First timer going 12 july.

[lafifille]

Our kids were the same age last time we went. Planning days off the parks is a very sensible advice, even with kids old enough to "endure" long days. You'll find it can get really exhausting, plus there's a lot more to Florida than the parks.

Golden Corral all you can eat breakfast is great with kids, and really inexpensive. Grab a coupon book and don't hesitate to use it. Oddly enough we always got the coupon books on a shelf by the exit of the restaurant itself. Breakfast there got us going till dinner, with a couple of snacks here and there during the day (fruits, crackers, etc that we carried with us). I took a look at my receipts and we paid between $45 and $80 for dinners, depending on the places (without tip). Some nights we were just too tired and did with just a big KFC bucket or a couple of pizzas, or simply the left-overs from last night's restaurant [msnwink]. We didn't do any fancy restaurants, we like Manny's, Longhorn's, The Cheesecake Factory, The Olive Garden, tex-mex, and sometimes let the kids have their fix of junk food [msnembarrased]. Wendy's and Denny's can be handy too. If you've never been to the US, be aware that portions are generally huge. We sometimes shared an appetizer or two between the 4 of us, and then a main course each, but very often ended up with a box [msnwink].

Blue Springs State Park was a great day out, bring a picnic and swimwear. We also loved the half-day deep-sea fishing (through this site). Airboat rides are great too.

Our kids favourite theme park is definitely Universal/IOA, but they love thrill rides. Seaworld was a hit too, great combination of rides and animals. We had a great day chilling out at Aquatica, but I'm sure any water parks will do you good for a day "off" the parks.

Try a beach on the Atlantic side with kids this age, who might enjoy playing in the warm waves. We like Cocoa beach. Going up to St Augustine allows to throw some culture/history in a beach day, and it's really fun to watch the "pirates" attack the fort and be repelled by the cannons.

Last piece of advice: register on the restaurants websites just before you go to get welcome offers. Denny's for example sent us a 20% off coupon. Longhorn sent us a free appetizer. There were others but I can't remember now. You can register with several email adresses too [msnwink]. We didn't use all of them, but...

Best advice is: have fun, be flexible in your plans, and don't try to do too much. You'll have a great time!

[alanm]

You should be there or there abouts with $190 per day, we had a budget of $280 per day but most evenings had $80 or so left over which we put back into the safe and then took out the next days money.
It was the first holiday we have ever taken where we brought cash home[msnsmile2] Having said that, we didn't look for the cheapest places to eat in the evening either, would rather pay a little more for a little quality.

[Dads_Taxi]

Hi Lee,

I'll throw a few answers into the pot too! (Mostly reinforcing others' answers)

Do take photos of your cases - just snap them on your digital camera/phone, so you can display them if they do go astray. I also print out a load of copies of our name, my mobile number including international code, and address at the resort, and put a couple of copies in every case or bag, in the outer zip pockets and places like that.

Despite the (very sensible) remark that if we all followed the advice of the books, we'd all end up doing the same things, we have found The Brit Guide to Orlando to have some really good tips on navigating the parks in a non-typical way, which we THINK have been to our advantage.

As a family we are big fans of Golden Corral. The breakfast choice is great, especially if you have any fussy eaters as experimentation is no problem. Likewise dinner is good, and prices reasonable. I'm not saying we eat there exclusively, it tends to be before or after a park visit. There are LOTS of places to eat, I'm just saying we aim for the Golden Corral more than any other.

Whilst on food - if you like pizza, then on one of your rest days (and you WILL need rest days) get a Papa John's delivery. They make fantastic pizza and their dough sticks are superb. (owww, I want dough sticks for my tea now!)

