View Full Version : Some Questions..
Hey All
I am 23 and from the UK and me and a few friends are considering visiting Florida in 2008. There will be six of us in total and are all round the same age. We are probably going to go for two weeks. Just a few questions if that’s ok.
1) Whats the best time to go. We are definitely considering the first half of the year. Obviously the times when the parks are emptier and it is a little cooler= i.e. more bearable, would be great. What kind of temperatures do u get round April/May. Mid 20s would be about right I think.
2) Car Hire…is this expensive for an suv or minivan….are there surcharges for under 25 drivers…any ideas on the best company to go with? Im guessing petrol/gas is pretty cheap too.
3) We are looking at spending a day at each of the following
Kennedy Space Center
Daytona International Speedway
Magic Kingdom,
Disney-MGM Studios,
Epcot Center
Wet 'n Wild
SeaWorld of Florida
Universal Studios
Busch Gardens
Cocoa Beach
Would u say there r any other ones which r definately worth doing? Also would it be best to buy Disney tickets before going and if so, what kind….can u get three day ones which u can split up over the two weeks?
4) Bars/Clubs etc… Are there many late night bars/clubs in the orlando area, to party into the small hours in or just a couple of beers?? If so, any ones you would recommend? Also are taxis easy enough to order to drop from villa into town and back again at the end of the night?
5) How much on average, do u think we r looking at..cost wise for each person…including entry to all parks listed above.
We are considering getting a private villa in the orlando or kissime area. Im guessing then we will be quite close to everything. Thanks very much for reading. Sorry if these questions have been posted elsewhere.. There are a lot of posts to go thru.
Dave
florida4sun
15-11-2007, 15:49
Ticket wise I would also be Islands Of Adventure, I would purchase a 1 day Kennedy ticket, 3 or 4 day base ticket for DIsney and 5 Park Flex ticket for the rest. For prices follow the link below[msnsmile]
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by daaaave
Hey All
I am 23 and from the UK and me and a few friends are considering visiting Florida in 2008. ll be six of us in total and are all round the same age. We are probably going to go for two weeks. Just a few questions if that’s ok.
1) Whats the best time to go. We are definitely considering the first half of the year. Obviously the times when the parks are emptier and it is a little cooler= i.e. more bearable, would be great. What kind of temperatures do u get round April/May. Mid 20s would be about right I think.
2) Car Hire…is this expensive for an suv or minivan….are there surcharges for under 25 drivers…any ideas on the best company to go with? Im guessing petrol/gas is pretty cheap too.
3) We are looking at spending a day at each of the following
Kennedy Space Center
Daytona International Speedway
Magic Kingdom,
Disney-MGM Studios,
Epcot Center
Wet 'n Wild
SeaWorld of Florida
Universal Studios
Busch Gardens
Cocoa Beach
Would u say there r any other ones which r definately worth doing? Also would it be best to buy Disney tickets before going and if so, what kind….can u get three day ones which u can split up over the two weeks?
4) Bars/Clubs etc… Are there many late night bars/clubs in the orlando area, to party into the small hours in or just a couple of beers?? If so, any ones you would recommend? Also are taxis easy enough to order to drop from villa into town and back again at the end of the night?
5) How much on average, do u think we r looking at..cost wise for each person…including entry to all parks listed above.
We are considering getting a private villa in the orlando or kissime area. Im guessing then we will be quite close to everything. Thanks very much for reading. Sorry if these questions have been posted elsewhere.. There are a lot of posts to go thru.
Dave[/quote]
We like April and May and think they are nice months to go as it is cooler and less humid than in the main summer months. The average low temps for April and May are 60 and 68 with highs of 83 and 88.
Gas prices are approximately $3.03 to $3.12 per gallon, howver a gallon in the States is less than a gallon in the UK, today according to one site. Most companies do have a daily surcharge for drivers under 25. For competitive car hire prices with no surcharges for the under 25s have a look at http://www.uscarhire.co.uk/u-save-car-rental.aspx
The best way to enjoy all the thrills and delights of Florida is to decide if you want to spend all your time in theme parks and how much time you would like to spend chilling out exploring.For a first time everyone wants to go to the parks and rightly so but it is a very tiring holiday and my advice would be to plan carefully giving yourselves days off to recharge your batteries.
ShirleyD
15-11-2007, 23:21
Make sure you stay well clear of the school holidays if you want quiet parks, the end of April, early May should be fine, or for slightly lower temperatures, mid November to mid Dec can be really quiet
Thanks for all the input [bowwave] i think we may look to cut out a couple of the theme park visits....
We like the end of Apr and beg of May. I too agree about maybe having a few days away from the parks. This can recharge the batteries. There is plenty of other things that you can do on your days off.
Magical Dreams
18-11-2007, 18:06
City Walk is a great night out, especially now the Blue Man Group is there too.
Bubba Gumps is a cool bar, very new and relaxed, but there's plenty to choose from at City Walk, depending on your taste.
Also Pleasure Island at Downtown Disney, This is a very popular place especially for young people like you guys. Thursday night is usually a good night as there are loads of Disney Cast members there too.
Remember you have to be 21 to drink in the USA and you WILL need to have PHOTO ID each time you go to the bar!
There's also some great dinner shows if thats your thing.
Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede, Arabian Knights, Medieval Times etc.
Gas prices in Orlando area at the moment vary from $3.03 to $3.35.
But they are expecting them to rise somewhere in the region of $4 per gallon (according to our MC)
I'd start by losing Magic Kingdom and Bush Gardens from your list and add Islands of Adventure.
Magic Kingdom is more for the 2-3 year olds, more prams than Mother Care.
Bush Garden = Chester Zoo with the odd ride thrown in.
