Florida

I was looking at the Magic Express or whatever its called. We did it once in Paris (although got a private transfer the next time, which was shit and gave me car sickness - literally had to get out before I threw up :lol:)
The magical express at MCO is decent, obviously the airport isn't far away and they're frequent. They'll even take your bags to the room if you tag them and put them on the second belt. That's a god send with kids.
 


Totally agree...easier driving over there than here....no roundabouts to worry about... Loved driving over there...was a big part of the holiday

Love cruising the Highways in the States- and they are far more courteous than the U.K.

That said I encountered the only roundabout in the States up in New England and it flummoxed me completely.

I posted earlier that driving in central Manhattan is simply a drag race between red lights.
 
You can't walk out your hotel room and be at the gate within 10 minutes though.

I'm not saying the LBV hotels are a bad option, but it's not as convenient as staying at a decent Disney hotel and not much cheaper if you spend your time at Disney.

You never ever get free dining at a lbv hotel. You don't even get it at Swan/Dolphin.

Prices to stay at the Swan/Dolphin are way cheaper than the "official" Disney hotels though. And location wise they are fantastic (Boardwalk is nearby and you can walk to the entrances of either Epcot or Hollywood Studios or use the shuttle boats). These are a great option that we did last time. Character breakfast option is available as well.
No? It was ideal for us with the young ‘in, albeit he was fairly young at the time night be different when he’s a little older.

Doubt we’ll ever do a Villa as neither of us want to drive over there - not a booze thing, I’d just be nervous driving in American roads, I generally hate driving anyway. LBV might be a nice alternative.

Know a few people that won't drive in the USA (one of which lives just outside of London so is used to appalling driving) and I never understand why. It is FAR easier to drive over there than it is in the UK. Sticking to Orlando area the roads are wide, never to clogged with traffic, no roundabouts and the cars are all automatic. Only thing really difference is the turn right on red (and even if you are unsure on that then you stop on a red light, until maybe some toots at you then you know you can go!). Its a piece of piss in all honesty.
If I didn't have 3 kids, I'd never dream of getting a car. But Ubers (etc) are out of the question when you need 3 car seats. Actually, I have no idea how I'm going to do it next time even with a hire car.

Bit different for you with three kids, but last time we stayed onsite after arrival before moving onto a Villa. Didn't need a car for the first week so we ordered an Uber to pick us up and you can request a family pick up with a request for a car seat (fewer available of course but we didn't wait long). We then booked another one of these to take us from Disney to Universal then I had booked a Car with Avis to pick up at our Universal Hotel on the day we checked out.
Ordered a car seat from Amazon that was delivered to out hotel at Universal which was about $30-40 or something although did also have to pay the Hotel a fee for using their "business facilities" (knew of this beforehand) which was another $12 or something.
Meant that the cost of the Car seat was about $55 in total compared to the $15 or $20 a day rip off that the car rental companies charge.
 
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Prices to stay at the Swan/Dolphin are way cheaper than the "official" Disney hotels though. And location wise they are fantastic (Boardwalk is nearby and you can walk to the entrances of either Epcot or Hollywood Studios or use the shuttle boats). These are a great option that we did last time. Character breakfast option is available as well.

Swan/Dolphin are in a great location, for me though, the lack of free dining meant that they were lots more expensive than Carribbean Beach Resort and you're at the Epcot World Showcase and Hollywood Studios in minutes on the Skyline from there.
 
I'm not saying the LBV hotels are a bad option, but it's not as convenient as staying at a decent Disney hotel and not much cheaper if you spend your time at Disney.
You never ever get free dining at a lbv hotel. You don't even get it at Swan/Dolphin.
You got a great deal that suited your family very well. ime of pricing up, even with free dining, the LBV hotels were massively cheaper overall. Like, more than a thousand quid. I think we paid £1200 for 2 weeks last time, vs the quote I got yesterday to stay onsite of £4400, and that didn't even have free dining (prices go "back to normal" - i.e. up - when free dining is on)
Bit different for you with three kids, but last time we stayed onsite after arrival before moving onto a Villa. Didn't need a car for the first week so we ordered an Uber to pick us up and you can request a family pick up with a request for a car seat (fewer available of course but we didn't wait long). We then booked another one of these to take us from Disney to Universal then I had booked a Car with Avis to pick up at our Universal Hotel on the day we checked out.
Ordered a car seat from Amazon that was delivered to out hotel at Universal which was about $30-40 or something although did also have to pay the Hotel a fee for using their "business facilities" (knew of this beforehand) which was another $12 or something.
Meant that the cost of the Car seat was about $55 in total compared to the $15 or $20 a day rip off that the car rental companies charge.
yeah, we did Uber Family last time, which was great. Sadly, I doubt Uber has a 2-child seat option? The oldest will be 6+ by then, so won't legally need one. I'm going to ask them now actually :)
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Uber do not do 2 car seats
Lyft don't even do 1 in Florida!

Looks like either no car trips at all, OR take 2 seats with us next time then. Hmm.
 
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Swan/Dolphin are in a great location, for me though, the lack of free dining meant that they were lots more expensive than Carribbean Beach Resort and you're at the Epcot World Showcase and Hollywood Studios in minutes on the Skyline from there.
They are not going to be using the Disney buses ( not sure about the boats) anymore. So don’t know what transport will be like from there.
All to do with the huge extension they are building.
 
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You got a great deal that suited your family very well. ime of pricing up, even with free dining, the LBV hotels were massively cheaper overall. Like, more than a thousand quid. I think we paid £1200 for 2 weeks last time, vs the quote I got yesterday to stay onsite of £4400, and that didn't even have free dining (prices go "back to normal" - i.e. up - when free dining is on)

Yeah the free dining offer is suspended, there's no way I would pay the premium to stay on site without that offer.

I paid £2900 for two weeks for a 5 person room at Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort.

This included free quick serve dining. I paid an extra £600 to upgrade to table service dining.

Considering the cost of food and drink at Disney, especially at table service places, I think I definitely would have spent more than £100 per day, it costs more than that for one TS meal for 5 and you get snack credits too.
You got a great deal that suited your family very well. ime of pricing up, even with free dining, the LBV hotels were massively cheaper overall. Like, more than a thousand quid. I think we paid £1200 for 2 weeks last time, vs the quote I got yesterday to stay onsite of £4400, and that didn't even have free dining (prices go "back to normal" - i.e. up - when free dining is on)

yeah, we did Uber Family last time, which was great. Sadly, I doubt Uber has a 2-child seat option? The oldest will be 6+ by then, so won't legally need one. I'm going to ask them now actually :)
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Uber do not do 2 car seats
Lyft don't even do 1 in Florida!

Looks like either no car trips at all, OR take 2 seats with us next time then. Hmm.

You could order two car seats from Amazon and get them delivered to your hotel.
They are not going to be using the Disney buses ( not sure about the boats) anymore. So don’t know what transport will be like from there.
All to do with the huge extension they are building.

They're doing a huge extension at the Swan/Dolphin?
 
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