Visiting Orlando with Attraction Tickets Direct

In association with Attraction Tickets Direct

A few weeks ago on social media I teased you with a picture and news of an upcoming trip with Attraction Tickets Direct.

Somewhere abroad, where I would need sunglasses and would possibly be required to dress up as a giraffe?

If you saw any of my tweets or Instagram posts the following week you will have seen that Belle and I were actually in Orlando, riding rollercoasters, visiting penguins in the coolest place in the whole of Florida, (quite literally, which was a welcome relief from the sweating), and hand feeding giraffes.

Aha!

So THAT was the clue. No dressing up required.

I’m going to be telling you more about the trip itself soon, but suffice to say Belle was pretty excited about us getting to go on a proper holiday. As much as she enjoys (tolerates) the mini breaks I drag her on to camping pods in Wales and what not, she was pretty keen on getting to take her first ever trip to America, not least because I’d promised we’d go to a Walmart for her to buy different flavoured Oreos and Jolly Ranchers. (She took a whole extra suitcase.)

First though I wanted to give you a little bit more information about Attraction Tickets Direct because if you’re anything like me then you’ll have never used them before and might be wondering what all the fuss is about.

I have to be honest and say that normally, if I was planning a trip, my first thought would be to go direct to the attractions website. If I ever catch a train, I use the trainline website, even though they’ve started charging me an additional booking fee, because I am old now and get scared by new things.

If you’re planning a big trip though and don’t want to be an idiot like me, then you need to start thinking about using sites like Attraction Tickets Direct to help you get better choice AND save you money. Attraction Tickets Direct was founded in 2002 and sells tickets to all the major Florida theme parks including SeaWorld Orlando (which is where we visited). Their whole thing is ‘adding happiness’ – they do this by getting you good deals and helping you afford those nice little extras too, the stuff that makes a great holiday really special. There are so many things to do in Orlando that you need some expert guidance sometimes.

Attraction Tickets Direct is an attraction ticket broker – one of the world’s largest in fact – and as well as selling tickets to all of the Orlando attractions that we visited, they offer tickets to literally hundreds of attractions and experiences worldwide. Broadway shows in New York, movie stars’ homes tours in LA, tickets to the colosseum in Rome, overnight desert safaris in Dubai – basically LOADS OF THINGS. They are aslo ABTA members, which gives you extra peace of mind when booking your tickets through them.

Now as I’ve already confessed, I’ve not had any experience of Attraction Tickets Direct before this trip, so how was I going to be able to sing its praises? I needed someone who’s used Attraction Tickets Direct lots of times before, someone who spends their evenings and weekends running a money saving forum and earning cash from home to feed his Florida theme park habit.

Fortunately I knew just the man.

You may know Jon already from The Money Shed as he quite often writes me guest posts about how he makes his Florida holiday money working from home in his spare time. Jon is all about the travel promotions and uses Attraction Tickets Direct all the time and if he does it, you know it’s good value.

‘I’ve used Attraction Tickets Direct a number of times,’ Jon told me, ‘and in the past have bought everything from one day tickets to the Kennedy Space Centre through to 14 day theme park tickets. One of the best things about Attraction Tickets Direct is that they will always price match, so if by chance do you do see your Florida tickets elsewhere they will pull their price down for you.’

That’s pretty cool right? Pre-booking also allows you to take advantage of cheaper prices compared to the cost of booking on the gate. For example the SeaWorld gate price is $99 – the cheapest SeaWorld ticket with ATD is £95 but that allows you to visit SeaWorld, Aquatica AND Busch Gardens for a day each over 14 days. For an extra £19 you can visit an unlimited amount of time and get free parking with their 3 for 2 ticket.

Bit of a no brainer isn’t it?

Pre-booking also allows you to spread the cost of your holiday as you can book with a deposit of just £25pp.

‘One important question a lot of people have when they are buying Florida theme park tickets is do they send you just a print out to present at the gate or actual physical tickets, ‘ said Jon. ‘I’m pleased to do say that ATD are one of the few that do the latter so you can go straight into the park when you arrive!’

I actually love this, partly because I like the reassurance of having actual tickets before I travel but also to save time once you arrive. There are enough queues as it is, you don’t want to be in any if you don’t have to be. They send out tickets in a cute little wallet too, which I *may* keep for all my store cards.

‘This year I’ve actually used them to book our ENTIRE 2019 Florida holiday,’ said Jon. ‘Their price was cheaper than Virgin Holiday OR booking direct, for a two week holiday in November for two adults. We’re staying at a ‘moderate’ resort, and that plus 14 day park tickets came in at very reasonable £2,975.’

Every month Attraction Tickets Direct also offers special ‘added value’ promotions, so the special offers page is always worth a look. You can book over the phone or by email and tickets are usually sent out within seven days of full payment being received, with loads of extra goodies in your wallet too including shopping and meal vouchers.

Take a look at Attraction Tickets Direct now to save money on everything from days out to full family holidays, leaving you more time to put your feet up.