international drive

[lauragreen1]

im due to go to florida in may and im just wondering iff anybody knows wot to expect? Its the holiday ov a life time for me and the kidz but i av read a few bad comments about staying on international drive which is were i am staying. Anyone any views?

[Metz]

not stayed there for a couple of years but we loved it ! a lot of places were shutting down when we went ie fao schwarz the mercado was a bit run down too imo....but for the time we actually spent on i drive it was ok ,hotel was fine,we only stayed at hotel to sleep and spend a couple of hours at night in the pool ,rest of the time we were at the parks :-)

[tigwig]

I love I Drive! Where are you staying?

[lauragreen1]

quality inn plaza. im sooo excited. wot tickets wud u recomend disney or universal?

[chazza]

We used to stay in International Drive years back but found that recently it has become more run down than it was, and much more busy traffic wise.

It is still very handy to get to everywhere and has loads of shops and restaurants, but I'd recommend the Kissimmee area next time!

We stayed in Quality Inn Plaza many years ago and it was fine as well!

[mikey0118]

I stayed at the Wyndham Orlando Hotel on International Drive in September this year and I also had concerns before travelling. I was surprised when we got there as the hotel was great, as was the location. Being so central means you can forget the car and take a walk out in the evening and there are no shortage of bars and restaurants to eat/drink at.

I travelled on 9th September for just four days and that was the week after the school term started - Florida seemed dead because of it! I could only spare two days for theme parks and went to Universal and Islands of Adventure. Both were much quieter than expected with queue times for rollercoasters and other adult rides at no more than 5 minutes, and for the family rides, you could expect to wait about 20 minutes. Such short queue times meant that you had done both the parks in just a few hours! More than one visit to each of these and you'll probably go mad.

[lauragreen1]

well i'm goin for 3wks in may with a 5yr old and a 2yr old so i'll probley go mad on the flight there neva mind at the parks lol. Thanx 4 ur answers

[tigwig]

Quality Inn Plaza is excellently situated in the middle of I Drive. Pointe Orlando is just about opposite which is a shopping complex with bars and restaurants etc although it has got posher and more expensive than it used to be!
There is the I Ride trolley bus that can take you all the way along I Drive. If you turn left out of your hotel you will get to many restaurants and its just a case of finding what you like!
In regards to the tickets you really ought to do both lots of parks if you can. 3 weeks is a brilliant time to go for because you will be able to have days off inbetween parks which is vital!
We went in Feb with our 3yr ols and she loved it but it was tiring for her. I would recommend the Orlando Flex tickets that include both Universal parks, Sea World, Busch Gardens, Wet n Wild and Aquatica. For Disney I would research each ticket option because you will probably have time to go back to the parks more than we have in the past with you staying for 3 weeks! (lucky you) All of the parks are worth a visit they are fantastic. I think alot of people don't bother with Busch Gardens but it is brill and for the kids alone has a fantastic play area! Hope you have a fab time and don't worry about the flight too much! I was dreading it but took a huge bag full of new toys and it kept my little girl occupied for the entire 9 hour flight. She wasn't a bit of bother. Just a word of warning, when flying home if your flight company offers check in at other locations rather than the airport do it because we had a terrible time with the Virgin people!

[munchie63]

I stayed at the Quality Inn Plaza in 1993, and again with the kids in Easter 2007.
Relax, it's fine. Rooms aren't huge (beds are) but they're ok.
there's a few pools, the restuarant and bar is OK, and you're opposite the 'upside down house' Wonderworks.
It's a great location.

VERY close to Seaworld and Universal.........15-20mins (max) to Disney, on a very clearly marked route.
Loads of restaurants nearby, and we walked to them in the evening without any problems.
there's a Brannigans restaurant, PizzaHut and a great breakfast restaurant right outside the hotel. Brekkie (all you can eat for $6 in 2007 was a bargain, and they have an amazing choice of food).
the only problem we had in 2 weeks was 1 night when we had noisy neighbours, as the hotels by the new conference centre and there was a college/church choir thing going on that day. other than that it really was great.

The Brit guide book is fantastic. it has loads of maps and pics, but the tips about what parks to visit which day of the week was priceless info. Buy it asap.

If you've any other Q's just let me know.

Enjoy your holiday

[janetla]

You may find that your hotel room could smell a little fusty. This is a problem generally in Florida - we have a condo there and have real problems stopping things getting a bit damp and smelling a bit. This appears to be a complaint which you will see in a lot of the hotel reviews, we stayed in a nice hotel ourselves for one night last year and it smelled a bit. It doesn't mean that the hotel is dirty or not looked after, I think that some people thing that it does when they don't understand the climate there which is very humid a lot of the time. I agree with another subscriber, don't try to overdo it, the kids will get very hot and tired doing theme parks day after day so have a few days break inbetween times just chilling around the pool, or shopping of course, still bargains to be had even with the rubbish exchange rate. We go to Florida twice every year, have done for more than 10 years now and still keep being drawn back.

[munchie63]

only other thing I'd recommed with the kid, is take every 3rd day off -

use the 3rd day as shopping, pool day, or maybe go to blizzard beach