Going to Orlando, need some help

Hey everyone, I'm headed to Orlando Jul 1 - 8. I have already decided that we want to visit all 4 disney parks, the 2 universals, sea world, and busch gardens. Now for a few questions
- What parks would be good to visit on rainy days?
- Are there any 2 parks that could be combined and done within 1 day, by spending a half day at each.
- Are there any shows or rides that in your mind are a waste of time?
- Finally, which parks would be best to visit over the weekend, when the crowds are likely to be the largest?

Thanks for your help
-Scott

On a rainy day EPCOT is probably the best park (although Test Track won't be running) because most of the attractions are indoors.

Animal Kingdom and MGM Studios would be my best choice for 2 parks to do in one day, espically if you are only going for thrill rides.

Don't miss Alien Encounter, rumors persist that it's going to be removed for a Stich attraction, so see it while you can. I would suggest skipping World Showcase in EPCOT (but don't miss Immuminations), the Backlot Tour at MGM and most of the walking trails at Animal Kingdom if time is short.

As far as the weekend, my knowledge is mostly of Disney, so I can't speak for Universal and Busch, but in July, nearly everyday you go is going to be crowded.

edit:spelling
*** This post was edited by Brian W 4/16/2003 1:06:59 PM ***

Scott, the first week in July is going to be crowded, weekend or not.

Best rainy day parks? USF and MGM are mostly indoor attractions, though you will obviously have to cope with the rain between rides. Either way, July in Florida means regular afternoon thunderstorms. They come. They pour. They go away. The parks usually clear out somewhat so look at the upside of a little rain.

As far as combining parks, BGT is an hour away so it would be hard to couple something with that one. Sea World -- unless you're big on marine life shows -- can definitely be done in a few hours. It's not too far from USF/IOA so if you have a 2 day park-hopper pass you can do a half day at SW and 1 1/2 to split between IOA and USF.

4th of July? USF/IOA has a real neat fireworks show because it teams up with Citywalk to have three shows going off at once. Sea World and Magic Kingdom also do it up on that day. Either way, that's a very busy day so pick a park and plan accordingly.

Disney half-day parks? Animal Kingdom for sure. Do the morning there and then head out to either Epcot or MGM.

If you get to Epcot in the afternoon Fast Pass will probably be out so do the single rider line to get on. Everything else there is just a matter of exploring around the countries and the like and the Illuminations show every night at 9pm (or 9:30pm).

Ok this is what I say you should do is Spend 2 or 3 days at IOA and USF cause you diffentally wanna spend time there also you have to get express pass for all the major rides I sugest staying at one of the onsite hotels cause you get as many express passes as you want so hardly any time in lines.Go to Disney and get the park hopper deal thing and go to Magic Kingdom for one day then do MGM and Animal Kingdom or epcot for half a day. Go for the Thrill rides before you you do anything else. Also You wanna make sure you get Fast Pass cause you will never make it expeccially in the first week of July. Then do Sea World for a day that could be a more relaxing day cause there arnt as many thrill rides as the other parks. Just make sure you ride Kraken and Journy to atlantis.Then You wanna head to Busch Gardens in Tampa Give your self as much time as you want and have fun.

------------------
http://groups.msn.com/kylecoasterworld

choose thy fate: freeze or burn

Fly with the Man of Steel in 2003
SFGAm

"What parks would be good to visit on rainy days?"

Universal Studios, Disney Studios, and EPCOT.

"Are there any 2 parks that could be combined and done within 1 day, by spending a half day at each?"

Sea World and Universal Studios and probably Disney's Animal Kingdom and Disney Studios.

"Are there any shows or rides that in your mind are a waste of time?"

Skip Tomorrowland Transit Authority at Magic Kingdom, Sounds Dangerous with Drew Carey at Disney Studios, and any of the Disney/Zamperla spinners such as The Flying Carpet (MK), Triceratops Spin (DAK) and/or Dumbo (MK). Too long a wait for too short a ride. But *everyone* has to ride Dumbo at least once!

"Finally, which parks would be best to visit over the weekend, when the crowds are likely to be the largest?"

EPCOT, Sea World, Universal Studios.

Any other questions, feel free to ask me. Just know that you're going to be dealing with heavy traffic, large crowds, high humidity, frequent afternoon thunderstorms, and HOT weather. As long as you're prepared...you'll have a great time!

