Hello everyone. Sometime lurker, occasional question-asker, going on my honeymoon to Orlando! I thought I’d post about our plans to share with the community here and to bounce ideas off you all, as well as to serve as a way to organize my thoughts a little (and pump myself up a little - winter is depressing).
About us:
I’m 43 and my wife is 34 and we’re from Nova Scotia, Canada. We got married in September of 2017 and we’re going on our Honeymoon to Orlando April 24th-May 3rd. I work in retail and my wife is a teacher, so we’re not rich, but we asked for money to use towards this trip as our wedding gifts, and we’re spending a little more than I normally would. We’re both big geeks - Disney and Harry Potter fans, and animal lovers. I have been to Disney World four times (once as a kid, once as a teen, and twice as an adult), the last time was six years ago with three friends. I’ve been to Universal twice (but only to Islands of Adventure) and Sea World three times. I’m the theme park fanatic in the family, and planned my last trip with my friends myself (to great reviews from my fellow travellers). I have a Touring Plans subscription and have a copy of the latest Unofficial Guide, and have delved pretty deep into the tips and tricks. My wife, who is a very organized person, has travelled quite a bit, but has never been to Orlando. This will be her first time at a major theme park.
The Trip:
This is our Honeymoon, so I was authorized to spend more than we would normally. This will likely be the most expensive trip we take in a long time. I am using a travel agent who specializes in Orlando, and she’s been great so far! We are flying down, and doing a split stay - first half at Universal at Royal Pacific in a Club level room, and the second half at Port Orleans Riverside in a King Room. We are using Universal airport transfer from the airport, and then a service to move us to POR, and Magical Express to get back to the airport. We will, however be renting a car one day to do a trip over to the Kennedy Space center. We have two days of tickets at Universal with park-park access, one day at Sea World, and three days tickets for Disney.
I’ve done our ADRs at the appropriate time, and got Be Our Guest, Coral Reef and Yak & Yeti for dinners while at Disney. I’m planning to do all the Touring Plans and Rope-Dropping and maybe mid-day breaks and all that. We’re going to visit Disney Springs one of our days, and want to do a carriage ride (special request from my wife).
Still to come: Renting a car, planning out our Space Center day, meals while at Universal and off days (though we do want to eat some Cuban cuisine), and FastPasses!
Questions:
Has anyone rented a car while at a Disney resort? How easy is this to do? We’d like to be able to rent a car and drive down to hit opening time at Kennedy Space Center and maybe pop by Cocoa Beach and Ron Jon’s (I stayed at Cocoa Beach a couple times when I was a kid, and that’s a nostalgia thing for me). This is a day trip - the day before is our transfer day and don’t have any parks planned for that day, but the next day is Epcot.
Does anyone have any recommendations for Cuban food near Universal? We’re looking at Cuba Libre Restaurant on I-Drive right now.
Thanks all for all the help, directly and indirectly, the community has given us! I’ll update with more info and maybe even a trip report after the fact.