Advice for a newbie please??

[CarolineUK]

Hi guys

I' m new here so I hope you don't mind me dropping in! These forums are great and I'm delighted I found them.:wave:

I am planning a trip from Essex, the UK to Disneyworld Florida and I would really appreciate your advice. Its so expensive going from the UK I want to make sure I get it right and don't mess up (we have been saving for this for ages!)

I am thinking of going with Travel city direct or Thompson. I have got quotes from loads of other places and it looks like I can get the best deal there. The thing is I'm a bit concerned about my 4 year old daughter as it is such a long flight, I was wondering would it be better for her if we fly with British Airways, even though they are a couple of hundred pounds more expensive?:veryconfu
I was also thinking of booking a BA flight and then booking the hotels myself, but it doesn't seem to work out any cheaper? We hope to go any time in May, and would love to stay at the Pop Resort hotel or any of the All Stars resorts.
And then theres the tickets...I am thinking of buying the ultimate 14 day tickets available to people in the UK. What do you think? I bought the book "a brits guide to Orlando" but I would really appreciate your advice.

Thanks so much:kiss:
Caroline

 

[The cat]

As its your first time I would consider going with a company who know what they are doing - Virgin would be my choice as we've had better experiences with them than BA. Booking flights and hotels separately can work out cheaper, but first time around go there its probably best to go with a company who have reps to take care of you (as soon as you land in the USA), and your questions and point you to savings and local tips/advice. When you go again (and you will!), you'll have some local knowledge to help you plan an independent itinerary. Also Virgin (and BA), will get you into Orlando Airport, - Thomson will get you into Sanford, - a hell of a lot further away. The All Star resorts are great. We took our four children to them when they were younger (8 - 14), and we all had lots of fun. As for the passes, it is possible to phone Disney direct from the UK and get exactly what suits you. If you go with Virgin you will get 'length of stay' passes anyway, which are great.

 

[TheBouff]

Hi

good to see another brit going in may. We have always used travel city in the past and now they fly direct they are even better.

However this year as we are going for 20 days not 21 we have had to book everything ourselves individually.

even tho we are going for almost three weeks we are only considering the 7 day premium ticket. give you 14 days to go to MK, EC, AK and MGM up to 7 times and 5 visits to any of the following. BB, TL, PI Work of sports and DQ.

we are planning on doing the whole universal & seaworld thing as well so did not want to tie ourselves to down to just disney

think we are going to buy our tickets online. the cheapist place by far we have found is

http://www.themepark-tickets.com

hope that helps

 

[CarolineUK]

Thanks for answering so quickly. You have both given me some good advice. Its a good point about the tickets too, as perhaps I would be better off with the 7 day premium as I hope to do the other parks too. That website was great you gave me, they are the cheapest tickets I have seen!

I have also heard Virgin are very good, but they are also the most expensive quote I have got so far (£2,600!) BA quoted me £2,500 but that was including tickets, unlike Virgin. The cheapest quote I got so far was from Thompson for £1,800 (no tickets tho) . I am still leaning towards BA , but will wait and see

I will keep reading the posts here, thanks for everything!

Caroline

 

[NeedABreak]

:lookaroun (the only "yank" [I beleave thats the term] to post here)

As far as your resort goes, we staid at pop century and loved it. Talked to a few people about the all-star resorts and they said they had a little trouble with the busses. According to them the busses were picking up from all the all-sar resorts so they were always full and took longer.

But remember this is a disney trip, not to much can ruin it! HAVE FUN :sohappy: :sohappy: :sohappy:

 

[wannabeBelle]

:lookaroun (the only "yank" [I beleave thats the term] to post here)

As far as your resort goes, we staid at pop century and loved it. Talked to a few people about the all-star resorts and they said they had a little trouble with the busses. According to them the busses were picking up from all the all-sar resorts so they were always full and took longer.

