First visit to Orlando next year. Overwhelmed!

[skippy67]

Hi, we're going to Orlando in June next year. We're a family of 4, Dcs are 19 and 16. So far, we've only booked flights. We know we want to do Universal, and Kennedy space centre. Looking for suggestions ofor where to stay, and what else we can do. I've looked at dibb, but it all looks so complicated! We're there for 14 nights.
I like the idea of maybe 9 days in Orlando to do parks, shopping, then maybe a beach holiday for the rest. Would love to hear your suggestions or itineraries.

We've stayed at the royal Loews Pacific it's lovely walking distance to both parks (and they are two parks It's just the train now makes it seem like one before it was a trek between the two!) and citiwalk.

Oh and you get express passes the entire time and it's easy to pop in and out and go back to the hotel. Universal do a great deal for the UK on 14 day tickets (same price as a 3/4 day)

We stayed in Orlando but alternated theme park days with "relax" days -these included Cocoa beach, Clearwater beach, Florida Mall and waterparks. The kids enjoyed downtime at the hotel pool on an evening too.
Universal is fantastic for teens -it was really quiet when we were there -no queues for the HP rides but it was April and we were freakishly lucky!

Enjoy

Quartz, is that ticket deal only available if you stay at the Pacific?

popmimi, where in Orlando did you stay. Your itinerary sounds very much like what we'd like to do.

We stayed at the Cabana Bay Beach Resort last year due to its proximity to Universal/Islands of Adventure. With hindsight we would have stayed at the Loews Portofino Bay or Hard Rock. The rooms and pool area at Cabana were OK, and the shuttle bus service was brilliant, but the dining options and breakfast weren't great and the awful 50s/60s music on a constant loop lost its novelty after half an hour.

The other hotels include express passes and water shuttles but were beyond our price range.

Unlike cheesemaker I lived in Sketchers and walking sandals and found them very comfortable. They were put through the washer when we got home. I find socks and trainers make my feet too hot and uncomfortable.

A useful tip when queuing for rides is to split up as most people want to sit together, so there are always a few one and two seats available so you get to queue jump. DD adored the Harry Potter stuff and went back to the Hogwarts ride for a repeat go, but as she went on her own she got straight through. I hated it and felt sick and had to close my eyes, so didn't go back.

You can download useful apps that give wait times for various rides as well so you can plan your day.

Our favourite places to eat were Pei Wei and Green Tomatoes. DD is vegetarian and found loads to eat there. Also they were self service so we didn't get stung for tips (approx 20% is expected)

We didn't do much shopping because that's not what we go on holiday for, but we did stop off and buy some Timberland boots for DD.

Kennedy Space Centre is really worth a visit. I would wait until the shuttle bus drops you off where the rockets are for something to eat, as the food place near the entrance was awful.

We drove down to Boggy Creek to take an airboat ride to find alligators, but it was too hot. We saw loads at Cape Kennedy though.

Thanks. We're considering the Cabana Bay. Was there a fridge in your room. What else did you like about it?

We stayed in a villa both times we've been. Mostly because family from the states were joining us and we needed the room, but also because we wanted privacy and the pool to ourselves. We got a great villa through friends, not too far away from anything. I was nervous driving the first time, but my friend had been to the US several times before and I knew signage well and is a fabulous navigator. If you are going to any of the parks, go early. Eating out is like anywhere - unless you get a recommendation, you take the risk. We only ate out one evening. The rest of the time, we shopped for what we wanted each day, by and large. The heat can kill your appetite. I wouldn't bother with a poncho. Yes, it rains heavily, but it is still warm and you'll dry off very quickly. Being wet does cool you down, which can be a bonus. Aquatica is a great water park, but again go early. Likewise with Disney Springs, or go in the evening. I found skechers were the way to go for my feet. Florida Mall is worth a visit. Its nice and cool. We also did the outlets a couple of times as well.

There was a fridge in the room. It was really handy because we stocked up with bottles of water from Walmart, which was easy to get to from the hotel. We also bought picnic lunches a couple of times to eat in the room.

The dining area was the worst part of the hotel. It was retro 1950s and like a transport caff with its plastic tables and chairs. The aircon made it too cold to sit comfortably, and the music was awful and too loud, so DD and I would take our breakfast outside to eat. The food was very average and expensive so we tended to get croissants and drinks from the Starbucks in the hotel. I prefer to have breakfast before I go out because once I start the day the last thing I want to do is stop, sit in a cafe and eat.

Apart from that the hotel was fine. I liked the pool and the lazy river. There were plenty of sunbeds, and they provided as many free towels as you wanted.

