Thursday 25 August 2011

Orlando Part 1



Ok so, before/if you decide to book, you should be aware there is ALOT to do, it was only after we booked our flights (for 10 days) that i realised we wouldn't be able to fit everything in,


Things to be aware of:

  • Disney has 4 theme parks and 2 waterparks, they also have a shopping area; Downtown Disney and a Golf course, Disney have their own on-site transportation system including a monorail, buses and  boats for free so you can get from A to B.  
  • Universal Studios has 2 parks right next to each other.
  • The theme parks aren't just about rides, they also have shows, for when you just wanna sit down ;) and most importantly lots of food and shopping
  • International Drive is a big tourist road where if your not staying in a villa or on-site then you are most likely staying in a hotel off here. Loads of tacky touristy shops and food places like TGI Fridays, Walgreens supermarket.  There is also a Ripleys Believe it or not and a Titanic museum amongst other things
  • Most places are relatively easy to get to, we only figured out the buses on the last few days, there are 2 main company's Lynx and the Iride trolley. I think you can get 2 week passes for around $10 each
  • Cabs add up to alot of money so i would research the bus routes, it will save you alot
  • Most hotels provide a daily pick up and drop off to the theme parks, so bare this in mind when searching for one
  • There are 2 Outlet Malls at either end of International Drive, then there is Florida Mall which has Hollister, Abercrombie and Sephora and the more expensive Mall at Millenia which houses stores such as Juicy Couture and Louis Vuitton, there are other Malls but these are the main ones and the only ones we went to
  • Hotels are pretty cheap compared to say New York, we bagged our room for $50 a night, which included free WI-FI, microwave, tv, fridge and a lovely view of Hogwarts ;)
  • Park tickets seem to go up in price every year in August, so bare that in mind.  You can get a 2 week pass for all Disney Parks for around £250 and Universal is around £82 for 2 weeks also.  We bought ours in advance from a UK website, so search around.
  • We ordered pre-pay doller card from FairFX. We got the best rate and we could top up online when we ran out of money


Lastly i'll round up with a, please make sure you have enough money, this was my first big holiday away and i underestimated how much i needed and had to borrow from my BF which i still owe him now, eek!! haha
But seriously it's such an amazing place and if you've ever been or decide to go you'll have such an amazing time

Coming up in Part 2, pictures

2 comments:

  1. The boy totally wants to go back to Orlando area for all the theme parks. Luckily his gran lives along the western coast of Florida so that eases up on some of the accommodation worries. It does look a total ball of fun though x

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  2. :) Mega fun, honestly i didn't think i would enjoy it as much as i did, but then i am a kid at heart :)
    xx

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