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Florida Villas

i have to recommend sea world .It has a live show with trained cats and dogs ,it's one of the funniest things i've seen ,your kids will love it!


Cats and dogs ? Did you get cheap tickets as I think you might have been ripped off and sent to Pets World ?:smile:
 
book them. You will need them. Had to have one child seat for my then 4 year old daughter, she wasn't at all happy as she'd been out of hers and using a booster for some time, but the requirement then was that she had to have a child seat (14 years ago).

I'd advise doing Disney in one block, a 5 day pass is probably best and allows for going in and out of the parks. Use the mono-rail at Epcot to get in and out of Magic Kingdom, it's far less stressful than the parking there.

Only 5 days for Disney?! Not nearly long enough.
 
Harry Potter at Universal is a must as is Busch Gardens ,they do a free bus shuttle as its a1.45 drive.

Not sure Busch Gardens is a must for kids the age of Jam Man's? The rides there, I felt, were for older kids and adults. All reports I've heard of HP though definitely make it a "must"!

Completely agree with OBL, with kids of that age, it would be a wasted day.
 
Not sure Busch Gardens is a must for kids the age of Jam Man's? The rides there, I felt, were for older kids and adults. All reports I've heard of HP though definitely make it a "must"!

Yep, been twice to Islands of Adventure since HP was built and can honestly say it is comfortably the best out of all the parks....Regardless of age.
 
I was hoping to spend no more than 7 or 8 days in parks so should still be able to see plenty.

Kids arent into Harry Potter but will give it a go anyway.
 
I was hoping to spend no more than 7 or 8 days in parks so should still be able to see plenty.

Kids arent into Harry Potter but will give it a go anyway.

Neither am I, but the main ride in the HP section is absolutely breathtaking......Of course you should brace for long wait times if you're planning a visit during the peak season.

You need a day there, a day in Universal imo.
DisneyWorld is a day depending on how much the kids love it in which case could be 2.....
EPCOT - AVOID imo. Its not terrible, but compared to what it's competing with is not even on the scale.
Sea World is a good call....Has some nice rides nowadays and worth a visit
Animal Kingdom - see EPCOT
MGM - If you've not done it, you should definitely add this one. Some really good rides there.
Not sure about your thoughts on Wet n Wild and those types of places.....The missus doesn't like them, which means I have to not like them either.
Busch Gardens, as I said, is rollercoasters and pretty extreme ones at that.....It's also a good trek (80miles I think) from Kissimmee (which I assume is where you'll stay), so I guess that's one for you to gauge.

If I was preparing for 7 parks, I'd do Islands of Adventure, Universal, Disney, MGM for sure, and the others I'd have a think on.....
 
I was hoping to spend no more than 7 or 8 days in parks so should still be able to see plenty.

Kids arent into Harry Potter but will give it a go anyway.
I honestly do think 5 days is enough for Disney, pick your rides and make sure you either get on them early or get "fast passes" - 1 day each in Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom (make sure you see a parade and an evening firework show), I'd do Epcot in two half days, one for the front and one for the "Worlds", plus an evening for fireworks, and then probably a half day in MGM/Hollywood Studios, should leave time for a visit to one of the water parks too. Definitely agree with Tony though, Sea World is fantastic. You might also want to try Gatorland if your kids like that kind of thing, it's in Orlando too. Reckon that would easily leave you 3 or 4 days to do Universal and Islands of Adventure.

Best tip is to get in the parks early and get as much done early, the parks get busy in the afternoons so it sometimes pays to go back to your villa and chill out for a few hours before hitting the parks again later - with the Disney pass you can come and go as often as you like. Tip for Epcot, book a table for dinner at the Rose and Crown in good old UK, they have a private viewing area for the fireworks.
 
To totally divert this thread....why on earth would you want this holiday? Sounds like a living hell.

But hey, have fun. I'd rather watch paint dry in a big paint factory full of paint.
 
To totally divert this thread....why on earth would you want this holiday? Sounds like a living hell.
Because Paul, as you will find out at some point, you will want to give your daughter the holiday of her dreams, and for THAT particular holiday, you will come back feeling like you need to go on another one, but this time for you! It's something I think every parent should do if they possibly can.
 
Because Paul, as you will find out at some point, you will want to give your daughter the holiday of her dreams, and for THAT particular holiday, you will come back feeling like you need to go on another one, but this time for you! It's something I think every parent should do if they possibly can.

Meh. She can have a week in Skeggy like I did and enjoy it.
 
