8 days Orlando - HELP!!

[goldpendant]

Hello

Due to runaway costs we have reduced our 13 day trip to 8…

Please can anyone suggest a good itinerary? Discovery Cove is already booked with Sea World access for another day, and DS wants to do Kennedy too.

The other priorities feel like Harry Potter at Universal and some Disney time (Star Wars??).

Staying at Endless Summer and planning to keep costs down by making a basic lunch to take into parks and then by using the budget restaurant/food court.

I’d almost rather swallow the flight cost and ditch the whole thing as the exchange rate has just made it all 20% more expensive than it was already but DH wants to stick with it. I’m also concerned about jet lag with kids on just 8 days.

any thoughts welcome 🙏

i think if you are going to Orlando you will have to just suck up the cost because it's very expensive, the euro for us was so bad, having said that, i couldn't be doing with making lunches and skimping, I'd rather not go, it was once in a lifetime so i made sure and saved and borrowed so we could afford to go. 8 days isn't enough either and yes, first couple days kids were jetlagged

When are you going?

Jet lag should not really be a problem. You'll be up early, but you'll want to be up early to get into the parks early. Just leave any fireworks visits til later in the holiday.

I was extremely fortunate to go to Florida since the age of 4, every other year for a few and then a few times as an adult, The expense is UNREAL and my parents saved so hard for it but we always went for three weeks.

After a 9 hour flight (if you're in the UK) it definitely is exhausting to try and do attractions every single day so to do it all in 8 days I honestly can't even imagine. We would run out of time in three weeks. Personally I would wait until you've got the money together to do it really well.

Disney has lost the plot now. Its hard to see much in a day and the costs are astronomical - they fundamentally changed their whole business model during the pandemic.

Disney veteran here.

How old are your kids?

In terms of getting most of it 8 days is a stretch as others have said. I would plan for two days Universal and three days Disney. Discovery Cove is a laid back day and Sea world shouldn't take up a whole day, so I would use those as your rest days. At Disney depending on kids ages you could do four parks in three days combining Animal Kingdom and Epcot into one.

The best thing you can do to save money is research, research, research before hand so you know what you want to do and where in the parks - you can get a lot more done if you know how to manage the crowds and get good quick service food. If you are there for park opening or, when Disney or Universal has late hours, late at night, it's easier to get stuff done.

We found Undercover tourist to have the best day ticket prices .

Sea world! Are you joking? Please DO NOT take children to sea world where they are witnessing animal cruelty first hand.

Please watch black fish and do not fund the cruelty to those poor animals.

Is there no way to change the flights to a later date? The US has soaring inflation and coupled with the exchange rate there is no way to easily cut costs. If you delay for a while you will have more time to save and the exchange rate may improve 🤞

I would also save the money on sea world and discovery cove and use it for Disney and universal.

It's cruel to go see the whales and dolphins in captivity. Plenty of other good stuff to do.

8 days isn't enough time at all especially if you're travelling from the uk. Ditch the sea world and discovery cove for starters.

You'll need 2 days min at universal
2 at Hollywood studios
1 at Epcot
1 at Animal Kingdom
2 at Magic kingdom (1 at a stretch)
1 day at a water park

That's already 9 days

Are the 8 days including your travel days. This would make only 6 full days.

8 days…. So 2 would be travel days depending on the time you land and leave. You will be knackered on the first day to do much.

This leaves you 6 full days (which isn’t enough!)

1 x discovery cove
1 x SEa world (could go to Epcot in the afternoon)
2 days in Disney (magic kingdom, Hollywood studios)
2 days universal

travel home day as a half day in the Disney park maybe .. animal kingdom.

no time for space centre unless you lose a Disney day.

You will be paying a fortune for a day or 2 at Disney and universal though…

id personally ditch discovery cove and sea world and just do Disney / universal.

we went recently for 23 days and done all the above, I couldn’t imagine trying to fit it into 8 days.

