*** Update *** prices have jumped £500 so I have expired this, regular checks on prices do help if planning a florida trip as they may drop again.
Florida prices have dropped. Thomas cook are offering £120 off florida holidays using code - FLORIDA120. (£1500 minimum spend required)
Quidco and TCB say they don't offer cashback if a discount code is used. So you can register your cards with Quidco and book in store by debit card, no fees and earn 2%.
Ramada Gateway Orlando hotel + flights for two weeks from 18th June will cost £1420 (Possible £28 quidco) for 3 adults and 1 child. Gatwick - MCO
add £160 to select your seats and £40 for flexi-book which allows you to change holiday dates, accommodation if you want to upgrade at some point. So if you book this holiday now and want to upgrade to a standard villa, it will cost about £420 extra. I went in store and asked, although prices do change often. This holiday was around £2200 a few weeks ago. Prices in store are the same as online, and you'll be supporting the high street.
Don't buy their car hire as they don't include insurance which will cost a fortune at the airport - http://www.discountfloridacarhire.co.uk where it will cost £363 for an SUV inc insurance via ALAMO
Theme park tickets from https://www.orlandoattractiontickets.co.uk, use code MSE5 for £5 off each person.
Your bank account may include worldwide travel, have a check.
Don't forget to pay for the ESTA visa, plus book your Disney fast pass rides in advance before leaving home, you will regret not doing so.
Top comments
GoNz017
13 Feb 168#3
Great if you have small kids, the rest of us face fines if we dare take our kids out of school :disappointed:
pc5020
14 Feb 164#41
Don't be so silly...Spending quality time with your parents is one of the most important things you can do, especially these days where kids grow up far too quickly. A lot of parents are simply priced out of taking their children on holiday when forced to wait until school holidays. Have you ever considered that holidays can be both educational AND fun?
You really think a one or two week holiday per year in term time is going to cause your child to have learning issues, problems getting a job when they're older, seriously?
As long as you don't take your child on holiday during a critical moment in their education there isn't a problem with it at all. My aspirations for my child are great as well, don't assume they aren't. You are being extremely small minded in your opinions.
Taxpayers are paying for the education that's correct, taxpayers are also paying for a lot of other things too which force a lot or hardworking people out of being able to pay for a 'decent' holiday outside of term time. Would you deprive a child of ever seeing another country for the sake of upsetting taxpayers when its the parent footing the cost of the holiday anyway!?
In a way, if a child is on holiday during term time that's actually a bonus to the other kids in their class in this day and age due to the rising classroom numbers, which is thanks to the policies of our oh so great government and their policies or lack of them...you shouldn't be too hasty to blindly follow their rules and consider the wider picture
horsepills
14 Feb 163#55
Nonsense. I'm a secondary school teacher, and if a pupil has good attendance otherwise, I would have no problem with them taking a short break - Disneyland or otherwise (they could spend a week on the moon for all I care). If they can't miss a week or two - even during a "key principle" as you put it - without falling behind, then I'd be disappointed, because we'd have done a pretty poor job with educating them if they cannot miss a few days!
Unfortunately our ridiculous laws do not allow this (we should follow the same tiered approach to some of our neighbours imo), but I can't blame parents for being tempted to break the rules.
This idea that a child's education would be ruined by taking a holiday is just ludicrous. As for your suggestion that the UK's education achievement being so low because of this kind of thing - behave.
Latest comments (101)
rooney10
18 Feb 16#101
Keyboard warrior ALERT , I'm going to hide now !
badgerman2
16 Feb 16#100
Still some good deals to be had. We snagged a fortnight for 6 with 4 bed villa in May for £3k. Very happy, thanks OP.
Direct flights alone are £500, so we have got our villa for free :smiley:
Besford
16 Feb 16#99
Been there many times; even lived a long day's drive away for 4 years. The reason 'everything else will be virtually the same price' is that American's visit in winter and get out in summer when the weather is terrible (very hot, very humid and often stormy).
Danosaur1
15 Feb 16#98
Cheaper maybe, But never cheap.
No point in arguing this with someone who has never been.
Flights are the main variable that people are getting ripped off with. Everything else will be virtually the same price whatever time you go.
pc5020
15 Feb 16#97
I hope not!!!
Besford
15 Feb 16#96
Don't worry, you'll probably grow out of it - eventually.
pc5020
15 Feb 16#95
haha sorry, couldn't help myself :smiley:
pc5020
15 Feb 16#92
Besford, you really are being a plonker...
