Looks like Florida

WinstonsGirl

Since I just figured out how to do this (after only how many years here??), keep planning our trip. We can do 2 of the 3 and we'd be happy with all of them. I've put them alphabetically, so no, these aren't in my order preference. May the top 2 make up our trip

lurkergirl

I voted for the keys, and I think you should do that and HP/Universal.  If you drive, I'd recommend trying to take A1A for some of it.  Beautiful towns to drive through there.

RebeccaFlower

We just went to HP world recently. Did I see in the other thread you're going during a school vacation? We went on a Monday holiday and it was crazy busy. Also, I didn't think Diagon Alley was that amazing, but if you're going, you might as well get a 2 day park to park so you can take the Hogwarts Express. I wasn't impressed with anything else in Universal. 

We've had great experiences with Royal Caribbean and not so good with Carnival comparatively. You definitely get what you pay for. Princess is generally an older audience. 

esstee33

lurkergirl said:

I voted for the keys, and I think you should do that and HP/Universal.  If you drive, I'd recommend trying to take A1A for some of it.  Beautiful towns to drive through there.

Cosigning this!

WinstonsGirl

@RebeccaFlower - Yes, we'd be going during school holidays as I teach.  Nothing much I can do about it other than suffer the high prices and crazy kids.  I'm always so jealous of my friends who scoop up last minute cheap deals cos we won't get to do that till we retire.  C'est la vie.  

We've cruised with Princess before, so we'd like to stay with them, though we are open to other lines.  And I've done Universal in CA, which was neat, but we'd be going mainly for HP.  

JoanE2012

I'd do the Keys and the cruise.  I'm not a Harry Potter fan though.  And I wouldn't dare go to a theme park during a school break!

arrippa

I voted for the Florida Keys. I have never been there but it looks like a great place to visit.

RebeccaFlower

JoanE2012 said:

I'd do the Keys and the cruise.  I'm not a Harry Potter fan though.  And I wouldn't dare go to a theme park during a school break!

Yeah, we went on a Wednesday and I would still consider it rather busy, so I can't imagine going during a break. Honestly, I think it's a little bit of a waste of your money to go now.

WinstonsGirl

I'm not keen on it during school breaks, but not sure if we'd ever go to Florida again anyway.  

RebeccaFlower

WinstonsGirl said:

I'm not keen on it during school breaks, but not sure if we'd ever go to Florida again anyway.  

In that case, if you love HP, I'd do it while you're there then but just be mentally prepared. 

lurkergirl

WinstonsGirl said:

I'm not keen on it during school breaks, but not sure if we'd ever go to Florida again anyway.  

I mean as long as it isn't American Christmas or Spring break season, I don't see it being a big problem.  If it's later in January, our kids are typically back in school by then.  I would avoid MLK day, though!

misshart00

When are you going? I went to Disney world with a friend the third week in January and it was wonderful. There were absolutely no lines. The only problem is that it was kind of cold.

hellosweetie1015

HARRY POTTER LAND ALWAYS WINS!!!

Also take me. I can fit in a suitcase. I think.

Eta actual reasoning:
I love Universal. I've only gone once, and it was right before Diagon Alley opened, and early May, so not a school break. But the longest we waited was for Despicable Me, and it was seriously the most fun I've had in a long time.

I am also seven so it was kind of a perfect fit.

WinstonsGirl

misshart00 said:

When are you going? I went to Disney world with a friend the third week in January and it was wonderful. There were absolutely no lines. The only problem is that it was kind of cold.

We'd be stuck going over a Christmas break.  can't do Spring break normally due to competition season, and I'm looking at grad studies starting this summer, so it's probably out.  But like I said in the other thread, Florida in Dec is hot, coming form Canada.  I wish I could travel in the middle of Jan though.  

Chipmunk415

Living in Florida, I have to say....do NOT go to Orlando during Christmas. The parks are a nightmare and on top of the regular attendees, you've got everyone going for Christmas celebrations.

If you are looking for a quiet, relaxing experience with not so blazing hot weather in Florida, I'd recommend visiting the St. Augustine/Ponte Vedra Beach area. It's south of Jacksonville, right on the Atlantic, and being part of North Florida, it will be pleasantly warm with cool ocean breezes. St. Augustine has the Festival of Lights going on all month and into January, where the Old City and lots of the B&Bs are decorated and lit up for the holidays- quite pretty. If you like historical, Old World feel, St. Augustine is the site of the first colony. Ponte Vedra is between Jax and St. Augustine, and still a nice getaway with shopping and beaches.

emmaaa

I loved Universal! I went with my best friend's family a couple of years ago for the first time and we had a blast. We went in the heat of sumber in July but didn't mind the heat and humidity because we loved it so much. I also recommend the 2 day pass and go between the parks.

lurkergirl

Chipmunk415 said:

Living in Florida, I have to say....do NOT go to Orlando during Christmas. The parks are a nightmare and on top of the regular attendees, you've got everyone going for Christmas celebrations.

