Hi Folks,

I know a lot of you are well seasoned business people and travel types...so...

I'm going on a business trip to Orlando, Florida, but I've got to keep the costs low low for work(credit crunch and all that!).

I'm hoping to tag a few nights onto either end to make it worth the 13 hr flight! (at my own expense).

So I've been googling round the subject - seems I can get flights cheaply via cheapflights.co.uk and a few similar (£400-450ish economy return)

And REALLY cheap hotels ($300-$400) for 5 nights! (thats for a 4* near disneyland) - though it is 2-7 Dec!!

Do those sound about right? Any sites I should check out for flights / hotels?

The conference I'm speaking at is right next to Disneyland - so what should I do whilst I'm over there on my free days?

I guess epcot? Is walt disney world any good? expensive to get in? Anything else?

How much should I budget for food per day whilst I'm over there (heard food is cheap in the US)

Sorry for all the newb questions, I dont travel abroad with work, just within the country, and I dont holiday abroad much (young family, skint)

Apprieiciate the help/advice/pointers in advance!

universal studios is a must out of all of the parks. over everything though its really really worth an hours bus ride to go to the NASA Kennedy space centre if your into space/engineering

as for accommodation you can usually get into the hilton for $70 a night if you haggle and get a corporate rate. little tip always call the US customer services for everything travel related they are a million time more helpful than the uk.

when i travel to the states my company gives us $120 per day for all our meals but realistically you can live of $25-30 as most us hotels include breakfast, sometimes even an evening snack with the room.

a good steak with a beer will normally cost about $20-25. dont forget vat is not included in any prices its always added at the till, you also MUST tip min of 10% think of it as a service fee rather than a tip. in chicago learnt the hard way. i didn't tip when i received poor service and the manager chased me out the restaurant to find out what i thought was bad about the service.

save on taxi's most hotels have a free shuttle bus that will drop you off where you want to go within a certain distance of the hotel free of charge.

roads. be careful even if the lights are red you can still turn right in most states so look out for cars turning on red when crossing the road, also never cross a main road unless it has a crossing, if a police man spots you doing it you will get an on the spot fine and a ticking off (experience again).

motorways. north to south are odd numbers, east to west are even numbers most states you can overtake in any lane (e.g. undertaking doesn't exist) people generally dont speed in the us, cops love laser guns hidden out of sight and fines are typically over $100 min

if you are under 18 it is illegal to use a mobile phone while driving............... over 18 totally legal in most states.

Bars and night clubs, alcohol. bars wont usually close until the last customer is gone regardless of time. night clubs, always tip well for the first drink or you will wait ages to get served every time after, stick with one bar tender. toilets............. there are no rules for toilets to people ratio usually the queues are long. in quite a lot of the states you cant buy alcohol in a supermarket on sundays so stock up sat if you want to drink on the weekend.

Make sure you do your ESTA registration now before you leave the uk, US immigration are very cold with no sense of humor. remember you are only welcome to the usa once you have passed immigration checks once they have your fingerprints pass port and iris and they are happy you are a visitor. they will then say welcome. prior to that nobody is welcome.

[Edited on 2/11/2011 by ashg]

Nice post Ash,most useful,been a couple times and didn't know about a couple of things you had listed so nice one.

Cheers

Rich

I don't know about this time of year, but if you want to see lots of American Iron there is a place called Old Town in Kissimee Florida, just down the road from Orlando. They have a cruise night with several hundred cars one night a week. i am usually there in March for Sebring. I am sure the local tourist board will have the information.

If you have time go to Daytona - the NASCAR motor museum is worth a visit.

Have to agree with Ashg Universal Studios is the park to not miss - it was excellent when we last visited Florida. Disney is only for kids, unless you are a big child at heart.

It is quite warm there, even in December, so pack light clothes. If it does get cool go to the outlet centres, clothes are quite cheap there.

The restaurants are very reasonable for meals; it is worth while in sampling a few before you get too fed up with the same food everyday.

HTH

Tom

Hi,

When I lived in Central America for a couple of years I joined a club called Quest International, cost $20, this club gave you hotel rooms and car hire at vastly reduced costs e.g. I stayed in Orlando Holiday Inn for $27 a night and that was for a family of 4. We also stayed in Hawaii in a hotel on Waikiki beach and that cost us $44 a night, car hire was $9 per day with all taxes and insurances paid for. This is their website http://www.questprograms.com/

Regards

Bob

old town kissimmee
bike night - every thursday
car cruise - every friday and saturday

worth a visit - its free
if you are feeling adventurous go on the big swing - 300 foot - like a cross between a skydive and zip wire

we are here at the moment - good weather nice and sunny 80+ degrees most days
night time only need a t shirt and shorts
for december bring a few jumpers for the evenings

good advice as posted earlier

I would like to add, ESTA is an imperative, without which you wont get into the USA, and also health insurance,.. without which you'll be broke if anything goes wrong!

hth

A good tip - when buying a drink in a non local accent, always tell the bartender the denomination of the note you are giving him. With them all being green, he will otherwise always try to give you change as if you had given him a 5/10$, whatever note you gave him.

Cheers

Fred W B

Ah.... golden rule with the notes. they are all the same physical size and its amazing how $1 and $100 notes can look very similar after a few drinks. i had a very interesting experience in a strip bar in Atlanta with the work lads when i confused $100 for a single.

Bit late on this thread.....U2U me for anything not covered by these replies.

Alan

(from Preston originally, now in Ft Lauderdale during the week, Cocoa area at weekends.)

added....

I don't know when you are over but there is a great car show on Nov 6th in Winter Park (Orlando area) I will be there......so get in touch if you are in town by then)

added more.....

Just read when you are coming......there is a great show in town Dec 1 to Dec 3 its the performance racing industry show...bit like UKs autosport show I guess....definitely worth a visit...but it's not open to the public so you would need to make up some motorsport related business cards to get in (like I do...LOL)...let me know if that interests you...
[Edited on 3/11/11 by Alan B]

[Edited on 3/11/11 by Alan B]

[Edited on 3/11/11 by Alan B]

Kennedy Space Centre is well worth a visit - walking into the main hall where the full size Apollo rocket is laid on it's side is quite amazing. You then walk all the way to the far end and see the minute capsule the astronauts were actually strapped into - claustrophobia doesn't cover it