Florida virgin

[sunworld]

Hi all,

we are in the very early stages of planning a trip to Florida and finding it all a minefield! We plan to go in 2006, I know its a long time off but we would love to do Discovery Cove and our youngest will be 6 in 2006 which means we would all be able to do it.

My name is Tonya, husband Mike and kids Joseph 6 and Erin 3.

Looking forward to posting here and getting lots of advice and info :)

[blott]

Hi Sunworld

Welcome to the forum!

You'll certainly find lots of info and can arrange all aspects of your holiday through this site!

If you have any questions, just fire away and we'll do our best to answer them for you. In the meantime, enjoy reading...

[huckleberry house]

Hi Sunworld

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on planning the best holiday imaginable,by 2006 you will be a Florida expert with all the help you will get from the forum.

Good luck and happy planning.

Lesley:)

[Ann-Marie]

Hi Sunworld

Welcome to the forum. I'ts never too early to plan a holiday in Florida and I'm sure you'll get heaps of valuable information from everyone here which will make it all that much easier.

Regards


Ann-Marie

:)

[SunLover]

Hi Tonya, Mike, Joseph & Erin

Welcome to the forums. :)

2006 may well seem a long way off, but to get the most out of your Florida vacation, you do need to do some homework. Fortunately, now you've joined the forum, you can ask away to your heart's content.

And remember, there's no such thing as a silly question !

Happy planning

:D

[SunLover]

Oh.....

Meant to add that swimming with the dolphins at Discovery Cove (I've done it twice) is without doubt one of the most magical things I have ever done :D

You'll love it !

[Ray&Sarah]

Hi Tonya,

Welcome to the forum, you'll find all you need to know about Florida on this site and if you have any questions then go ahead and ask, someone will know the answer. The first time we went to Florida we were plannig it 15 months in advance, its never too early.[msnsmile2]

[Ruth]

Hi Tonya, welcome to the forum. I have done Discovery Cove twice and I too am looking forward to 2006 when my youngest will be 6 and we can all do the swim together:)

[Lyn]

Welcome
I find part of the enjoyment is planning, and the looking forward to the day you can go, with this site you will get all the help you need, I first went in 1993 and did not have the internet back then, how did we manage?

Lyn

[sunworld]

Thanks for your warm welcome everyone, at the moment we are considering hotel versus villa and I noticed a thread about that elsewhere so will go and take a look.

No doubt I will be back here many times in the next couple of years! [msnsmile2]

[Cowboy]

Welcome aboard, Tonya and family. You will find most of the information you need on this forum.
Joseph and Erin will be 8 and 5 when you go on your holiday of a lifetime and they will be at a nice age. I know that I am totally biased but I would advise that you seriously think about renting a villa as opposed to a hotel. There is no comparison because of the freedom and space (plus a private pool) and you are totally independent. You will need a car but this gives you added independence to do as you wish.
Why not take a look at a few of the villas on this site?
Mike.

[heathercobbett]

Dear Tonya, If you are planning yo go during school holidays it is not too early to book now. We have most of next years peak holidays booked and some in 2006.If you have a villa in mind book it now....Heather

[UKbabybelle]

Whooo

I thought minimum age to swim with the dolphins was 10 - now my two eldest can do this next year!

[Susan J]

BOOK EARLY !!
Remeber my words !! You need to book Dolphins at least 6 months in advance [I would do more if they let you] as I have had disappointed guests staying in my villa, who were told you only had to book 24 hours before you go !! I ended up sending them down to Fort Lauderdale to do the Dolphin thing !
Also villas and hotels - when we finally considered buying our own villa we had gone through this equation - villas win HANDS DOWN !!
The worst part of a hotel - 1] you are sitting whispering when the kids have gone too sleep or are not allowed to watch TV or anything.
2] You have to pack a bag to go to the pool, and are constantly watching out for your kids amongst the rest.
Worst part of a villa - dragging yourself away to do the parks.
Imagine one child wants to go to the pool and the other wants to kick a ball around - well they can both do that while you are sat on a sunlounger, or fixing for a barbeque !
Imagine being fed up of fast food or hotel meals - you can just go to the Deli in PUblix and order a decent meal or buy ingredients, cook it yourself - have a take away at 3am if you want - you have your own choices and all that space !!
You will never go back !!
Look on the site and choose one early - it is a busy time you are going at.

[sunworld]

Thanks Susan, for your comments. I appreciate most of you own your own villas but even so I think I am now sold on the idea :) We havent decided which month yet in 2006 but will start looking seriously for a villa when we have a better idea. The little one is 6 in August 2006, so it will either be August (not keen) or maybe October (new school terms start in September this year, allowing longer half term breaks :D)

[heathercobbett]

If you are choosing between August and October Tonya, I would definitely recommend October( always our own choice before we had our own villaand felt we had to leave school holiday times free for renters.) The weather is cooler and less humid, air fares are less and Halloween is very exciting.Read the information on Halloween given furthur down the forum. I have just been putting together some Halloween info for my Oct 2005 renters and it has made me feel quite envious!Happy anticipations Heather