Here
are some comments from UK visitors to WDW on tour operators &
airlines
"We have
been to Orlando three years running now but this year I did it
over the net. We are an adult family (young at heart) and as we
decided to fly into Miami, as there is a better choice of direct
flights andnot so many children on the plane!!!. I managed ot
get flights on Virgin for only £211 each including tax (return)
what a bargain. We are stayed in Miami for a couple of nights
at reasonable cost, then drove up to Orlando. I booked a large
house with pool and jucuzzi in Indian creek for £375 inclusive
a week. I agree with other peopl;es comments that attration tickets
are cheaper over there than over her. Obvious really as they have
to make some money these travel agents!. By the way I rented (fully
inclusive) alamo car for £447 for three weeks. A shopping tip.
don't go to Florida Mall, the best mall is Fashion Mall on the
50 in Orlando, Only twenty minutes from Disney. This is a much
less crowded and pleasant Mall, the one the local use. Also opposite,
there are some large stores that are not in the florida Mall."
Steve
"8 of
my family went to disney all-stars and a 7 day cruise on carnival.
the flight i must say was very good plenty of room and very helpful
staff. The problems arose on check in to our hotel when one member
of the party had not been booked into the hotel it was up to us
to resolve this matter the next day with the rep and received
no apology. To make matters worse we arrived at tampa port on
a Sunday to find that exactly the same had happened again however
this time there was no rep to help us and no way they were going
to let our 16 year old daughter on the ship after 3 hours and
getting no were we decided to find a hotel in Tampa for my husband
and daughter, we were then approached by staff who advised us
that if we were willing to pay the fare again then she would be
allowed to board the ship. This we did about 4 days into the cruise
after the cruise line were able to contact Virgin we had our money
refunded. When we arrived home I naturally complained to Virgin
who at first could give no reason why this had happened. following
a second letter they said the error was not theirs, they have
offered £600 compensation I think this is a pathetic gesture considering
the holiday cost over £12000 for us all and we had in effect lost
2 days. I feel Virgin are very blasé about the distress and anxiety
we suffered. Not an experience I would recommend for anyone."
(10/00)
"I found
some members of staff on the airline rude and do not cater for
peoples indiviual dietry needs they also turned round and picked
an argument this was the case on the british airways flight but
on the way back the staff were vey nice as we were upgraded and
they cared for your every need it was more comfatable and quiter
and it's not in ordinary sits you've got kids screaming and your
crammed in which is awful."
"We've
always found better value in tayloring the holiday to our specific
needs than in taking a prescribed package. It is the holiday capital
of the world ansd you want to get it right. I'm about to visit
again and have chosen scheduled Virgin Atlantic flights this time
as the Airtours flights we had the last time were horrendous!"
"Been
to Florida with Travel City Direct for the last four years. Well
the cheapest- people think they've got a bargain flying with Virgin
for £500 per person! TCD very well organised, we've had the odd
unavoidable delay but were looked after very well. Prefer to book
our own rooms on the Internet though as you can get them even
cheaper by buying well in advance or alternatively with walk-ins
from coupon books picked up at McDonald's etc." Frankie
"WE
HAD A 23 HOUR DELAY WITH AIR 2000, WE HAD NO INFORMATION STAFF
SERVICE WAS APPAULING AT THE AIRPORT AND ON THE PLANE. WE RECEIVED
VERY LITTLE COMPENSATION (£50) FOR LOOSING A DAY IN FLORIDA TOGETHER
WITH LOSS OF THINGS LIKE HOTEL COSTS, CAR INSURANCE COSTS ETC.
WE ARE GOING WITH VIRING AT THE END OF MAY STAYING IN DISNEY,
WE KNOW WE WILL RECEIVE BETTER SERVICE."
"just
booked a trip through Trailfinders(0171 937 5400) got flights
on virgin for under £200 including tax..what an absolute bargain..best
of all though as this was my first time to orlando i was looking
for some good advice on where to stay etc. got through to an absolutely
marvelous consultant called alex ,he was patient, answered all
my questions and appeared very knowledgable without giving me
the hard sell.it was defintely five star service.....i even got
a free upgrade on the car."
