Going To Orlando - Disney

[Ramster]

I am bringing the wife and 2 kids down to Orlando to hit Disney, SeaWorld ect. for March break so we'll be there Friday March 11th for a week.

I am thinking on Not buying any themepark passes until I get there since it is so goddam confusing looking online for them. You just don't know what you're getting.

We've booked BuenaVista Suites but can cancel that of course if it turns out to suck or we find a better "package".

Anyone have any experience?

Thanks

[ecchi]

A friend of mine did that holiday a while back, but he booked the passes in advance. I cannot remember what the savings were, but they were astronomical. He spent 2 weeks solid in the theme parks and said that the saving in booking the pases in advance over buying passes there was almost enough to pay for another holiday (although he meant a cheaper one that two weeks in America).

But he did book from England, the saving may not be the same if you book within the US.

[Ramster]

Hmmm, thats ecchi. Interesting info.

[KCat]

Do you have a CAA membership? They've got great deals for getting the passes before you leave home...lots of stuff targetted specifically for Canadians.

Definitely don't buy them at the gate or get suckered into wasting a day listening to a timeshare spiel in order to save a few bucks.

[Verbal]

Hey Ramster,

I could be mistaken, but I *think* when you buy passes they're good for anytime during the year, and as others said it's cheaper to get them beforehand. Have you been there before? It is a true cross-section of American glutony (but quite fun!).

[Yell]

Ramster it's cheaper to buy a hopper pass then it is to buy single tickets it will save you a little $. A hopper pass is either a 3 or 5 day depending on how many days you want to go and they are good for all parks except the water parks. And the tickets are good for years i still have tickets from when GG and i went with the family and that was about five years ago. I am going next week and useing mine To bad you are not going to be there then. I guess my older daughter will be pissed.

[Cleo]

This is the time to go. The weather down here this time of year is simply beautiful.

[Yell]

Can't wait Cleo i love Flordia the kids and i need to get away.

[Cleo]

The only thing bad about this time of year is that it is so nice here that everyone goes this time of year.

If you don't mind the incredible heat and humidity summer and fall are great since the lines are short and rates are better.

I'm down in south Florida and I've never seen this many tourists. Traffic is super bad this year as are the crowds while dinning. I'm guessing that central Florida is just as bad.

I haven't been to Disney in years but did do Universal Studios for the first time last year. It is actually two theme parks. One has very good rides like coasters and stuff while the other had virtual reality stuff. My favorite was The Terminator which mixes live action with 3D video on a large stage.

[Yell]

GG and i did the Hulk at Universal awsome coaster.

[Greenguy]

Yeah - that Hulk ride scared the shit out of me

[Cleo]

That thing is simply terrifying.

[Yell]

Me to
Remember i almost could't close the bar for me to lock myself in.

[Greenguy]

The shit thing is that you don't expect it - you're going up the hill & like every other roller coaster, you assume there's a big drop at the top. But 1/2 way up the hill they turn on those airplane motors & you're going 60 MPH in about 3 seconds.

Sorry if I ruined it for you Ramster

[waz]

i've never been at Universal and i've never been on any big coasters one of these years i'm going to have to go on one

[Yell]

Ya but it was AWSOME.....

[Ramster]

Universal is a place I want to go. And it looks like it would be cheaper to buy beforehand so we'll do that.

Yell, I think we will buy the 3 or 5 day passes. It does seem cheaper and a lot smarter.

KCat, yes I have CAA so I'll stop by there and see what they have.

[Linkster]

Ramster - I went last year to both Disney and Universal - got hotel packages at both - at Universal stayed at the hard Rock Hotel and at Disney one of their resort hotels - they both had a really good package that included the park hopper passes - which have benefits beyond the price - at Disney you get in an hour before everyone else so you can hit rides that you dont want to wait for - plus they both include front of the line privledges with the packages at both parks - never had to wait more than 3 minutes for any ride. To me that was worth buying them as part of the hotel package and I do remember that the price was cheaper when you did buy them with the hotel reservations. If I remember correctly I did 3 nights at Disney and 4 nights at Universals hotel - but the passes were good at both for the whole week

[Alphawolf]

Ramster,

I've been there 3 times in the past 6 months. My best friend is a Disney FREAK.