Have you looked at getting a Revolut card. Their rates are generally better so get more for your money

Please watch black fish before deciding to fund Seaward and Discovery Cove. The captivity of these incredibly smart animals in tiny sterile pools away from their family is unbelievably cruel and unnecessary. Go and see them in the wild. Spend money on preserving them rather than abusing them to make money for seaworld.
Otherwise for 8 days I would do 4 days in Disney, 1 day Kennedy and 3 in Universal.

Why don't you narrow down your itinerary a bit and just try to really enjoy the few things you do.
I know there is a tendency to want to 'see it all' when you have travelled so far but as you have limited time why not narrow it down ie. Just do Disney and not universal? You'll be knackered trying to fit it all in and run the risk of everyone being tired and miserable.
As a kid, I went on a Florida hol but only had 3 days at parks and I have the best memories. I never thought about the bits we didn't do.

Hi everyone and thanks for all the tips, we have indeed decided to focus on just Disney! Got a 7 day magic pass, have booked a character breakfast at animal kingdom, will do a water park etc…

When my kids were that age I found the jet lag worked in our favour. We were up bright and early first ones at the parks!
The kids enjoy the flight as there's lots of entertainment.
As you are going you need to look forward to it you'll have a wonderful time and lovely memories!,
Totally agree about sea world it's really depressing.

Did you manage to get a refund on the parks you had already booked? I think you are correct to cut back, Universal, Disney, Seaworld and DC is far too much for an eight day trip, far too much in terms of ticket costs I mean.

I would probably reduce down what you attempt to do. We went for 10 days last year and stayed exclusively with Disney. I thought we'd get bored, but we were in the parks from early until late, and only had one rest day, visiting a water park. I'm not suggesting you go that narrow, but you'll struggle to enjoy Magic Kingdom in one day, for example!

Quick update for those interested in how the Feb half term in Orlando is going…

SC (9 and 7) are having a good time. DH and I far less enamoured. Disney parks so far have been fun but very focused on ‘immersive’ rides rather than actual coaster type rides on a track. They all have a very similar format, eg, 3D glasses, short track, small spinning cart. Sort of loses the appeal after a few of them (Remy, Frozen, Nemo, Mickey and Minnie railroad, Toy Story). I feel like the exciting rides of my youth are no more! Perhaps universal would have suited us better for this.

For our sins we did SeaWorld today and it was awful. Totally miserable, shop after shop after shop selling cuddly dolphins and tat. Huge disappointment and again, massively different to what I remember - which seemed, even then, to focus more on conservation than it does now.

We are staying at a great Universal apartment/studio which is excellent value (food onsite is junk but we’ll priced and tasty), and very well located.

Everything is hugely expensive outside the hotel though - £5.75 for an ice cream in the park today, £10 for two small chicken goujons and some crisps.

We have spent extra on Genie + in the Disney parks which have cut down queue times but is an extra £80 per day on top of general ticket price. Ouch!
While helpful, Genie + requires a LOT of forward planning and constant checking in on app throughout the day, so you’ll need an activated US e sim.

The jet lag did work in our favour and hasn’t been too bad at all. Day 2/3 and we were all fine, but up nice and early for a full day out.

If I were to change one thing I’d have waited another year or two. DD is a bit frightened by some of the ‘scarier’ themed rides such as Star Wars, while DS is a tiny fraction too young for some of the bigger coasters (admittedly these were at SeaWorld which I definitely wouldn’t return to).

Weather has been glorious.

Happy to help with any questions anyone has!

I came to post this too.
It shouldn’t be on anyones itinerary.

Ahh, I see it’s too late.

I totally regret going and wish I’d listened to those here, as well as my better judgement. Stupid.

Have you ventured out for food bar the parks? I’m sure that would be a lot cheaper

Yes @Navigatingthroughlife - found fantastic Pho last night which whilst not cheap, was much better value and delicious. We are doing breakfasts in apartment.

We go on 28/3 and we’re planning to do the same breakfast in the villa otherwise you spend a fortune and to be fair the amount of calories you’d consume would be a joke 😂 I hope your holiday takes a big U turn and you start to enjoy it! Especially with how much the trip costs!