"Favourite
tour company? Thomas Cook Holidays (not the same as Thomas Cook
Travel Agent, but part of same group) because their service is
second to none, prices are very competitive, they use Virgin or
BA flights and with each booking you get so much information (Florida
leaflets, etc) and a black leather luggage wallet with leather
luggage tags which start your whole trip better, and are reusable
too. Plenty of people have asked if they can actually buy them
even though they are travelling with another operator!
Favourite Airline? Virgin Atlantic because their service is good,
their aircraft on this route are all modern and well-equipped,
very rarely delayed. Staff are unbelievably helpful, and there
is a check in facility at Downtown Disney - meaning you can check
in for your inbound flight as early as 08:30 on your last day,
and have a full day to do whatever!
>Have
you done a DIY package, booking everything yourself, if so, how
did it work out, did you have any problems?<
Have done both ways, and would recommend for people outside the
US to price it yourself through the internet, etc and ask a travel
agent to do so. Having tried it both ways, I will tend to book
through an operator because you do not have to worry about the
various different companies involved losing your res! That said,
I know some people find it therapeutic to do it all themselves.
As a travel agent myself, I have seen a few of them go wrong,
though!"
"Best
airline - Virgin without a doubt. Second would be British Airways.
Third Continental. Wouldn't use a tour operator as they have to
make money for themselves so they are not the best way to go.
Try and beat this- 5 weeks rental of house with private pool,
2 adults flights, 2 childs flights, 3 Annual passes to WDW, 3
annual passes to Universal, Car hire 4 weeks, All for £2950.00
+ Disney Cruise Line 4 day cruise In a one bedroom suit = £1900.00
Total = £4850.00. Also saved a fortune by eating
offsite, where the food is much better and cheaper. Most folks
from the UK will pay more than this staying in Disney's budget
(Allstars - Butlins on Acid) Hotels for 14 days. This was
for our trip last Xmas. The APs mean it will be even cheaper this
time. We also own 2 homes over there so the home rental is not
appropriate to us. We did do extremely well on flights that time.
If you can get Virgin for under £300.00 then you are doing
pretty well. Oh if you are buying 9 day passes, you should
be looking at annual passes instead."
"Virgin
definitely the best - the check-in at Downtown Disney is really
useful. In the past I've booked with Trailfinders and Worldwide
Travel of East Anglia - (got a good discount on Easter flights
by using Barclaycard points). For a really cheap package I think
it's hard to beat Eclipse, the direct sell travel agent - they
also sell flights at discount.
Incidentally during the 11 years we've been travelling to WDW,
our return flight has had a problem resulting in overnight stays
3 times - these were BA, Britannia and another charter. Each made
it relatively hassle-free and got us checked into hotels for the
night as quickly as possible.
BA and Virgin both seem to have squeezed more seats into the plane
with each passing year, so I don't think there's much to choose
between them for leg room and comfort. The charters though, are
dreadful unless you are quite petite. It will be interesting to
see if people will pay the £199 supplement for better seats
that are being introduced by the charters this year.
I've done DIY whenever possible but sometimes (if you are tied
to school holidays for instance) a package with a good discount
can be a good buy. This Easter some friends bought a package with
Eclipse (staying at Comfort Inn, Lake Buena Vista) and paid less
than we paid for the airfares (and I know how to shop around!).
We are DVC members and were staying at OKW.
I think that buying an AP can be a good idea even if you are just
staying for 2 weeks and don't believe you'll be able to go back
within the year. It means you can take things leisurely and really
enjoy it instead of feeling that you have to pack each of your
park days with frantic activity!
Others on the RADP newsgroup seem generally enthusiastic
about eating in the parks, but for us Brits, eating in a Denny's
or a Perkins can be part of the holiday experience - plus it's
cheap."
"I
tend to play around on the net and then ask a few agencies for
prices. I usually end up with a DIY holiday 'cos I quite enjoy
putting it together myself. This year we are flying to New York
for a few days then down to Orlando. We have ended up with flights
on Continental because they were the cheapest (through trailfinders).
It turns out that Trailfinders had made a mistake with our booking
and underpriced by about £200, but that's their problem and
they are bearing the costs.
In the past we've mainly flown BA and American Airlines. I haven't
found much to choose between any of the top tier airlines (Lufthansa
are probably my preferred airline, but that doesn't help much
here).
A possibly useful tip... Continental codeshare with Virgin. If
you book a continental flight from Orlando to Manchester direct
it will be the Virgin flight."
