Florida, Disney, Bahamas

[Floridatrip]

We are planning a trip next Easter 2 weeks to Florida; but not sure what to do exactly and where to base ourselves. Thinking 3 days in the parks, 3 days Miami? Not sure weather to do Florida keys or small cruise to Bahamas.

I would be grateful for advice from people who have been there.

We did 2 weeks in Florida a few years ago and went to Disney for 4 days, Miami for 3 days, Naples for 3 days and Florida Keys for 4 days. I loved it all but wish we’d had more time at Disney!

It depends on what you want to do. 3 days in the parks would be 3 parks, and there are way more than that. I only drove through Miami but thought it was a dump so no rush to go back there. We did the Florida keys which is lovely but if you have kids, they might be bored as it's a long drive. Depends what you want out of the holiday, who's going etc

We're going to go next year with my 6 year old and planning on spending 2 weeks in Orlando 🤣

If you're doing Disney, 3 days is nowhere near enough time. If Universal then you'll be fine with the 3.

Thank you. DC will be 16 and 13; I am just not sure what Disney would be like; is it lots of queuing? I am mainly doing it for the experience but We did enjoy Disneyland Paris and went twice about 6 years ago which I know is not the same.

How many parks are there? How many days will be enough?

At that age they'd be better off at Universal. Maybe do 1 day in Disney Hollywood Studios, 1 Disney water park, then a good 5/6 days across the two universal parks.

Thank you; that sounds like a good plan, maybe another 2 nights in Miami and the rest in Florida keys or cruise to Bahamas.

It sounds like there are a lot of parks to see

There are 4 big Disney parks plus 2 water parks plus Universal (2 parks) and a water park....

Mine are 14/17 and we are doing 5 nights Disney/6 nights Universal (but will do like 3 days in Universal, then maybe Busch gardens as they are roller coaster nuts). Probably something Manatee related...then a short Disney cruise.

Have family out there and have visited many times. My advice is rent a villa with a pool in Orlando. Go to Universal studios or Busch Gardens. Minimise the driving and space out the theme parks and have the odd day off just lounging round the pool. You can also go to the beach/Cape Canaveral or visit some of the beautiful pools and grottos in the Central Florida state parks. Go on a river trip and see Alligators. Drive to St Augustine and enjoy a taste of history.
If you do go down to the Keys take a boat/sailing trip. The Gulf Coast is also lovely. Don't waste your money on a cruise to the Bahamas when there is so much to see and do in Florida itself. Have fun.

That’s very good advice. Thank you, we do want to do other things so mixing it up and spreading the parks is probably the best. We don’t Want to wear ourselves by going to the parks 5 consecutive days.

Will think reg Florida keys and Miami. I do want to go to the beach and have a week relaxation too.

You are right reg the Bahamas too; have been reading and it seems the Keys are best and plenty to see in Florida as you said. Is West Key the best? I imagine we need a car in Orlando? Where do we get a the boat/sailing trip ? Do we need a car in the keys too?

If you have teens Universal will be much more fun. Stay at a premium hotel on site if you can, express passes and transport make it so much easier. Volcano Bay the universal water park is brilliant too.

You can easily do 2 weeks of parks and the tickets are expensive - you’ll pay the same for 3 days as 14.

Thank you but not sure DH and I want to do 2 weeks of parks; we like natural Scenery, culture, exploring and the sea so looking for a bit of everything

16 And 13 definitely do universal not Disney. But look at your timing. If you are after Spring Break then there won't be any queues and it'll be great. If you're hitting Spring Break then it'll be very very busy.

We did a couple of days at Disney (that was enough for me!!!) and then a Bahamas cruise - it was beautiful, you’ll love it!

Mine are 16&15. Been to Florida every couple of years since they were 3&4. They still love Disney, so much to do. Universal is great but not as much to see.
Both need planning if you don't want to Q

I did this in Easter. We actually had a wedding in Florida so a bit different but that took up one day. We had a car for this time and I’d recommend. We went to Disney one day and universal one day. We then spent a few days in Miami but I was underwhelmed there. We then went to Bahamas for a week all inc and it was great, such a good time!

We did 2 weeks Florida last month with my 9&12 year old. My kids loved miami, they loved the vibe of South Beach and all the expensive cars on the boulevard. 2 days was ok for me. The beach was actually very nice, above expectations for me.

We did 2 days Universal and it was nice but also enough.. we prefer the outdoors, quiet places in nature, 2 days in a park we can manage but not longer.
My favourite places were Key West and the Everglades . We’ve seen so much wildlife it was amazing.
I really like roadtrips i think i would find it very dull to stay in the same house all the time. My kids really live for the breakfast buffet in the hotels😎

Thank you all. Lots of ideas, we want to go to Everglades too and I think I would like to see Miami and get my own opinion.

We are planning to go in the Easter school holidays as kids have 2 weeks holiday but only one in May.

3 days is not enough for the Disney parks so it depends how much you want to DO Disney I would say!

WDW has 4 theme parks and 2 water parks. You won’t see much in 3 days - each park needs a minimum of 2 days.

If you were planning to do 3 of the 4 parks in the 3 days you won’t see or get to do a lot and the tickets will be the same price as if you went for 2 weeks.

Sorry I just saw the update - I agree with the others that Universal might be better suited to the ages of your kids. Disney is amazing though!