Besford to pc5020
15 Feb 161#94
You flatterer! :wink:
When reasoned argument fails you don't have to resort to name calling!
Besford
15 Feb 16#93
I'll take that as a submission then as my logic seems to have defeated your unsubstantiated claim.
horsepills
15 Feb 16#91
So that'll be a resounding "no" to my request for any factual evidence for your theories then. Offering up more opinion doesn't add any weight to your argument.
I'll leave it there, as without anything to back up your nonsense I'm just going to assume you're trolling.
Besford
14 Feb 16#90
The whole point here is that by going during school time IT'S CHEAPER! By your logic the high achieving parents wouldn't need to save that money.
Besford
14 Feb 16#89
Well, clearly not going to school at all it detrimental (or don't you agree?), so where on the scale of 0%-100% attendance do you reckon there is no effect? I'd say it's 100% and anything less is damaging to a degree. Can you explain the logic which says otherwise? By the way, they do allow a '7-10 day window', much more in fact - it's called the school holidays.
PS this post is for a 2 week trip anyway, so by your 7-10 day definition of what's OK it's still damaging.
The whole argument isn't that they shouldn't go to Disney, it's that they shouldn't do it at the expense of their kids' education to save a few quid short term.
barnehurst
14 Feb 161#65
Only for those parents happy to see their kids spend life on the dole..
Danosaur1 to barnehurst
14 Feb 162#66
Fantastically stupid statement alert.
CM52MUZ to barnehurst
14 Feb 16#88
hahahahahahahahhaha
mjk
14 Feb 16#87
I used http://www.insurance4carhire.com/ most recently (I went to Florida at the end of January) after they came up cheapest on a price comparison website. There's plenty of others out there and I think Money Supermarket has a comparison tool that you can use to find the cheapest.
It's a much cheaper alternative to the extortionate insurance that the hirer will offer when you collect your car.
horsepills
14 Feb 16#86
Would you care to share any factual evidence that taking the odd holiday during term time contributes to the "dumbing down of education" (as you like to put it)? Failing that, any evidence that it has a negative impact upon anything?
Seriously - I'd be interested to see it. Would be really disappointing if you couldn't, as that would make you one of "those" people who like to jump on their high horse and talk down to others without anything to back up their argument.
rootbeer
14 Feb 161#85
Since swapping my children out of public school and into private I would never take them out in term time even for one day.
Walt Disney World is an amazing place to holiday and if you do go you will have a great time.
Danosaur1
14 Feb 161#84
You just shot yourself in the foot there. If parents can afford to take their children to Disneyworld, you wouldn't really be able to call them underachieving would you.
The stats would more likely say that children from poor backgrounds would underachieve in school.
Danosaur1
14 Feb 161#83
Somethings not quite right with your posts.
You obviously have never been or want to go to Orlando.
Do you have children? I suspect you are just trolling as you have said nothing that is relevant to this thread. Your motives seem questionable.
Could you elaborate on why you feel so strongly about this stance you have?
I don't care, but I am curious.
Besford
14 Feb 16#82
Your argument reminds me of those people who will say their grandparent smoked all their life and lived to 110 so smoking isn't harmful to health. Presumably you're just arguing that a few absences are only a bit harmful, or are you going to claim they are actually beneficial as some have done?
I suspect a proper analysis would show a correlation between those who can least afford to lose a bit of school time and those who do. Underachieving parents having underachieving kids. Generalisation with plenty of exceptions of course, but broadly true nonetheless.
Danosaur1
14 Feb 16#81
The drawback with that is one session = one register mark. So this only allows you 9 school days off before a fine. So basically if you have a fortnight off they got you.
It's a bit crafty.
Besford
14 Feb 16#80
Maybe you're not ambitious enough for your kids? Don't you value your teaching more than that? All part of the dumbing down of education? The UK's place is world education league tables is disappointingly low, that's fact, but I wouldn't blame teachers as the primary cause. Parents taking kids out during term time for a week or two at a theme park is damaging in itself as well as being indicative of their attitude towards their kids' education.
hk4t1e2
14 Feb 16#79
Hey, I read Sefton.gov terms and conditions for taking children out of school and it states you can take them out (unauthorised absences) for 10 sessions per term, 18 sessions per yer year without a fine. Maybe worth a check reading your local terms and conditions!
However, it should be noted that it does also state that if a child has a lot of days off 'sick' and 'lates' then these numbers may be reduced.