They had drinks machines and ice machines on every floor and the rooms also had tea and coffee making facilities which were replenished every day.

We only ate in the hotel a couple of times before we found our bearings and better (and cheaper) places to eat.

The shuttle bus to Universal was brilliant. It wasn't far to walk, but after a day at the park and in that heat we just didn't fancy walking at all.

There was a place about 2 miles away that had lots of eating places that we drove to regularly. In fact we only ate at Pei Wei there because it was so nice and wanted to try other foods on the menu. We also ate a few times at City Walk and particularly enjoyed eating at Vivo's Italian Kitchen and The Cowfish. Another favourite was Sweet Tomatoes (not Green Tomatoes), which was also a couple of miles away.

We stayed at the Hawthorne somewhere off International drive. We wanted a hotel with a decent breakfast to set us up for the day in a central location with suites for 5. It was fairly quiet, nice pool and hot tub open late for after the parks and didn't cost a fortune.

Defo avoid Disney
Defo stay in universal hotel - express passes are a must
Id say avoid the Dibb - it's so OTT it's unnecessary, you get enough info on trip advisor without being bogged down - if not doing Disney parks you don't need the Dibb as much

I don't get this whole poncho/trainers thing! We went in July - you dry in minutes and those wearing ponchos look ridiculous😂 Our whole family lived in Havianas the whole week

My health app said I walked 18km a day 😂

I'd recommend an aligaror boat ride top

Top = too

DD was 16 when we went and she enjoyed Disney as much as Universal. She thought thee Magic Kingdom was every bit as good as the HP stuff at Islands of Adventure/Universal.

Really? HP is out of this world - Disney has the magic carpets and a mini rollercoaster - my DD age 8 could easily manage every ride. The shows and parades are good for all though so I suppose it depends if someone loves dusneyvor is more a thrill seaker. My dd11 was bored after 1 day at MK

Great post cheesemaker.

Disney isn't all baby rides. We hate high roller coaster rides and avoided the space mountain and other similar rides at the magic kingdom, and elsewhere. Your DD probably wouldn't have been tall enough for some of the rides.

One of the many websites about the theme parks in Orlando lists all the rides in order of thrill value, and most of the parks have the higher rated ones, including the magic kingdom.

DD could go on every ride inc space mountain (well all the mountains), - there's nothing she couldn't go on inc the likes of Everest at MK, Sorin, Testrack at Epcot, tower of terror. All of those rides had much younger kids riding them than my DD

Honestly the rides at magic kingdom may look thrill but they're honestly not- thunder mountain was nothing. Though I admit space mountain was fast! Not scary though I wouldn't have thought

When I refer to DD, I meant my dd8 went on all the big rides inc space mountain etc- she met all the height requirement for disney

Altemonte Springs has a great mall.

Great, more replies! All really helpful, thanks. Agree about the dibb! Very OTT.

"Honestly the rides at magic kingdom may look thrill but they're honestly not- thunder mountain was nothing."

We aren't all like you. Thunder mountain was my limit. I made the mistake of going on the space mountain ride on my first visit to Disneyland in California many years ago, and nearly lost my glasses. Never again.

There is no way you would get me on rides like Expedition Everest, Tower of Terror or Incredible Hulk. And I hated Harry Potter and the forbidden journey. It made me feel sick.

We stayed at the Royal Pacific, it was very very gorgeous. So gorgeous that we've booked to go again this year!

The Front of Line passes are vital in August too.

With your age children I would recommend the Hard Rock Hotel at universal to get the express passes. You can order a guitar from a guitar menu and it will be delivered to your room with an amp. It was excellent fun.

I echo the comments about Kennedy Space Centre, especially about standing at the front of the second hall with your camera. It was breathtaking and it still sends shivers up my spine.

I also recommend the astronaut training experience. It is difficult to find on the Kennedy website but it was an unreal experience and the best thing our boys did that holiday (aged 13 and 16 at the time). Worth every penny and great fun. But be sure to extend the price to include tickets to Kennedy as well as works out cheaper than buying them separately.

Btw, my 16yo said his favourite park was actually Magic Kingdom which shocked me. He loved all of it but MK just got the vote.

Anyone stay at the Parc Corniche Condominium Resort Hotel Orlando? Booked it for July but now thinking of changing to somewhere else? Is it best to save on hotel and spend on attractions? People tell me you don't be at the hotel all that much? Family of 2adults & 3 teenagers going in July.

We did all the Disney parks, universal and Hollywood studios, and drive down to Tampa for a day to go to that theme park.
Also did a couple of beaches.
Love it there. Been twice. Would love to go again