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holiday to florida

any suggestions for the best way to book a holiday to florida - dont want to drive so has to be near international drive?

music123 Thurs 27/04/06 13:26

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vehelpfulguy
Thurs 27/04/06
13:55

Depends what you want to do.

If you want to do mainly Disney then book a Disney hotel and this includes transportation from the hotel to all the Disney parks.

International Drive is fairly central but not that near to the Disney parks (not walking distance anyway).

It is nearer to the Universal Studio parks, and Wet and Wild is at the top of International drive.

Sea World also is not that near International drive.

There is a bus that goes up and down International drive and I think it takes you to the two Universal parks and Wet and Wild in the north, and Sea World in the south.

Not sure if it goes to the Disney parks.

I assume some of the hotels on International drive offer a bus service to the Disney parks.

vehelpfulguy
Thurs 27/04/06
14:17

Here is a map to help you orient yourelf.

http://www.floridasunhomes.co.uk/orlando-map.asp

The light blue area in the middle is where International Drive is. The blue "blob" in the middle is the informatoin centre and about where most of the tourist hotels are.

The north of the light blue area is where Universal are. They have three hotels, two great theme parks, and a shopping/night club area.

Wet and Wild (water park) is just south of the Universal area.

South of the light blue area is where Sea World is. Another great park.

South west of the light blue area is a sort of light mauve area. This is the Disney complex, and it is huge, about the size of Manchester I believe.

This has a number of parks (lost track) but includes Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Studio, and 2 water parks plus a "sports" park.

Also a number of Disney hotels, plus hotels that are not Disney but work with them.

There is a network of major roads crossing the Disney site and the parks are rather isolated.

To be honest, if you can get a car then go for one as it will make your trip easier and more flexible.

But DO NOT believe anyone who says your holiday includes a FREE car. There is always some insurance and other tax to pay so it will cost you about £200 for your free car.

I would suggest booking with Vigin holidays.

chazza
Thurs 27/04/06
14:33

We went for years and found that the best thing to do was go onto expedia and book the flights cheaply then buy a "villas" magazine from somewhere like WH Smiths and rent a villa independently.

However we always rented a car over there - everyone drives and although I'm sure the public transport is excellent, I wouldnt fancy depending on it 24/7!

brute
Thurs 27/04/06
15:13

i have stayed in lots of different places in orlando and i would say the best area to stay is lake buena vista a little more expensive than international drive but really worth it i usually book with virgin but last year we stayed in a villa and decided to do it a little cheaper and we went with travel city direct i would definatley advise you to get a car public transport over there can be a nightmare bus trips up and down international drive are great but if you want to go anywhere else eg florida mall then it takes ages sears is about the best taxi firm to use over there if you really dont want to drive

puzzled54
Thurs 27/04/06
15:16

I have also found Virgin Holidays good. If you get their brochure, they state which hotels are good for non drivers and will also say which have buses running to Disney. We stayed on International Drive without a car and it was fine. We mostly went to the Universal Parks tho. The trolley buses run from one end of I_Drive to the other - Seaworld is at one end and a huge shopping mall is at the other. Wet and wild is in the middle(ish), and the actual Universal Studios is just off I-Drive, but in walking distance - well, we walked but not many other people did. I seem to recall that a taxi to the Disney Parks was about £30 each way. There is a cheap way of doing it by public transport, but you have to know where to change, and it takes a while. If you want to go mainly to the Disney parks, you may do better to stay in a hotel in Kissemmee, which has a bus running to the parks (we did this one year as well, again with Virgin).
Have you decided which parks to visit yet? If you want more info, just let us know.
ps nearly forgot. With Virgin, they will provide transfers from airport to hotel and back if you are not driving. BTW, I don't work for them, but did a lot of research before going to Florida the first time, and found them to be the best for what I wanted.

gazzawazza
Thurs 27/04/06
16:35

I too would say hire a car if you can. It makes the holiday so much more flexible and driving over there is very easy. Most routes are well signed in advance. We went last year and only got lost once and that was due to me missing a turn due to some roadworks.

Metz
Thurs 27/04/06
19:20

We stay on I - Drive,last yr we stayed at the Best Western Plaza, hiring a car is the best option,especially if you want to go to Busch, but at the hotel they do have a bus timetable (which days are for Disney,Epcot, I of A etc),it picks you up at reception ,you do have to book in advance though,not sure if it's the day before.But i'm sure the bus picks up at other hotels on the way down I - Drive.We book with TCD,cheaper flights etc but more money saved to go shopping with ! :o)

flipflop104
Fri 28/04/06
00:25

OK. You don't want to drive so my answer is based on that.

Go with Virgin (as already suggested). You can book a hotel thru them that does non-drive holidays. We went in Holiday Inn International Drive. It was perfect because it was at the top (opposite Wet n Wild) where the I-Trolley stops first (further down and it's full from everyone getting on before you) but also has a free shuttle bus to Universal/Islands of Adventure and Seaworld (not that you need it for Seaworld).

You can also use Lynx buses (I'l come back to that)

If you stay at the top where I've suggested and you have kids, buy the Wet n Wild/Seaworld/Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure pass thing that you can get (14 days unlimited access) - it's not alot of money (relatively) and it gives you unlimited access (14 days) to Wet n Wild (and the others I've listed above) - perfect if you have kids and finish some park a little earlier than expected cos you can just pop in and out of wet n wild daily with it and they can spend the rest of the day there - well you all can for no extra cost and it's better than just a swimming pool.

Also, being where you are is near(ish) to Beltz which is a great cheap shopping centre (nike town, Reebok, Levis etc).

You can also get the I-Trolley down to the Premier outlet which is similar to Beltz (but right at the bottom past Seaworld)

Justb realised you need to know how to get the I-Trolley - there loads of stops up and down I-Drive and you can buy a ticket for 14 days for $14 each (last time I was there) from the Tourist Info Centre at Mercado (stop 27 I think but I might be wrong).

Failing that use the Lynx buses.... I feel I might be boring you now so maybe I should shut up. If you want more info, email me on flipflop104@hotmail.com and put Answer Bank Florida in the title so I don't miss it. I'll answer any questions you have

music123
Fri 28/04/06
14:04

Question Author

thanks to everyone - I didn't realise there were so many different places. I'll try Virgin and see what they've got ( I'm determined not to drive- as my husband cant drive and I would end up being a taxi service like at home!!

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