If you are going with the wife and 2 kids I'd recommend you get the Universal Express Pass. It is more per ticket, BUT it will allow you to basically skip all lines.

You can simply go from ride to ride bypassing the lines. It's very good to have.

Yes- it's more...but you will be able to do all of Universal in 1 day in a comfortable manner. Actually, we went on every ride 4hrs. No rush either. Without that pass...forget about it.

Disney parks are much much larger and more of a strolling experience. I got the 3day park hopper and told the dude I'd be moving there...so they applied the payment to an annual pass which was very cool of them.

Disney has the Fast Pass. If Twilight Tower of Terror and Rockin Roler Coaster has a long line you can put your tickets in a fast pass machine...which will give you a time to come back to the ride so you can go and do other stuff (buy shit) instead of waiting on line.

You can only use 1 fast pass at a time.

BUT...

There is a button on the back of most of the machines. Without putting in your pass you can press the button and get a fast pass. Be careful or play dumb 'cos they will give you hassles if they catch you. But I've done it many many times.

At the magic kingdom...after Spectomagic...you can walk around a bit before Wishes fireworks...which is *really* great...and I'm a jaded fuck who isn't impressed by anything.

It will be crowded, but if you go back towards the entrance a bit on your left (if you are walking away from the castle) there will be an ally with some chairs that always seems to be empty.

You and the family can finally SIT and relax a while before getting your spot on main street for the fireworks.

Seaworld..they were giving extra days for free last I went. I was very disappointed with Seaworld. They should call it SeaShanty instead of SeaWorld. You pet some stingrays which feel like chicken cutlets in the water. People flood the dolphin area. There are few nice displays. The tank walk-through is OK.

I was just expecting a world class aquarium for some reason. It's much more of a nice walk though park with some fish.

Shamu show is really pretty good. Sit in the 1st few bleacher rows.

Get your free beverages too!

Before my friend got his house there I stayed at a Holiday Inn pretty close to Universal. They have a reps for theme parks and booths with brochures and want to sell you everything.

If you have time to venture outside the theme parks a bit check out the Gaylord Palms hotel. Very nice.

Have fun!

[Alphawolf]

Originally Posted by Greenguy

The shit thing is that you don't expect it - you're going up the hill & like every other roller coaster, you assume there's a big drop at the top. But 1/2 way up the hill they turn on those airplane motors & you're going 60 MPH in about 3 seconds.

Sorry if I ruined it for you Ramster

It's cute. Nice and violent - but quick.

[Tart]

If you go to Universal Islands of Adventure, the dueling dragons are alot faster to get on then the Hulk, especially towards the end of the day. The last 4 times I've gone, we were able to get on it with no longer then a half hour wait. When the hubby and I went by ourselves, we managed to ride 6 times in 2 hours... I was dizzy for an hour after
Haven't been to Disney yet (we get a different annual pass every year) but my sis said Animal Kingdom is great.

[Alphawolf]

Yeah- Hulk will have a long ass line. That's why you get the Express Pass. Actually- I think Hulk was the ONLY ride they didn't allow one to use Express Pass.

Dueling Dragons was pretty good.

Animal Kingdom is a nice park. They are building an indoor coaster to add some excitement. But I think most go the animal kingdom to sorta escape the other parks.

Lots of shade from the Florida sun too.

[Ramster]

Wow, great info. Thanks Linkster and Alphawolf.

[waz]

i didn't know they were puting a coaster in animal kingdom. i liked the ride Dinosaur

[Alphawolf]

waz,

Yeah- it's inside a man made mountain. Looks like it will be a nice addition.