From the moment we arrived in Orlando, everything went smoothly. We retrieved our baggage in 5 minutes (really)--they are so efficient. We rented a car from Enterprise. They were wonderful. I booked online and everything was in order and they were waiting for us. The charges were exactly what I expected. I must caution you to NEVER take the deal "Bring the car back empty"--it never works in your favor...remember that. We stayed at this little Microtel Motel. It was really very nice. Nothing fancy, for sure, but clean...I like clean! The location was minutes from anything you could want and they were on the complimentary bus line to the theme parks. Since parking in all theme parks is now
...Read More
From the moment we arrived in Orlando, everything went smoothly. We retrieved our baggage in 5 minutes (really)--they are so efficient. We rented a car from Enterprise. They were wonderful. I booked online and everything was in order and they were waiting for us. The charges were exactly what I expected. I must caution you to NEVER take the deal "Bring the car back empty"--it never works in your favor...remember that. We stayed at this little Microtel Motel. It was really very nice. Nothing fancy, for sure, but clean...I like clean! The location was minutes from anything you could want and they were on the complimentary bus line to the theme parks. Since parking in all theme parks is now $8, it's quite a savings. However, it does make a few stops along the way, so you waste about 30 minutes.
We visited many parks. Universal and Islands of Adventure were both fun. Then we spent a day at Kennedy Space Center. I'm sure some folks loved it there, but it's too slow paced for me. Once you get on their bus, you're stuck and can't bail out. It was also expensive. From $29 to $52 depending what you select. I'm a firm believer that our tax dollars pay for that and it should be free.
The best day of our trip was spent at Sea World. Sea World is GREAT. Their entertainment is first-class and holds the attention of any age. I didn't expect to find Sea World better than the others, including the Disney parks which I did last year, but it sure was.
As for saving money on tickets, Universal offers tickets online cheaper, but no other park does. If you plan to eat out, be sure and grab those little coupon books. They are everywhere. Just about every restaurant uses them and you'll save 10 to 15 percent off your entire meal with most of them.
When it's time to leave - be warned that Orlando seemed to have more security than many other airports and it took us a good hour to check in and go through several check points.
Read Less