Orlando - is this too much for 10 days?

[roses2]

We will be visiting Orlando May half term for 10 days and I was hoping to get some feedback on if this itinerary looks ok or if we are trying to cram too much in.

I have two boys 8 and 11. They love rides & animals. No interest in character dinners etc. We are staying offsite. No plans for fancy dinners, probably mostly take outs and as little food as possible in the parks. We plan to buy Genie but not Universal express pass.

No clue how long people typically spend in parks before dying of exhaustion!

See photo attached.

I've been to Orlando lots of times and I think that's quite a heavy schedule. I'd not bother with Seaworld personally. I'd allow a couple of days for Disney because it's vast. You can't see it all in one day. I thoroughly recommend Universal and Kennedy. However, the rest I wouldn't be bothered if I missed.

Kennedy can be hard going for young kids once they’ve seen the space shuttle. I actually found it boring as an adult. Go if you’re sure the kids will enjoy the day otherwise stay more local.

Also please reconsider Sea World and Discovery Cove. You don’t need to spend money seeing captive animals perform for your family/entertainment. These are awful places to visit and should be closed down. They animals suffer. You can google and get information on both parks.

I agree with you re : animals and sea life. It's dreadful.

Also agree with skipping Sea World etc.

We have been to Orlando a number of times and I would have died of exhaustion with that schedule. The parks are huge and knackering. I would try to factor in some other activities. There is so much more to see and do in Orlando.

You will be shattered trying to that schedule. We went when kids were a similar age for 10 days and went to parks every other day. Some like Animal Kingdom involved arriving at 7am and the Space Centre was quite a long drive away so we were glad to have a day off in between to recover.

Thanks all, I thought it might be a bit tiring! What do people normally do, go to the parks half a day then rest by the pool the other half? We've booked a Sheraton Lake Buena Vista Resort Villa which has 7 pools.

We're not lay by the pool for a whole day type people - we are quite active. Not into shopping either. Although I appreciate it will be hot end May which will make us more tired than a UK day out.

Unless you’re a fan of animal cruelty, please don’t include Sea World or Discovery Cove.

Agree with PP, too much! Drop seaworld. Also bear in mind that given it's Memorial Day weekend, It will be super busy.

On our last trip we worked out park opening times for our first few days to make use of jet lag. As an example, Animal Kingdom had extra magic hours on our first full day so we went there and stayed until mid afternoon. Got back to the hotel and then had a couple of hours by the pool. We did the same the next day which, from memory was Epcot. Then we swapped it around so the mornings were a bit more relaxed so we could stay in the parks later at night to enjoy the fireworks/end of day shows.

Don’t underestimate the heat and the amount of walking you’ll do.

That’s a heavy schedule. I’d sack of Seaworld and discovery cove (although DC is like a rest day in all fairness) Two days is enough at Universal. You can do volcano bay half day for a bit of a rest as well.

With Disney you need to pin down what it is you really want to do as those parks take a week easily and maybe get park hopper tickets so you can do all the best rides. There’s no Epcot in your schedule for example, the guardians of the galaxy ride is there which is arguably the best in Disney. And Tron at MK is also great!

We’re the same in that we like to be on the go all the time but it really depends on your kids, last time we were there we had our 4yo with us so we had to do half days / split days.

Also I love Kennedy Space Centre but we went a second time and I wish we hadn’t - once and done is enough. It’s also a day you don’t need to do in your schedule if your kids prefer the rides.

Parks will be super busy on Memorial Day. Potentially look at a water park that day. Hopefully you take advice to drop Sea World parks including Aquatica. I’d highly recommend Volcano Bay which is part of Universal.

Sorry i see you have Aquatica in your schedule so ignore my water park comment! Although I’d recommend Volcano Bay as you’ll get free entry with your universal tickets anyway.

Sack off sea world, aquatica and discovery cove, possibly Kennedy space centre too.

22nd - Kissimmee
23rd - universal
24th - universal
25th - volcano bay
26th - animal kingdom
27th - full rest day at pool
28th - magic kingdom
29th - Epcot all day until fireworks
30th - rest AM animal kingdom pm
31st - Hollywood studios
1st - Typhoon lagoon

Drop Sea World. The Polar Bears captivity in particular upset me. Animals being trained to perform is really cruel.

