When staying in an Orlando Disney villa, the following tips may be helpful to you.

Remember to complete your ESTA form for all members traveling.  Florida requires this to be completed before you check in at the airport.  If you do not complete an ESTA, you will not be allowed to travel.  Go to https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov to complete the form ($14 per person as of 14.02.2011).  Be wary of some web-sites offering to complete the form for you at a higher cost.  The form is really easy to complete and will only take around 5 minutes per person.

If possible, pre-book you seats on the plane well in advance of flying (you can do this with most major airlines such as Virgin, BAA, Delta, completely free of charge).  Some charter airlines may charge extra.  Once the seats are booked you know your family will be traveling together and this just takes a little pressure off you wondering where you will be seated.  Ask your travel agent for the “locator number” and log into the airline web-site and manage your booking from there.

What clothes to take.  Packing for Florida is really easy, most people wear casual clothing such as t-shirts, shorts, trainers etc.  You may need a pair of trousers or a light jumper for the evenings in late Autumn / Winter but most of the time shorts and t-shirt are just fine.  If you are staying in an Orlando Disney villa, you will almost certainly have a washer and tumble dryer and so there is no need to pack enormous amounts of clothing.  In the Florida climate, clothes also dry very quickly.

Without doubt, you will need a swimming costume but nearly all Disney villa owners supply towels and so there is no need to pack these (just check with the owner before you travel).  If for some strange reason, your Florida villa owner does not include towels, then I would suggest you do not pack any but buy a couple in the cheap tourist shops for a couple of dollars and then throw them away before you go home.  By doing this, you will leave plenty of room in your suitcases for everything you buy to bring back. Most items in the US of A are cheaper than in the UK.  This is particularly true for trainers, trousers, t-shirts.  Some DVD’s can be cheaper, but check that they will play on your player in the UK.  Also, remember that you are only allowed to bring home around £140 of goods per person, unlike the EEC where you can bring back much more.

No doubt, you will be visiting Disney, Universal or some other parks and you will be doing a lot of walking and be on your feet for a good few hours during the day.  For this reason you will need some good footwear.  Most people wear trainers as they are practical and also comfortable.

Please remember that there are very strict rule regarding taking food into Florida.  You are allowed to take jars of food (such as Marmite – love it or hate it !!!), but items such as bananas, apples, meat etc are definitely forbidden.  Do not even try it as there a really cute dogs at immigration, sniffing all around your bags, and they will find you out.  Most items you will need will be found in Wal-Mart, Publix etc.  They even have their own brands of corn Flakes etc., and are cheaper than buying known UK brands.

Even people with who have special dietary requirements should be able to find most things at Wal-Mart or Publix.  These two large stores stock gluten free products and soya milk for those who are lactose intolerant.

Sun screen and sun barrier are an absolute must in Florida.  The sun gets very, very hot.  Be extra careful while in the pool as the cool water will seem to negate the heat of the sun.  It is only when you get out of the pool that you realize how much you may have been burnt.  Be especially careful with small children.

If you are taking a good quality camera with you, then we would suggest you purchase a good quality camera bag that will protect the camera from the afternoon storms that can occur in Florida and also from the potential splashing while you are on the water rides.   If you buy a bag that also has a loop that slips on to your belt, this will help to ensure you do not lose the camera.  Any god camera shop will sell these for around £10.

Do not forget to pack things like Aspirin or other medication you might need in your hand luggage.  If you need it, it is readily available.

And last but certainly not least (in fact probably most important), take a small document wallet with you to keep all you important documents together.  These should be your passports (remember you need at least 6 months from your date of return left on your passport before your passport expires to enter the US of A).  you should also keep you car hire voucher, Disney tickets etc, drivers licence, insurance policy, travelers cheques, directions to your Disney villa in the wallet.  If you keep these all in one place they are easier to find and in my opinion much safer than being in various other places.

