questions questions questions

Hello everybody.

We are thinking of coming to Orlando either xmas 2011 or easter 2012, it will be mine and my husbands first time but my parents and son came this year for their 1st time and loved it. When they came they booked a package but we are thinking of doing it all seperately but will probably need lots of help!!!!! So just a few questions to start if I may!

Apart from the obvious what is the diff between Easter and Xmas?
Which is busier?
There are many amazing villas on this site all in lots of different places, we will probably hire a car but will not want to drive all the time.
Can you recommend communities which have shops, restaurants and supermarkets etc within walking distance but also close driving wise to attractions?

I think that will keep me going for now. Thanks in advance for your help. :D

Yo can do it yourself booking flights and car hire also a villa booked by yourself you get what you see and from the owner who looks after their villa as they use it themselfs and it is update most years to a high standard .
If you ask the villa owners were they are near and you will get the truth .all villas are verifed on these sites .
Read pass guest comments on each villa owners and it will give you a few tips what they found in the villa .
Enjoy your vacation and good luck
MAUREEN
www.onlinefloridavilla.com/villa.1683.aspx

I would say Easter was probably busier at the parks as the Easter break can spread over a number of weeks, whereas at Christmas we found the parks quiet in the run up to the big day, then manic until after new year. We did Busch Gardens on New Years eve and found that quiet until around 8pm when everyone started to arrive. We went home then and saw in the New Year in the pool!

Easter is likely to be hotter than Christmas, but it is nice to be somewhere warmer than home in the winter.

For villas, I think a car is needed even though most estates have some shops and restaurants nearby. If no one wants to drive for an evening out, you can always get a taxi. The homes on this site are all within a 20 minute drive of the 'Welcome to Disney World' sign at the parks

If weather is the priority go for Easter, but Christmas is a lovely time to go to escape the hassle. I remember going to Publix supermarket Christmas Eve and it was so quiet! To drive round some of the homes lit up for Christmas is amazing too. I would have thought both times would be equally busy.

There are quite a few villa communities that have shops and a few restaurants within walking distance, but you would need a car still. The best thing to do would be to submit an enquiry (see links at the top of the page) and put your needs in the comments section so if for instance you wanted a home within walking distance of shops/restaurants, only owners who meet this criteria will answer.

I would recommend the car hire from here too (link at top of page).

Enjoy choosing and planning!

I don't know much about how busy the parks are but the weather will be very much warmer and the days much longer in April.

If the weather's important to you, choose Easter.

Easter is warmer, having said that we have been twice at Christmas and had some really warm days one year and another visit it was not so warm and had our coats but that never stopped us doing everything we would normally do. The parks are busy at both times we have been.

You can book yourself independently. Booking your villa direct will mean that you can choose whereas with package holidays you get allocated on arrival.

Why not make yourself a list of what your priorities and requirements are and then you can search all the verified villas on these sites.

As for car hire I always use uscarhire through the link on this site for a truly great service.

Have fun organising your holiday.

[msnsmile]

whenever you go, what ever villa you hire, what ever car you hire, what ever park tickets you want, what ever questions you want to ask, stick with this site, book through it and you wont go wrong![clap]

Both Christmas and Easter have pros and cons. Christmas the advantage is seeing all the decorations and having Christmas somewhere differnt. Easter Sunday 2012 is 8th April so the weather will be warm and not humid.

When booking a car why not also book a sat nav package from http://www.uscarhire.co.uk/sat-nav.aspx - then it will come with your villa address already programmed in so all you have to do at the airport is switch it on and be told where to go.

We've been at Easter loads of times and love it, it's hubby's busy time at work over Christmas so we've never managed to go then but I would love to go and see all the lights, decorations and general Christmassy things! I think the best solution is to go at Christmas and then again at Easter[msnwink]

I would emphasise the difference in the weather.

December/January can be cold! Not UK cold - although a frost is not unknown - but not weather for swimming etc. Lots of people are really disappointed with the weather at that time of year.

April on the other hand is 'Florida' weather - wearing shorts all day!

IMO if you are staying in a villa you will have to use a car/taxi for virtually every journey.

We have been in Florida at Christmas and Easter. We have enjoyed both,although they are both different. Easter is definitely hotter than at Christmastime. But the parks and the shops at Chistmas are wonderful very festive and the parades and shows are fantastic.

Christmas or Easter whichever you decide I am sure you will have a memorable experience. [xmas1][easter1]

I have never been for Christmas itself, only the run up, the decorations are well worth the trip. The weather is cooler than Easter, our 1st (once in a lifetime[clap]) visit was Easter and the weather was great during the day but could get chilly after dark. We have now been 15 times to Florida at all times of year and love them all, so whichever you choose I am sure you will have a grreat time. Booking everything yourself is so easy these days with the help of the internet, I would not do it any other way now. Everyone on this site loves Florida and we all enjoy answering any questions so just keep asking away. I can say from experience that the car hire and the park tickets from this site are the best value you will find and the people are very helpful.

Christmas in Orlando is certainly different, but there are still many traditional features - Father Christmas at the Mall at Millenia, for instance. There are wonderful Christmas decorations and people decorate their houses fantastically. It is way cheaper to go out for a decent Christmas meal than it is in the UK. We always have Christmas lunch in an hotel (Peabody the last time) and we really enjoy the experience. The sales start on Boxing Day (all the shops open the day after Christmas) and there are normally some amazing bargains to be had. Christmas decorations, too, are reduced to a fraction of their original cost. Walmart is only shut on one day a year - Christmas Day - but it is business as usual for them and most shops the next day. Most restaurants also stay open on Christmas Day. Disney is usually packed - but that is to be expected. We normally leave it a day or so and have found it to be fine.

We have spent many Christmases in Orlando - we love it. We have generally experienced sunny clear days (low humidity) and 2 years ago flew from Orlando to New York a couple of days before Christmas and left temperatures of 80 degrees(minus 10 at JFK![msnscared]). I cannot comment from experience on last Christmas, only previous ones, and we did have one very cold day in the Disney parks about 4 years ago - but it was sunny and crisp so it was bearable. This cold snap only lasted a day, too.

We have walked round Universal in short sleeves and no jackets or cardigans, but you would be sensible to pack a couple of sweaters and a jacket for the evenings, which do chill down. This is particularly sensible if you are visiting the parks in the evenings for the firework/laser shows.

One of the things we have enjoyed at Christmas time is seeing the Manatees at Blue Springs National Park - quite amazing - and you cannot do that in the summer. We also like to go and pick oranges straight off the tree - great for children to see that they actually DO grow rather than just appearing in Tescos! [msnwink]

Easter is more likely to be warmer, but it is a very popular time. Again, evenings may need sweaters as the temperatures could drop, but there will be lower humidity and rainfall than in August, for instance.

It really depends what you are going for. Is it just for sunshine, or do you want to experience a Florida Christmas?

I am sure you will have a great time, whatever you decide.

[msncool]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:
IMO if you are staying in a villa you will have to use a car/taxi for virtually every journey.
[/quote]

On the contrary Robert, all the villas in Clear Creek are within a mile of the shops and restaurants. There is also a Starbucks and an English Pub. There is a gym, a nail bar and a Doctors office. All are within a 1 mile walking distance. We can go out to dinner in the evening and not worry about drinking and driving as we can walk there and back.

We have been for Christmas atleast 3 times and its great but if the Weather is important then Easter is far warmer.

Mark.