Florida Vacation
 

Hi, We're trying to book a vacation to Florida in April end (Orlando, Miami, Key West) and just trying to figure out best sites to book from?

We are thinking of driving down from Orlando->Miami->Key West and getting the flight back from Key West. Is April a good time to go? Would Orlando be too crowded in April? How many days would you recommend in Miami/Key West (bearing in mind we are going for a week, and might spend 3 days in Orlando). Which theme parks would you recommend going/skipping (no kids, just a young couple)?

So many questions, but first and foremost Im looking for which is the best site to book from, then the rest which I've posted!

Many Thanks in advance!!:)

Re: Florida Vacation
 

Parks - I would avoid Disney like the plague (although someone else will be along to say it really is the happiest place on earth - horses for courses).I can't stand the place, although if you have to go to one of them, Epcot (for me) is the best of the choices. I would choose Universal over Disney any day. Discovery Cove was well worth the inflated price (if you're into the sea stuff) even if just to get somewhere with plenty of elbow room:lol:

Re: Florida Vacation
 

Orlando will probably still be crowded that time of year, it's still cool enough to not pass out in the theme parks...lol

As to what park to go to, all depends on what you enjoy. I'd go to Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom alone with Universal.

Disney World isn't one large theme park, its a resort made up of several theme parks.

As to which site, all depends on how you like to book, I only book direct so I go straight to the airlines websites along with the hotel chains I normally use and go from there.

If your okay with 3rd party sites expedia, hotwire, priceline etc, just check and see what the prices are.

Benefit to Expedia.ca is they charge in Canadian funds where the others charge in US funds.

It's very rare I find a 3rd party site cheaper then the providers directly and when things go wrong, its a lot easier to deal with issues when a 3rd party company is not involved.

Re: Florida Vacation
 

Disney, nobody goes there anymore...its too crowded.:scarper:

Re: Florida Vacation
 

:sarcasm:Epcot without a doubt, it's a great park to walk around, good food and drinks, and the best adult rides.

Animal Kingdom is also great if you like animals, so you can do the safari bit.

The Harry Potter worlds at Universal are good if you like the franchise, but really busy. The rest of the park is very disappointing, especially now they've done away with the backstage tour stuff.

Re: Florida Vacation
 

We did something similar in 2013, although we had 22 days not a week. We had 7 days at Disney then drove to Duck Key (mile marker 62). That drive took over 7 hours. We did Key West from Duck Key (another 2 hours). 5 completely relaxing days in the Keys before 4 days on South Beach. We finished with a week at Universal.

I'd say if you were planning 3 days in Orlando plus driving down to Miami and Key West, then you're going to lose a big chunk of your remaining days to driving.

I'm not sure how one-way rentals work now. It used to be very expensive.

Re: Florida Vacation
 

If you are taking kids, DisneyWorld is unavoidable. There is a sound like an immense Hoover that overhangs the park. That is the sound of wallets and purses being sucked clean of cash and credit. April is a very pleasant month and the kids will love FantasyLand.

Naples was very cool this year (latter part of January), almost chilly. Key West is the warmest and most fun place down there.

Re: Florida Vacation
 

1. April is a perfect time to go to Florida. Of course, everyone else realizes this as well. Expect crowds.
2. If you like theme parks, Disney World is amazing. Yes it's overcrowded. Yes it's ridiculously expensive. It's exhausting and a bit of a pain in the ass. It's also beautifully designed, preternaturally spotless, the food can be really good and the attractions are simply unequalled anywhere. The detail in the place is almost unbelievable. Magic Kingdom and Epcot are the two must-sees for me but all four parks are great. You can easily blow a week there alone, the scale is difficult to describe to someone who hasn't been there. It's basically an entire city.
3. Florida is huge. Your itinerary is going to mean that you'll spend a significant amount of time driving. You may be OK with this, but keep in mind that within a week in you may be sick of Florida drivers (the worst in the US, bar none).
4. Key West is a dumpy tourist trap, if you ask me (you didn't but there you go). It's also well out of your way. I would swap in a couple of days on Captiva which is on your way and much nicer.
5. Best beach in Florida (in my opinion): Longboat Key. Do not miss.
6. Parts of Miami are terrific. Other parts not so much. Worth visiting, though. Ft Lauderdale can be fun as well.

Re: Florida Vacation
 

From my research last year for a specific segment (SoCal to/from San Francisco area) it depended on the origins and destinations being big enough places - for example, Los Angeles International airport to San Francisco International airport there was no one-way fee. But LAX to San Jose or Podunktown added fees of hundreds, and some companies wouldn't even do one-way to certain destinations (or probably from certain origins too).

Re: Florida Vacation
 

For what it's worth I used VRBO for my last vacation and was happy with both the price and condo I found on there so I'll be using them again.

Re: Florida Vacation
 

Spring Break time.

FYI, Disney is now $105 for admission for over 10 year olds.


Jim.

Re: Florida Vacation
 

You may find it cheaper to return your car to, and fly out of Miami.....as opposed to Key West.


Jim.

Re: Florida Vacation
 

I thought Disney was rubbish. I know it's not designed for me really, but compared to the other parks, it feels old and dated to me. I was really looking forward to visiting Epcot. Apart from the fireworks in the evening, I wasn't impressed at all. SeaWorld, Busch Gardens and Universal are light years ahead. Orlando is no different to the Costa Del Sol, personally, without kids, I'd give it a wide birth.

Re: Florida Vacation
 

Agreed, for both CA and FL, especially considering the prices for annual passes. Over in CA we could get no-black-out Universal, Knotts Berry, and Legoland passes for less for all three than the equivalent Disney pass. And they're better - and include water parks for the latter two, whereas I don't think Disney have one in CA.

Re: Florida Vacation
 

When it comes to Disney you have to be a kid or Disney fan otherwise you likely won't enjoy the parks since they are not built around extreme rides.

For the California park which is the original, a lot comes from nostalgia and locals more then out of town tourists as millions have grown up with Disneyland trips every year as children so going feels like reliving part of childhood.

Regardless Disney is doing something right, no theme park comes close to seeing the amount of people Disney does, so Disney is the current price leader and can charge a hefty price for their product.

I personally don't care for Disneyworld though.

Worldwide Disney is # 1 with all its parks seeing 132,549,000 people.

Number 2 Merlin Entertainment group saw 59.8 million.

Individial parks from the top 10, the top 8 are Disney parks then Universal Japan, then # 10 is California Adventure another Disney Park.

Disney parks in the America's are the top parks, followed by Islands of Adventure.

Disney may not be for everyone, but they know how to get people into their parks.

http://www.aecom.com/deployedfiles/I...Index_2013.pdf

numbers are from 2013, but the numbers I have seen posted from 2014 are pretty much the same, but can't find the official 2014 info.