Regarding dosh - $190/day for 4 of you will be more than enough. We have a similar idea, working out $/day, and after a few days we calculate if we're under or over budget, and we're usually under-spent, then we hit a mall and treat ourselves with the excess. The only time we've found ourselves 'in the red' (so to speak) was after a trip to the Rainforest Cafe!! It was our best meal of the holiday though.
With all due respect to the advocators of taking $4000 cash strapped to your waist, it is not a wise approach. It is 2011, and technology has produced small plastic cards that make dollar bills pop out of holes in walls. OK, you may pay $4 every time you top up the wallet, but you've lost $4, not $4000. Our approach is this - we take about $300 cash, then put our spends into an account with a debit card that we know will work over there (ie a visa debit card in our case). Then we use our CREDIT card as much as possible, in your case the Santander Zero card will be ideal. The credit cards definitely give the best exchange rates. Then we use the debit card to top up the cash from an ATM as and when we need to, taking at least $200 at a time to avoid any 'minimum charge' fees. Then when we get home, the credit card bill arrives, we grit our teeth and open it, and all being well there is still enough funds in the holiday spends account to clear the credit card. (did that make sense??) Believe me, you WILL need cash - carparks, tips, ice creams, tips, toll roads, tips, snacks, oh, and did I mention tips?

If I think of any more things to confuse you with, I'll post again. BTW, when are you going?

Oh, finally, SEAWORLD - Go there, it is awesome.

(Later) - thought of another tip. Not possible for everyone, but if you have a netbook (ie a small laptop) it is invaluable for research. There's loads of free wifi around, and we found it great for looking things up before we stumbled blindly around in search of places or particular shops/restaurants etc. Great for looking up zip codes to punch in the sat-nav.

Oh yes, sat-nav! I splashed out the $38 for the Florida Tom-Tom maps before we left home.

[duggie]

Again thank you all for your time and your advice, I apriciate it all.

I will definatly be using lots of the advice you have all given me over the last few days.

Dads taxi:- we are oing on the 12th july for 3 weeks can only go in school holidays due to work.I have the brit guide will try it and see.

I think i will take $500 cash to start with and then use my credit card for food ect, As i need more i will use ATM.
Will probably try as many of the eating places you have all mentioned.
Will go to the gulf coast looks fabulous.
Really fancy going to the keys but i think the trip is a bit long at 6hours +
Nice to know i have not underestimated how much monet we will need to take with us. we have been saving for 6 years for this trip.
Days off seem to be the key to this trip(had not really realised how important they are)
Had a look at the fairfx prepaid card not sure what happens if you have money left on the card and how you get it back/charges?
will do Boggy creek airboat ride (everybody keen on it)
If you think of anything else please let me know.

Again a big thanks

Lee

[kitch50]

Lee

If you can stretch to it I would definitely say go to Discovery Cove ... we went for the first time on our last trip and are hooked, we had the most fantastic day and swimming with the dolphins is something you and your children will never forget. It is expensive but if you buy the Ultimate package you get 14 days unlimited access to Seaworld, Busch Gardens and Aquatica included in the price. Something else to think about ....[msnwink]

[duggie]

Wendy,

We swam with dolphins in spain when visiting family last year,your right it was great. got slightly spoilt when a swatched a film called "the cove"

Lee

[kitch50]

Saw that film as well Lee, pretty horrific

[lafifille]

I absolutely love the Keys, but it might be a bit too much of a drive plus it's not somewhere I'd enjoy as much with my kids in tow. If it's about sandy beaches, island feeling, palm trees, great shelling and snorkeling, Sanibel will do the trick and is absolutely gorgeous! Of course it's just my opinion. You might find out that your kids are just happy with the hotel pools or a 1 hour drive to either the gulf or atlantic beaches.

Definitely take pictures of your luggage with someone holding it (for size appreciation). We also tie a bright pink (or yellow [msnwink]) scarf on each handle: easier to spot on the luggage belt, AND in the lost luggage area for the company handlers. Last time BA lost our luggage it took them 10 days to get it back to us they said it helped them finding it faster (don't ask). To make a long story short, you do want to check your name and destination is the one they stick on your luggage at check-in [msnscared].

If you've spent time on this forum, you have everything you need to spend the best vacation ever, the best, soundest advice being: don't try to do too much and don't forget to relax!

[Jeanmd]

One other point about luggage - if your cases are damaged -as ours have the last two times we have been by Orlando luggage handlers - go straight to the airline service desk in baggage reclaim, show them, fill out a form and a new suitcase will appear in a few days. We flew BA so not sure if this is true for all airlines. Much easier than dealing with insurance companies and much much quicker.

Have a great trip and like many others I wil be surprised if this is you last trip so start saving for the next time.

[duggie]

Hi Again,

The family want to try and eat in an authentic american dinner 60s tv style are there any?

thanks
Lee