Disney World for Adults

[Gibson486]

Planning a trip there with my fiancee at the end of March

Flights/hotel are booked. Now we need to plan activities

Questions:
- Best place to purchase discounted tickets?
- Disney World, Universal, Sea World likely on the agenda - other suggestions for adults?
- Will we need a car?
- Dinner suggestions?

Which of these are "must see" vs. "only if you have time"
Also, which of these can be combined and viewed on the same day?

Disney World:
· Magic Kingdom®
· Epcot®
· Disney's Hollywood Studios™
· Disney's Animal Kingdom®
Water Parks
· Blizzard Beach
· Typhoon Lagoon
· DisneyQuest® Indoor Interactive Theme Park
· Disney's Wide World of Sports® Complex (valid only on event days; some events require an additional admission charge)
Universal Studios
· Universal Studios Florida®
· Islands of Adventure®
Sea World
· SeaWorld® Orlando
· Aquatica

SeaWorld is alright. The only thing I liked about it was that one roller coaster where they put you in a superman position. everything else was meh....however, I have to admit that watching Shamu was amusing.

Aquatica, on the other hand, it sucked. I would think that FL water parks would kill New England ones. Not even close. It was by far the worst water park I have ever been too. This can be combined with Sea Worl and Busch Gardens.

Price wise, neither was worth it, so do try to get the price down, if possible.

 

[bobdole369]

I'm not sure this applies to all the on-property Disney resorts, you can't go direct from one park to another (Downtown Disney included). You have to catch a bus back to your resort and catch another to the new destination. There are some places where the parks are connected (i.e. monorail between Magic Kingdom and Epcot),

We used boat from EPCOT -> MGM/HS -> EPCOT -> boat -> MK -> monorail -> EPCOT

 

[Gibson486]

$220/week

i think we will get by by taxi. Not sure of the official hotel yet, but we will be in the orlando/kissimee area

DAMMMM...When I went to FL, my rental was $12 a day for the week. Granted, I landed at Tampa....

 

[bobdole369]

Disney World:
· Magic Kingdom® Only if there is time - there won't be time.
· Epcot® MUST SEE
· Disney's Hollywood Studios™ Only if there is time
· Disney's Animal Kingdom® If you like zoo's must see
Water Parks
· Blizzard Beach skip completely
· Typhoon Lagoon skip completely
· DisneyQuest® Indoor Interactive Theme Park skip completely
· Disney's Wide World of Sports® Complex (valid only on event days; some events require an additional admission charge) skip completely

(ADDING ONE) - Disney mini-golf
http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/recreation/miniature-golf/
It's completely awesome and I don't really care for minigolf - had a GREAT time.

Universal Studios
· Universal Studios Florida® - MUST SEE
· Islands of Adventure® - MUST SEE
Sea World
· SeaWorld® Orlando - MUST SEE
· Aquatica - Only if there is time

 

[Gibson486]

jsut tried there, same price

Try this place...

http://www.carrentalsavers.com/

 

[Red Storm]

Screw Sea World, go to Discovery Cove (sister park I believe). They limit it 1000 people, you're there all day, free food, and you get to go snorkeling and if you want (to pay extra), swim with dolphins. My family went this past summer and Discovery Cove was the highlight of the trip by far, way better than any theme park.

Plus, going to Discovery Cove gets you free admission to either Sea World or that water park (don't remember the name).

 

[bobdole369]

$220/week

i think we will get by by taxi. Not sure of the official hotel yet, but we will be in the orlando/kissimee area

Thats a BIG friggin area. If you end up way out on the old intl drive near disney you're gonna pay through the roof for taxis.

$220/week? Look more, thats like $35/day though. not too shabby considering you could pay $40 in cab fare leaving and coming home every day.

 

[bobdole369]

Budget gives me this from the airport:

Sun-Sat
Rate ( USD )
91.79 car
0.00 options
51.29 taxes & fees
$ 143.08 TOTAL

 

[Spooner]

Budget gives me this from the airport:

Sun-Sat
Rate ( USD )
91.79 car
0.00 options
51.29 taxes & fees
$ 143.08 TOTAL

I need SUN-SUN

the other thing with renting a car would be that we would have to pay for parking everyday

 

[geecee]

I need SUN-SUN

the other thing with renting a car would be that we would have to pay for parking everyday

Depends on where you stay. Some of the Disney resorts do not charge extra for parking. Or at least mine did not, for the two days I had the car.

 

[Spooner]

Depends on where you stay. Some of the Disney resorts do not charge extra for parking. Or at least mine did not, for the two days I had the car.

I am not staying at a Disney resort

 

[Spooner]

Screw Sea World, go to Discovery Cove (sister park I believe). They limit it 1000 people, you're there all day, free food, and you get to go snorkeling and if you want (to pay extra), swim with dolphins. My family went this past summer and Discovery Cove was the highlight of the trip by far, way better than any theme park.

Plus, going to Discovery Cove gets you free admission to either Sea World or that water park (don't remember the name).

holy DAYUM is discovery cove expensive

it seems really cool but 1 day admission w/ dolphin swim and seaventure costs $370pp !!!!

 

[dud]

I cringe every time I see a post from someone actually considering spending their hard-earned money to come to Orlando and basically stand in line. I sit next to these people on flights into OIA and question their sanity.

If you want to stand in line come by and pay me. I'll hire some friends to stand in front of you.

