I'm going to Disney World... Some Questions Please! :-)

[djmatthews]

I’m going to Disney World!

After toying with the idea of Paris, California – we have decided that this year we will go to Orlando! Part of me didn’t want to go, why, well, there is so much construction going on, I wanted to wait. Then I thought, well after this lot has been built, there could be loads more stuff happening.

Some questions now, any help would be appreciated.
We are flying Gatwick – Dallas – Orlando Int. with American Airlines. Has anyone flown with them? What are they like?

We are staying for 10 nights from Monday April 11th – Wednesday 21st April. We are staying at the Howard Johnson Plaza Resort Universal; does anybody have any experience with this hotel?

Now……. Crowds, what am I expecting? I think we’ll have a 5 Day Hopper + 2, and 2 days at Universal. Should we do Universal before Disney? I want to hold out for MK for the 2nd week as I think the crowds will have died off a bit, I know it can be busy. EPCOT, I want to go when the flower festival is on…. Well I may as well. I will try and plan well and avoid early entry days etc.

We are planning to use Maple Leaf tickets, I have read good comments!

What’s the weather going to be like?

As you can imagine, I’m now very excited, and was jumping around when we booked it last night, this is the first time booking a full holiday on the Internet, the experience and the price was good – we’ll just see how smoothly it goes!

Any help, ideas, tips and suggestions would be great!

Many Thanks

DJ

 

[Yellow Shoes]

Originally posted by djmatthews


Some questions now, any help would be appreciated.
We are flying Gatwick – Dallas – Orlando Int. with American Airlines. Has anyone flown with them? What are they like?

You might look at seatguru.com They have airplane layouts and give you an idea of what seats to avoid. You'll need to know what kind of plane you are flying.

Also try airlinemeals.net for an idea of what you'll be eating. Remember that US airlines have given up on providing meals. If you have time in Dallas, get food to take on board.


My gut feeling is that the WDW crowds will thin out after Easter (April 11)--quite a few school districts take off the week before.

Originally posted by djmatthews

What’s the weather going to be like?

Got weather.com or orlandosentinel.com (the local newspaper). They should be able to give you an extended forecast. That time of year should be warm, but rain can be a daily thing. It's Florida, and it will be humid.

 

[cloudboy]

American is more of a business airline than many other american airlines (that sounds weird). Anyway, you should find them decent enough. Just be absolutely sure to check where your gates are before you land in Dallas in the back of the inflight magazine - they often connect you through totally different terminals.

Never stayed at the Howard Johnson. I think that is a ways away from Disney, so I would definitely think about a car.

 

[Yellow Shoes]

..and let me apologize in advance that the car you rent will have the steering wheel on the wrong side.

...and it's the LEFT turns that cross a lane of traffic. You can make a right turn on a red light after you come to a complete stop.

 

[Nansafan]

Just a note on the date question. Although many schools take spring break before Easter, the Catholic schools in Chicago don't have spring break. We have Easter Vacation meaning Good Friday through the whole week after Easter. I'm pretty sure all the weeks during the spring break season are pretty crowded.

 

[Worldphile]

Originally posted by djmatthews


Some questions now, any help would be appreciated.
We are flying Gatwick – Dallas – Orlando Int. with American Airlines. Has anyone flown with them? What are they like?

It has been several years since I have flown American internationally. However, I have flown American several times domestically recently. American is a pretty good airline. It is definitely not a budget airline, and you should have pretty good service. On their domestic planes, American went through a few years ago and added several inches of legroom between the seates in coach. Not sure if they did the same on the international planes.

I never really have a big problem with jet lag when I fly west (as you'll be doing to get to the States). But in case you do, the best thing to do is to stay up as late as you can the first day and try to go to bed with the locals. If you nap after you land, it will take longer to get over the jet lag.

Also, please be careful of the sun. Even in April in Florida it will be stronger than you think (or are used to.) So, buy waterproof sunblock, at least SPF 30, and apply it liberally and often. I can't tell you how many sunburnt Europeans I see running around the pools and water parks. A bad sunburn will ruin a good vacation.

But enough negativity from me. Have a great time, and enjoy your trip. I'm sure no matter what you do, it will be magical.

P.S. As for driving, when we were in Ireland and England, I found that I could drive OK as long as my wife navigated. As soon as I tried to drive and look for road signs, or shops, etc. my habits/reflexes took over on the driving thing and I ended up on the "wrong" side of the road after turning. So focus on driving, and have a navigator watch everything else.

Good luck!

