Where to stay / Flights / passes

**wenadewheeler** · 27-06-2014, 15:07

Hello - would just like some hints and tips on where to stay - Hotel vs. Villa. I have looked into both. Quite like the idea of a villa with 2 children, but don't know where the areas are in relation to how close to the parks.

Whether to book via travel agent (eg Virgin) or book everything individually?

Also the best place to buy passes. We last went to Florida in 2004 and brought tickets on the gate each day! I understand hopper passes are a cheaper way.

Flights!!! - when is best to book them / which airlines.

Sorry for all the questions! Any help would greatly appreciated.

Wendy

**Gerry Reed** · 27-06-2014, 15:35

I would always recommend a villa - much more space than a single hotel room and you can self cater when you want too. The one thing with a villa is you do need a car for shopping and getting to the parks. The two closest areas to Disney for villas are Kissimmee and the H27 area. The H27 is about 15min drive to Disney and Kissimmee a little closer. Most villa adverts will give you an idea of how close they are to Disney.
That's a start and I will let others answer the other questions.

Sue

**florida4sun** · 27-06-2014, 16:04

Just to add the non hopping passes are the cheapest option. You only need hopping if you really need to visit more than one Disney park on the same day. 97% of the Disney tickets we sell are non hopping.

**syrup** · 27-06-2014, 16:06

Where to start. I would also recommend a villa. None of the areas are too far from the parks especially having a car. If you go to the links at the top of the page you will find villas associated to members of this site, a good place to start. Again with car hire and park tickets see the links at the top.

As for flights, well that is a completely different kettle of fish. It all depends really where you are flying from. Direct flights are the most expensive and it can prove a lot cheaper if you go indirect usually transferring somewhere in the states. As for price it depends on what time of the year you go, the summer holidays being the most expensive. Most airlines fly into Orlando but some charter flights go to Sanford. You could also consider flights to Tampa which isn't that far to drive.

Personally I always book everything myself as I find it works out cheaper. For example a couple of years ago I did car hire and flights myself with Virgin but not through their website and it worked out a lot cheaper. I asked Virgin if they could price-match and they were not interested.

Happy planning.

**brownm** · 27-06-2014, 16:30

We stayed in Hotels for many years and eventually booked a villa back in 2002 we never went back to hotels ever again and eventually bought one so I can safely say we would vote villas every time.

Best of luck,

Mark.

**christhear** · 27-06-2014, 18:54

Originally Posted by brownm

We stayed in Hotels for many years and eventually booked a villa back in 2002 we never went back to villas ever again and eventually bought one so I can safely say we would vote villas every time.

Best of luck,

Mark.

Don't you mean we never went back to hotels again

**cork** · 27-06-2014, 19:21

A villa every time.. And a car ( pre booked & a Paid Voucher )

All these can be done DIY.

Airlines ....... Try UK to Dublin And with Aer Lingus direct to Orlando ( MCO )

( You clear Customs & Immigration .... in Dublin so arrive in USA as a domestic Passenger )

You could try UK to Amsterdam , Paris or Dusseldorf & then to Orlando.

All these you can check out And Book yourself .. Check your flexible dates You are NOT restricted to Weekend arrival at most Villas

**Lizb** · 28-06-2014, 02:34

Park tickets can be bought from this site, check the link at the top of the forum home page.

Like others have said a villa offers so much more than a hotel room, loads of space and every amenity you could possibly need for a stress free holiday.

Enjoy planning your trip.

**Madabouttigger** · 28-06-2014, 08:40

We love the space of a villa plus having a pool is a treat. However townhouses can be a cheaper option if you are on a budget. I find this web site is the cheapest for car hire and very competitive for park tickets. We always book each element separately and find it considerably cheaper.