Just got back - TCD, QIP, 5 Park Flexi and more

Hi Guys, this is just a quick review on my holiday, I will update the review of the hotels and theme parks on the appropriate pages.

Travel City Direct - You pay for what you get. Not the best plane in the world but there is adequate leg room and the seats are comfortable. The food is small barely enough to keep a man alive but it tasted fine. Smooth take off and landing. Poor TV entertainment would advise you bring an ipod or mini dvd player. For anyone travelling with a luggage allowance of 20kg I would advise you to purchase the double baggage allowance for 拢15 per person. I did this 4 days before I flew out just in case. On the way out my bag weighted 18kgs and more on the way back. 20kgs is not much believe me. Would I travel with TCD again (?), yes but if I could afford it I would upgrade or fly with Virgin.

Dollar Car Hire - Booked two 8 Seater vans through Dollar via TCD. Very pleased with the Dollar service and was driving within 10 minutes. They did try to sell me their RAC, AA equivalent for $40 but I said no thanks. Returning the van%26#39;s was just as easy, just had to pull up and leave the keys in the ignition. They didn%26#39;t even check for any damage etc.

Quality Inn Plaza - Nice hotel, nice people, nice room, nice swimming pool, great location. I stayed in block B on the 4th floor. The equivalent to a travel lodge room. The hotel breakfast was just about average and once was enough. After that we ate at Sizzlers $4.99 and Ponderosa $3.99 all you can eat, good breakie. We I stay there again (?), YES DEFINITELY.

Hilton Clearwater - I spent for days at the Hilton Clearwater. A lovely hotel and beach but quite a boring place to be.

Universal 5 park flexi ticket (purchased through www.themeparkticketsdirect.com ) Visited Busch, Islands of Adventure, Wet n Wild, Seaworld, Universal Studios. All fine parks but my favourite was Wet n Wild because the queues are not long and you don%26#39;t have to run away from the sun in the afternoon! 97 degrees most days!!! Do not underestimate how hot is it out there.

I hired a satnav from www.cheapsatnavhire.co.uk for 拢60 and this was the best investment I made as I drove about 700 miles in 2wks. there are so many places you can just go to when you have a GPS. Remember a GPS is only as good as the information you put into it. If you have the full address it will get you where you want to go. I%26#39;ve been using GPS for many years (used to be a courier driver) and it was easy for me but first time users may find it difficult. For first timers I would use a map.

TIPS (Cash) - I read much on TA about how much to pay in tips and the pressure people feel if you don%26#39;t tip. For me I experinced no pressure at all and tipped when I wanted to. It took a while to get used to paying tax on top of anything which is more of a pain, but when in rome!!! :)

Bought drinks and snacks from Walmart. Purchased top quality a HP laptop from Circuit City for $750 including tax and Norton antivirus, checked the price for a similar model in the UK and would have paid 拢600 for the same model.

One of the best things you can do if your going in a large group (or just a few) is plan an itinerary, I did and we pretty much stuck to it. The first 3 days of your itinerary are the most important, after that you%26#39;ll be ok. One more thing about large groups, your only as fast as the slowest person. If your going to stick together don%26#39;t plan at your pace as you will get frustrated with the slower members in the party.

Nightlife - I went to a few nightclubs off the beaten track and had a great time. I%26#39;m mainly into Reggae and Rnb so if anyone is into the same music drop me an email and I will advise you where to go.

Universal CityWalk is great by the way and free to walk around. Most places charge $7 to get in.

Overall I had a fantastic time and can%26#39;t wait to go back. Wouldn%26#39;t go in August again because it was too hot for me and wouldn%26#39;t go in a large group.

I%26#39;m happy to answer any questions.

Just got back - TCD, QIP, 5 Park Flexi and more

You obviously have missed the TCD debarcle.

Just got back - TCD, QIP, 5 Park Flexi and more

Wow cancelled flights just reading it now. Looks like I%26#39;ll be flying with virgin next time.

Duke. Glad to hear you thought the QIP was nice, 5 of us are in the 1 room in October, will there be enough space ? how many was in your room. Was there enough storage space to unpack for 5?

Any more info on the hotel?

Thanks Angie

Duke ; I would read all the posts on the 4-5 different headings before jumping to conclusions.

This is consolidation of an airline just changing its operations of a few flights.

It goes on all the time. with all airlines It has affected a few people badly.

But the grater majority have accepted the alternative dates. Some passengers are not in that position.

Had TA not been available the chances of you hearing about someone flight dates being changed is remote you might have heard of the odd one.

It has always gone on with all airlines this one is no exception. and there will be others.

This is sometimes caused by airport authorities changing slot times , for building , runway maintenance and repair , bringing into service new terminals etc,

Hi Angie

To be honest 5 people in one room is going to be very tight but they do have quite a few chester draws so you should be fine.

Duke