 

[Little Mermaid]

Your subject line brought back fond memories of my first WDW vacation planning video and the catchy theme song that got stuck in your head for weeks. "I'm goin' to Disney World, I'm goin' to Disney World!"

Random thought, sorry! :lol:

As for the weather, it can be unpredictable this time of year. Most of the times I have been to Orlando during April, I've been able to wear shorts and t-shirts. However, there is occasionally the odd year where you need jackets and pants. My advice is to pack a light jacket and at least one pair of jeans just in case--I was there last week, and that's all the warm clothing I had; fortunately, the weather was beautiful and warm (highs in the 80's most days). And good tip about the sunblock...being the carefree co-ed that I am, I chose to sunbathe during my Spring Break and got a light sunburn in 20 minutes. I'm a redhead though, so it means I have a lovely little tan now.

I hope you enjoy your trip! I'm very envious of you!

 

[TravisMT81]

who are you going with and do you plan on going out to PI, PHouse, Firestone???

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

Weather should be quite warm - certainly hotter than the UK - we've been April in the past and only really suffered from one or two overcast days.
Crowds - you've chosen to go at Easter - it will be busy, but not unbearable
What sort of waiting time are you expecting between flights in Dallas ?

 

[djmatthews]

Originally posted by CAPTAIN HOOK
Weather should be quite warm - certainly hotter than the UK - we've been April in the past and only really suffered from one or two overcast days.
Crowds - you've chosen to go at Easter - it will be busy, but not unbearable
What sort of waiting time are you expecting between flights in Dallas ?

On both journeys the time between landing and taking off again is about 2 hours 15. I figure by the time we disembark, clear customs, get to the next gate etc it will nearly be time to hop onto the other aircraft.

Flying direct proved to be too expensive. The Virgin flight alone was nearly as much as we paid for the whole holiday (flight, car, hotel, insurance & tax).

What kind of wait times are we looking at. We plan to go to the MK towards the end of our holiday.

 

[disneydummy125]

I'm not sure how long the wait times will be since I have never visited in April, but I live in Florida and I know that during the Spring months there tend to be sudden showers. You can use this to your advantage by staying in the park while everybody leaves. The showers are usually short and by the time they are over the park will be almost empty.

 

[dixiegirl]

in my opinion you should have booked a resort in disney world , probably for the price you paid to stay out of the park you could have stayed at one of the value resorts for a cheaper price and you can include your transportion in that price too, by being able to use their bus, monarail or boat transportion........whenever i hear of someone staying out of the park i always ask why.i tried it once and never ever again...... but thats just my opinion.

 

[barnum42]

The strange thing I have found with American airline companies is that the cabin crew are by and large poor compared to the British airlines.

This is strange because in nearly all aspects of service Americans on average are superior, but for some reason the cabin crew on American planes seem somewhat apathetic in comparison. Not bad, just not on par with what we expect having seen other service industries.

I've not stayed at your hotel, but it's about twenty or so minutes drive from Disney World, so no great shakes there.

A good site for planning tips is All Ears.net

Have fun and tell them I'm on my way - I arrive two days after you depart

 

[In Wonderland]

Wear your sunglasses and/or caps as well as sunblock, even if you have cooler days the sun can be brutal.

I think your idea to save MK for later in your trip is good, if you can hold off. My crew would want to go right away!!

Don't know what your American flight overseas will by like, but you should be comfortable from DFW to Orlando.

Good luck on your trip. Have fun!!

(It looks like you are a park veteran. ) :animwink:

 

[djmatthews]

Originally posted by dixiegirl
in my opinion you should have booked a resort in disney world , probably for the price you paid to stay out of the park you could have stayed at one of the value resorts for a cheaper price and you can include your transportion in that price too, by being able to use their bus, monarail or boat transportion........whenever i hear of someone staying out of the park i always ask why.i tried it once and never ever again...... but thats just my opinion.

I did look into it staying at the All Stars or Pop Century, and it was considerably more with or without a car etc. I’ll go back one day and stay on site!

Originally posted by In Wonderland
Wear your sunglasses and/or caps as well as sunblock, even if you have cooler days the sun can be brutal.

I think your idea to save MK for later in your trip is good, if you can hold off. My crew would want to go right away!!

Don't know what your American flight overseas will by like, but you should be comfortable from DFW to Orlando.

Good luck on your trip. Have fun!!

(It looks like you are a park veteran. ) :animwink:

My last Disney adventure was to Disneyland Paris. So the other parks are more of a novelty. We have decided that MK can wait. Although in the second part of the trip, SpectroMagic is only available certain nights.