It is also a very good idea to take some photocopies of these documents and give them to another member of your party to keep just in case the originals are lost.  It is so much easier obtaining a replacement passport if you have a copy of the original.  Also keep the travelers cheques separate from their numbers so if they are lost, you will still have the numbers that you can report as being lost and replacements will be easier to obtain.

We hope the above tips will help you holiday to be a little less worrying.  Remember, if you prepare properly everything will run smoothly.

As always, the key to a successful trip is proper planning.  If you have a clear view of every stage of the journey it will flow more smoothly than if you are having to react to a series of minor disasters which are being flung at you.

The issue we all have with air travel is that it is always rush, then wait, rush then wait.  You rush to the airport to ensure you can check in on time and get the seats you want.  However, you may have a long wait in the queue to get rid of your luggage and obtain your boarding passes.  Then we rush to passport control and again we may have to wait a long time in a line.  Once through passport control, we have perhaps 3 to 4 hours to wait for boarding.  We have a cup of coffee, perhaps a bite to eat.  It seems to go on and on.  With all the added security measures in place at airports, you must be prepared to wait for some hours at the airport.  If you have older children, they can often amuse them selves on a PSP, Game Boy or even the old fashioned reading of a book.  If you have younger children it can be more challenging to keep them amused.  Some airports do have play areas for them and this can help a lot.  Always try and take along a small, cheap favourite toy they can play with.  Being cheap, if it gets lost, then it does not matter too much.

Once on board, always remember to exercise when possible and at least once an hour.  Walk up and down the plane, or flex your feet.  This may well help to prevent DVT (Deep vein thrombosis).  Also remember to drink plenty of fluids (water – not beer !!!).

Take an Aspirin just before you fly.  Aspirin helps to thin the blood and so helps prevent DVT.  Make sure you only take the one as Aspirin does have side effects.

If you smoke, please remember that all flights are non smoking.  Many areas of the airport are also non smoking.  Please do not be tempted to nip into the toilet for a quick drag.  The toilets have smoke detectors and smoking will set them off.  It is a Federal Offence to smoke in the toilets and if caught, you will be prosecuted.

During your journey, you will need to complete a green Visa Waiver from and also a blue and white customs form.  The green form must be completed for all members of your party.  The customs form only needs to be completed for a family.  Most UK citizens can enter the USA on the waiver form for up to 6 months.  Once you have completed the forms, keep them handy with your passport to hand to customs and Immigration at your destination airport.  Be aware that if you have any kind of criminal record, have been a member of any organisation likely to be of interest to the security services or even if you have ever been detained in connection with certain offences, you are not eligible for the visa waiver scheme. If this applies to you, you should contact the American Embassy to ask their advice before you book your holiday. The UK and America share various form of information and you may well be refused entry to the country if you do not have the necessary visa.

When you land, just follow the crowds to immigration. You need to wait in line patiently.  Remember that these employees are keeping an eye out for illegal immigrants and terrorists etc.  They take their jobs very seriously.   We are all tired after a long flight, but please do be patient with them as they are only doing their job.  Answer all questions properly with out any form of joking.  If you do play them up, they can easily just put you back on the next flight.  Treat them with respect and your path through immigration will be uneventful.  At immigration you may well find small dogs sniffing around your hand luggage.  They are looking for food, which you are not allowed to bring into the country.

After immigration, you need to collect your luggage from the carousels and move onto to customs.   Usually this is quite painless and you go through quite quickly.  If you are unfortunate, you may be selected to have your cases opened which will hold you up for a short while.  So long as you have nothing to hide you will soon be on your way.

Once through customs, you need to go to the car rental desks to collect your rental car.  Make sure you have the car rental voucher with you, plus driving license and credit card.  You will probably be asked if you would like to upgrade your car and if you do consider this, always try bargaining.  You may get a really good deal.  Make sure you have some change with you for any tolls you may pass through. 

We hope you found this article interesting and helps you arrive at your Orlando Disney villa fully refreshed.