"Skip Tomorrowland Transit Authority at Magic Kingdom, Sounds Dangerous with Drew Carey at Disney Studios, and any of the Disney/Zamperla spinners such as The Flying Carpet (MK), Triceratops Spin (DAK) and/or Dumbo (MK). "

I have to agree with Rob EXCEPT for the first one. Disney, especially the Magic Kingdom, has plenty of minor rides and attractions like the TTA that may not amount to much BUT they are walk-ons and that's important in the era of Fast Passes.

If you have a Fast Pass for Space Mountain or Buzz Lightyear and the one hour window isn't for another ten minutes, go ahead and hop on TTA. If you have a Splash Mountain Fast Pass that's a half-hour away, go ahead and see the Tiki Birds or walk through the Swiss Family treehouse.

You'll also find other classic dark rides like Pirates and Snow White that will be walk-ons most of the day (or a few minutes wait at most).

Go see the Cirque Du Soleil, La Nouba, at Downtown Disney, no matter what you do. Well worth it!

-Mikey

I agree with Cirque Du Soleil if you can afford it, It's a very pricy show, but worth it.

Oh and if you like Video Games (DDR anyone?) try DIsneyQuest at the West Side as a nice family night attraction, it's also good if it rains and you have the time.

If it was ME, I'd definitely leave an entire day for IoA and for BGT....some of the Disney stuff would probably be easy to combine two parks in a day, depending on your interests. The one OBVIOUS way to combine two parks in a day, IMO, would be to do SWF and USF.

As always, this would depend mostly on you and your peeps...;)

------------------
Acronymphomania (n): the socially unacceptable love of heights, and acronyms
Thanks for the memories #23...there is NO "next Jordan"

RGW, there *is* a "next Jordan"! He just 'happens' to play golf....

------------------
American troops "have started to commit suicide under the walls of Baghdad. We will encourage them to commit more suicides quickly." Muhammed Saeed al-Sahaf

But Tiger doesn't do squat to make his teammates better.....Serena (with her nice booty) at least plays doubles...;)

It was bittersweet to watch MJ play his last game....Pele or Gretzky might be decent comparisons I guess, but the NBA will never be what it was *pre-Mike*....of course, now MJ can just join the Senior PGA tour...;)

And regardless of the Kobes, T-Macs, AIs, etc....the is but ONE dominant force in the NBA right now, and he goes by the monikers Daddy, Diesel, and The Big Aristotle...

bill, saying Lake Compounce is RIGHT next door to ESPN's HQ....and Wilbon needs a better partner on PTI...Kornheiser, you're OUTTA there...:)
------------------
Acronymphomania (n): the socially unacceptable love of heights, and acronyms
Thanks for the memories #23...there is NO "next Jordan"

Thanks everyone for your advice. I found a great deal on the net we are getting:
-4 round trip air fare tickets from greenville, Sc to orlando.
- a full size rental care with unlimited mileage for 8 days
- 4 nights at the Wyndham orlando resort
- 4 nights at the Royal Pacific resort inside universal
Also we are getting 2 hotel rooms at each of the hotels.
I managed to get all this for just over 2000 dollars!!!
Not bad at all, what do you think?

When I went, we went primarlily for thrill rides and coasters, so if you're doing the same, you may want to consider combining the 4 Disney parks into 2 days, like we did. Its a little hectic, but you can definitely get all the thrill rides in the Disney parks done in 2 days, and then save 5 days for IOA, Studios, Sea World, Busch Gardens and maybe a water park. Also IOA is such a great park that you may wanna do 2 days there alone...

CuBlink, that's a great deal! And staying at Royal Pacific changes EVERYTHING. Since you'll have the Front-of-the-Link perk where you just present your room key and you'll go right into the Universal Express queue it doesn't matter how crowded the park is, you won't be waiting more than a few minutes in most cases. The hotel also has a free shuttle to Sea World (it'll save you a few bucks on parking at the very least).

The Wyndham resort is also nice. I take it's the one on International Drive which is right in the mix of a lot of things to do around there.

A tip. Go join Loews First and Wyndham By Request (you can do it for free at the respective websites). You get a welcome gift (at Loews) and other bennies (free newspaper, etc.).

Either way, because you will be choosing between walk-ons at Universal and peak summer crowds at Disney you might find yourself spending more time at Universal Orlando than you had planned.

Some ideas on how to save little more money while at Universal Orlando can be found here:

The Penny Pincher's Guide to IOA