Orlando, Florida

[jenny_syngkit]

Help pls, what hotel can you recommend along i-drive? preferably yung may free shuttle to Disney, Universal and SeaWorld. TIA.

[mama squeak!]

^sis, not sure about free shuttles unless its with a package but there are public buses that goes around I-drive. Mas malapit ang Universal sa I-drive compared to DW which is in Kissimmee. Hubby and I had a rental kaya it wasn't a problem for us going around the area. You can also check this link to guide you:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g34515-c117796/Orlando:Florida:Bus.Services.From.To.Walt.Disney.World.html

[jenny_syngkit]

hi mama squeak! parang mahirap nga yung free shuttle to all theme park kase medyo malayo yung disney. baka we'll take a cab going there na lang.

can't decide which hotel to book along i-drive. was thinking of getting hilton orlando or peabody, which is better? as much as possible we don't want to rent a car na.

[mama squeak!]

^Yikes! Ang mahal ng cab going to Kissimmee from Idrive. Check these links for sample taxi fares/bus passes:

http://www.taxiorlando.com/rates.html

http://www.golynx.com/fares-passes/

Better pa rin talaga to rent a car kasi meron kang flexibility plus it will come out cheaper pa. Sorry haven't stayed at the hotels you mentioned.

[foxymom]

we stayed at a holiday inn resort in florida when we went there last april. meron free shuttle service to all the theme parks

[rics]

meron hotels that offer free shuttle to the theme parks but kadalasan, unahan yan sa pila since marami sumasakay, so dapat maaga ka gumising para una ka sa pila or kung ayaw mo maghintay ng susunod na shuttle.

marami murang rentals sa florida near the attractions, marami din murang hotels. your best bet would be to rent a car para sarili mo oras mo.

[jenny_syngkit]

thanks to all the replies. we got a hotel that offers free shuttle to universal and sea world. buti na lang we have a car on the day we're going to disney.

ano pa mga ok na puntahan aside from the theme parks? tia.

[mama squeak!]

You can check out St. Augustine, the oldest city in the US. It's about an hour and fifty minutes drive time from Orlando. It's a bit touristy but hubby and I loved the place.

[rics]

kennedy space center sa cape canaveral

[marssie]

Any other nice places in Florida? 

Anong site kaya magandang bilhan ng ticket for disneyland? Sabi kasi mas cheaper daw pag online ka bumili.. minsan may mga promos

[mama squeak!]

^Or you can check mismo with the hotel's concierge service. Minsan they offer discounted tickets.

You can go to Miami and Key West pero sa kabilang dulo na yun from Orlando. But they're pretty interesting places. Miami traffic reminds me of Manila kasi kakatawa mga drivers nila parang mga taga-Maynila rin magmaneho, walang ayos! 

[rics]

thanks to all the replies. we got a hotel that offers free shuttle to universal and sea world. buti na lang we have a car on the day we're going to disney.

sis anong hotel nakuha nyo and how much is the rate?

Anong site kaya magandang bilhan ng ticket for disneyland? Sabi kasi mas cheaper daw pag online ka bumili.. minsan may mga promos

i was just checking hotel rates for summer.
buy tickets online at disney.com before you go there, or if you are staying at a disney resort, they have special promo.

i checked travelocity and they have promo airfare+hotel, you can make tickets (disney, universal, seaworld) as add ons and they have promo also. like for disney, 3days base+park hopper and you get 2days free, ect.

also checked hotel rate for this coming summer, medyo mahal na since its the busiest time of the year. i was leaning towards taking a hotel at disney + tickets + meals. its a bit expensive but less of a hassle. i dont need car to go around since there will be a shuttle, plus there's extended hours. mahal din kasi ang parking for disney. even coming from the airport, disney will bring guests to the hotel and  dont have to worry about the luggage, pwede pasyal na agad  specially if maaga ang dating. then lipat kami ng hotel na mas malapit naman sa universal for maybe 3-4 days.

on the other hand, i was looking into an off-site hotel na meron breakfast and free shuttle to the park (disney, universal, sea world). kasi there are hotels, na sa disney lang ang shuttle. ayaw ko na rin mag rent ng car kasi added expense lang ang parking sayang naman.

mahal lang ang hotels around lake buenavista pero central ang location. most budget hotels like best western etc. in kissimmee and those near univeral, medyo mababa ang rate.