Worth a read anyway! Hope this helps some X
magicmat
14 Feb 161#78
My best Orlando tip is download Uber and use this to get around! Really cheap, and very convenient. Parking is pretty expensive at the parks, and there are LOTS of Ubers waiting to take a fare. laos great in the venings if you want a drinks with dinner etc. If you are looking for more Orlando info, The Dibb is a goldmine of info!
Besford
14 Feb 16#77
You're absolutely correct and I hang my head in shame - really!
Could only find 5 grammatical errors in your post in a quick read :wink:.
GoNz017
13 Feb 168#3
Great if you have small kids, the rest of us face fines if we dare take our kids out of school :disappointed:
saayinla to GoNz017
13 Feb 16#9
Cruel isn't it... I am still brainstorming on holidays for when the kids are on holiday.
Besford to GoNz017
13 Feb 16#11
Quite right too!
PAUL7331 to GoNz017
14 Feb 16#54
Simply factor in the £60 per adult fine to the cost of the holiday and it's still a bargain! Saves you about 3k compared to if you travelled during the school holidays. No brainer!
OrangeAgent to GoNz017
14 Feb 16#72
With a deal like this, its probably worth the fine, I have almost paid £4K in School Half Term
haritori to GoNz017
14 Feb 16#76
Not if you live in Wales :smile:
emiratesstadium
14 Feb 16#75
Would love to do this. Would Cost at least £1600 for 4, 14 days pass to disney world and universal studios though.
More than the flights, hotel and car hire combined.
Then food and drink on top.
One day maybe. :disappointed:
OrangeAgent
14 Feb 16#74
for sure!
rooney10
14 Feb 161#73
We're you out of school when they taught rational argument and debate? Next you'll be claiming there's a fine just because they're nasty people.[/q
' We're ' is an abbreviation for ' We are ' , I'm guessing you were guilty of missing a few English lessons. Perhaps you were holidaying in Disney when they were teaching this ? lol
I think people should really just get off the moral high ground on this one. It is reasonable to accept that there are conflicting views here.
I personally think the current state of our education system is at an all time to low. Exams are being made less difficult so more learners make the grades. The grades themselves are constantly being changed , again so the schools look like they are achieving but in real terms they simply are not.
I fear for the generations to come unless we see change soon.
Back to topic , this is a great price for a quality holiday and regardless of peoples opinions regarding taking children away from school during term time , I'm voting HOT !
poisondwarf
14 Feb 16#71
Who do you use for that cover then?
badgerman2
14 Feb 161#70
Dole whips, mmmmmmmm:D
Need a Florida fix....
paul.jacobs
14 Feb 16#69
Prices have jumped £500 so have expired this.
1drunkbrit
14 Feb 16#68
I'm actually flying out to orlando later this week and staying at the Ramada. We used it 4 years ago and found it very good value for money. I would however suggest trying to get a "tower" room though as opposed to the pool/garden room as they tend to be better size/quailty.
JezJezJez
14 Feb 16#67
He's only bitter because he wastes his cash on Leeds Utd season tickets rather than taking his kids to Disneyworld :laughing:
As someone who used to go on holiday occasionally during termtime as a kid (once or twice to Disney), went to a frankly terrible school, and yet ended up with postgraduate qualifications and a directors job at one of the world's largest companies - I disagree. Oh and feel free to argue - one of my clearly lucky degrees involved critical argument theory.
takethatfan1978
14 Feb 16#62
A bit earlier than us as we are the 1st July :smiley:
KM4353
14 Feb 161#61
You know there's other places in the world apart from Florida right?
Who goes 9 times, that's bonkers. Were you smuggling something there and back aha? That's like 2 times a year.
harg7769
14 Feb 162#60
24th June in Glasgow this year
Phila4
14 Feb 162#59
We took our kids out of school to visit Florida 9 times. A total of about 20 weeks. All holidays were given the ok by the head teachers as our kids had excellent attendance records, were doing well and were well behaved too.
Did their education suffer? Well who can really tell, but I'd say not as learning doesn't finish when they exit the school gates each day. They both achieved very good GCSE and A-levels results and are now both at uni, one studying law the other history and politics and they are doing extremely well.
So as far as I'm concerned take them out, pay the fine if you have to, and enjoy a great family holiday.
PhilAB
13 Feb 161#8
My dream holiday. But as i teach in a college, will never be able to go on a holiday like this.
