Burning a hole in my pocket

[mjmcca]

In December I took my kids to Sesame Place for their Christmas festivities. While there they had an awesome deal for annual passes including the Super ones that include all Seaworld and Busch Gardens parks.


Now a month later and the urge to use them is becoming irresistible. I'm from the Northeast so my kids will be having school break in February and I am seriously thinking of heading down to use the passes. I had thought about taking them to the Nick hotel but the poor reviews here make me leery. Even at a good rate not cleaning the room all day or not having hot water would probably get my Brooklyn up which is never a good thing. I am not going to do Disney this trip but I am thinking about doing Legoland. I would love some input about hotels. My kids have been to Seaworld but not Busch Gardens in Tampa.

 

[swilshire]

When we had Busch Platinum passes, we stayed at Mystic Dunes, which gave us an easy hop onto I-4 to go west an hour for Busch Gardens two days during the week and east to Sea World and Aquatica multiple days. Sheraton Vistana would be similarly convenient to either park.

Sheila

 

[mjmcca]

I was thinking about using the free shuttle from Seaworld so I wouldn't have to do the driving all the way to Tampa. Those suggestions are nice though so thanks! Mystic Dunes has a current Groupon rate of $59 a night I think. Might be a little higher cause it's President's week.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

What are you looking for in accommodations, OP? Location? Price? Space? Amenities?

We are owners at the Sheraton Vistana Resort, and absolutely love it there . We love the resort, the amenities, the rooms, the location, the whole package. I will wholeheartedly agree with swilshire that it would be a good pick for your vacation!

That said, if you are doing a SW parks trip, it might be worthwhile to consider a SW official hotel for the added perks (early entry on select dates, free QQ at Seaworld, free transportation to all the parks, etc.). We had an excellent experience at the Residence Inn Seaworld over Christmas 2012.....they have a large pool, hot tub, courtyard and outdoor sport court, there's a great free breakfast buffet included, internet is free, and the suites are very spacious (you can get a studio, one bedroom or two bedroom......and all have kitchens). The staff were awesome, too.

If you are planning on having a "resort day" as part of your vacation, then the Vistana has so much more to offer vs. a standard hotel. If you are just sleeping there and doing the SW parks daily, then I would almost lean towards a SW onsite hotel.

 

[jeff968]

The Vistana resort is great but it is one of just many suite style developments in the area and they are all so close together that the most important thing is to find one available at this late date. We travel every president's week but I have the entire trip planned by July of the previous year. It is a very popular week and flights, accomodations, and car rentals go up in price very quickly. That said, people have their plans change so keep an eye out. Having been to many of these resorts we like the marriotts and hiltons even better. Our current favorite is one of orlando's newest, the hilton parc soliel. The Vistana resort was too large for my tastes and it is older but I understand they've done updates. I liked the newer Vistana villages better but our favorite is the Hilton mentioned above and Marriott's Cypress harbour. There are many hotels to choose from. I'm sure you'll find something. Good luck.

 

[mjmcca]

The Vistana resort is great but it is one of just many suite style developments in the area and they are all so close together that the most important thing is to find one available at this late date. We travel every president's week but I have the entire trip planned by July of the previous year. It is a very popular week and flights, accomodations, and car rentals go up in price very quickly. That said, people have their plans change so keep an eye out. Having been to many of these resorts we like the marriotts and hiltons even better. Our current favorite is one of orlando's newest, the hilton parc soliel. The Vistana resort was too large for my tastes and it is older but I understand they've done updates. I liked the newer Vistana villages better but our favorite is the Hilton mentioned above and Marriott's Cypress harbour. There are many hotels to choose from. I'm sure you'll find something. Good luck.

That's what is surprising to me, I have traveled over this time frame before and it is usually incredibly difficult to obtain any reservations at this late date. This year looking at various sites such as Expedia, Orbitz, Groupon Ect, there are many options still available.

 

[tiff211]

How old are your children? My girls love BG and SW. I have booked many last minutes and never have a problem. We live in GA and have annual passes to US and SW/BG. You will also have to take another trip to Williamsburg to go to the BG there, we actually like that one better. Have a great time!

 

[mjmcca]

How old are your children? My girls love BG and SW. I have booked many last minutes and never have a problem. We live in GA and have annual passes to US and SW/BG. You will also have to take another trip to Williamsburg to go to the BG there, we actually like that one better. Have a great time!

Kids are son 13 and daughter 11 almost 12. They love Disney and Seaworld but have only been to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg and when we were there they opted for more time at Water Country. We only spent a few hours at BG. I took them to Sesame place cause I wanted stuff to do with them over the Christmas break and they had a special where the APs were on sale and you could apply the price of the ticket you had for the day.

