NEWBIE - advise please

Hi, I have only ever been to the canary islands and need as much help as possible please?

My daughter is 13 in February 2008 and I have said I will teke her to WDW. My husband doed not want to come as it is definately not his cup of tea.

I was thinking of staying at one of the Disney hotels (don%26#39;t think a villa is safe for the 2 of us alone) Would like to know which would be best?

Where to get park tickets?

How busy it will be in Feb?

Where to eat?

What surprises I can arrange?

Many, many more questions.... Please just pass on any knowledge/experience you have as I never travelled without my husband before and am finding it a little daunting!!

Thanks

S

NEWBIE - advise please

This is a great place to start!

First, decide on your budget, then pick which Disney Hotel to stay in. Read the reviews here on TA, and do searches in the forum posts!

There are alot of UK travelllers on this forum, so chances are your questions have probably been asked and answered once before. Just type in the subject in the search window at the top of the forum.

Disney is probably the most traveller friendly place there is.

You%26#39;ll do fine once you start getting the hang of it!

NEWBIE - advise please

Hello you!

Firstly, don%26#39;t worry about going without hubby, if your staying at Disney you will be perfectly safe. (and most other places too)

How long are you planning to stay and will you be renting a car - if you are only doing Disney then you won%26#39;t need too (saying that i have done the works before and haven%26#39;t hired a car.

Re Disney, it depends what budget you have, as you may already know they have standard , moderate %26amp; deluxe resorts so budget will be a big factor, but wherever you go Im sure you will love it as it is your first time. You need to give people an idea on your budget , do you like thrill rides (coasters) or animals etc for them to be able to help you.

After I went o the US for the first time I can%26#39;t drum up any enthusiam about going anyweher else, particuarly Europe!

Get your park tickets over here, don%26#39;t wait till you get there. Havent bought from the web before so can%26#39;t comment, I usually trawl round the travel agents and ask what deals they have and its funny how accomodating they can be when you tell them you have been offered cheaper tickets elsewhere. I know for a fact that some travel agent staff earn commision each month if they sell enough Disney or Universal/seaworld flex tickets.........

February will be a good month to go - Disney is always busy - but it won%26#39;t be manic like Xmas and Summer hols!

Food . where do you start , I personally have never had a bad meal in Orlando (no doubt others will say I am lucky).

Suprises, well i think you will get enough of them anyway!

Ask as many questions as you like as stupid as they may sound - this is what the forum is for - and for the occasional banter amongst regulars. (not off topic mind you as you will get a telling off from the TA police)

Shame your hubby isn%26#39;t up for it - it is such a wonderful place , I have known few people who did not like Orlando - and there are many more things in Florida than just the mouse - try and talk him round, you will share some great memories, and Im sure you will want to go back again .....................

Hello- We%26#39;re also going in Feb but are staying in Daytona Beach and then Orlando.

How long do you want to go for? Will you be wanting to do Universal parks , Seaworld etc?

Will you be having a hire car once to get to Orlando, as it really does make life easier (though i must confess i leave the driving to my husband purely because he is a terrible back seat driver, but i would driver in Florida if he couldnt/didnt want to).

Alot depends on your budget, Disney has value, moderate, and expensive hotels, we%26#39;re (after much deliberation) stopping again in International Drive.

jackie x

I advise you to buy %26#39;a brit%26#39;s guide to orlando%26#39; by simon Veness. It is full of helpful info about all the parks, areas, hotels resteraunts etc. We have been to Orlando lots of times but still buy an updated version everytime as the hints and tips are excellent.

yes, I second that Hope2pigs , its a fantastic source of info.

Hello Crazybabe - yes definately get the Brits Guide to Disney - it will be very informative. You can also order the free disneyworld DVD, checkout the disneyworld.com website. We have been to Florida 7 times and always use Virgin Holidays and would recommend them as we have had no problems so far. I think it would be nice to visit Discovery Cove and your daughter could swim with Dolphins and visit Seaworld. There are lots of places to eat but can recommend Dennys, Outback Steakhouse, Dairy Queen as our personal favourites but am sure other people will have other suggestions. Do not worry about going without your husband the majority of Americans are extremely friendly and very happy to help..