Heat anyway. :stuck_out_tongue:
Zoombini to PhilAB
14 Feb 16#58
I always thought that as my husband teaches in a college too. However he's 51 this year and planning on retiring at 55 (cos he still can), so in 4 years we can go on holiday when we like! Except that we'll still have a child in school, which blows that dream
futura
14 Feb 16#57
As a sub note to this deal, ive noticed Thomas Cook have some cracking prices on Florida for summer 2017. Its not somewhere id go lf you paid me mind you but thats just me. It seems it pays to book well ahead these days!
badgerman2
14 Feb 16#56
Amen to all that, horsepills. Couldn't agree more.
horsepills
14 Feb 163#55
Nonsense. I'm a secondary school teacher, and if a pupil has good attendance otherwise, I would have no problem with them taking a short break - Disneyland or otherwise (they could spend a week on the moon for all I care). If they can't miss a week or two - even during a "key principle" as you put it - without falling behind, then I'd be disappointed, because we'd have done a pretty poor job with educating them if they cannot miss a few days!
Unfortunately our ridiculous laws do not allow this (we should follow the same tiered approach to some of our neighbours imo), but I can't blame parents for being tempted to break the rules.
This idea that a child's education would be ruined by taking a holiday is just ludicrous. As for your suggestion that the UK's education achievement being so low because of this kind of thing - behave.
Danosaur1
14 Feb 16#53
Anyway, this is a great price for a fantastic family holiday. Be aware though that Park tickets are going to cost as much as the holiday and that will just be for Disney and Universal.
You will need a lot of spending money also. Disneyworld is never going to be cheap, but in the end the memories of this holiday will probably be priceless.
herby247
14 Feb 16#52
You can also book an overnight at hard rock universal, and enjoy early access and UNLIMITED fast pass on pretty much everything (except Harry Potter rides) on both days!
Don't forget the dibb for all things Disney / Florida from trip planning to theme parks, food you name it!
Www.thedibb.co.uk
sweep_the_leg_
14 Feb 162#51
I love this "it's just a bed to sleep and shower" line.
A large part of the experience of going on holiday and making memories is the hotel or accommodation you stay in. Even more so in the USA and even Orlando.
Last thing I would recommend someone to do is spend 8/9 hours to travel to the other side of the world to stay in some hovel, if you can afford not to.
This deal is purely based on stumbling over brilliantly priced flights from Thomas Cook, but then adding on the cheapest possible motel the OP has been able to find. I'd rather stay in the Celebration Suites at Old Town than stay in this dive.
cadmus
14 Feb 16#50
fabulous deal . we went in june last year and had an absolutely glorious fun time . the food and weather was lush and the parks only started filling up towards the end of our hols when schools started shutting for summer
ps a friend is going 5 weeks later (term time) and he is paying a tad under a £1000 JUST for the flights per person !!!!
zielinir
14 Feb 16#49
I so agree with you pc5020!!!
abster29
14 Feb 16#48
Lol how embarrassing.
pc5020
14 Feb 162#47
No, I can see it's obvious I will be wasting my time discussing this any further with you, hence my comment.
Oh, and I'm assuming you didn't have holidays during school considering your stance so I'm struggling to understand why you have used 'We're' instead of 'were'...
Besford
14 Feb 16#46
Were you out of school when they taught rational argument and debate? Next you'll be claiming there's a fine just because they're nasty people.
deep
14 Feb 16#40
good deal, but not paying a fine to take kids out of school........ :disappointed:
Besford to deep
14 Feb 16#45
Forget the fine (that's there for the hard of understanding). Don't do it because it's not good for them.
pc5020
14 Feb 16#44
I'm not wrong, you need to think about it some more
Besford
14 Feb 16#43
Wrong, just wrong! Next you'll be claiming a visit to Disney Florida in term time is one of their human rights!
Besford
14 Feb 16#42
Well, I could take your arguments apart one by one but this isn't the place. I'll simply say that I disagree with you. As far as "...social and educational experience of visiting another country far outweighs any negatives..." goes I don't think a week at Disney even starts to support that point. What happens to the kids when some important stage in their education (eg some key principle in maths or physics) happens to fall into that 7-10 day window? With attitudes like that is there any wonder that the UK's educational achievement is so low down the world league table?
pc5020
14 Feb 164#41
Don't be so silly...Spending quality time with your parents is one of the most important things you can do, especially these days where kids grow up far too quickly. A lot of parents are simply priced out of taking their children on holiday when forced to wait until school holidays. Have you ever considered that holidays can be both educational AND fun?
