vicdad

We're going to Orlando for 14 nights just after Easter. 6 adults & 1 6yr old flying in from UK staying in a villa. The range of ticket options for theme parks seems pretty bewildering. We want some quite time, not too much, and some shopping time but want to see a good bit of Orlando's main attractions. We don't want to buy ticket options that we'll never get the value out of, could anybody please advise?

stumpworks73

Universal and Sea World both offer periodic discounts on tickets. Test their web sites for advance purchases. At Universal, you could do two days. Often their proptions include buy one day, get one free. Both offer discounts to AAA members (American Automobile Association). If you are a member of the U.K. equivalent, you should inquire. If you are using a U.K. travel agent for any part of your vacation, you should ask about their ticket prices and compare to the web sites.

Disney rarely has specials outside the published rates. The per day expense drops dramatically with each additional day you commit. Again, the web site will provide guidance. Disney's room, tickets, transportation and meals packages provide the best incentive to do everything at Disney. If you have already booked your villa, this is not an option. Be very wary of third parties offering Disney discounts, because often they are scams. Several web sites specialize in discussing best deals at Disney including www.disboards.com and www.allears.net.

Ryan

I assume you're going to spend time in Disney World?

The question becomes how much time. Figure, you need at least five days for Disney Parks alone. Two days at the Magic Kingdom, 1 day each at EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, and the Animal Kingdom.

Disney has a basic ticket price based on 1 park, per day that you use the ticket. If you want the ability to go to more than one park in a given day, that's called a Park Hopper option. You will pay extra for that.

Where it gets complicated is how they breakdown the price per day.

A one day ticket for an adult is $79. For a child it is $68.

But, if you buy a 5 day ticket, the cost per day for an adult drops to $45. For a child $39.

I would not buy anything less than a 5 day Disney ticket. A four day ticket for one adult and one child will cost $417 total. But, a 6 day ticket for an adult and child will be $429. Effectively, for an extra $12 you get two more days.

For Disney, get either a 5 or 6 day. Even if you don't use the 6th day, you're not really paying anything extra for it.

In terms of the other parks, there is something called an Orlando Flex Ticket. If you look on the Seaworld Website, it'll show the different options. That Orlando pass will give you access to the two Universal Parks, Seaworld, and two different water parks. Believe the adult cost is $260. Child is $240.

If you're there for 14 nights, the 6 day Disney ticket, plus the ability to spend 5 days at other parks should give you plenty of time to do other stuff.

nytraveler

Don't want to throw things off track - but are you sure you want to spend 14 days in orlando? that's a huge amount of time for a place with limited activities for a party that's mostly adults. I know you can do trips to the Space Center and east or west cost beaches - but it seems like overkill to me.

321go

Disney wants you to stay at their parks as long as possible (you'll spend your food and souvenir dollars there), hence the pricing structure for tickets that rewards you with a lower cost per day the more days you go. Ryan breaks it out very well and I agree with his advice.

This FAQ has good info on trying to figure out what type of ticket you'll need at Disney: http://allears.net/pl/ticket.htm

As stumpworks says, be sure to check Universal and SeaWorld websites for specials. 2 days for the price of 1 are not at all unusual.

vicdad

Thanks all, very much appreciated.

Rachel

I always tell people to check the website mousesavers.com. its everything disney and lots of tips for everything. the Space Center is really cool, about 1 hour east of Orlando, but also there is a fee involved. We went about 9 years ago and I think it was @ $30 per person then. You can count on it being more now.
You might also want to take a day trip to a beach also. I think the east coast is a little bit closer than the west. The west coast beaches have soft white sand and milder waves.
Winter Park is a lovely town outside of Orlando. Nice main street drag to stroll down-lots of shops, restaurants. there is a fabulous musuem of Tiffany glass and artwork. He was the son or grandson of the Tiffany jewelry fame. The 6 year old may not be thrilled, but the adults will enjoy it. We just went there in December and even my musuem hating husband admitted it was pretty cool. Kids (in their early 20s) were bored to tears.
You could also consider driving to Tampa-a little more than 1 hour away. Ybor city is the old part of town where the cigar industry used to be. Now, shops, clubs, restaurants, etc. Very lively and fun, even ok for a 6 year old. Or a side trip for some adults.

JillDavis

Check out Margaritaville at Citywalk! The kids love it too! The whole place shakes when the margarita mix goes down a volcano. (not kidding) Plus, a guy in stilts walks around and does balloons for the kids. There is live music. The food is good and the atmosphere too.l

brysake

We went to Orlando back in August 2009 (3 Adults and 3 kids ages 9,4,2). We went for 10 days(incl 2 for travel) and also stayed in a villa.
I hadn't been down there in almost 20 years and was quite overwhelmed at how much there was to see just at the Disney Parks. Since I had last gone 20 years earlier, Disney has added to and expanded their parks. We bought the 7 day tickets and broke it down to 2 days at the park, 1 day off to sleep late and enjoy our villa's pool,3 days at the park, another day off and 2 days back at the park. We also paid for the park hopper which we never used b/c the parks are pretty darn large that we were not be able to finish and run off to another park on the same day (we figured if our kids were older ie teens maybe we could have but not with 3 young kids like ours).
I agree with Ryan above, at least 5 days. Our 7 days pretty much allowed us to do almost every attraction/ride at a nice pace. It also allowed us time to enjoy reservations at restaurants with all the characters which my kids esp enjoyed. I had booked 1 character meal for each day, either a breakfast, lunch or dinner while we were at the parks. Those meals determined which park we visited on those days. With your group of mostly adults you could easily see Universal and SeaWorld with in the 14 days and have plenty of time to relax, shop or visit other places.

Greenhouse

Hi vicdad-

www.disboards.com has a UK Trip Planning Forum you might find helpful.

http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=47
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2418067