DIY to Disneyland Florida

missy · DIY to Disneyland Florida

Can someone tell me some good websites to look for Villas and flights for Disneyland Florida - i've looked at lots of package deals but thought I'd check DIY out too.

Thanks

waterford

When I was pricing my DIY holiday these are some of the sights I looked at for Villas.
http://www.cyberrentals.com/

http://www.daltonsholidays.com/

Car Hire

http://www.dollar.com/?r=1182e8dffdd040d9b8a8fd60302ee50d

Flights, direct from Carriers, Virgin, BA, Delta just to name a few.

Also have a look on this forum I have found it great for answering questions.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g34515-i19-Orlando_Florida.html

Hope these links help and more importantly they all work for you.

Michelle

missy

Thanks Michelle, i've been looking all over - i'm beginning to go stir crazy - there is so much to look at

waterford

To be honest the most important thing to sort out 1st is your flights. There are loads of Villas out there and competition is fierce and once you are not going at a high season time I think you will get a villa about a week before you leave.

Enjoy the looking it is one of the best parts.

Roll on November and I can book my flights. I cant wait.

Katy'sClan

scoobylou try this site as well www.thedibb.co.uk it is a brilliant site with all kinds of info on, I have found it invaluable!!

Katy xx

missy

Thanks Katy excellent site

I wish I could find some cheaper flights for August 2007 - does anyone know what the norm is when they are first released.

What sort of price do you think I will end up paying for 3 adults and 1 child

waterford

August is an expensive time of year to go to Disney. Flights are released 330 days before travel which is roughy 11 months. So flights for August 2007 will be released in Sept. 2006.

Katy'sClan

scoobylou

We are flying with Travel City Direct... if you do a search on them you will get good and bad reveiws, but then you get this all the time Look at Pegasus Palace, you loved it I hated it

so i always keep an open mind anyway...

But, my point is, we are going in July (also a quite expensive time) and we found that the prices quoted with them were by far the cheapest

This year we have paid £2166 and that's for 4 Adults (boys are 12 &14) pre booked seats, Full size car hire foe 14 days, Upgraded Platinum Insurance and pre booked the Sanford Guest lounge at the airport for the journey home (in case of delays

)

It might be worth giving them a look www.travelcitydirect.com they have got prices for next August.

Goodluck, Katy xx

dragon

You can also fly charter, when we did our diy a few years ago we flew with Airtours, booked the villa with Thomas Cook and booked the car direct over the internet.

missy

You know what it is - I picked up loads of brochures yesterday but I'm getting most help from you guys - thanks ever so much because I haven't a clue .... i'm ok with package holidays but this is something else

MikeCunliffe

Our family has been to the US probably 19-20 times - to various places and usually d.i.y.

That said, in 2004 four of us went with TravelCityDirect (TCD) staying at the Liki Tiki resort (on the 192 about 5 miles west of Splendid China) and had a fairly uneventful flight each way - accomm. being very good.

In 2005, three of us went (our son didn't) plus four friends, again with TCD from Manchester to Sanford stopping at the Parkway International resort on Parkway Boulevard. This is centrally located, immed. opposite the entrance to Disney's Celebration. Again, accomm. perfect - and you can book directly with this hotel should you wish.

We did have a 14.5 hour delay outbound and we arrived in resort at 9:00am rather than at about 8:00pm - we successfuly claimed one fourteenth of our ENTIRE cost of the holiday paid to TCD plus £50 per passenger for inconvenience.

I mention this here as TCD are often delayed in each direction.

Prior to 2004 we've used Delta, KLM (via Schipol) United Airlines, American Airlines, Continental (I think), Virgin, British Midland. There's loads of scheduled operators and sometimes you can split the journey in, say, New York without any additional cost. Consider flying via western European cities (Schipol, Paris, Madrid) using a wider range of carriers.

Beware on car hire if you do this yourself, make sure you're fully insured with CDW, LDW etc etc. Also, when picking-up a car at an airport site they hit you with additional taxes/fees but you've little option if you arrive at Sanford as the distance to the main Orland/Kissimmee area is probably about 40 miles and difficult on public transport. Bit easier from Orlando INt. airport in a taxi (done it) but expensive - probably $35-40 one way.

One advantage to d.i.y. is the ability to move to different hotels. Sometimes we've pre-booked the first night (always do this in Orlando - it's amazing how full it can get in the peak season especially on a Fri/Sat night). the second and following nights have then been booked in resort. This can often save money as you can find discount vouchers in all sorts of publications available free at fast-food outlets and gas stations. But, there's the risk that the hotel you want will be full (Excalibur was full in Vegas some years back when we arrived without a pre-booking).

Another benefit, if the hotel is not ideal you simply cancel your further nights accomm. and leave - they won't charge you if you give them reasonable notice - say at breakfast on the day you intend to leave. Also, if the hotel's better than expected, subject to availability they will extend your stay. But, if the extension includes a weekend they may charge a higher rate for those nights.

When we were younger and more adventurous we enjoyed the excitement of turning-up at some place we've never visited before and haggling with the front-desk for a better rate than offered. We prefer a more settled holiday these days - but would imagine the hotels are still open to haggling. try it, you can often save a decent amount on the nightly rate.

Beware rates quoted usually do NOT include the mandatory city taxes. In some places (Orland included) this can add 10-12% to the nightly bill. Most hotels don't offer a breakfast as we'd expect it in the U.K. At best you'll get a donut and coffee or similar. However, some places offer more than that especially the timeshare type resorts - in fact, you might be invited to their breakfast in the hope that they can sell to you at the same time.

Location of the accomm. is important in Orlando, in my opinion. You generally need to drive everywhere anyway but it's a pain if it's a 40 minute drive each way to Disney, Universal, Sea World etc. Also, depending upon your accomm. location you might be able to walk to some local restaurants in an evening and that can be useful if you enjoy a beer or wine with your meal at night - drink and driving are a non-no in the States.

I've very limited experience of renting villas in Orlando but have knowledge of many hotels and locations in the Orlando/Kissimmee area and would gladly offer help and advice, if able, on this thread should anyone have specific questions.

Mike