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What to do in Orlando?

Help planning Orlando vacation w/ my 5-year-old! Not sure what places are a MUST SEE and what we should skipp?

  • We're planning on going to Orlando to celebrate ny sons 5th birthday, so we only want to concentrate on the fun stuff for the little one. I was never in Orlando so would really appreciate any suggestions from someone who has visited. We will stay there for 12 days so at first I thought to be enough time to visit EVERYTHING, as I learn more and more about Orlando I found out that a month will probably be not enough to visit all of Orlando attractions. I want to make sure that we don't go to the parks where he would be too little (or too short, he's 44" tall) to enjoy the visit. Also I'm not sure which hotel to stay at, something as much inexpensive as possible but Clean and close to everything because we would prefer not to rent a car (is it possible? how is public transportation over there?) I noticed that there are places where they sell packages: park tickets and hotel stay together and it looks like it comes out to be better price then paying it separately, would you recommend doing that? Are there any places where I would be able to purchase everything together for a good price (airfare Chicago-Orlando, hotel and the park tickets)? Any help full tips greatly appreciated, Thank you all in advance.

  • Answer:

    Everyone else is dead on...if this is for a 5 year old, Disney should be your focus. Their parks may have one or two attractions with height requirements, but the majority of Disney's time and effort is toward kids of all ages. Also, you'll save money on tickets. An 8 day ticket is about $10 more than a 7 day ticket. You didn't mention when you're visiting, that's fairly important information. As the other posters noted, the time of year affects hotel prices, park crowds, free dining, etc. Having said that, staying at Disney really simplifies things. If you're really set against renting/driving a car, it's just about your only option. Public transportation is poor, and shuttles from off-site hotels are unreliable. If you're willing to drive, staying off-property can save money, although when you factor in parking and car rental (or free dining at certain times of year) staying in a Disney hotel can be cheaper. Allears.net has a good, quick rundown of Disney vs. non-Disney hotels. Off-site hotels pay the same price for tickets as you do, so I'm not a fan of package deals. If they're offering "cheap" tickets you can bet they're making up the cost elsewhere. It's like buying a car where they throw in free A/C but then tack on rustproofing charges in the fine print. If you want to visit other parks, I'd say Sea World would be good. It's mostly shows and walk-through exhibits. That can be a big relief if you're tired of standing in line. Children usually love the up-close encounters with dolphins, sharks, stingrays (don't worry---barbs are removed) manatees, etc. They also have a good section of children's rides and play area and are up there with Disney in the kid-friendly approach. And I think they have a special for free kid's tickets right now. After that some of the smaller attractions like Gator World are a nice change of pace. Universal has some good stuff for kids, but the majority of their attractions are aimed at teens and adults. Probably 80% of their rides have height restrictions. I would only go there if you don't mind spending a fair amount of money for few family rides. A note about time in Orlando: as you've noticed, a month isn't enough to cover everything. Matter of fact, a month isn't enough to cover everything in Disney. You won't see it all, and if you try to do "everything you want" you can burn out real quick. Look it at like one of those elaborate all-inclusive buffets where piling on more can make you miserable. This goes for individual days in the parks. You'd be surprised how many loving, wonderful parents lapse into the three-more-rides-and-we're-done mentality. It's a busy environment that will overload even adults, if your family isn't having a good time, stop and take a break. There is no prize for "finishing" a park or visiting all of them. Even with 12 days, you won't get to do everything you want. If you can maintain that sort of zen-like attitude you'll get much more out of your vacation.

