel, care hire and tickets for all the parks we want) Thats before spending money, food etc.
Its a pricey destination I know, but I was wondering if anyone has any advice around bringing that price down.
We are open to staying in villas etc but it seems the price does not present significant savings.
Once we have established price etc we are going to invite family members (22 of us went to Gran Canaria, dont envisage that many).
Cheers
We are going for 17 days during the summer break. The costs are making my eyes water. A good place to check for flights is momondo.com.
Stay in a villa. We are paying £90 per night for a 4 bedroom villa, with swimming pool, games room, one shared bathroom and two ensuites. Friends will be staying with us for a while, so we will paying on average less than £60 per night. I'd rather not stay in the Disney hotels. They are manic, some look tatty and they are not good VFM, IMO.
Eat off site. Missus has booked us a Disney princess breakfast. Bloody £45 each for a breakfast that looks very basic.
We are going direct as we got a good deal with car hire included - £2700 for the three of us. There were some indirect flights, with no car, available for around £1600. I guess they will be cheaper in November. Be prepared to fly from London for better prices.
Look at flying into a different city. Sometimes, it can be cheaper flying into Tampa (about 1.5 hours from Disneyworld), Fort Lauderdale or Miami (about 3 to 4 hours away, I believe). If you are staying south of Disneyworld, Tampa is probably not that much further away than Orlando International. It apparently takes considerably less time to get through Immigration at Tampa than it does at Orlando International.
Don't book a package with Virgin. They are well over priced. I got a quote from them and then priced up the various elements separately. The package I priced up was well over £1000 less.
Check out the DIBB forum. Lots of good tips, details of discounts, links to vouchers and reviews of restaurants, hotels, car hire companies etc..
Another good source is mousesavers.com
Search for 'Alamo Brits' for car hire. You could save plenty on car hire by simply buying a travel book on ebay and presenting it at the Alamo car hire office at the airport.
Get a Landry Card. Free $25 during your birthday month. You can lie about your birthday. You and the missus both get one each = free $50.