"For
flights I find Virgin Atlantic the best, especially when flying
Premium Economy (I suffer from arthritis of the spine and the
economy seats on any airline for long trips are extremely uncomfortable).
The best tour company for me was Virgin Holidays, booked through
Going Places.
I say was because I am now a DVC member at the BoardWalk Villas.
It was the best investment I ever made as I tend to travel alone
and the single supplements were extravagant. This means that I
do all my booking, and enjoy doing so."
"We've
been twice now. We book a fly drive and then rent a house for
the length of our stay from a company in Kissimmee. So I suppose
you can say it's a DIY holiday. The first trip was booked with
First Choice on a charter flight with Monarch. It was basically
your typical charter plane with cramped conditions, toilets blocked
within an hour of take off. Nothing to write home about.
Last year we went with Virgin Atlantic. All I can say is excellent
and well worth the few extra pounds. We booked these through Worldwide
Travel of East Anglia and got about a 15% discount on the flights.
They claim they will try to undercut any genuine quote on a Virgin
holiday. We tried them again for this years trip but they couldn't
match a quote from a company called Freedom USA whose number we
picked up from Teletext. So we booked with them for this year.
The house's are in the same area as some of those used by the
major tour companies but cost about half the price."
"Spot
on. The first time with Airtours was a real trial, especially
on the way home. We found the Virgin flights this year so much
more relaxing and comfortable. We really appreciated the luggage
pick-up at Downtown on leaving, this gave us almost a full extra
day in resort."
"We've
been to Florida twice, staying at Dixie Landings & Grand Floridian.
Our next trip is on November 3rd, staying at Coronado Springs.
We've always gone with Virgin Atlantic booked through Going Places.
I did start to investigate the possibility of arranging it ourselves
instead of through a Travel Agent, but it just turned out to be
tooooo much hassle, so now always book through the Travel Agent.
Having flown with Virgin a few times now, we have joined
the Frequent Virgin Club, which means you get various upgrades
etc., (not at Disney unfortunately) when booking holidays with
Virgin. We would always fly Virgin, as the in-flight entertainment
is excellent, and makes the flight go much quicker.
I have a question though!!! Has anyone ever asked about a complementary
upgrade to Business/First Class upon check-in. I feel tempted
to ask, but don't want to feel stupid if no-one else ever bothers."
"my
dad has been upgraded twice with Virgin. It doesn't hurt to ask.
He only got the upgrade while flying by himself when he was coming
over to visit us. I tried but they too one look at the kids and
said no way. Funny really as Hannah my youngest spent quite some
time in first class talking to couple on there honeymoon."
"We
have the additional problem of flying from a regional airport
(Belfast). The only available direct flights are charters. We
have travelled with Unijet and Airtours - both flew on an Airtours
plane so there's nothing to choose between them. Every time we
were delayed by between 1-7 hours. The 7 hour delay was in Sanford
and there were 5 other flights delayed at the same time (nightmare).
In 29 days we fly with Virgin even though this means a one hour
flight to London and flying back over Northern Ireland on the
flight to Orlando. I'm a DVC member and only take flydrives. When
I booked with Virgin last year Through world-wide travel I booked
just the regular car, last week I phones for an upgrade to discover
that Virgin had reduced the prices for car hire and I got upgrade
to a I4 for £20 less despite a £20 admin fee (Levied
because the price decreased! although I'm not sure if this was
by WWT or Virgin)"
"We
have visited Central Florida for the past seven consecutive years
and have booked again for October this year (Diz freak!). We have
used four different UK tour operators and always found Sun World
to be great (used them four times). However, they are not offering
the hotel that we love this year (Hyatt Orlando) so we have had
to find an alternative op.
I have booked through Travel City Direct (a UK agent that deals
by telephone only - UK 01253 757500 Ext 201 - ask for Andy). They
have been excellent and have offered a good discounted Florida
package using Transatlantic Vacations Ltd. They operate via a
charter flight with American Transair (Tristar wide bodied) and
it flies from Manchester to Orlando International (touches down
at Gander, Newfoundland for about 45 mins). Cost for flight and
hire car (Dollar) - £209 each - Hotel, room only £54
per night. This has been the most competitive in all the years
we have been going."
