Orlando on a Budget

GETTING AROUND

Having a hire car is the best way for being mobile in Florida, and it is pretty much essential if you are staying at a vacation home, or private villa. But it can also be another expensive item once you add in all the necessary insurance extras and taxes, and there are cheaper alternatives if you don’t mind doing a bit more work on your holiday.

To start with, you can weigh up if it might be more cost effective to stay at a Disney resort, where transport is provided to all the Disney parks and resorts free of charge. The extra convenience of staying ‘on-site’ is also worth considering, although, if you want to do Universal, SeaWorld and Co, you would still have a journey (and cost) involved there. A 2-centre holiday, with a week, say at a Disney hotel, and a week on International Drive, would possibly give you the best of both worlds.

International Drive is a great base to use for Universal and SeaWorld as it is easy to get around, either by the cheap-to-use I-Ride Trolley or with the free shuttles that many hotels here offer. In fact, when choosing your hotel it is worth looking to see if they provide a free shuttle to the nearest park or parks; many do and, while there are only a handful which provide free transport to ALL the parks, these make for exceptional extra value (notably the new Nickelodeon Hotel & Suites in Lake Buena Vista), as you can easily consider not taking a hire car at all. Alternatively, work out which of the parks will demand most of your time, choose your hotel in that area (e.g. Lake Buena Vista for Disney), and use one of the paid-for shuttle services to the other parks, like Mears Transportation, who charge a set fee per person for a round-trip.

PRO SPOT: Very possibly the best compromise in terms of your holiday transportation, is to book a hire car for only part of the time. It is usually possible to take advantage of the cheap or free options for at least half the time, and then you can cut your hire car costs down by almost half as well. Many people overlook this possibility, but there are numerous car hire offices around Orlando and you will rarely be hard-pushed to find transport.

When you are getting to and from Orlando International Airport, you are not tied to car hire and taxis, either (and taxis can be extremely expensive hereabouts – a one-way cab ride from Orlando International to parts of Kissimmee can be $50). If you don’t mind taking a bit longer over your journey, the Lynx bus system is a great way to save. From Orlando International Airport, take Link 42 to International Drive; Link 56 from Kissimmee to Disney, link 18 from Kissimmee to Downtown Orlando and link 55 along Highway 192 in Kissimmee; Link 304 from International Drive to Disney and Link 38 from I-Drive to Downtown Orlando; and Links 50 and 300 from downtown Orlando to Disney. Lynx fares are all $1.50 a ride (transfers are free), $3.50 daily or $12 for a weekly pass (children 6 and under go free with a full-fare passenger; limit three). The service is every 30 minutes in the main areas, every 15 minutes from 6-9am and 3.30-6.30pm, but try to have the right change. Lynx bus stops are marked by pink paw-print signs and all buses are wheelchair accessible. For a full map of the Lynx system, look up www.golynx.com.

PRO SPOT: There can be long queues for the Lynx buses out of Walt Disney World at park closing time, and it is often more worthwhile getting the (free) Disney transport to Downtown Disney and taking a taxi back to your hotel from there. A cab from there to International Drive should be around $20-25.

Of the other transportation services, Mears (www.mearstransportation.com) offer the most comprehensive services, both for airport transfers and for getting to and from the theme parks from the various hotels, while Quick Transportation (www.quicktransportation.com) also provide some excellent and well-priced regular and tailor-made services. From hotels in the Highway 192 area of Kissimmee, you can also try Maingate Transportation (www.maingatetaxi.com), who are competitively priced for Disney, Universal and SeaWorld shuttles (around $10-14/person round-trip).

Additionally, several shopping malls have their own shuttle or pick-up service. Lake Buena Vista Factory Stores collects guests free on a daily basis from more than 40 hotels in the Orlando and Kissimmee areas (check your hotel for details, or call 407 363 1093). Orlando Premium Outlets (407 390 0000) provides a hotel shuttle with Maingate Transportation at $10 round trip from the Lake Buena Vista area and Kissimmee hotels.