You really think a one or two week holiday per year in term time is going to cause your child to have learning issues, problems getting a job when they're older, seriously?
As long as you don't take your child on holiday during a critical moment in their education there isn't a problem with it at all. My aspirations for my child are great as well, don't assume they aren't. You are being extremely small minded in your opinions.
Taxpayers are paying for the education that's correct, taxpayers are also paying for a lot of other things too which force a lot or hardworking people out of being able to pay for a 'decent' holiday outside of term time. Would you deprive a child of ever seeing another country for the sake of upsetting taxpayers when its the parent footing the cost of the holiday anyway!?
In a way, if a child is on holiday during term time that's actually a bonus to the other kids in their class in this day and age due to the rising classroom numbers, which is thanks to the policies of our oh so great government and their policies or lack of them...you shouldn't be too hasty to blindly follow their rules and consider the wider picture
sweep_the_leg_
14 Feb 16#36
Spend a bit extra and stay in nicer property or a villa. Absolute dive of a hotel/motel.
badgerman2 to sweep_the_leg_
14 Feb 161#39
The Gateway is not a dive. Sure it's dated, but it's okay. When you're in Florida, it's just a bed to sleep and shower. If you want something nicer you can pay more, but it's perfectly good, particularly at that price point.
[edit_reasons]
[i]Edited By: badgerman2 on Feb 14, 2016 12:25: Predictive text error
Neobrown
14 Feb 16#38
Any similar deals not during school and college term?
Themadcow
14 Feb 161#37
A half reasonable argument until that last pointless insult. The fact is that schools could easily allow 1 x 7-10 day holiday per family without damaging their education. The current situation doubles the already heavy cost of a holiday which either stops some families going or costs them a large proportion of their income. Who isn't affected by the fines? The high income clowns who set the laws, and those in private education who don't need to follow the same holiday dates as government authorities. The social and educational experience of visiting another country far outweighs any negatives from a week or so out of school.
thebobster
14 Feb 161#19
Guys pay the extra to change your dates and then you can go when the school holidays are live. You can swap dates up to 6 months after original booking date... Well worth the £40 flexi fare!
Brilliant spot OP
loveabargain to thebobster
14 Feb 16#24
If the holiday costs more then you still have to pay the difference.
joshtbh to thebobster
14 Feb 16#35
i'm not sure it works like that, I thought you'd have the option to change the date to the school holiday dates but you'd have to pay the difference price of the holiday for that time?
Danosaur1
14 Feb 16#34
You would be very surprised. Epcot, Kennedy Space centre are very educational/ inspiring places. Many rides at the Disney parks are designed to be educational.
If children are having fun, they are more likely to learn.
a1
14 Feb 16#28
I booked 2 week Disney passes thru Disney, but we don't pick up the tickets till we arrive, so how can we pre book our Fast Passes?
hawk299 to a1
14 Feb 161#33
Register on MDE https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/login/
Then stick in your booking reference for any disney hotel or ticket you've bought add your FP+ will become available
hawk299
14 Feb 16#32
Flexi book allows you to change the date by up to 6 months
But.... you need to pay the difference on the price, so if you want summer - just book summer
Besford
14 Feb 161#31
Because we're all part of a society that depends on the education of our kids for our continued prosperity and us taxpayers are all paying for that education. No need to set your kids' expectations as low as your own!
flang
13 Feb 161#7
Thanks OP we booked June for 960 smackers for 2 Adults!!!!!
I thought the days of sub £1000 had long gone.
herby247 to flang
14 Feb 16#30
Really , (£1500 is the min spend for the code to work) as in the op?
Besford
14 Feb 161#29
Yeah - Disney is always a great educational experience! :confused:
GoNz017
14 Feb 16#27
I think for the sheer hell of it that next time my kids off for a strike I am going to pass a template round charging the class teacher £60 for my child missing her education then when it is refused take my kids out of school and pass the rejection letter over with "ditto" wrote on the bottom.
should be fun in court!
GoNz017
14 Feb 16#26
But won't they be wise to this now and charge the full price?
pc5020
14 Feb 16#25
And why is that exactly?
DURHAM05
14 Feb 16#23
gr8 price
sew1091
14 Feb 161#22
I don't take my DD out but should be a parental choice not nanny state, particularly when my daughter misses school for strikes or inset days and the weeke before Christmas holidays seems to do nothing but watch DVD's.