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I would spend most of your trip at Disney, so I would look into staying at a resort there. That will take care of all of your transportation needs within Disney - you can use the resort buses and the monorail to get around, and they also provide free transportation between the airport and your resort. If you stay off Disney property, you'll either need to use a shuttle (if offered) from your hotel - they are not very reliable or convenient - or you'll have to rent a car and pay to park at Disney. It really is worth it to stay at Disney. I'd look into Pop Century or the All-Star resorts - they are the Disney value resorts and offer the best rates. Moderate resorts are a step up, and often not much more expensive - they usually offer a wider selection of dining options, and have amenities like water slides at the pools. Public transportation in Orlando isn't otherwise that great. You'd need to use a taxi or a rental car if you want to check out other theme parks, like Universal or SeaWorld, but that would be the case no matter where you stay. You could consider just getting a rental car for the latter few days of your trip if you want to head out of Disney. I don't know that a 5-yr-old would get too much into Universal, but he'd probably enjoy SeaWorld. He'll enjoy himself at all of the Disney parks. They are geared perfectly for kids that age. I would plan for at least 2 days at Magic Kingdom, and for at least one full day at each of the others (Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and EPCOT). You could also plan for a day or two at the water parks, depending on the time of year you are going. Having rest days at the resorts can be nice - play at the pool or playground, relax in the room, shop, eat, etc. Downtown Disney can be a nice daytime or nighttime break as well. As for packages, you can sometimes get a good deal by booking a resort/ticket package through Disney. They sometimes offer specials that you can only get with packages - free dining is common during the off-season, and we took advantage of a free kids ticket special. Room rate discounts can also be found individually. But the deal you find at Disney will be the same deal you find anywhere else. Check out www.mousesavers.com for specials, or consider using a Disney vacation planner to help you find the best available deal. It's usually cheaper to book your airfare separately.

Melissa

i recommend spending most if not all of your time at disney world so it would make sense to book a package with hotel, tickets, and dining through disney world. disney world has 4 theme parks, 2 water parks, dowtown disney which is a free area with shops and restaurants, espn wide world of sports complex, several golf courses, over 20 onsite hotels, and other activities located thoughout the property. i would suggest staying at a disney world value resort. they are the lowest prices hotels but they stare still AMAZING. (starting at $82+tax per night) here is my recommendation for the amount of time to spend at each place in disney world... -magic kingdom: 2 days -epcot: 1 to 1-1/2 days -hollywood studios: 1 day -animal kingdom: about 3/4 of a day -blizzard beach: 1 day -typhoon lagoon: 1 day -downtown disney: 1/2 a day if you did this i would recommend getting the 6 day base ticket with the water park fun and more option added on. i always recommend a couple of relax days were you hang out at the hotel so there's 2 more days. so thats 10 days right there for just disney world. i'm not sure if you want to go to any other attractions but honestly disney world is the best thing in the area and has the most for a 5yr old to do as well as being very enjoyable for adults. so with my recommendations here is what a non discounted disney world package would cost... -number of people: (guessing cuz you didn't say) 2 adults and 1 child age 3-9. -dates: (i picked random dates and only for 10 days instead of 12) check in 1/8 check out 1/18 -hotel type: value -hotel name: pop century -room type: standard -ticket type: 6 day base ticket with water park fun and more option added on -dining plan: yes -dining plan type: quick service dining plan whilch includes 2 quick service meals per person per night, 1 snack per person per night, 1 refillable resort mug per person to use at the hotel food court in toltal that would come to: $2,896.53 as i said this is with no discount. if you are a member of AAA and book through them you would get a 20% discount on the room only so then in total the package would come to: $2,679.33 so you'd save about $217. disney world also offers discounts such as a free dining and room rate discounts but since i'm not sure of the exact dates you want to go i cannot tell you if there are any special offers going on at that time. you should look at the special offer section of the disney world website to see if any would apply to you. disney discounts cannot be used with any other discounts so for example you would not be able to use a disney discount and a AAA discount together you would have to figure out which one saves you more and go with it. here's a link to the disney world website so that you can explore what they have to offer and do a mock booking to customize everything how you want it. there is no obligation to actually book the trip. http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/ you CAN include airfare in your disney world package but i would not recommend it cuz they tend to partner with the more expensive airlines. i would recommend just going to say southwest's website and booking a flight.

Indiana Jones

You must take her to Orlando Aquarium and Zoo Orlandos SeaWorld

Peaches Davisson

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