Because Paul, as you will find out at some point, you will want to give your daughter the holiday of her dreams, and for THAT particular holiday, you will come back feeling like you need to go on another one, but this time for you! It's something I think every parent should do if they possibly can.
when my eldest daughter complained of a lack of holidaying abroad I reminded her I'd taken her to Swansea and Cardiff and she'd seen the Shrimpers promoted on two of her foreign trips and that beats some Mickey Mouse holiday
 
I honestly do think 5 days is enough for Disney, pick your rides and make sure you either get on them early or get "fast passes" - 1 day each in Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom (make sure you see a parade and an evening firework show), I'd do Epcot in two half days, one for the front and one for the "Worlds", plus an evening for fireworks, and then probably a half day in MGM/Hollywood Studios, should leave time for a visit to one of the water parks too. Definitely agree with Tony though, Sea World is fantastic. You might also want to try Gatorland if your kids like that kind of thing, it's in Orlando too. Reckon that would easily leave you 3 or 4 days to do Universal and Islands of Adventure.

Best tip is to get in the parks early and get as much done early, the parks get busy in the afternoons so it sometimes pays to go back to your villa and chill out for a few hours before hitting the parks again later - with the Disney pass you can come and go as often as you like. Tip for Epcot, book a table for dinner at the Rose and Crown in good old UK, they have a private viewing area for the fireworks.

Not sure either of those parks are worthwhile to be honest. EPCOT is fairly educational for kids I guess, but there's no rides which "take your breath away" and I found the whole experience a bit tiring as the park is surprisingly large....AK for me was just a glorified zoo where the one ride worth going on was a huge wait.

The rest of what you've said I agree with though.....Apart from maybe the MGM only taking half a day....Think that is more of a day depending on when you get there...

One thing is for sure, I would recommend going to a park on the first morning you're there....Everyone has so much energy with the "reverse jetlag", you can get to the park when the gates open and you'll get loads done in the day
 
Not sure either of those parks are worthwhile to be honest. EPCOT is fairly educational for kids I guess, but there's no rides which "take your breath away" and I found the whole experience a bit tiring as the park is surprisingly large....AK for me was just a glorified zoo where the one ride worth going on was a huge wait.

The rest of what you've said I agree with though.....Apart from maybe the MGM only taking half a day....Think that is more of a day depending on when you get there...

One thing is for sure, I would recommend going to a park on the first morning you're there....Everyone has so much energy with the "reverse jetlag", you can get to the park when the gates open and you'll get loads done in the day
My lot loved Epcot, the "educational" stuff is all pretty WOW for kids that age, including Honey I Shrunk the Audience, and the Maelstrom ride in Norway is great too! That's why I said split it in two, do the front bit including Mission:Space, then when you go back, get the boat across to the Worlds. Epcot for us was a real pleasure after the hurly burly of Magic Kingdom. Two great rides at Animal Kingdom, the Kali River Rapids and the Kilimanjaro Safari. The Everest one wasn't quite finished when we were last there.

I think, with kids your ones' ages, I'd recommend doing the traditional entry into Magic Kingdom, on the ferry. That look on their face when they get their first glimpse of the castle is one of those moments you'll want to treasure. Get there early, before the crowds build - certainly good advice to go there day 1 when you'll be awake early anyway! Then if you're going to go back there, park at Epcot and use the monorail, far quicker and easier as parking at Magic Kingdom is probably as difficult as it gets.

Mine weren't too bothered by MGM, although it's good for getting autographs as it can be fairly quiet early on. I'd recommend going there for Fantasmic, assuming it's still on, the evening show.
 
Oh, and pick up maps for the parks in advance if you can, helps you to plan - it's almost a military exercise to get everything in that you want! Actually, you can probably download them here thinking about it!
 
Forgot to mention Downtown Disney. You have the cirque du solei which I recommend for the kids, a cinema and also the Rainforest Cafe which ****es all over the poor excuse cheap and nasty one in London. The kids will love the Rainforest Cafe!
 
What is this hooters you speak of ? Is it an owl sanctuary? We shall attend the establishment, it sounds very educational.
 
What is this hooters you speak of ? Is it an owl sanctuary? We shall attend the establishment, it sounds very educational.

I'm sure your kids will be impressed! Actually, I think I'm right in saying that if you fly with Virgin, they actually have a case check in at Downtown Disney, so you can go and deposit your cases early on your return day and then enjoy the rest of it without having to lug cases around if you're checking out early. Definitely worth doing - if they still do it, of course!

Downtown Disney is a nice place just to go and relax on your last day, some nice little shops and cafes, including a great Lego shop (and play area!) and a huge Disney store.
 
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