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DH will be in Florida before Easter. He suggested I bring the kids over for a week. Flights would be free with airmiles.

Now I probably won't because I think it is a bit extravagent even with free flights and the girls were in DLP in November. There is also the minor issue of a 10 hour flight on my own with 4 children. I would rather do it properly later on I think

But just so i can rule the idea out in my head. Would it be very bust there the week before Easter?

Omg Id be running over. Ill bring my girls over as substitute (he can forget he had his son for the week )

Seriously though would you be travelling direct? It would be busier than normal but not manic. Check out if the americans are off then. Universal studios/islands of adventure/seaworld all tend to be quieter than Magic Kingdom.

Will you dh be working the whole time? Where would you stay? Even hanging around the hotel would be lovely.


Disclaimer: I am a Florida addict so Im probably not the best person to advise......

I couldn't go to a theme park without DH. DS is only 18 months so I would end up minding him and watching the girks go on rides all the time and I don't think they would go on a lot of them without an adult.

I could go either the week before or the week after DHs meetings. He is usually in the US every second week anyway so he would just stay for a 3 week run with me bringing the kids for the middle week. Actually we could do 10 days if we included the weekend either side.

As a gesture and as a birthday present I would be willing to go with you to help you with the kids ! LOL
x

C

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Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover – Mark Twain

No thats why I was asking whether he would be available. I wouldnt go either on my own but if hes free then great.
The parks are always busier on a weekend so I would do the busier parks during the week.

I think legoland opened up over there too if you were interested in that. Islands of adventure is great for the younger ones (dr seuss section). Also seaworld is bril for young kids and not as busy as some of the other parks. It has a section with rides too so has a bit of everything.

If you go have a look at ticket options and have a bit of an idea what you want to do. Disney parks are much more expensive than Universal/Islands/Seaworld. You can often get good value combination tickets for Universal/Islands/Seaworld. Last time we were there we got 7 days unlimited for Universal/Islands for $99 each (consecutive days). Not sure what deals are there now but worth looking into. (it was 2 years agolast time we went).

Just had a look there. Universal doing 14 day ticket for Universal Studios/Islands & wet & wild for $175 adult and $155 child (baby goes in free) plus tax which i think afair is 6%

Seaworld are doing buy 1 day get 1 free also.

Thats from the main sites. I think there may be some operators who also do special offers on tickets but you need to go to the disney thread for that

Yes it will be busy, have been there at Easter, but probably not as busy as Summer.

If you are just going for a week, have a good look at all the parks and choose one you really want to do and maybe spread it over 2 days and you should get it done.

Having said that if you were in DLP quite recently I'd avoid Disney and go with Universal. We love The Universal parks and never go near Disney when we're there. The two Universal parks are beside each other so easily accessible, whereas the Disney parks are spread out all over the place.

It's a long way to go for a week so I wouldn't be trying to do too much, it's a lovely time weather wise though.

I'd go against the grain and say that it will be extremely busy at that time of year. October midterm week is quiet and you'd have a full week off from school.

Tour America offer great value on universal tickets.

We went at Easter 2 years ago. Disney was busy alright but I'd loads of planning done in advance to best avoid queues. I subscribed to a guide called something like Mikes Disney guide. It's a planner written by a guy who's job it used be to bring people around the park eg celebs etc. So his guide tells you the quietest days, what way is best to go around the parks, how to get the best use of fast passes etc. it was only a few dollars and well worth signing for. We followed it and literally queued for a maximum of 5 minutes at any ride even when the park was full.
I would be there like a shot in your shoes.
If money allowed you can hire a nanny/helper for the day/week etc in Disney. I'd say it's pricey but you might want to look into it, esp as your flights are free.

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1 big boy, 13
1 small boy, 8
1 tiny boy, 3

Orlando is very busy at Easter and the parks get very full mid day with queues everywhere. The same with all the parks really. You can use the fast pass system in Disney (not a great system imo). Do the parks early in the morning or in the evenings. Universal Studios have an Express Ticket you can buy in conjuction with the normal ticket which really makes the queuing time very short.

I think the thing to do is to do a park every second or third day (certainly not every day) and mix in days by the pool or maybe a trip to the beach or Kennedy Space Centre if you're hiring a car. Discovery Cove is great for a relaxing day (expensive and you need to book in advance but worth it). Aquatica is a great water park for children. There's also some great interactive children's museums in Orlando.

Do you mean the week before the Easter school hols or the week before Easter weekend? Week before Irish hols would be busy but not manic. Week before Easter weekend would be very busy but not so much so that I'd say no to the holiday.