Our flights home at the end of our 25th wedding anniversary holiday consisted of a hop from Orlando international airport, via New York JFK then onto Manchester airport.

The first sign that it would not be a straight forward journey was a 3 hour delay to the departure time from Orlando due to bad weather in New York. Once we were airborne all went well until we were 20 minutes from landing. The pilot announced that due to bad weather we were to maintain a holding pattern just outside the New York area. As we circled the airport we could see the bad weather. A huge rain storm cloud had settled itself over New York and refused to move. The lighting from the cloud was unbelievable. Lighting seemed to be constantly leaving the cloud in all directions including upwards. It was a lighting storm to compete with any we had seen in Florida.

As we circled we noticed that we were not the only plane in a similar holding pattern. If you have see the film Die hard 2 were numerous planes circled the airport trying to land you will get the idea. It was now dark and all that could be seen were the lights from all these planes, very un-nerving.

The pilot announced that he and most of the other planes needed to refuel and as a result we were diverting to Norfolk Virginia. The only problem was the airport we were to fly into was closed. We arrived at Norfolk Virginia and after waiting 2 hours on the tarmac a fuel lorry arrived to refuel the plane. Shortly after refuelling commenced the passengers in front of us noticed a liquid pooling on the tarmac beneath the plane. It was brought to the attention of a stewardess who tried to convince us it was condensation. A statement that was brought into doubt when a few minutes later 2 fire trucks and patrol car approached and stopped at the pool of liquid. It would be safe to say that by now most of the passengers were now aware of the problem and a number had started to panic. This wasn’t helped when the fire crews started to deploy absorbent booms around the liquid and our plane was coupled up to a tug ready to be moved from the immediate area.

The tension on the plane as we were moved was incredible with many passengers wanting to open the emergency exits and leave the plane.

We eventual left North Virginia and arrived in JFK.

We were expecting a delay and some problems at JFK but we weren’t even close.

(See our unexpected New York stop over)

Brian Pearson

We originally had the idea to chill out at our house and during our stay visit other parts of Florida.

After Carol had done her flight costing routine with the Internet she concluded that it would be cheaper for us to do a hop and stop than it would be to fly from Manchester direct to Orlando. It worked out £40 each cheaper.

When Carol had finished she presented me with the following itinerary.

Depart Manchester airport direct to JFK airport, New York. Stop over 3 nights.

We booked a room in the Metro hotel one block away from the empire State building.

Depart JFK, New York, direct to Toronto, Canada. Pick up hire car drive to Niagara Falls. Stop over 2 nights.

The Marriott hotel at Niagara Falls (16th floor) directly over looked the falls.

Depart Vancouver, direct to Miami, Florida, Stop over one night.

Pick up rental car drive to Islamorada Key, Florida. Stop over 2 nights.

Ragged edge resort motel, overlooking the Atlantic.

Drive to West coast stop over one night in Naples. The biggest bed we have ever slept in.

Drive to our house10 night’s chill out.

Fly home from Orlando airport direct to Manchester airport.

I briefly thought (for about 0.01 of a second) that I should point out that the additional costs we would have staying in the hotels ‘we’ had chosen would far our weigh any savings we would make on our flights. However I could see Carol was now in full flight making the arrangements so I thought if I wanted to reach our 26th wedding anniversary I had better keep my thoughts to myself. After she had finished making reservations at hotels, booking flights and renting cars we could barely contain ourselves. The thought of us visiting and seeing some of the ‘must see’s’ in life in one holiday was beyond belief.

When we made our plans, decided what we would do and were we would visit we anticipated that all might not go as planned and alterations to our itinerary may be encountered. It turned out fate had some additional items on our agenda which proved to be every bit as memorable for very different reasons.

I can highly recommend a hop and stop holiday. For us it was totally exhausting but the sights; experiences and memories will stay with us forever.

Brian Pearson