Florida itinerary- thoughts?

[indiesearcher]

Hello all,

I'm looking for advice on the rough schedule below before I plan it any further!

Travelling in early-mid February next year with DH and 2 DC (7, 9):

6/7 days Orlando - 2 days Disney, 1 Universal, 1 Kennedy. 2 rest days, maybe a water park.

Drive to Sanibel island.

3 nights Sanibel. Is there much to do except beach bum?

2 nights Miami

Fly home from Miami.

If we were to squeeze in an extra day or two where would you do it?

TIA!!

Cabana Bay is MASSIVE 2200 rooms to as 1000 at Sapphire Falls and 750 at Endless Summer

And you can feel that I think

Sanibel is beautiful and you can easily fill 3 days. As suggested do Ding Darling wildlife reserve. You must hire bikes from Billy’s Bikes and cycle all over the island. I would arrange a day out on a boat. It’s wonderful for boating and you will likely see wild dolphins - once you’ve seen them swimming freely you will be even more resolved to boycott Seaworld. Go to the Island Cow for food and the Bubble Room on Captiva. Oh I wish I was there right now!

I wouldn't bother with Miami, stay in Orlando instead, make the most of the theme parks. The water parks were our rest days.

Hiiiii again!

You're all brilliant.

It's so far looking like this;

Day 1-7 Orlando:

1 day Magic Kingdom, 3/4 days Universal (inc Volcano water park). 1 day Kennedy. 1 day malls or Disney Springs place (does this need an expensive Disney ticket??)

Day 7-11 Sanibel - maybe with a day stop at St Petes or Clearwater?

Day 11-13 Miami

You're all amazing this has been a huge help.

@Enzbear I 💯 want to have at least a night in Miami and experience a bit of the south beach/Art Deco vibe. Even if just a day and night. It works pretty well for flights for us too.

We just came back from Florida this Feb. Had a total nightmare with accommodation as thought we'd book most as we go, after the first week. (Usually travel / holiday like this with no problem).

Everything was booked up and what was left was grim and very expensive 😟 eg Truckers motels for £160-300 a night. We nearly had to sleep in the car one night. Also had 2 separate 4 night bookings cancel on us as we were driving to them....It was pretty stressful tbh.
I would just say don't do what we did!!

Also we did 3 days at Disney (with 3 kids) felt like enough for us, but such a personal thing. Magic Kingdom one day was very busy, Epcot was much more enjoyable and Typhoon Lagoon on day 3 was great. Weather was perfect in Feb.

Nope Disney Springs is ticket free

Hello lovely Florida fans, I'm getting closer to booking!

Can anyone share any names of places they'd recommend to stay on the Gulf Coast, specifically Naples/Venice, or St Petes areas? As a kid I stayed at Tradewinds - it still looks like it might be a good option?!

Also, has anyone any feedback on Vista Cay in Orlando? It looks well positioned for Universal and you can walk to a few amenities and supermarket - I'd like not to need a car in Orlando and use Ubers instead.

Oh and have ditched Miami - you were all right!

@indiesearcher I don't think you'll want to go to Clearwater or St Pete's Beach if you're on Sanibel/Captiva Island. It would be a waste of a day imo.

2 days at Disney is not enough, not worth paying for tickets to only go for two days. Go for longer or skip it.

A few random thoughts...

You say you aren't park people but are you thinking that Disney parks are like eg. Alton Towers? If so, they're nothing like that. You don't need to be 'into' Disney and you won't find many thrill rides there. MK needs at least two full days to see most of it - we usually have 4 or 5 days and I still feel like it's not enough!

Cabana Bay is a lot cheaper but if you can afford to stay at Royal Pacific Resort it's worth it for the free 'front of line' passes - will save you SO much time and you'll get them for the day you check in and the day you check out. Check out hotels.com (if you have Tesco vouchers you can use those there).

I think Aquatica is better than Volcano Bay.

Disney Springs isn't a whole day - you can do it in a couple of hours one evening. It's just shops & restaurants, really.

I agree the Disney Springs is a one evening thing.

Google maps here is your friend.

Vista cay is indeed on universal Blvd but you’re out of the way down there and it’s miles from universal too. There’s also not much around there to walk to. You may be better off looking at one of the two Embassy Suites properties for instance which are south of Sandlake Road on International Drive. Both properties are close to restaurants and other amenities and breakfast is included as part of the room rate.

Thanks again all!

Flights are booked, got a good deal I think, that's phase one sorted!

Current status is:

7 days Orlando, to include 2 days Magic Kingdom and Disney Springs, 2 days Universal, 1 day Aquatica and 1 day Kennedy OR Disney studios (Star Wars?).

Then 5 nights Sanibel, and 1 night Tampa area to do Busch gardens the day before we fly home.

Can't thank you all enough for helping me get this far. I might set up a new thread nearer the time to finesse the Disney/Universal planning!

@indiesearcher I know this is an old thread but just wondering how your holiday went last year? Currently planning and looking at a very similar itinerary. Would love to get any tips!

@Blogdog I will let you know, we go in Feb half term! I def think a tight itinerary was ambitious, we are just going to do Disney now and maybe take a day trip to a beach!

@indiesearcher I read the whole thread and missed that completely 😂Even though it was in the first line!

It seems the areas around Sanibel are still feeling the effects of Hurricane Ian so your new itinerary sounds like it might be a good plan.

Looking forward to your update - have a fab time.

Definitely take a day trip out to see manatees and alligators if you can, though. Blue Sping state park is easy to reach from Orlando. We're off on Saturday - Fort Lauderdale area to see the Everglades and the upper Keys, and then Orlando and space coast. Woo hoo!

Cocoa Beach is a good one to go to from Orlando, just down the Beeline Expressway.

Yes that’s the plan @cheapskatemum - drive looks easy enough, and the long range weather forecast is good!

You would be extremely unfortunate to have bad weather - enjoy!

Weather can be changeable though. This Christmas was cold! And I mean older than UK freezing cold. February the times we have been has had a mix of hot, warm and cool. And we normally get one very wet day (not this Christmas just cold)

I'm near Fort Lauderdale now and it's scorchio. Sitting on the balcony at 5am (thanks jet lag) and it's lovely and warm. Looks nice in Orlando too, for the next fortnight, so hopefully OP will have a warm trip.