Florida - Most cost effective way to visit..

We traveled on brand new Boeings
Looks like, for long-haul flights, Thomas Cook have 11 Airbus 330s (aka AirTanker) and 18 Boeing 767s within the "Condor" fleet, whatever that is. Obviously some sharing going on. I was distinctly unimpressed with the 330 and its removable seat. Then again Virgin transatlantic planes looked tired when I last travelled on them and as you say can be expensive.
 
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
When I went first time in 2007, I planned a meticulous schedule right down to which rides we wanted to go on at each park, and in which order. We were 2x adults and 2x U12s (remember 12 and over is an adult for park tickets in some places). Had a spreadsheet and tracked all the costs at the end, which for 3 weeks over Xmas came to £7500 incl spending money. (This was just after the financial crash and we got lucky in that we had paid in advance for most things at nearly $2 a £1, but it was $1.35 when we got there). That was 10 days on site at Disney with a 7 day park ticket, and 11 days at a Hampton Inn near Universal. Had a car for the first 14 days, but used the free hotel transport to Universal and Sea World. We bought meals at Walmart and warmed them up in the room's microwave, and had a few more expensive meals as treats (such as Hard Rock on Xmas Day). This was better than buying the same budget meal every day in our opinion. Also because it was cooler, we could stay in the parks from opening to closing, and took sandwiches for lunch and bought a meal at the park for tea, or, when at Disney, used the free buses or boats and resort canteens which were good value. The dining plans didn't look that good as the food outlets allowed were pretty much the mediocre ones and very similar fare.

Taking the car back after 14 days was a bit of a hassle as had to wait 2 hours for the promised transport back to the hotel so I wouldn't do that again. If you're going to try to do things as cheap as possible, make sure you at least throw in some luxury otherwise it ain't worth all the palaver.

Last time we went, an accident payout funded most of it so we went a bit more luxury and blew well over £11k in two weeks :)

As much as I like the place, and would go again, I don't understand why people go there every year or even more.
 
For me I could only realistically go in August. Priced it up for 2 adults and two kids and you are looking at £10k for flights accommodation and park tickets.
We went last year in July for 1 week after the GCSE's, 2 adults a 16 year old. Went with Thomson, dreamliner with extra leg room, off park condo with breakfast included, car etc - £2.5k. Universal 2 park seven day ticket £450, Space center £130, Visa & insurance £130. Then just spending money etc. Made sandwiches for during the day and ate out at night.
 
We're gonna try and house swap soon, maybe you could get some Floridians to swap with you, cars can be included
 
Get yourself a pile of human sized cardboard boxes and post yourselves directly to Disneyland (obviously don't use Parcel Farce). When you're done just get back in the boxes you came in with "Return to Sender" on the label - Free ride home. I've seen it done in the movies. I'm sure it will work out just fine.
 
£7500 sounds quite a lot for 3 people but it wouldn't surprise me.

For next month we have paid £300 each for direct flights with Thomas Cook, hotel was £950 and we have got an SUV from Alamo for £150 all for two weeks. Obviously no tickets or spending money though but a 2 week Disney ticket is ~£350 ish each and Universal a bit less, we don't take much spending money because we just eat locally and it's pretty cheap over there. I'd stay away from the Disney hotels because they are massively overpriced, they do have dining plans though which include your food but only in the parks and at your hotel.

A villa can be similarly priced to hotels but you have to remember every single hotel in the area levies a resort fee (usually £15-20 per room per night) and you might have to pay for parking too. Depending on where you go villas will not charge this or it will be significantly reduced and parking will obviously be free.

If you fancy a villa, price up CLC Encantada. We stayed there two years ago and it was fantastic, private pool, 3 rooms. The resort also has a clubhouse with bar, big pool etc, really nice. It's out a bit (10 mins drive to Disney, about half an hour to Universal) but miles better value. If you need more than 1 room villas make a lot more sense because you pay per villa not per room.

Other than that it just depends on what you find, if you want to stay on Disney property stay in a non-Disney Buena Vista hotel as they will be cheaper, International Drive is even cheaper but it isn't a great area for the kids compared to being in the thick of it at Disney. Most if not all of the bigger hotels in the area have shuttles that go to the parks so you might be able to get away with not having a car but personally I think it makes everything a lot easier as you can't exactly walk anywhere.

If you are looking for the wow factor and all of that I would stay in a Disney hotel and pay the money, it is one of those things that will cost you but in the end will be worth it.

As someone mentioned on here the thedibb.co.uk forum is a good one for deals and tips, there are thousands of sites out there though with advice.
 
If you are looking to stay in a hotel I'd recommend one that offers the kitchen facilities. Work put us up in the Extended Stay Deluxe for 5 weeks in 2007. Saved a bundle on food.

Also, Spring Break could come into play if you go in March.
 

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