 

[jeff968]

That's what is surprising to me, I have traveled over this time frame before and it is usually incredibly difficult to obtain any reservations at this late date. This year looking at various sites such as Expedia, Orbitz, Groupon Ect, there are many options still available.

I just looked at orbitz. Flights start at $461 RT out of NYC and car rentals are over $500 for the week so that looks pretty high to me

 

[mjmcca]

I just looked at orbitz. Flights start at $461 RT out of NYC and car rentals are over $500 for the week so that looks pretty high to me

The flights are ridiculous but I meant the rooms, there are still many available.

 

[DCbride]

We had the Suoer Grover pass a few times. Look into the partner hotels with Sea World: Residence Inn/ Springhill Suites at Sea World. They give you a front of the line pass to use ( you get it the night before and it is free) which really helps plus a hot breakfast and shuttle is included. The RI also has a full kitchen, SHS has small fridge and micro.

 

[mikehn]

The flights are ridiculous but I meant the rooms, there are still many available.

You are right. There is never a shortage of lodging in Orlando. Nowadays, the challenge is getting decent airfare.

 

[dtr_angel]

Is that sesame place in PA? How was it? My 18 month old lives sesame street so we are thinking about going for his birthday in July but I can't find much about it online. Thanks!

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[mjmcca]

Is that sesame place in PA? How was it? My 18 month old lives sesame street so we are thinking about going for his birthday in July but I can't find much about it online. Thanks!

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

I've been there many times. My kids loved it when they were little still like it now that they are older. It is mostly a summer water park but most of the water attractions are geared towards little kids. There are a few slides that are for the older ones. Thre character show venues but I think they may have one doing double duty and hosting more than one show. What specific information were you looking for?

 

[dtr_angel]

I've been there many times. My kids loved it when they were little still like it now that they are older. It is mostly a summer water park but most of the water attractions are geared towards little kids. There are a few slides that are for the older ones. Thre character show venues but I think they may have one doing double duty and hosting more than one show. What specific information were you looking for?

Just wondering how the park was. Is there enough to do 2 days there? It looks like we can get 2 days for the price of one. I know it's probably not a big park but thinking about splitting it into 2 days and doing water rides one of those days. On his actual birthday we were thinking about doing a character meal. He LOVES Ernie, have you ever seen him out at the park? Thanks for answering! We live about 4 hours from there. We are going to do other things that week in the area but the main reason for going is for Sesame Place.

 

[mjmcca]

Just wondering how the park was. Is there enough to do 2 days there? It looks like we can get 2 days for the price of one. I know it's probably not a big park but thinking about splitting it into 2 days and doing water rides one of those days. On his actual birthday we were thinking about doing a character meal. He LOVES Ernie, have you ever seen him out at the park? Thanks for answering! We live about 4 hours from there. We are going to do other things that week in the area but the main reason for going is for Sesame Place.

I have never done 2 consecutive days there cause we live about 90 minutes to 2 hours away. That said I have gone there 2 or more times during the summer. If you lived closer I would recommend using the second day in the fall because they have a great Halloween celebration. If your little one likes water I think he will love 2 days there. Over all the park is small. They have small rides similar to the ones in Shamu's happy harbor in addition to the water rides.

I have never done a full character meal there because for a long time I didn't like the type of foods that the Busch theme parks were selling we would mostly bring our own in. That said I splurged and book cookies and milk with Santa when we were there at Christmas and it was very nice. Maybe not Disney nice but they did a very good job.

I know Ernie is in at least one show but I could not tell you how often he is out now. This was our first time there in 3 years. (My kids spent this past summer in Morocco). I think I saw him out when we were there but I couldn't swear to it.

My one complaint is the staff is high school and college kid heavy so at times you get a level of service that reflects that.

 

[reelmom]

How old are your children? My girls love BG and SW. I have booked many last minutes and never have a problem. We live in GA and have annual passes to US and SW/BG. You will also have to take another trip to Williamsburg to go to the BG there, we actually like that one better. Have a great time!

When you go to Busch Gardens, do you stay in Tampa? If so, which hotel? We are looking to go to BG. I have heard bad reviews of the neighborhoods around the park so I have been hesitant to book.

 

[swilshire]

I was thinking about using the free shuttle from Seaworld so I wouldn't have to do the driving all the way to Tampa.

Unless you just hate to drive or don't want to buy the gas, it might be worth it to take your own car so you can be on your own schedule. How often does the shuttle run?

It really is an easy drive.

Sheila