I would argue that some holidays are more educational and show greater value to the child than some of weeks at school
got2haveit
14 Feb 16#21
One of our boys as won a treat at school for coming in the top 10 of his year then we're told we have to pay for it, the treat is to have a day off school having fun swimming, skating etc. Should I be able to fine them for doing something we surely have a right to do.
narwey
14 Feb 16#20
amazing deal
reakt
14 Feb 16#18
For free? If my kids' school offered that I'd jump at the chance!
Venezia
14 Feb 16#17
School near me has sent letters to parents asking for some students to come in during the holiday to do extra work, bloody cheek.
mocmocamoc
14 Feb 16#16
Can't they pull a sickie?
Kearns
14 Feb 161#15
For anyone wondering about the hotel weve stayed here a few times now.
Its split into two parts theres a hotel part and a motel part, weve always stayed in the motel bit. There are two Pools which have always been clean and never very busy (weve always been in september, sometimes over the weekend you get groups of adults meeting up there who can be a bit noisy but i think most americans are taught to whisper in helicopters anways) No complaints from us.
Other than that its pretty basic, the hotel has a restaurant (that weve only ever had a breakfast there and would rather go to ihop which is just across the road) it has a diner aswell which does really nice food and snacks.
Its a nice location for easy access to the disney parks, bit of a drive to universal but again easily accessible, plenty of places to eat nearby (you will need a car)
I think as long as you dont go in with the expectation of the ritz then you will be fine.
I would happily stay here again if we were in orlando for only a few days, theres no problem staying here for 2 weeks but we just got a bit sick of eating in restaurants all the time and think next time we will stay somewhere that is more of an apartment.
If anyone has any questions about the hotel drop them in here ill try and respond if i remember.
PS be prepared for the tiny tiny lizards. (florida in general) we had 2 in our room at one point, managed to catch one in a cup but the other one somehow managed to get into our zipped up cooler bag, remains a mystery to this day. They are a happy trade off however to stop mosquitos and other bugs knocking about though.
kathrynl
14 Feb 16#13
14th June from Manchester shows £490 per person for 2 adults. Does the discount code take further money off? I can't see where to add the code without putting all my details in first
paul.jacobs to kathrynl
14 Feb 16#14
£1500 minimum spend
JezJezJez
13 Feb 162#12
......and moving on..........Great deal - voted hot from me. Orlando in June is fantastic.
:smile::smile::smile::smile:
sparky111091
13 Feb 16#10
Ah must have changed then, I used to always finish up in the middle of June then back around the second week in August, shame!
sparky111091
13 Feb 16#4
Where is this flying from? It's right at the start of the Scottish summer holidays so perfect timing for those up North.
takethatfan1978 to sparky111091
13 Feb 16#5
Scottish holidays don't start until beginning of July.
mjk to sparky111091
13 Feb 16#6
Gatwick
mjk
13 Feb 161#2
Thomas Cook also uses the main Orlando airport now and not Sanford Regional.
I'd strongly recommend a car for anybody considering the deal since there is much more to Florida than Mickey Mouse and theme parks. Basic cars with plenty of room for the family can be picked up for around £100/week with basic insurance. Buy an excess waiver package before you leave (not more than £5 per day and it includes windscreen and undercarriage cover) and you'll not owe anything at all to the hire company!
stuarthanley
13 Feb 16#1
Includes free shuttle to the theme parks too for those that don't want a car.
![Fresh Breakfast Meat Box (Using code) @ Campbells Meat [Haggis / Lorne Sausage / Bacon / Black Pudding & More]](/images/topics/208684_1.jpg)
![[Xbox One] Q. u. b. e: Director's Cut on Deals with Gold](/images/topics/208716_1.jpg)
Opening post
Florida prices have dropped. Thomas cook are offering £120 off florida holidays using code - FLORIDA120. (£1500 minimum spend required)
Quidco and TCB say they don't offer cashback if a discount code is used. So you can register your cards with Quidco and book in store by debit card, no fees and earn 2%.
Ramada Gateway Orlando hotel + flights for two weeks from 18th June will cost £1420 (Possible £28 quidco) for 3 adults and 1 child. Gatwick - MCO
add £160 to select your seats and £40 for flexi-book which allows you to change holiday dates, accommodation if you want to upgrade at some point. So if you book this holiday now and want to upgrade to a standard villa, it will cost about £420 extra. I went in store and asked, although prices do change often. This holiday was around £2200 a few weeks ago. Prices in store are the same as online, and you'll be supporting the high street.