If you are looking for a quiet, relaxing experience with not so blazing hot weather in Florida, I'd recommend visiting the St. Augustine/Ponte Vedra Beach area. It's south of Jacksonville, right on the Atlantic, and being part of North Florida, it will be pleasantly warm with cool ocean breezes. St. Augustine has the Festival of Lights going on all month and into January, where the Old City and lots of the B&Bs are decorated and lit up for the holidays- quite pretty. If you like historical, Old World feel, St. Augustine is the site of the first colony. Ponte Vedra is between Jax and St. Augustine, and still a nice getaway with shopping and beaches.

Haha I recommended the same thing in OP's other thread, but she didn't want to head farther north than Orlando. 

@winstonsgirl During what part of the break are you planning on going?  Several years ago, I drove down with my mom and sister on New Year's Day.  We went to Magic Kingdom a day or 2 later, and it was crowded, but didn't seem extra crowded, if that makes sense. 

WinstonsGirl

We'd be there over a Christmas break, either leaving on the 24th or 26th to Jan 2.  I'd prefer to leave on Boxing Day personally.  We'd dot he cruise first, and then have time to explore about Dec 30 - Jan 2.  I was thinking Christmas Day might be an ok park day due to locals celebrating Christmas at home, and many people being at home before/after traveling, but who knows.  

And I totally want hot hot hot weather!!  The hotter the better, though I'll be happy with anything over 20C

dolewhipper

WinstonsGirl said:

We'd be there over a Christmas break, either leaving on the 24th or 26th to Jan 2.  I'd prefer to leave on Boxing Day personally.  We'd dot he cruise first, and then have time to explore about Dec 30 - Jan 2.  I was thinking Christmas Day might be an ok park day due to locals celebrating Christmas at home, and many people being at home before/after traveling, but who knows.  

And I totally want hot hot hot weather!!  The hotter the better, though I'll be happy with anything over 20C

See, you think this, and I chuckle.

I call the week between Christmas and NYD Insanity Week: You're insane if you come here. I've literally been on the phone nonstop all week helping people plan their vacations for the end of the month. I actually (unintentionally) talked a woman out of coming here all together for their vacation; they're rescheduling for a quieter time.

That being said, I'm wearing a time turner necklace right now. I'm taking my sister next week for her first time. If you do go, I have a few suggestions:

-You must get, at the very minimum, the Express Pass. Without it, expect 50-90 minute + waits. This does not work on the HP rides though,so you'd want to be in the park at least 30 min before opening and run to Diagon Alley first to ride Escape from Gringotts, ride the Hogwarts Express, then ride Forbidden Journey (don't stop to buy things, you can always go back).

-Instead of buying the Express Pass, look into two different things:

--If you can afford a Private VIP Tour. I helped a family get one and they came back ranting and raving how amazing it was. 8 hours, breakfast and lunch included and you had literally NO WAIT on anything. You really are a VIP. However, it is close to $3k. (No lie.)

--If you can stay at either the Portofino Bay, Hard Rock, or Royal Pacific Resorts, which are on property and include not only early entrance into the parks before anyone else, but free unlimited Express Passes. These resorts are quite nice (though I'm biased because I used to work for them).

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask/PM. I love my job and the parks, used to work for Universal (opened the original Wizarding World in '09) and last year went to Disney over 75/365 days.

& FTR, I love the Keys. Stayed in Marathon not too long ago and drove to Key West 2/4 days we spent there. Its about an 8 hour drive from Orlando, we stopped in Ft. Lauderdale for a night.

ETA: Christmas Day is always in the top three busiest days of the year, along with NYE and 4th of July. 

WinstonsGirl

@dolewhipper - You're awesome.  Ski hills up here are always dead on Christmas/New Years, so I wasn't sure if that was the case in the Parks.  Still talking about options though, so who knows.  Thanks for the hotel tips.  We were looking at staying at a Universal hotel if we did go, and I'd already checked out the fast passes.  No way we're paying $3000 for a private tour though.  I'll PM you if I have any other questions though.   

dolewhipper

WinstonsGirl why they should be dead, but I guess with the kids all out of school and the parents get the time between Christmas and New Years off, everyone's here, escaping the cold as well. It's a high of 80's this week  

If you do decide to come down, let me know and I can give you a plan of attack for the rides (TouringPlans.com is your friend)