[prettymom]

For us, we stayed in Sheraton and they have a free shuttle to Disney parks

[jenny_syngkit]

@rics - we stayed at at Disney Pop Century Resort during our Disney leg. Like what you've mentioned there's free shuttle from and to the airport, plus free shuttle inside Disney mismo. We were travelling with 3 kids so ginawa namen, we went to the parks ng super aga then go back sa hotel around noon to rest, then balik na lang ulit until closing. We got the 4-day disney ticket, hindi na kame nag-park hopper. Malamig sobra when we went there so hindi na namen pinuntahan yung water parks nila.

We stayed naman at Quality Inn (when we booked the hotel Marriott pa siya, pero when we got there, nagchange na pala ng owner) when we went to Universal, SeaWorld, Premium Outlets, NASA, Everglades. Free breakfast and free wi-fi plus walking distance to i-Drive. They only offer free shuttle to Universal (not to Seaworld since nag-change na nga ng management). Sorry but I can't remember the rates anymore. Basta we got the package from Seaworld's website (includes tickets na).

We were supposed to book Hilton Orlando kase same price lang ng Quality Inn (Hilton is a 5-star, tapos yng Quality 3-star), kaya lang naubos na when I tried to book. Pero ok na din at least may wi-fi and free breakfast. Nothing fancy yung food, pero at least tipid na din kame and hindi na problem saan kame kakain. Marami pang hotels along i-drive, I can't remember the names lang.

[rics]

thanks for the reply sis.
been checking diff accommodations actually, kasi we also want to go to other places aside from WDW. did you rent a car when you went to nasa and the other places?

pero syempre major planning since the hotels can be very expensive specially on peak season. anong month kayo nagpunta bakit malamig? i dont have plans of visiting the water parks, meron naman usually pool ang hotels. is the shuttle for disney good?

yes , i checked i-drive hotels also for the best deals, preferably if there is a shuttle for both universal and seaworld.

[jenny_syngkit]

We had a car for a couple of days and yun yung nagpunta kame ng NASA, Everglades, Outlets. Better book in advance to make sure you get good rates and hindi maubusan. We didn't book ahead (wala ng nagasikaso) and sobrang mahal ng nakuha namen kase sila na lang yungmay available na big van. We paid like USD200+ per day.

When we were in WDW, no need for a car since we stayed on-site. For Universal and Seaworld, nag cab na lang kame.

We were there December last year so sobrang malamig. Meron namang days na umiinit during noon, pero sobrang lamig sa morning and late afternoon to evening.

[rics]

salamat ulit sa reply to my inquiries.
we plan to go sa summer, pero sobrang init naman daw. i saw a good deal late aug-sept, free dining plan, pero maulan naman.

sana nga i can just find a hotel that has good shuttle to all the parks so we dont have to transfer. keeping my fingers crossed na sana matuloy kami.

[mama squeak!]

^You also get sudden rain showers during summer there. IMO better to go during fall or spring, at least the weather is a bit cooler and mas comfortable mamasyal. Konti pa yung crowd since pasukan na. Plus you get good deals.

[rics]

^better talaga to go during spring pero cant pull out my kid from school that time. but when i checked,yung march-may hindi rin naman ganoon kalaki ang difference when you book during those months. plus factor lang talaga yung weather and low crowds.

mas mura pag feb, pero yung deal na maganda is the free dining plan but thats last week aug-sept, ulan season naman. sabi nga magdala daw ako ng kapote if i go during the summer.

[prettymom]

We also stayed in Disney Pop for 5 days ( our Disney tour), there's a shuttle going to/fro the parks and the hotels.
1st day there we stayed at Hardrock cafe since malapit sa convention site namin and birthday ng daughter ko, then we transferred at Sheraton Vistana for a week then at Disney Pop for 5 days.