Ramada Gateway reviews - https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g34352-d123999-Reviews-Ramada_Kissimmee_Gateway-Kissimmee_Florida.html
Don't buy their car hire as they don't include insurance which will cost a fortune at the airport - http://www.discountfloridacarhire.co.uk where it will cost £363 for an SUV inc insurance via ALAMO
Theme park tickets from https://www.orlandoattractiontickets.co.uk, use code MSE5 for £5 off each person.
Your bank account may include worldwide travel, have a check.
Don't forget to pay for the ESTA visa, plus book your Disney fast pass rides in advance before leaving home, you will regret not doing so.
Top comments
You really think a one or two week holiday per year in term time is going to cause your child to have learning issues, problems getting a job when they're older, seriously?
As long as you don't take your child on holiday during a critical moment in their education there isn't a problem with it at all. My aspirations for my child are great as well, don't assume they aren't. You are being extremely small minded in your opinions.
Taxpayers are paying for the education that's correct, taxpayers are also paying for a lot of other things too which force a lot or hardworking people out of being able to pay for a 'decent' holiday outside of term time. Would you deprive a child of ever seeing another country for the sake of upsetting taxpayers when its the parent footing the cost of the holiday anyway!?
In a way, if a child is on holiday during term time that's actually a bonus to the other kids in their class in this day and age due to the rising classroom numbers, which is thanks to the policies of our oh so great government and their policies or lack of them...you shouldn't be too hasty to blindly follow their rules and consider the wider picture
Unfortunately our ridiculous laws do not allow this (we should follow the same tiered approach to some of our neighbours imo), but I can't blame parents for being tempted to break the rules.
This idea that a child's education would be ruined by taking a holiday is just ludicrous. As for your suggestion that the UK's education achievement being so low because of this kind of thing - behave.
Latest comments (101)
Direct flights alone are £500, so we have got our villa for free :smiley:
No point in arguing this with someone who has never been.
Flights are the main variable that people are getting ripped off with. Everything else will be virtually the same price whatever time you go.
When reasoned argument fails you don't have to resort to name calling!
I'll leave it there, as without anything to back up your nonsense I'm just going to assume you're trolling.
PS this post is for a 2 week trip anyway, so by your 7-10 day definition of what's OK it's still damaging.
The whole argument isn't that they shouldn't go to Disney, it's that they shouldn't do it at the expense of their kids' education to save a few quid short term.
It's a much cheaper alternative to the extortionate insurance that the hirer will offer when you collect your car.
Seriously - I'd be interested to see it. Would be really disappointing if you couldn't, as that would make you one of "those" people who like to jump on their high horse and talk down to others without anything to back up their argument.
Walt Disney World is an amazing place to holiday and if you do go you will have a great time.
The stats would more likely say that children from poor backgrounds would underachieve in school.
You obviously have never been or want to go to Orlando.
Do you have children? I suspect you are just trolling as you have said nothing that is relevant to this thread. Your motives seem questionable.
Could you elaborate on why you feel so strongly about this stance you have?
I don't care, but I am curious.
I suspect a proper analysis would show a correlation between those who can least afford to lose a bit of school time and those who do. Underachieving parents having underachieving kids. Generalisation with plenty of exceptions of course, but broadly true nonetheless.
It's a bit crafty.
However, it should be noted that it does also state that if a child has a lot of days off 'sick' and 'lates' then these numbers may be reduced.
Worth a read anyway! Hope this helps some X
Could only find 5 grammatical errors in your post in a quick read :wink:.
More than the flights, hotel and car hire combined.
Then food and drink on top.
One day maybe. :disappointed:
' We're ' is an abbreviation for ' We are ' , I'm guessing you were guilty of missing a few English lessons. Perhaps you were holidaying in Disney when they were teaching this ? lol
I think people should really just get off the moral high ground on this one. It is reasonable to accept that there are conflicting views here.
I personally think the current state of our education system is at an all time to low. Exams are being made less difficult so more learners make the grades. The grades themselves are constantly being changed , again so the schools look like they are achieving but in real terms they simply are not.
I fear for the generations to come unless we see change soon.
Back to topic , this is a great price for a quality holiday and regardless of peoples opinions regarding taking children away from school during term time , I'm voting HOT !
Dole whips, mmmmmmmm:D
Need a Florida fix....
Couldn't resist! :wink:
Who goes 9 times, that's bonkers. Were you smuggling something there and back aha? That's like 2 times a year.
Did their education suffer? Well who can really tell, but I'd say not as learning doesn't finish when they exit the school gates each day. They both achieved very good GCSE and A-levels results and are now both at uni, one studying law the other history and politics and they are doing extremely well.