I've never been to Discovery Cove but it sounds similar from other comments.

It's definitely a heavy schedule. We used to go to the parks for rope drop and leave after the fireworks....then take the next day easy around the pool, water park or shopping (back in the days of 2 dollars to the pound!).

I'd also recommend going to the Magic Kingdom at night. It's a completely different experience. I agree it's probably best to pin down what you want to see/do there due to the sheer size of it.

Please don’t go to Sea World. If you love animals you will find it upsetting. I see you are not replying to the multiple people who have made this comment. I went somewhere similar many years ago and found it absolutely horrible.
I think you are trying to do too much. We went with student aged DDs a a few years ago in January, so not so hot. In a week we only did Universal, including the water park and Kennedy Space Centre. I loved Kennedy but I think that was mostly the thrill of seeing the shuttle. We needed down time by the pool or just chilling in the hotel. We had already been in the US for a week so over our jet lag by the time we got there.

Another vote to drop Sea World and I have never seen the point of Discovery Cove, having said that, I have no desire to swim with a captive Dolphin.

In your short time you are planning on going to both Universal and Disney, that is an expensive option as both offer good value for 2 week multi day tickets. With only one you could easily fit in a rest/shopping day and a trip to the space centre, which our family really enjoyed.

Personally, I'd pick one or the other and have done on multiple trips. Our aim is to get to the parks for rope drop (or 30 mins before) and then do as much as we can until we are tired. At 8 & 11 my DC would do all day up to park close, and use the water park days for rest. However, last summer we went with friends and their DC did not want to do this, they preferred a much more relaxed pace.

Other tips would include taking a light packed lunch/snacks to the parks and a water bottle.

A great resource is thedibb.co.uk

On our last trip we worked out park opening times for our first few days to make use of jet lag...Got back to the hotel and then had a couple of hours by the pool.....Then we swapped it around so the mornings were a bit more relaxed so we could stay in the parks later at night to enjoy the fireworks/end of day shows.

This is exactly what we plan to do!

Coming and going from the parks takes ages!

Are you hiring a car?

I wouldn't do half days. It's more that you need a day break between long days in the parks.

Hi yes we are hiring a car. I don't want to get into a debate on Seaworld, Discovery Cove etc which is why I am not answering those questions.

We have two water park days and two leisurely days factored in. I think the intense days will be the 4x rollercoaster type park days. I just wasn't sure how many hours people tend to spend in parks before exhaustion kicks in to understand if 4 days for the parks I have chosen are enough.

I don't want to get into a debate on Seaworld, Discovery Cove etc which is why I am not answering those questions.

Shame on anyone that close their eyes and ears to this.

I think even putting aside the Seaworld debate though it’s just really not a very good park (couple of decent coasters but that’s it), and the Universal and Disney waterparks are also superior. It’s just not worth adding it in when you’ve already got Disney and Universal to focus on.

If you really wanted another kind of park then Busch Gardens is head and shoulders above Seaworld.

Ditch sea world and discovery cove and switch out with Epcot and blizzard beach/typhoon lagoon instead.

It's not an extreme view to understand that the majority of the animals at sea world and discovery cove are suffering. Take your sons for a better experience.

Seaworld and Discovery Cove are disgraceful and should be shut down. Or at least the animals saved - I hear the rides are quite good. But I wouldn’t give them my money.

Here is our itinerary from last summer - 7 days in Orlando and 7 days in Madeira Beach

day 1: magic kingdom, got there for about 9am, stayed until 4
day 2: universal studios
day 3: volcano bay all day, right from start to end as the queuing system meant that once people started leaving, we could get on more slides
day 4: islands of adventure
day 5: shopping and fireworks at Epcot in the evening
day 6: Hollywood studios
day 7: islands of adventure again

this will be the only time I take DS so we had genie and the one-off fast pass thing at Disney and the express pass at universal as we stayed in the resort so it’s included.

That is a manic schedule. Are you The sort of family that never sits down normally? Do your kids get tired on uk holidays? I mean it's doable but expect lots of queuing, sometimes 2 hours for one ride and parking the car can often be a long way from the parks so factor in time for that as well. We've been to Florida 3 times and still haven't seen or done it all.