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[Travel] Florida Villas, park tickets etc etc...



Beach Hut

Beach Hut

Brighton Bhuna Boy
Jul 5, 2003
71,971
Living In a Box
casbom said:
Hmmm, I was hoping 2k for food to feed 5 would be enough! Sounds like it won't be :(
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Unfortunately the exchange rate is very bad, it was $2 to the £1 when we first went in 2008 so everything is a lot more than previously.

However it also depends where you eat - we just went to normally Dennys, Crackerbarrel, Bob Evans or Perkins
 






Albion my Albion

Albion my Albion

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Feb 6, 2016
17,895
Indiana, USA
Beach Hut said:
Unfortunately the exchange rate is very bad, it was $2 to the £1 when we first went in 2008 so everything is a lot more than previously.

However it also depends where you eat - we just went to normally Dennys, Crackerbarrel, Bob Evans or Perkins
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I think they have every one of those in Illinois also.
 




C

Cheggers

Active member
Jul 28, 2011
217
Bang! And the dirt is gone.
Not sure if mentioned, but a couple of nice things to do with the kids and relatively cheap, if you have a hire car, are an airboat ride on one of the lakes/Everglades - wild alligators etc., and kayaking at Indian River Lagoon - manatees and dolphins etc. swimming around you. Better than the parks imo.
 




Hornblower

Hornblower

Well-known member
Jul 7, 2003
1,707
As a 20 year veteran of the parks I would say that most things have been covered here. However, if you stay in any of the resort hotels be aware that there is no such thing as a convenience store on site. That means that when you want to eat lunch you will be fleeced by the restaurants and there is no option to just buy some rolls and a can of tuna to knock up a cheap and easy lunch. We tend to get an uber out to the nearest Walmart and stock up on stuff that we can use to make lunch. Same is true of breakfast in the resort hotels. it's not hard to spend £20 each on breakfast if you're not careful. In the case of the local Walmart, they tend to have a Mickey D's attached so the egg Mcmuffin breakfast deal is always a winner.

Finally, if you like to fish, take some light spinning gear and look for the nearest fishing hole. Many of the hotels are situated next to what look like fairly uninteresting ponds and run-offs. Trust me, they all hold fish and large mouth bass and mudfish are there in abundance and are great sport.
 


Weststander

Weststander

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Aug 25, 2011
64,000
Withdean area
Beach Hut said:
Unfortunately the exchange rate is very bad, it was $2 to the £1 when we first went in 2008 so everything is a lot more than previously.

However it also depends where you eat - we just went to normally Dennys, Crackerbarrel, Bob Evans or Perkins
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We went to some of the Denny's in Orlando and near Cape Kennedy in December 2016 for main meals .... always a hit with the kids and big quantities. When the exchange rate was 1.22, a typical bill for four including a 15% tip, came out at $65.

Meals at Tony Roma's (International Drive) and Cheesecake (Mall at Millennia) were around the $105 mark.


It's easy to spend $75 to $100 (for 4) on unhealthy crap in a long day at Disney or Universal.


.
 


M

mwrpoole

Well-known member
Sep 10, 2010
1,506
Sevenoaks
Bozza said:
Universal Express passes are available to everyone. They can be pricy though and I'm not sure you'll need one at that time of year unless your stay coincides with a US holiday.

That said, we never go to Universal without staying at one of Royal Pacific, Hard Rock or Portofino Bay as staying at these hotels gives you unlimited Express Pass for the parks and, unlike the Express Pass you buy, which is limited to one go per attraction, it is unlimited.

My guess is you're probably staying at Endless Summer, Aventura, Cabana Bay or Sapphire Falls. Regardless it may be worth considering booking a single night stay in one of the hotels I mention above, even if it means you have two rooms booked for one night, in order to get two days (check-in and check-out) days of unlimited Express passes. Just pack an overnight bag and think of it as a holiday within a holiday!

Alternatively, if you're staying for 10 nights and will have a ticket for the length of your stay, I think you'll do just fine dipping in and out of the parks over the course of several days. Always make park opening, do a few rides, head back to your hotel to chill and then return for the last hour or two when wait times will be shorter again.
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Thanks.

We are staying at Sapphire Falls. Did look at the other 3 but were £2.5k more & couldn’t really justify that. I have also read that the hotel passes only work at 2 parks not the water park, although not sure if needed for water park.

We do intend to dip in & out. We also have the one hour early opening time from staying at hotel.

There is a website which predicts crowds at the parks & it’s saying very busy for our 10 days so perhaps it is US holiday time.
 




