Back from 2 Weeks with Travel City...

[foghorn]

Hello,

Yep, booked 2 weeks from Manchester to Orlando, 2 Adults, 2 x 8 Year Old Lads, plus Hotel [see below] and Compact Car...October, all for £1,900 .00.

TRIP:
Check in at M/C was torturously slow, plane went off only 50 minutes late. Seemed to be complaints about parties not being seated together and handset devices in arm rests not working.
Legroom, 2 inches more than Virgin and B.A.
Free Drinks, but not utilized by many..Cars to pick up at journey's end!
Free Head Sets. Saving Nemo and Anger Management were the films, very up to date! All in all, adequate service.

Landed in SANFORD, after using this airport will never use Orlando Intl. again. Baggage retrieval excellent. In the car within 15 minutes [Dollar Office right outside] without too much 'Up Grade' hassle. Learnt later the upgrades were incredibly cheap [Dollar Cars]and now wish I had upgraded,[for my personal snobbery!] altho car alloted more than satisfactory.

HOTEL:
Travelodge Main Gate East, 192. Standard room, big TV with 12 Channels and in-house Movies. Fridge for which they never charged. Rooms valeted daily with towel change. The hotel [400+ Rooms] could do with a lick of paint, but service, facilities etc. most satisfactory.
Pool open till 11.00pm nightly and cleaned every day.
The best point of the Hotel was the Position..
Directly opposite Kissimmee Old Town, variety of restaurants within walking distance, including McDonalds!. A joy to leave the car behind and visit an assortment of Restaurants, Bars and Shops in safety.
Walmart 5 miles away.
Disney 10 Minutes Drive / Universal, 18 minutes / Sea World, 15 minutes.

PARKS:
Tickets supplied by Travel City, 20 Day Disney with Character Breakfast, £180.00 / £160 Kids.
Universal : 2 Day/2 Park Ticket, with TEN Days free, £80.00 /£70.00 Kids'. Good Prices.
Only one tip..get in early, then you have no problems getting on the 'A' Rides more than once. Hardly used the Fast Pass. Getting in early was greatly assisted by the Hotel Location.
Must say even at their busiest, October is a very good time to visit to avoid queueing, Temps. in 80s and not too humid.

All in all, great holiday at a reasonable price...hooked on Sanford for speed of getaway and Car Check-in on return [msnwink]

[Maureen Edwards]

Welcome Home Foghorn,
Great to hear you had a fantastic time! Interested to read about TCD flights/cars etc. after so many bad reports, you seem to feel you had value for money, which is great.

They seem to be offering some really cheap last minute flights from Gatwick - so someone is in for a good deal![msnwink]

[mikewj]

Was this on their European Airways jumbo jet service ?

Unfortunately they only offer that on two week holidays.....we're going for three so have ended up on a My Travel flight next June.

We've driven past the hotel you stayed in on numerous occassions (we've stayed in the Magic Castle Inn and Suites a couple of times - similar standard). Its very handy, but did you book it yourself or through TCD ?

Agree about October.....still very warm, but not as sticky.

[Funshine]

Totally agree about Sanford Foghorn - its a pleasure to use isn't it!!

We also used TCDs European Aviation Service this October for the first time and were pleasantly surprised by the service. TCD had a great last minute offer which we couldn't refuse!! Glad we have used them, it will encourage us to do so again.

Dollar are notorious for trying to persuade clients to upgrade. All you have to say is that you are satisfied with the car you have already arranged and prepaid - they'll let you go on your way without any further enticements. Having said that, we were upgraded FREE as they didn't have the size car we had ordered!! [msnsmile2]

[foghorn]

Hello,

The Travelodge was booked thru T/C, I believe it is their Brochure, [the Cheapest I believe!!] They offer Best Western, but at about £200 dearer..I believe they are both the same, so why the price difference??
The Airline used is indeed European, old 747s' from KLM I believe.
The First Class and Sunshine Deck look superb, but I am pretty sure these areas were not full on my trip...wish I had known..
Good tactic would be to phone the airline about 5 days before depature and inquire about "upgrading" to First Class,and additional cost, if too expensive, you don't have to accept. Friends of mine use this tactic on various Airlines, for Long-Haul and it is amazing what small upgrade charges there can be!![msnwink]...obviously not all the time.

RE: MY TRAVEL, it appears T/C sub-contract their Check In Services to them, at Manchester anyway, the staff are mere children, and painfully slow due to inexperience. It was them that caused confusion on the aircraft re: seating parties together. Where people had accepted that they all could not be seated along one row, they believed the party would not be more than a couple of rows apart [a necessity when child minding,]..WRONG!!!, guys were all over the place!!!....
No wonder My Travel aka Airtours are in so much trouble, and I thought the 3 hour before flight check in was for Security reasons, it ain't, it is for My Travel Inefficiency Reasons!!! [msnsmile]

[athurstance]

Sounds like you had a good time. Bit of nostalgia for me - the very first time we went to Florida in 1987 we stayed at the Travelodge Maingate East. It was just hubbie and me then but I agree it is a very pleasant hotel.

[Tashmina]

Foghorn, glad to hear you had a good experience with TCD. You may've seen from my previous postings that we're travelling with them next September[msncry]...too long too wait!! So any opinions are welcomed.

However, the apple cart was slightly upset this weekend when someone told me that Sanford doesn't allow 747's to land there...so I was like 'ok, where ARE we going then???'... I mean I'm a woman who likes to know where I'm going, how I'm getting there at least 10 months in advance [msnwink]...but a quick check of the confirmation quickly soothed my peace of mind!!

BTW which route is best to take when leaving Sanford at 5pm on a friday afternoon?

Regards
Tash - aka The Florida Freak [msncool]

Only 317 days to go [msncry][msncry][msncry]

[Funshine]

Tash, the best route out of Sanford is the 417 Greeneway, you'll need at least $5 in small bills/change for the toll booths.

The 417 is quite forgiving to first timer drivers in Florida its one long road and just a few toll booths to deal with.

There is another route but it will take you hours to get to Orlando; and knowing how excited you are about it you'll be better to stick with the quickest route!!

[wrpac00]

TCD is no good for me because I go for odd durations i.e. 17 or 19 days.


Paul

[foghorn]

Hi,

Yep, the 417 is definitely the best to Kissimmee, the quicker route maybe by the Interstate 4, but this can get busy, and frightening for the new arrival, especially after a 9 hour flight!!
If you are staying on Highway 192, have a look at the site below, I picked it up on this excellent forum,

www.kissimmee-us192.com

Gives you directions with photos' [8)]

Also, our plane was a 747 and landed at Sanford..So no probs. there![msncool]

[Tashmina]

Thanks for that Foghorn,

I don't 'do' driving - here or anywhere else! So that will be left down to 'him indoors'!!

We're staying on I-Drive for the 1st week, but I found that site yesterday that you mentioned in your thread and the maps are very good.

Oh well...315 days to go and it ain't getting any easier[msneek]

Regards

Tash x