firstly i cannot believe your hubby doesnt want to go, im 40 and been 14 times to orlando, he is going to miss out big time, firstly whats your budget the prices do vary in the disney hotels as does the standard, cheap end is the all star music, sport, movie etc... hotels, pop century is in this chain also, geared up for kids in mind, then youve got the swan n dolphin, animal kingdom lodge, to be honest the list is huge, try www.disney.co.uk,

get a car if you want to venture out and dine at different places, try a evening dinner show, pirates, arabian nights, dolly partons stampede, etc.. weve just bought out tickets for disney and paid 159 pounds for adult tickets ( your daughter will be classed as an adult re disney ticket prices ) for that you get 7 days access to the disney parks, which you can hop between during the same day and still only use one days ticket, plus you get six further days access to the disney water parks, ( typhoon and blizzard ), pleasure island, disney world of sport, pillinger world travel do good deals and they are based in preston, ask for gavin, hes really helpfull, and we have booked with these, not just the tickets but the whole holiday, we are staying at windsor hills, but mystic dunes is a cracking place to stay as far as catering for famalies with kids, loads going on and its central to all the kissimmme shops and restaurants, blimey ive wittered on a bit, try the pillinger world travel web site and have a look, good luck, send me a private message if you have any questions

If it%26#39;s just the two of you, you may want to stay in Disney, especially if you don%26#39;t plan to hire a car. Alternatively, you could stay somewhere like I Drive as you%26#39;ll then always be within easy walking distance of loads of restaurants and within a short trolley ride of lots of shopping opportunities.

I%26#39;m sure a villa would be perfectly safe but I wonder whether you may feel a bit isolated?

If I was you, I would ask hubby exactly what he likes about the usual Canaries holidays (rather than what he %26#39;thinks%26#39; he won%26#39;t like about Florida) and see whether you could do something like a 2 centre holiday with a week in Orlando geared towards your daughter and another week at a beach resort which he may like. It sounds like you would like both?! I know many many people who have been to Florida and only one says she didn%26#39;t love it.

Discovery Cove would be an excellent treat for your daughter, though I sort of agree with a previous poster in that everything will be special.

Hi,

You and your daughter will love Orlando (your hubby doesn%26#39;t know what he%26#39;s missing!!) My hubby never wanted to go but after he%26#39;d been once you couldn%26#39;t get him away. I am sure your hubby is not into the parks, but there%26#39;s loads more to do other than trailing parks all day (which can be tiring, especially in the height of summer). We don%26#39;t always go to the parks. To try and answer some of your questions:

Disney hotels - They all look good, but we have never stayed at one, I find them a little pricey (although there is a budget one but it doesn%26#39;t look as good as some of the nice hotels you get on International Drive). International Drive is another option? There are loads of hotels and loads of restaurants and activities to do in walking distance (it%26#39;s not that near disney but most of the hotels will do a shuttle bus to disney). We stayed at the Rosen Plaza on International Drive (click on my name and %26#39;reviews%26#39; to see what I wrote about it) The Renaissance Resort at Seaworld is also lovely but not sdo convenient for walking to restaurants etc.

Eating - Lots and lots of fab restaurants. If you like italian go to one of the Olive Gardens or Carrabbas - I have found these to be the best and are great value for money. For seafood, Red Lobster and Crab House are great. There are loads of other steak houses etc. Also if you go to Universal, visit the Hard Rock Cafe.

Disney park tickets - We always buy these at disney - bought them on board our flight one year and found that the gate price was cheaper! Also, you can get them in cheap ticket booths but I am always wary because they are 2nd hand and disney is so strict now for those reasons. If you buy a hopper pass for disney you can hop from park to park (as you may not want to spend full days in all parks?)

Surprises? - If your daugher likes dolphins, you could arrange a dolphin swim at Discovery Cove (it%26#39;s a little expensive but they keep the numbers into the park low and you get to swim with a dolphin) I did this in December 2005 and it was amazing. If you are interested in this you will need to book this early, at least 2 months before probably.

You must also take your daughter shopping for some cheap designer clothes - Mall at Millenia (a little more expensive than the others), Florida Mall and the Premium Outlets in Lake Buena Vista (loads of designer wear for cheap prices!!)

You could also take her to one of the 3 main water parks (weather dependant).

I haven%26#39;t been to Orlando in February but it was pretty cool in December (15 - 18C). I think that February will be warm though.

I hope this has helped!

Jill ; )

UK Jackie,

if you are staying in Daytona in Feb, it will be cold. Bring Jumpers. It%26#39;s not the caribbean, or even Miami. I go to Miami in Feb all the time, and am happy when it gets to 23 C.