We've gone 3 or 4 years for Easter and I've never come home thinking about how bad the crowds are. We just went to park early and left around lunch time or went late afternoon and stayed later.

Weather there is fab at Easter, loads of sunshine without the thunderstorms.

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Feck ya Claire, I've been on BA and AerLingus site for the last half hour teasing myself!

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Have you not got our act together yet?

Nah Kitkat, had put it out of my head until I opened this thread. I'm back trawling airline sites again now like a mad thing.

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I had decided absolutely no way because it was too much hassle and didn't seem very relaxing and the kids have got too much recently and then I came back to this thread.

We could go and do Discovery Cove, that is the swimming with dolphins isn't it, and the Harry Potter place and maybe one other park rather than trying to squeeze loads in. Just enjoy the sunshine the rest of the time.

DH always has air miles expiring because he travels so much and we never use them as it isn't really worth it on short haul.

Hmmmm I'll price it and think about it.

Ciara what age was your youngest when you went?

He was a month short of his first birthday. R was only 3 and Ois was 6 while we were there.

x
C

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Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover – Mark Twain

Discovery Cove is fantastic, expensive but well worth it. It was definately the most relaxing day I've spent in Orlando. You need to book it though as they only allow a certain amount in each day.

On the HP thing, be prepared for very long lines! DH is over there at the moment and wandered up to Universal at the weekend to pass some time, the wait for the main HP ride was 3 hours I'm not sure if it was because it was MLK day weekend but I've never seen the wait that long, longest I've seen is hour and a half.

Think you're right not to try to do too much, you can even soak up the Disney atmosphere with a wander around Downtown Disney, you can take a boat from one end of it to the other (free), visit the really cool Lego shop, have an ice cream, it's a nice way to pass a few hours. Daytime is nice as it's not too busy as everyone is at the parks.

I would go if you could, its a fantastic hol. We did discovery code one year its brill, everything is included in the day and you are there from 8am till close. Some of the pics we got were amazing. ooh to go back.

harry potter is in islands of adventure which is a great theme park too. and right beside Universal

Disney magic kingdom is a must even for just one day

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I think seriously consider it. Orlando is a great place for a holiday I think and it doesn't have to be all about the parks.

Discovery Cove is great - expensive though and you'll need to pre-book. It's very relaxing, the water where all the fish are is on the chilly side, there is also another big pool/lake thing which is great for swimming or floating around, lots of sun-loungers, a great aviary where you can feed the birds and they'll sit on your hand, shoulder, etc. Dolphin swim is great, our kids love it. Meals and drinks are included in the price. The day will fly by. Ticket also includes a 14 day entry to either Seaworld, Aquatica or Bush Gardens. If your kids like waterparks, Aquatica is great as it's not too big and has a great area for younger children.

The Harry Potter area of Universal Studios last Easter was extremely busy. Huge queues even early in the morning. It was quieter later in the evening and maybe the queues won't be as bad this year !! And if you buy the Express Pass ticket also, it really reduces the wait time. We prefer the Universal Parks over the Disney ones but we're not a family who has any interest in queuing up to get a photo taken with a character.

They youngest I've bought a toddler was 18 months.

They were in DLP in November, is Magic Kingdom very different in Orlando?

You are all being too positive about this. I really was discounting it as a foolish idea.

I havent been to Paris so cant really comment, but its totally magical but always busy, any year that we have been its been thronged but soooo worth it. You should maybe look at a map of Mk at DLP and compare it to orlando

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We did

Hollywood studios
Animal kingdom - which we all loved
Magic kingdom - was fantastic - everybodys favourite
Sea World - again amazing but the kids were very tired that day.
Islands of adventure - we only did two things in this park before walking over to Universal
Universal - amazing ! Had a brilliant day

We never got to epcot.



x

Ciara

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Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover – Mark Twain

I haven't been to discovert cove. way out of my budget but it looks fantastic.

I had dd3 there when she was 7 months (other two were 4 and 7 at the time). She was also there at 2. Dd2 was 16 months when she first went. Dd1 was 10 months and then again when she was 2 4 7 and 9 (and the others with her obviously) We still haven't seen everything. Loads left we have to do. Hoping to get there again this year but you definitely can take it as easy or manic as you like. We normally do Disney as long days and because we normally have flexible tickets we might only spend 4-5 hours a day in the other parks.

Claire there is an age limit for DC i think its 6 just check it out..

we went when the girls were 23 months and 3.5 and they loved it..hae been back since and would say its definitely the best experience and holiday we have ever done...the kids still talk all the time about it and would love to go again

Dont think there is much in comparrision with Paris..its a lot smaller...and there are extra parks in WDW

there really is something for every age there and without a doubt i think you should go but make it 10 or 12 days..