But remember this is a disney trip, not to much can ruin it! HAVE FUN :sohappy: :sohappy: :sohappy:

I cant think that the busses from Pop were picking up at the All Stars as well as it is on the other side of the property!!!!!!!! It would have been more likely to go to the Carribean Beach ( which is right around the corner!!) but as of the last time I stayed there and everything I know, Pop is the only one of the Value level that has dedicated bus service to itself!!! The All Stars CAN share busses but Pop doesnt share with anyone that I am aware of!!!!!!!!
Belle

 

[ClemsonTigger]

I'm glad you've gotten suggestions from friends from your side of the pond as we don't have that work to do here.

One thought for you however is your resort choice. All resorts have interesting themeing, and as has been said, Pop has a dedicated bus service which makes it a bit more efficient than All Star. It will cost a little more, but consider one of the moderate resorts. The increase in theming and the feeling that you are in a very different place rather than just a nice hotel is very special.

After you make your travel arrangements, come back to us for some suggestions for your time once you get there.

Welcome!

 

[barnum42]

On my last couple of trips I got great prices from http://www.holidayclick.co.uk/

However they were separate deals, so no holiday rep.

As far as BA goes, they will not be any better than the charters. You may get a little more leg room, but I think that's it.

Sanford airport is farther away then Orlando, but you will get through customs, imigration and luggage claim a lot quicker, so it all works out time wise in the end.

 

[Pippa]

I would put in another vote for Virgin, they give the children a rucksack with toys and the like to keep them occupied. Where did you get your quote from? If you do it online on their own website you get 5% off. Also you could book the Universal & Seaworld tickets on their respective websites as it works out well for us Brits at the moment, what with the good exchange rate.

I know how you feel, the first trip to WDW feels like planning a military operation! :lol:

 

[shoppingnut]

I've stayed at Pop twice now and liked it much better than All Stars. Pop is newer and I think some of the All Stars rooms are in need of a rehab. Since your daughter is only four, I wouldn't worry so much about being in the parks every day since you are going for 14 days, and you all might need a day of just relaxing by the pool to catch your breath and there are many thinks to do in the hotels, marketplace, etc. that you could make a day out of that. Sea World is really neat and she will probably love it. Universal and IOA there are many thrill rides there with height restrictions, you might want to check out the thread to help decide how many days to go there: http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=50089&highlight=universal

May is a great time to go, the lines aren't usually too long, Epcot has the Flower & Garden Festival going on and in the American Garden's theatre there are live bands playing there several times a day. We have seem the B__________ghams, Peter Noone and a few others. The 50th celebration kicks off on May 5 and I'm sure the parks will be crowded around that date, as well as on Memorial Day (May 30) weekend.

Also travelling with a 4yr. old, be sure to pack activities for the flight, coloring books and crayons and snacks from home, since they might not like what's offered on the flight.

 

[Dwarful]

We have stayed at each of the All Stars and at Pop. For little ones Movies is a cute theme, but Pop has a great kiddie pool and water splash area. Pop gives you the little shampoo's that my kids like to keep for home use (bring your own shampoo and toss the resort mini's in your bag daily). When we were at Pop in June they had limited number of surrey carts for rental as well, which was fun by the lake.

The buses at each were fine. I know in Dec. we were at Sports and during mid day the 3 all star resorts shared the buses ..ie. Epcot bus stopped at all 3 allstars, but early and at closing they all had their own buses running. The 3 all stars are so close together that it was only a delay of about 5 minutes tops. and once the bus was full it didn't stop at the next resort.

For your length of stay you will probably benefit from buying the resort mugs as well for about $10-$15 you buy a plastic mug in the food court, then you can get your drinks refilled for the length of stay at the RESORT only NOT in the parks. But still it does save money.

 

[CarolineUK]

:wave: Hi everyone, thanks again for all the help and information! I am so looking forward to this trip, and being able to come here for independent advice is great. To be honest I can't afford to upgrade my hotel (it was a stretch being able to afford to stay in the resort), but I think we will be quite happy with Pop Century.

I have been to America once before, to Las Vegas, and it was just amazing. The people, the place and the food...:slurp: :slurp: :slurp:

Looking forward to chatting again:sohappy:

Caroline

 

[barnum42]

Looking forward to chatting again:sohappy:

Stick around, it's fun in here. I forgot to mention a great site for getting independent planning info, not so much on package deals from the UK, but what to do when you get there :

http://allearsnet.com/