So as far as I'm concerned take them out, pay the fine if you have to, and enjoy a great family holiday.
Heat anyway. :stuck_out_tongue:
Unfortunately our ridiculous laws do not allow this (we should follow the same tiered approach to some of our neighbours imo), but I can't blame parents for being tempted to break the rules.
This idea that a child's education would be ruined by taking a holiday is just ludicrous. As for your suggestion that the UK's education achievement being so low because of this kind of thing - behave.
You will need a lot of spending money also. Disneyworld is never going to be cheap, but in the end the memories of this holiday will probably be priceless.
Don't forget the dibb for all things Disney / Florida from trip planning to theme parks, food you name it!
Www.thedibb.co.uk
A large part of the experience of going on holiday and making memories is the hotel or accommodation you stay in. Even more so in the USA and even Orlando.
Last thing I would recommend someone to do is spend 8/9 hours to travel to the other side of the world to stay in some hovel, if you can afford not to.
This deal is purely based on stumbling over brilliantly priced flights from Thomas Cook, but then adding on the cheapest possible motel the OP has been able to find. I'd rather stay in the Celebration Suites at Old Town than stay in this dive.
ps a friend is going 5 weeks later (term time) and he is paying a tad under a £1000 JUST for the flights per person !!!!
Oh, and I'm assuming you didn't have holidays during school considering your stance so I'm struggling to understand why you have used 'We're' instead of 'were'...
You really think a one or two week holiday per year in term time is going to cause your child to have learning issues, problems getting a job when they're older, seriously?
As long as you don't take your child on holiday during a critical moment in their education there isn't a problem with it at all. My aspirations for my child are great as well, don't assume they aren't. You are being extremely small minded in your opinions.
Taxpayers are paying for the education that's correct, taxpayers are also paying for a lot of other things too which force a lot or hardworking people out of being able to pay for a 'decent' holiday outside of term time. Would you deprive a child of ever seeing another country for the sake of upsetting taxpayers when its the parent footing the cost of the holiday anyway!?
In a way, if a child is on holiday during term time that's actually a bonus to the other kids in their class in this day and age due to the rising classroom numbers, which is thanks to the policies of our oh so great government and their policies or lack of them...you shouldn't be too hasty to blindly follow their rules and consider the wider picture
[edit_reasons]
[i]Edited By: badgerman2 on Feb 14, 2016 12:25: Predictive text error
Brilliant spot OP
If children are having fun, they are more likely to learn.
Then stick in your booking reference for any disney hotel or ticket you've bought add your FP+ will become available
But.... you need to pay the difference on the price, so if you want summer - just book summer
I thought the days of sub £1000 had long gone.
should be fun in court!
I would argue that some holidays are more educational and show greater value to the child than some of weeks at school
Its split into two parts theres a hotel part and a motel part, weve always stayed in the motel bit. There are two Pools which have always been clean and never very busy (weve always been in september, sometimes over the weekend you get groups of adults meeting up there who can be a bit noisy but i think most americans are taught to whisper in helicopters anways) No complaints from us.
Other than that its pretty basic, the hotel has a restaurant (that weve only ever had a breakfast there and would rather go to ihop which is just across the road) it has a diner aswell which does really nice food and snacks.
Its a nice location for easy access to the disney parks, bit of a drive to universal but again easily accessible, plenty of places to eat nearby (you will need a car)
I think as long as you dont go in with the expectation of the ritz then you will be fine.
I would happily stay here again if we were in orlando for only a few days, theres no problem staying here for 2 weeks but we just got a bit sick of eating in restaurants all the time and think next time we will stay somewhere that is more of an apartment.
If anyone has any questions about the hotel drop them in here ill try and respond if i remember.
PS be prepared for the tiny tiny lizards. (florida in general) we had 2 in our room at one point, managed to catch one in a cup but the other one somehow managed to get into our zipped up cooler bag, remains a mystery to this day. They are a happy trade off however to stop mosquitos and other bugs knocking about though.
:smile::smile::smile::smile:
I'd strongly recommend a car for anybody considering the deal since there is much more to Florida than Mickey Mouse and theme parks. Basic cars with plenty of room for the family can be picked up for around £100/week with basic insurance. Buy an excess waiver package before you leave (not more than £5 per day and it includes windscreen and undercarriage cover) and you'll not owe anything at all to the hire company!
Cracking price, heat added.