question for simon and susan

[scudsuchet]

As you know we are travelling to Orlando on 31st this month for 2 weeks. The first week in Orlando and 2nd on the beach. Unfortunatley our eldest had an accident yesterday and has sustained a puncture to his abdominal wall, which has been fixed in hospital. His stitches come out the day before we leave. The doctor says he will be unable to go on the rollercoasters and water slides as he has damaged some muscle.We were originally planning on doing the universal parks and wet wild. However we have to rethink the parks and maybe attending the disney fab 4. We are reluctant to fork out for the 7 day premium as we won't be able to utilise the water park side of things. Any suggestions? would we be better to purchase tickets over there, especially with the exchange rate. Or should we purchase the non expiration option which we could use next year for the outstanding days left. (Do you know how much it is to purchase non expiration option for 7 day premium tickets). :confused:

[Simon Veness]

Hi scudsuchet. So sorry to hear about son's accident and that it has affected your holiday plans. That is never a happy situation :( As regards your ticket situation, I would think you are probably better off getting a straightforward Magic Your Way ticket in Orlando for the exact number of days you require, as you are just not going to get real value for the Premium tickets if you can't do the water parks and roller-coasters. The No Expiration Option can be added after the initial purchase, but you still pay based on the original length of the ticket; e.g., if you buy a 7-day ticket and decide after 5 days you won’t use the rest of the ticket on this visit, you can add No Expiration for $90 and save the remaining 2 days for the future. But this rarely seems like good value to us. You can get the MYW tickets either at the official Visitor Center on I-Drive or at any Disney Guest Relations office (there is a handy one at Downtown Disney for example) to avoid the main ticket kiosk queues. You will need to work out exactly how many Disney days you require, then look at this site to see the local price for the MYW option.

"http://www.orlandoinfo.com/tickets/descriptions.cfm?id=2452"

Do a quick conversion to pounds, then check the ATD prices for the 5 and 7-day Premium tickets to see if the latter might still be good value (although not with the non-expiration option).

Hope that helps, and good luck!

[Susan Veness]

Simon is looking at the ticket issue at the moment, but I wanted to suggest not ruling out Universal Studios. You will still find plenty to do there that your son will be ok doing. Revenge of the Mummy is out, but most other things should be ok. Shrek might be iffy....the seats do bounce quite heavily, and you might need to use the stationary seats on Jimmy Neutron. Also, Men in Black spins at one point, so that might be something to consider, if his abdomen is still really tender.

Have you considered adding SeaWorld? That would be an excellent day out, and there is currently a ticket offered that gives you a return visit free.

Islands of Adventure might not be the best idea, though in all honesty we could spend (and have spent!) an entire day there without going on any of the coasters. Still....it really is more of a 'thrill ride' park.

How much can your son do? Is it only the coasters he's been warned away from, or also rides that spin?

Just editing to add, I broke 3 ribs in karate several years ago and was very uncomfortable even a year later. To overcome some of the discomfort on a few attractions (such as Shrek), simply raising up off the seat at the first bounce was enough. If you know what's coming, you can prepare for it and still enjoy the attraction.

If you have questions about particular rides, I'm sure all of us here will be more than happy to help! Knowing what to expect is the best way to prepare, I think, and there may be more (or less....) that your son can do than might seem obvious. :)

[marksarahL]

just a thought (as you may have already done this) i would consult a physio on this matter as there is a number of items the would help, weightlifters use a brace that goes under the t-shirt (obviously no good in a water park) that stops any damage to there abdoman when they are lifting weights, and nike have that new dri fit t-shirt that footballers are wearing, so i would check with your local hospital to use there physio free of charge.

i know this is a totally different area, a week before i went to orlando in August 2005 i snapped two ligaments in my foot playing rugby, i got physio from the hospital and he showed me some exercises and showed me the best way to strap it up so no more injuries would happen, sometimes it covers the hospital to stay causious, just use the physio at the hospital you should be able to get an appointment as you have had hospital treatment.

[scudsuchet]

Thanks simon and susan, much appreciated, it looks like the cheapest option is the 5 day MYW ticket for our purposes. We have changed our itinerary and park plans to accomodate. Now we have to get rid of our 3day 3park plus wet and wild universal tickets as I presume they will expire at the end of 2007.
Thanks to to marksara for the advice about the physio. (My wife is actually a senior 1 chartered physio! so treatment is free!!we are just gonna have to see what he is capable of at the end of the day, hopefully as he gets his stiches out the day before we travel to Manchester he will be in a better state!!) :)

[Susan Veness]

Your assumption about the 3 Park ticket at Universal is correct. They will expire on Dec 31, 2007 and they are non-refundable. :(

I would still contact Universal's Guest Services and explain your situation. It can't hurt to try, though my guess is they will tell you there are still things you can do in the parks (though not at WnW). If they won't refund the tickets outright perhaps they will allow you to change to another ticket that doesn't include Wet 'n Wild, or upgrade to a 2008 ticket if you think you might go next year. If you can go into it with a flexible request, they MIGHT bend a bit.

Otherwise, there might be someone who would buy the tickets from you. Their terms do not state the tickets are non-transferable, though they do state photo ID will be required at the turnstyles (we've never seen that happen, but it can!). I would take from that statement that you must have a UK drivers license, since the tickets are UK specific (not available in the US).

Just editing to add, as a last resort you might try to put the loss through on your travel insurance.

Just some thoughts. Fingers crossed the right thing works out for you!

[Susan Veness]

Just another thought....I was going on the assumption you purchased the tickets on line, but if you got them through a travel agent you will have to speak with them rather than with Universal. :)

[scudsuchet]

We purchased them through ATD funnily enough, they are unsigned, so could we sell them on? (ANy one intrested? 2 adults and 2 children)

[scudsuchet]

Hi Simon and Susan we are off to Manchester tommorow fly out Thursday, the excitement escalates, George gets his stitches out this afternoon thank goodness, we are getting the MYW tickets on arrival. Not quite sure on the exact location of the official Visitor Center on I-Drive? We are now staying at Hawthorn suites at seworld, how far to the vis centre are we from there?
My wife came up with a great plan for the universal tickets! We'll just go back in October! so that we can use them before they expire!! What an excuse !!!!!!! :D

[Simon Veness]

Brilliant thinking, scudsuchet - we like your style!!

Oh, and have a truly wonderful trip. Sincerely hope it all works out well for your son :)

[Catlady]

:D Have a great time! :D