KiasuParents - Parenting in Singapore

Dear all,

as my kid is going into P1 next year, I was thinking to do a long vacation this year somewhere around May 14.

I need help as I am clueless on how to start planning. I have done F&E to APJ so far only.

I need recommendation on how best to move around and what kind of cheap deals i can look out for.

I hope to cover Orlando for Disney (primary aim) but I am clueless on what else to do, except like a 2 days of shopping.

Is it practical to go Hawaii (on Asiana airline) then Orlando? or just go Orlando and Canada or what.... I saw Asiana has a US promotion now.

how do you guys go about buying the airtickets (domestic as well) and booking the hotel?

is driving the primary transportation mode around?

Thanks.

winnieng78 wrote:Dear all,

as my kid is going into P1 next year, I was thinking to do a long vacation this year somewhere around May 14.

I need help as I am clueless on how to start planning. I have done F&E to APJ so far only.

I need recommendation on how best to move around and what kind of cheap deals i can look out for.

I hope to cover Orlando for Disney (primary aim) but I am clueless on what else to do, except like a 2 days of shopping.

Is it practical to go Hawaii (on Asiana airline) then Orlando? or just go Orlando and Canada or what.... I saw Asiana has a US promotion now.

how do you guys go about buying the airtickets (domestic as well) and booking the hotel?

is driving the primary transportation mode around?

Thanks.

If you are planning Orlando -visit this thread :

http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum ... &start=480

If I am not wrong parent Dnls Mum has shared a lot of wonderful experience of her family trip in this thread.

If you are planning F& E than you must do a lot of research online/guide books.

Happy Planning.

Browse tripadvisor, it's great for tips. Once you've done enough due diligence, then post your questions and proposed itinerary and the people there are more than happy to help. You can also visit NLB - there are many travel books on Florida and Orlando. For disney, check out Disney's website, or you might want to engage the services of a Disney consultant like Kingdom Magic (they can advise you on promotions for disney hotels/tickets etc).

For a start, consider how many days you'd like to go for. 10 days? 21 days? Budget?

For airtickets, I usually book online (both international and domestic). In Orlando, if you want to just do shopping and Disney, no need to rent a car (there are taxis easily available) if you are staying in the Disney area. There are no direct, non-stop flights to Orlando, so you have to do a stopover somewhere. I flew the SIN-NYC-Orlando route as i wanted to take SQ, but others have done it differently.

For cheap deals, there are many, many different classes of accommodation in Orlando - Tripadvisor will have some recommendations for you if you give them a budget.

Happy planning!! WDW is really fun!

Can't help with specifics, but in general, compare across different websites for prices and terms. Remember that distances in the US are much greater than we are used to, and young kids may get very frazzled if you do too much. For general info about sights and hotels, you can check Tripadvisor.

For airtickets, I usually look at Zuji and Expedia, and its worth checking individual airlines for deals too. Car rentals - check the various firms' websites. Hotel websites like booking.com, expedia etc have different deals, and you should compare prices. Some places like Disney may have cheaper tickets if you book online in advance. For everything you book, check their terms and conditions for changes and cancellations. Cheaper deals will be more inflexible or will charge more for changes. And you may want to get travel insurance too. Some credit cards will insure things that are charged to the card, so you might want to check yours.

DIY touring is much more effort in planning and booking, but it means you get to choose how you spend your time. If you find it too much of a hassle, you could book a tour. My family avoids tours (and I do the work!) as we don't need such fancy meals and hotels, and we don't like spending time in shops!

I did the same the year before my first born started P1, it was a wonderful experience for the family. We're not too fussy with accommodation, so motels are the easiest for us, comes with laundromat, so I do the washing on the road as well.

In general, my experience is that driving in the US is the primary transport. Driving in the big cities like NY, SF can be v tough, but outside of these should be straightforward. I use a GPS nowadays, Garmin Nuvi's are good enough for me, and can be bought cheaper in the US, even through Amazon, comes with free lifetime US maps, and you can use it in SG as well.

I did my trip at the West Coast & focus on Nat'l Parks and did most of the travel by car, so can't comment much about the places you mentioned. Domestic flights can be booked online, so no worries there.

Most motels we stay have free wifi, so change of plans while on the road is possible, do check before you go there, so you know when during your trip you may be 'disconnected'. We were even booking rooms and flights while on the road, so it was quite a challenge, but fun.

Have a great trip

Cheers.

Thanks all for the replies!

yeap i wanted F&E because i really dont like following a tour group which gives me no option on the itinerary. cannot choose to wake up late or even go slower pace...

I will go take a look at the resources recommended. Thanks!!