Thanks for all your help guys! Keep it coming! Everyone here is so great!

 

[barnum42]

Nothing wrong with off-site

DJ, I've read posts on past threads where a lot of people seem to imply you will not have a good holiday if you don’t stay onsite.

I’ve been to Disney World eleven times (number twelve is right on your heels), I have never stayed onsite and I have never felt like I missed out.

I guess we in the UK must get better discounts on off-site hotels because the price difference can be HUGE! I’ve booked flights and a Kissimme hotel for almost one-third the price of the same setup staying at a value resort. As the American expression goes – “do the math”.

So, I could have stayed one week onsite this year, instead for the same money I will have gone twice and stayed a total of four weeks. Woo Hoo!

Just because you do not stay onsite does not mean you can’t visit the hotels or eat in their restaurants, you can and I have.

As I have said in a past thread – if you have enough spare cash to afford onsite accommodation, then enjoy it in good health. For the rest of us we can still have a great time staying offsite. Any hotel room looks the same when you are asleep. :animwink:

 

[djmatthews]

Re: Nothing wrong with off-site

Originally posted by barnum42
DJ, I've read posts on past threads where a lot of people seem to imply you will not have a good holiday if you don’t stay onsite.

I’ve been to Disney World eleven times (number twelve is right on your heels), I have never stayed onsite and I have never felt like I missed out.

I guess we in the UK must get better discounts on off-site hotels because the price difference can be HUGE! I’ve booked flights and a Kissimme hotel for almost one-third the price of the same setup staying at a value resort. As the American expression goes – “do the math”.

So, I could have stayed one week onsite this year, instead for the same money I will have gone twice and stayed a total of four weeks. Woo Hoo!

Just because you do not stay onsite does not mean you can’t visit the hotels or eat in their restaurants, you can and I have.

As I have said in a past thread – if you have enough spare cash to afford onsite accommodation, then enjoy it in good health. For the rest of us we can still have a great time staying offsite. Any hotel room looks the same when you are asleep. :animwink:

I do have to agree, if I had the money I would love to stay onsite, and I'm sure everyone would if they could. However, for us Brits we have to pay more for a flight, more for car hire (well, all the tax and insurance), then the hotel. Becuase we travel so far we stay longer, therefore spend more on park passes, food etc.

My next trip for:
10 Nights in the Howard Johnson 3* Plaza Resort Universal
10 Nights Car Hire + tax, LDW, insurance, collision waiver etc
Gatwick - Orlando flights with AA
Travel Insurace
£535 each
£189 (For 5 Day World Hopper + 2 and a 3 day Universal)
£724 Each for the whole holiday.

This figure would be considerably more staying onsite. At the end of the day, as long as the room is clean and the beds are comfortable - we'll be fine! Of course there is food, petrol and spending money to add to this, but I have figured that a Burger, Fries and a Drink in a WDW fast food outlet, is about the same price as Burger King in the UK!

 

[barnum42]

Re: Re: Nothing wrong with off-site

Originally posted by djmatthews
Of course there is food, petrol and spending money to add to this, but I have figured that a Burger, Fries and a Drink in a WDW fast food outlet, is about the same price as Burger King in the UK!

Petrol is dirt cheap compared to UK - not far off the same cost for their gallon as our litre.
There are lots of things better than burgers to eat in the parks - check out the dining guide on the All Ears site link I posted earlier :slurp:

 

[MKCP 1985]

I believe your hotel is one of two green rectangles visible from the I-4 highway, that were the first "Universal Studios" hotels to open. If I am correct, they should be a short jaunt from the Universal parks, but a solid 15 minute haul to Disney property, then a few more minutes to the Magic Kingdom TTC. Not bad, really.

I can't comment on the rooms, but there are various websites where you should be able to get ratings of the resort (2 stars, 3 stars, etc - if it ranks at 3 stars or better, you should feel good about your stay. If less than 3 stars, find out why before you stay there.

Good luck - it sounds like you will be there when the crowds have slacked off a bit - good timing! If the park is scheduled to close early and there is no parade, expect a lighter crowd and shorter wait times for attractions!

 

[MKCP 1985]

Originally posted by MKCP 1986
I believe your hotel is one of two green rectangles visible from the I-4 highway, that were the first "Universal Studios" hotels to open.

Whoops, I am mistaken: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Re...Resort_Universal_Gateway-Orlando_Florida.html