Orlando

[suziegcruiser]

Hi there. I'm from Australia, trying to figure out best and cheapest way to get from Fort Lauderdale to Orlando.

 

Once in Orlando, where is best place to stay that is central.

 

Any thing I really must see or do when we are there?

 

We are spending 8 nights there in Oct/Nov 2005.

 

Thanks to anyone who takes the time to answer

[wwinfl91]

You probably will want to rent a car in Ft Lauderdale and drive up the Florida turnpike to Orlando. You will need the car to get around the area unless you stay in the Disney area hotels and only visit the Disney parks (they provide transportation between the parks and their hotels). If you haven't seen any of the theme parks in Orlando, Disney World, Universal Studios and Seaworld then that might occupy some of your time. There are actually 4 parks at Disney world and it takes about a day apiece to see them completely. Universal has two parks but you can actually rush them through in a day if you really hurry. Seaworld is another day.

 

You don't say if you have kids with you or not but here are a few links about Orlando.

 

http://travelwithkids.about.com/cs/orlandowithkids/l/blorlandotop10.htm

 

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g34515-Activities-Orlando_Florida.html

 

http://www.go2orlando.com/

 

http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-2820552-orlando_things_to_do-i

 

http://orlando.101thingstodo.com/guide

 

http://www.2000orlando-florida.com/

 

Those are probably a start. There are lots and lots of hotels and motels all over the Orlando area in all prices ranges from very basic to very expensive. International Drive area is where many of the bigger hotels are. The Kissimmee area is where some of the less expensive ones are. The attractions are in the southwestern area of the greater Orlando area. There really isn't a lot to do in the downtown area of Orlando.

 

We live south of Orlando between Kissimmee and St Cloud and like many people who live in an area don't get to the attractions area very often.

 

Have a great next cruise and a really nice visit to Orlando.

[suziegcruiser]

Hi, thanks so much for your reply, although we do have children they will not be with us, we have not driven in America before so not sure if that is a safe option for us, we definitely do want to do disneyworld and maybe universal studios.

[TrentS]

Suzie a rental car is really your best option unless you're going to hire a limo with driver for the week which would be VERY expensive. Rental cars in Florida are quite plentiful and inexpensive. Driving in America isn't anything you should be afraid of. I don't know what part of Australia you're from but I've been down there several times and always rent a car. Other than the steering wheel being on the "wrong" side, and cars driving on the "wrong" side of the road, it's not much different up here. I'm sure you'll be fine, it really only takes a few minutes to get used to things being "opposite".

[wwinfl91]

I will have to agree with the above poster to a point. If you are interested in staying in one of the Disney hotels and mainly want to do the 4 Disney parks and maybe Universal you might be able to get by without a car. If you are staying in one of the hotels on Disney property they provide bus and van transportation from the parks and back. From some of the hotels you can actually take the Monorail. Then you could use a cab to get from Disney to Universal and back. You could also do the same to and from Seaworld.

 

The big disadvantage to this is you still need to get from Ft Lauderdale to Orlando. There are companies that can provide transportation like that. Some of them may be included in the links above. There is also a Amtrak, the American passenger train system, that runs from Ft Lauderdale to Kissimmee. Then you would need to take a cab from the train station to Disney.

 

I will agree with the poster above who suggested that driving in Florida isn't probably much different from driving in Australia except for the steering wheel being on the other side of the car. Traffic in the Orlando area and in the attractions area can be bad especially on I-4, the main highway through Orlando. The drive up from Ft Lauderdale would be on the Turnpike, which is pretty easy driving, and then you can catch the Osceola parkway, another pay highway, that goes straight into Disney. By having the rental car you would have more options for going out to dinner and exploring the area including the beaches and other smaller attractions. So I would still suggest getting the rental car for the week and going that route. But I wanted you to know there are the other options.

 

Here is a link for Disneyworld resorts.

 

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/resorts/resortOverview?id=ResortOverviewPage&bhcp=1

 

They tend to be on the expensive side but they allow their guest special admission to the parks, a hour before they open for regular people, and other perks.

 

We hope some day to visit your country and hopefully when we decide to go we will get some good advice from some kind resident like we are trying to provide.

 

Have a great next cruise.

[Jett456]

You might want to check out Universal and Islands of Adventure as well. They have some nice hotels on site that offer fast access to the rides. Try the Hard Rock and Portofino.

 

http://www.univacations.com/

[wwinfl91]

You are definitely correct in that they could stay at Universal and see those two parks and then travel by cab to Disney to see the 4 parks there. I just suggested Disney because they have 4 parks and the free transportation between them where at Universal the two parks are right next to one another and only require walking from one to another.

 

Have a great next cruise.

[suziegcruiser]

thanks so much to all that replied, we have changed our mind and will now try and hire a car, my husband thinks he may be able to handle driving.

[BlueHerons]

Highly recommend staying onsite at Disney and at Universal. For discount codes check out www.mousesavers.com and the experts at www.Disboards.com are great!

[wwinfl91]

I would agree with the above poster that even with a rental car you will be ahead of the game by staying at one of the Disney properties because of the advantages that they give their "guests".

 

Have a great next cruise