Planning a trip there with my fiancee at the end of March

Flights/hotel are booked. Now we need to plan activities

Questions:
- Best place to purchase discounted tickets?
- Disney World, Universal, Sea World likely on the agenda - other suggestions for adults?
- Will we need a car?
- Dinner suggestions?

Which of these are "must see" vs. "only if you have time"
Also, which of these can be combined and viewed on the same day?

Disney World:
· Magic Kingdom®
· Epcot®
· Disney's Hollywood Studios™
· Disney's Animal Kingdom®
Water Parks
· Blizzard Beach
· Typhoon Lagoon
· DisneyQuest® Indoor Interactive Theme Park
· Disney's Wide World of Sports® Complex (valid only on event days; some events require an additional admission charge)
Universal Studios
· Universal Studios Florida®
· Islands of Adventure®
Sea World
· SeaWorld® Orlando
· Aquatica

 

[Gibson486]

You have to pay for parking too?

Where are you staying?

Also, take time to go to Clearwater. It's a gorgeous beach and if go closer to the residential part, it is not busy at all. I think it is about 2 hours away. Also, you every think about renting a boat? They have all these places in Tampa where you can rent a boat for something like $200 for 5 hours.

 

[Spooner]

You have to pay for parking too?

I meant at the disney parks themselves, they charge don't they?

 

[bobdole369]

I meant at the disney parks themselves, they charge don't they?

No.

Hotels will usually include the parking in the hotel bill, but not always. Its likely $5/day.

 

[Spooner]

Narrowing the list of visits to the following:

Disney World:
· Magic Kingdom®
· Epcot®
· Disney's Hollywood Studios™
· Disney's Animal Kingdom®

Universal Studios
· Universal Studios Florida®
· Islands of Adventure®

Sea World
· Discovery Cove
· Busch Gardens

We have a total of 6 full days we will be down there so I will need to combine some of the above into 1 day. Suggestions?

 

[Red Storm]

holy DAYUM is discovery cove expensive

it seems really cool but 1 day admission w/ dolphin swim and seaventure costs $370pp !!!!

Yes, but that's absolutely everything. We didn't do the seventure (you go 15 ft. down in a pressurized helmet and just walk around for 15 minutes) or the dolphin swim, so that's about $100 cheaper I believe. It's definitely worth it. Plus you get the free admission to either Sea World or that water park I don't remember the name of. So you basically get 2 full days of entertainment for the price.

 

[tydas]

One thing to keep in mind is that Disney parks have a lot of good shows and fireworks, when you enter a park get the show schedule and plan accordingly...when lines are long doing the shows is always a good option.

For car rentals, check Hotwire, I've always had good luck with them but if your going during a peak time the discount will not be all that great.

Disney dining is ridiculously expensive so be prepared for that, the dinner shows and buffets in particular. There are a lot of good restaurants around Pointe Orlando near Orange County Convention Center which might be an option after Seaworld or Universal.

Good Luck and have fun…a great podcast to listen to is DIS UNPLUGGED via Itunes…look at the archive for episodes on specific topics.

 

[tydas]

No.

Hotels will usually include the parking in the hotel bill, but not always. Its likely $5/day.

The disney parks do charge for parking if you are not a resort guest, $14 per day...

 

[bobdole369]

The disney parks do charge for parking if you are not a resort guest, $14 per day...

My bad - you are correct. I don't recall $14 parking though.

 

[tydas]

My bad - you are correct. I don't recall $14 parking though.

Also, one thing to keep in mind..many orlando hotels and resorts will also charge a daily parking fee and they will not disclose when they quote you for a room!

 

[bobdole369]

Narrowing the list of visits to the following:

Disney World:
· Magic Kingdom®
· Epcot®
· Disney's Hollywood Studios™
· Disney's Animal Kingdom®

Universal Studios
· Universal Studios Florida®
· Islands of Adventure®

Sea World
· Discovery Cove
· Busch Gardens

We have a total of 6 full days we will be down there so I will need to combine some of the above into 1 day. Suggestions?

Figure 1 park 1 day. Can't really combine universal and IOA, each park is a full day or else you're missing out.

Hollywood studios/magic kingdom can be combined IMHO.

EPCOT is a full day (for adults)

Busch Gardens is at least an hour to the SW drive. Full day.

 

[Gibson486]

Narrowing the list of visits to the following:

Disney World:
· Magic Kingdom®
· Epcot®
· Disney's Hollywood Studios™
· Disney's Animal Kingdom®

Universal Studios
· Universal Studios Florida®
· Islands of Adventure®

Sea World
· Discovery Cove
· Busch Gardens

We have a total of 6 full days we will be down there so I will need to combine some of the above into 1 day. Suggestions?

Busch Gardens is in Tampa....

So, that is something to think about when you combine a pass. It's a good 1.5 hour drive. When my fiancee and I came back, we wished we went to Universal instead of Sea World. Just sayin.

If you go to Tampa, then go to Clearwater and have a nice picnic on the beach. It will easily be one whole day just being there, however, if you are not a beach fan, then I guess you can skip that all together.

 

[Spooner]

SeaWorld is out. Been there and it's not worth it. I know Busch is in Tampa, but I may be renting a car and I heard it's an awesome time.

I'm thinking of this as a tentative itinerary, comments are welcomed:

S - Travel (arrive 930pm)
M - Discovery Cove
T - Universal Studios / city walk at night
W - Universal Islands of Adventure
Th - Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom
F - Busch Gardens
Sat - Disney Hollywood Studios / Epcot
Sun - Travel (1030am flight)