Disneyworld Florida

[heffalump123]

Hi, we are hoping to go to Florida in 2012 - 4 adults & 2 children. Originally, the plan was to go in Aug during summer holidays, but according to brochures it's really hot. I've also read that it's a very wet month. Can anyone advise when would be the best time to go, bearing in mind we need to go during a half term as children school age? Thanks in advance.

[GEEMAC]

We went over Easter a couple of years ago for 2 weeks and the weather was great (aside from one shower during the day and an impressive storm one evening). But the best bit, which was more luck than judgement, was that during the second week it seemed as though all the other kids had to go back to school whereas our kids were still on holidays so we hardly had to queue for anything. If you haven't been before, you'll love it, it's great.

[heffalump123]

Thanks very much Geemac. I'll have to look into Easter. At least it's a 2 week half term, so that should mean not having to take them out of school.

[VHG]

We went in February in 2000. Weather was great (shorts and t shirts) and parks were virtually empty (apart from Presidents Day which falls in February). We went for 2 weeks and took the kids out of school for a week (with permission).

DONT go in August (too hot), DONT go in Easter (one of their busiest times).

[heffalump123]

Thanks VHG. I know Florida is 'the sunshine state' (or something like that!), but I didn't realise til I was flicking through brochure how hot it seems to be throughout the whole year! Shorts & t shirt weather sounds good. We were hoping to go for a villa rather than hotel & most seem to have swimming pools. As long as it's warm enough in Feb for kids to go in pool I'm happy!

[GEEMAC]

The first week was quite busy but not unbearably so and the second week was markedly quieter, maybe we were just lucky.

[VHG]

Here is the weather for February in Orlando.

http://www.orlando-we...weatherinorlando.html

As you can see, normal February weather is between 17C to 23C (that is 63F to 73F) which is really nice for walking round theme parks and about matches an English summer.

We were very lucky our year and we had it in the 80s for some days.

[funnygirl]

I went one year in May and it was so so hot!!!

[VHG]

If you are going to spend a few thousand pounds going to Orlando I would REALLY suggest you get a couple of books and do some planning.

These are full of hints and tips about best times to go, best places to stay, best places to go, how to get the best value etc.

Here is one, the Brits guide to Orlando

http://www.amazon.co....65799437&sr=8-1-spell

[GEEMAC]

I agree with VHG. I think the Lonely Planet guide was a good one and I think Dorling Kindersly do a good one as well.

[heffalump123]

VHG - Wow that book has some great reviews. I'll have to buy one. Thanks.

[VHG]

You sound as though you have not been to Florida before, so here are a few of my usual hints (I have posted these on a number of forums).

1) The theme parks are NOT all next door to each other (two of the Universal ones are) but even they are miles from the Disney parks, for example the Disney complex is about the size of Manchester and the parks are miles from each other.

So you almost certainly need a car (or cars) to get around. It is just about do-able by free hotel coaches or public trainsport but it can be a pain.

2) The parks are HUGE, so dont plan to spend day after day, all day, walking round parks, particularly with kids. You can get "theme park burnout".

Try perhaps to alternate parks, a white knuckle park one day, a water park the next, maybe sea world the next and so on.

3) The two main competing companies are Disney and Universal (each have a number of parks). It makes sense to buy these 7 day or 14 day tickets, but they let you into Disney OR Universal (individual day tickets are so expensive it makes sense to buy 7 day or 14 day tickets).

So study who has what parks and which ones you want to go to.

Maybe buy a 7 day or 14 day ticket to Disney OR Univeral, then go for odd days to the OTHER parks that you want to.

For exmaple, we bought a 7 day pass for Universal (which got us into Wet and Wild AND Sea World), then just went into Epcot and Animal Kingdom of the Disney parks.

So as you can see, there are quite a few things to think about before you go.

[BertiWooster]

The first time we went was in October and the weather was still hot but bearable .

VHG is correct - you have really got to plan your days , like a millitary operation , in order to see and do as much as possible . ( there is so much to see and do ).
Disney is only one of many attractions .

We thought we had pretty much covered every thing untill we got back and was looking through some brochures and realized there were quite a few things we didn't see/do

[heffalump123]

Yes there does seem to be a lot to think about! Some people think i'm a bit mad thinking about a holiday 2 years away, but I always think it's a good idea to get as much info as poss in advance!

[VHG]

Here is my favorite "free" thing to do in Orlando, called Olde Town

http://www.old-town.com/

It is built like an old "Wild West" high street, with loads of shops (that want your money), but they do have free bands, street entertainers etc.

They also have a fun fair, plus a "car cruise" every saturday night - plus other nights (lots of custom cars) and even if you are not into cars it is quite amazing.

A great place to stroll round in the evening.

[heffalump123]

BertiWooster - the 2 main things we know we want to do are - seeing disney characters / parades & my mum in law wants to swim with dolphins. Not sure where that is?

[heffalump123]

Looks good VHG. I think with the amount there is to do, we'll need another week off just to recover!

[GEEMAC]

We started planning ours a couple of years in advance. We knew what we were going to do before we got there even down to what rides/attractions/shows we wanted to do. As others have said, there is more to Florida than the theme parks.

[VHG]

>seeing disney characters / parades

Disney Magic Kindom.

>my mum in law wants to swim with dolphins. Not sure where that is?

Disovery Cove (you can also Feed / Stroke dolphins for free in Sea World)

http://www.discoverycove.com/

[GEEMAC]

One of the things we wanted to do was swim with dolphins but the more we looked into it, the more it didn't seem right. I didn't like the idea of swimming with captive dolphins and boatloads of tourists swimming with dolphins in the wild causes all sorts of problems for their feeding and mating. So we didn't. My wife and daughter swam with manatees which while not as pretty as dolphins apparently suffer less from human involvement.

[VHG]

The other thing my family enjoyed were the Crazy Golf. You see them at the road side as you drive around.

These are huge (not like the crappy ones we get in the UK) and are attractions in their own right, as they all have a theme, they are like film sets with waterfalls, lakes, volcanos etc.

I remember us playing one at about 10pm under floodlights, with the moon above us. We were still in shorts and t shorts (and as I said, this was February)

Here is one as an example of their crazy golf sites
http://www.piratescove.net/location/5