Islands of Adventure is a great day out if you like the rides, big spiderman fans at our house.
If you go first week in March you get Bike week at Daytona and some very good night life.
supersneak
20-11-2007, 22:08
Sorry, got to disagree about Busch Gardens. Sheikra, Kumba, Montu and Gwazi are all worth riding on. :D
Must agree with Busch Gardens. Its well worth the drive to Tampa and the rides are superb.
Totally disagree with Mick H here! If you want the big thrill rides then Busche Gardens is probably your best bet of any of the theme parks. The Hulk and a couple of other rides at Universal are pretty good but some of the Busche rides are far more suitable for the very brave[msnwink]
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Mick-H
I'd start by losing Magic Kingdom and Bush Gardens from your list and add Islands of Adventure.
Magic Kingdom is more for the 2-3 year olds, more prams than Mother Care.
Bush Garden = Chester Zoo with the odd ride thrown in.
Islands of Adventure is a great day out if you like the rides, big spiderman fans at our house.
If you go first week in March you get Bike week at Daytona and some very good night life.
[/quote]
I also totally disagree with Mick. Busch gardens is the best for your age group. The rides are awesome and one of the biggest/tallest/fastest rides in Orlando is Shiekra. You have to build up to it by trying all the others first. Our kids are 19 & 17 and Busch gardens is their favourite for rides. Its only an hour and 15mins drive from most of the villa communities and well worth it. They also have the free beer from the Busch brewery which is onsite. Technically you are only allowed two glasses but if you are lucky they wont remember you and every time you walk past the welcome tent you can stop for a refreshing beer chosen from all the Busch family of beers. One of you would have to pass on the beer though to drive you there and back!!
Totally agree with all the other suggestions for your age group i.e. Pleasure Island in Downtown Disney (loads of niteclubs) and City Walk at Universal Studios. Magic Kingdom wont really appeal to you but Islands of Adventure will with all the big rides.
You have to be over 25 to rent a vehicle but some companies allow under 25's to rent with extra charges for this.
Villa would definitely be best for a group but bear in mind that no community, local Sherriff or homeowner would tolerate wild parties.
Have a good time when you eventually get there. Gill
Paula D-S
21-11-2007, 18:40
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by andy_d
Must agree with Busch Gardens. Its well worth the drive to Tampa and the rides are superb.
[/quote]
If you buy the flexi ticket you don't even have to drive yourselves, you can pick up a free bus transfer at quite a few locations.
For thrill rides Busch Gardens no. 1 you must go!
Islands of adventure no.2 Great rides,Hulk,Spiderman,fire and ice
Universal studios No.3-" men in black"- you could spend all day on! also great shows-don't miss "horror make up up show"and terminator
Seaworld- No.4 - great relaxing day and has has "kraken" one of the best coasters in orlando
MGM - No5- Rock and roller coaster, Tower of terror- both completely unique
Do the magic Kingdom and Epcot and marvel in The Disney attention to detail. (Go to Turtle talk with crush at epcot- it's hilarious!)
wet and Wild has the best water Park rides but Blizzard bearch is close and is a nicer setting
if you have the money buy a Disney Ultimate ticket and an Orlando flexticket then you can do whatever you want,whenever you want. If not you need a plan!
well it would seem busch gardens is a firm favourite amongst most, so will stay in the list, i think Magic Kingdom and the space station may lose out tho, just dont think we will get enough time to go round it all...
Thanks for the suggestions about nightlife...again downtown disney seems v popular, what about international drive which ive heard about...
... just need to save up now
thansk for the input
oh and lewisp i doubt we will throw any wild house parties... not sure i like the sound of a florida jail cell for the night [high5]
Dave
Surfin_USA
22-11-2007, 20:56
We went April-May time last year and it was amazing, the parks were busy (we went to every theme park) but we did not have to wait long for the rides (30 minutes at max). The temperature was very nice. Only bad piece of weather we had was this huge storm, it was spectacular to see as the lightening lit up the whole villa, however, we slept through most of it and the next day the weather was amazing.
As for theme parks, we did them all, we are going back next year Apirl 23rd - May 7th i believe. We are missing out Busch Gardens thought this time (Very sad about this as i loved, the others were not too keen) and also Disney (Didn't really appeal). However, universal Studios and Island of Adventure a definite must-see and experience, amazing parks loved it.
We also went Discovery Cove, amazing, swam with dolphins and loved it, i suggest doing Discovery Cove or Sea World. We only went to one beach (Daytona) but think we will go to Cocoa this time round.
We have also booked the trip to the Keys/Everglades. I wouldn't go Magic Kingdom as it is for young kids really, however a definite again is Universal, Busch Gardens and IoA
orlandodaze
28-11-2007, 02:15
Magic Kingdom is for everyone , come on Thunder Mountain and Splash mountain is a must for everyone and thats only for starters .
Madabouttigger
28-11-2007, 21:10
I would swop Magic Kingdom for Animal Kingdom and combine Daytona Speed way with a trip to Coco beach, don't think you would need a full day for both. But what ever you do it will be fantastic. March April time is a really good time to go.
Diane
Maverick
29-11-2007, 13:15
To answer your question, head for Church Street or Orange Avenue in Downtown Orlando (not the same as Downtown Disney) and you'll find a multitude of suitable bars and clubs.
I'd consider a waterpark for your age group. It is best suited for mixed groups where some might have a hangover too ;)
I like TL, bt for your age group I might rec BB too.
As for nights, Citywalk, DTD/PI and DT orlando will all be good. Have fun. I did when I was your age!
Church street in orlando is a must mid week, Wednesday nights $1 a drink. Saturday nights at Paris Hiltons club at the end of church street is also a good night out.