M

mwrpoole

Well-known member
Sep 10, 2010
1,506
Sevenoaks
Kinky Gerbils said:
Fast passes are great, well worth the money.

Which hotel are you staying in at Universal? some include them - depending on numbers and cost it works out better upgrading the hotel than buying fast passes sometimes.
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We’re staying at Sapphire Falls. Did look at the top 3 hotels with the passes but were coming out 2.5k more expensive. I think we’re going in US holidays so perhaps hotels are more expensive than normal.
 


Bozza

Bozza

You can change this
Helpful Moderator
Jul 4, 2003
55,749
Back in Sussex
mwrpoole said:
Thanks.

We are staying at Sapphire Falls. Did look at the other 3 but were £2.5k more & couldn’t really justify that. I have also read that the hotel passes only work at 2 parks not the water park, although not sure if needed for water park.

We do intend to dip in & out. We also have the one hour early opening time from staying at hotel.

There is a website which predicts crowds at the parks & it’s saying very busy for our 10 days so perhaps it is US holiday time.
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You could look to take a room at whichever is cheapest of RPR, HR or PB for just one night which would give you 2 days Unlimited Express. You could do that to bltiz rides hard and get multiple rides on favourites.

If not, I'm sure you'll be fine. Just make sure to make use of the early entry, particularly on the first few days when you're body clock is still adjusting and you're awake early. We find that as the holiday moves on the kids can be a bit more difficult to drag out of bed as they typically have later nights than they would at home and it starts to catch up a bit!
 


M

mwrpoole

Well-known member
Sep 10, 2010
1,506
Sevenoaks
Bozza said:
You could look to take a room at whichever is cheapest of RPR, HR or PB for just one night which would give you 2 days Unlimited Express. You could do that to bltiz rides hard and get multiple rides on favourites.

If not, I'm sure you'll be fine. Just make sure to make use of the early entry, particularly on the first few days when you're body clock is still adjusting and you're awake early. We find that as the holiday moves on the kids can be a bit more difficult to drag out of bed as they typically have later nights than they would at home and it starts to catch up a bit!
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I quite like the one night idea, will have a look.
 




F

Falmer Flutter ©

Well-known member
Feb 18, 2004
912
Petts Wood
mwrpoole said:
I quite like the one night idea, will have a look.
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We stayed at Hard Rock for one night this summer to take advantage of the two-day pass deal as Bozza suggests. Was really nice, a very pleasant 10-minute walk to the parks and you can get a Fender and amp delivered to your room (for a $1,000 deposit and if you don't have two over-excited kids likely to pour fizzy crap over it).
 


Birdie Boy

Birdie Boy

Well-known member
Jun 17, 2011
4,108
I've not been for a few years but as none of us are particularly early risers we used to head to macDs for breakfast around 10. We then hit the parks with no need to stop for lunch. Saving money and getting on more rides whilst everyone is having lunch.

I've not checked but might be worth checking out Groupon nearer the time. Might get some deals at restaurants outside the parks.
 


thedonkeycentrehalf

thedonkeycentrehalf

Retired
Jul 7, 2003
8,625
We have used www.vacationupgrades.com to get rooms at Wyndham Bonnet Creek Resort. We get a two bedroom deluxe apartment for the same price as the smallest Disney room and it is next door to the Caribbean Beach Resort so right in the middle of the Disney action.

As for cheap trips tomorrow, my son is booked on a VA flight to Orlando and we are hoping that it will take place as planned. He was supposed to be travelling up to Jacksonville that evening but I have now booked him a room in Orlando for the night.
 




K

Kinky Gerbil

Im The Scatman
NSC Patron
Jul 16, 2003
57,902
hassocks
thedonkeycentrehalf said:
We have used www.vacationupgrades.com to get rooms at Wyndham Bonnet Creek Resort. We get a two bedroom deluxe apartment for the same price as the smallest Disney room and it is next door to the Caribbean Beach Resort so right in the middle of the Disney action.

As for cheap trips tomorrow, my son is booked on a VA flight to Orlando and we are hoping that it will take place as planned. He was supposed to be travelling up to Jacksonville that evening but I have now booked him a room in Orlando for the night.
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Which one
 


thedonkeycentrehalf

thedonkeycentrehalf

Retired
Jul 7, 2003
8,625
Kinky Gerbils said:
Which one
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Which flight or which resort (I only have one son)?

He is on VS27 today which is currently somewhere over the Atlantic. If you mean resort, it is Wyndham Bonnet Creek Resort
 


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