Planning a Florida trip

[KrisM]

We are thinking of Florida for our next trip. Maybe next June? We're open to ideas, that are on school breaks though.

We'd like to see:
Animal Kingdom for Avatar
Universal for Harry Potter
beach
Kennedy Space Center
a water park?
??
Not sure about what else. We'd likely drive from Michigan, so about 1200 miles each way.

Where would you stay? What beaches should we consider?

Any other thoughts?

[SnuggleBuggles]

You'll need 2 (but 3 is better) for Universal. I'd stay at whatever onsite hotel you can afford at Universal. The 3 most expensive give you Express Passes (now good on HP rides) for your whole group from check in day through checkout day. Some people just do one night at those $$ ones and the rest at their cheaper hotels. Early entry is super nice during busy months.
If you really only want to do AK then I'd just stay at Universal. KSC is awesome. Gulf coast beaches would get my vote, like Clearwater or St. Petersburg.
Typhoon Lagoon was fun. Volcano Bay at Universal seems really neat but it's still working out kinks


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[trcy]

I agree that St. Pete/ Clearwater beaches are a good bet. But keep in mind, they are an hour and and a half to two hour drive from the Orlando attractions. Adventure Island is about 40 minutes from the beaches. Volcano Bay looks amazing, but I haven't actually been there.


Sent from my iPhone using Baby Bargains

[smilequeen]

On site at Universal with the hour early, transport, and express pass is great. We have only stayed at Portofino Bay, but there are a few. We like Portofino Bay. We even did the Despicable Me suite one year and they loved that (but they were younger then).

We've been to Disney a few times and it's always great. We stay on site, so hopefully there will be other suggestions. If you are also going to Universal and really only want one day at Disney, then I'd just drive from there. If you want multiple days at Disney, I'd switch to something closer. We've done Animal Kingdom Lodge, The Swan, and The Boardwalk. All great.

I've not gone to a beach from Orlando. We liked Amelia Island. The beaches in Destin are pretty but it's not my favorite place overall. Personally, I'd like to go back to St. Augustine so I'd go near there if it was me.

[123LuckyMom]

You can choose one of the water parks at Disney or the new water park at Universal and tack that on to your stay at that park. I'd say 2 days at Universal for Harry Potter, if that's your focus, will be enough. It allows you an early start at each park. I like to stay on-site at Disney, and we also stayed on-site at Universal, because I'm a big believer in getting to the parks EARLY! You can walk on to rides that an hour later will have atrocious waits, so I'd consider doing that. If you have a week, maybe do 2 days at Disney (AK and water park), 2 days at Universal, 2 days at the beach, and a day at Kennedy Space Center. Of course, that assumes you've got an extra couple of days for travel, but I'm not sure how you could do that trip in less time, especially since you'll need to travel from place to place. It sounds like a fabulous trip, though! Enjoy it!


Sent from my iPhone using Baby Bargains

[KrisM]

We went to Disney for a week 3 years ago and I think we're good on it for now. But, DD would really like to see Avatar World, or whatever the official name is . DS1 and I went to Universal 2 years ago when we were there for a tournament, but none of the others have been there. DD and DS2 really want to go to Harry Potter there, so that is my main point of the trip - getting them there while they are at an appropriate age.

I'm thinking of June right after school is out. The last day is June 8, but there is a small chance we'd have snow days to make up. So I'm thinking of leaving here on the 15th and driving. We'd arrive in the afternoon on the 16th. From poking around today, I have:
16-22 at Embassy Suites near Universal
16 - relax
17 - drive over to Kennedy Space Center
18 - Animal Kingdom
19 - Universal (also would book an onsite room this night for the Express pass for 2 days)
20 - Universal
21 - waterpark/Universal
22 - move to the beach area
23 - beach
24 - check out and drive part way
25 - arrive home

I'd love to do Animal Kingdom Lodge for even 1 night, but it shows at $1700 for the night and that is way out of my budget for 1 night of a hotel! We could get 2 rooms there instead, but it's still $1100 for the night. I think staying in one place appeals to me more than moving around for a night here and a night there, unless there is a significant benefit to it. We like Embassy Suites, since there are enough beds for us and it's a good breakfast, so we save on food costs.

I'd keep checking rates at Universal resorts, but I need this to be a lower cost trip if at all possible. We did a pricey one this summer and need to balance things out a bit!

I'll look into the beaches recommended. Thanks for that.

Hopefully DH goes for this plan. He seems onboard with getting the kids to Harry Potter, so that's good!

[SnuggleBuggles]

Cabana Bay and Sapphire Falls have good looking big kids' Suites. No Express Passes there but early entry. Check Homewood Suites too.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[westwoodmom04]

Not sure of the route from Michigan to Florida, but I would consider the South Carolina beaches if they are along the way. Plenty of condo options in Mrytke Beach and Hilton Head.

[KrisM]

Not sure of the route from Michigan to Florida, but I would consider the South Carolina beaches if they are along the way. Plenty of condo options in Mrytke Beach and Hilton Head.

Great idea! And maybe I need to move the beach part of the trip to its own trip another time. Spring break in SC or something sounds good.

[candaceb]

Another way to save money would be to rent a condo/house - there are tons of rentals down there. We paid $530 for a week in a 3 bed 3 bath townhouse in Windsor Hills. We loved having the extra space, driving up to our door, and having our own mini pool.

For Kennedy Space Center - things can always change last minute, but keep an eye on the launch schedule. I didn't realize how frequently there are launches and if I had planned differently, we could have seen one. We did one of the extra tours there and thought it was well worth it.

We added on the water parks option to our Disney Park Hoppers and ended up with 5 water park days available. I only thought we would use one, but we ended up using 4. We loved both Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach, but I like the themeing better at Typhoon Lagoon.

Make sure you plan your Avatar day for when Disney guests do not have early Extra Magic Hours.