The main parks in Orlando that are must do are the Disney Parks:
Magic Kingdom (What everyone thinks of as Disney, heavy on themeing, short of killer rides, great for young kids)
Disney Studios (Movie themed, a great blend of attractions for all ages. Tower of Terror is my favourite ride in Orlando and for the small kids, the new Toy Story ride is outstanding)
Animal Kingdom (Nature themed park with a fantastic Safari Tour, they use heated rocks so animal sightings are guaranteed, good for small kids as not many intense rides)
EPCOT (A strange park that is half science and tech themed at the front and culture and travel themed at the rear. Not the greatest park for small kids but a good one for adults who want to "Drink around the world" Some very good restaurants.
and the 2 Disney run Water Parks:
Typhoon Lagoon
Blizzard Beach (newer with better themeing)
If your Disney ticket includes access to the water parks don't even bother with Wet n Wild, it's a concrete **** hole in comparison to the Disney water parks.
The 2 Universal Parks:
Universal Studios (Movie themed with more adults themes like Jaws, Blues Brothers, Men in Black etc. Worth seeing even with small kids as the new Simpsons ride that replaced BTTF is excellent.
Islands of Adventure (The most intense rides in Orlando. Some outstanding coasters and off course it has a recreation of Hogwarts and Hogsmead which is some of the best park themeing you will see in any park in the world) If the adults are coaster fans or the kids love Harry Potter, Island of Adventure is a must see. If neither are true, you can skip it as it is more thrill orientated with rides not suited for young kids and the ones that are like Dr Seuss will be unfamiliar to UK kids.
and
Seaworld. (A few great coasters but your kids will love the animal shows. Killer Whales are great but the real stars are the SeaLions) A great park.
Out of Orlando, Busch Gardens is worth a visit in Tampa but again it's mostly about the rides and not great for small kids.
My top tips would be:
Use a Touring Plan and buy a subscription to this site Disney World | Disneyland | Universal Orlando - Vacation Planning Tools
They have plans for all different group sizes depending on what people in the group deem important and the plans optimise visits for minimal queuing which with small kids is something that should be top priority.
Use the crowd calendars on that site to plan which parks to visit on which day. I would advise you get there 45 mins before opening, follow the plan, do as mush as possible in the morning and then head back to the hotel/villa pool in the afternoon. Most young kids can't do a full day over stimulation in the Orlando humidity without a melt down so pace yourself.
The site also gives access to their Android/iOS app that shows real time crowd levels while in parks.
Also build in rest days, Orlando is very physically demanding. Break up your holiday so that you alternate days in parks with either down days at the villa or a trip to a water park.
Make sure your park tickets are Hopper types. Often you want to hit one park in the morning to do the rides and attractions, take a break at the hotel in the afternoon, then head out to a different park for dinner/show/fireworks etc.
Optimise the Fast Pass system. A Fast Pass has a return time on it. You cannot get another FP until this time is reached. However, you don't have to use the FP in the declared time slot. You can use it at any time after the minimum return time. Since FPs are limited, make sure you get another FP as soon as you can. Don't wait until you use the FP as by then, the next available FP return slot might be hours away and you may want to leave before you can use it.
The Fantasimic show at Disney Studios is a must see. It is a live action show mixed with video projected onto a water screen. Don't spend all day in the park waiting for this in the evening. Pre book a Dinner and Show package. This way you go to the park for dinner and then you get access to a special side entrance to the show arena avoiding the queuing and crowds.
All Disney restaurants can be booked up to 60 days in advance. You really NEED to do this for the popular ones like Le Cellier Steakhouse in EPCOT otherwise you'll be eating walk around food like Turkey Legs and Funnel Cake. All the sit down restaurants get super busy so try to get their early and do an early lunch at 11:30 to avoid waiting for a table.
At Islands of Adventure, do not queue to buy a Harry Potter wand in the Olivanders Store (might take an hour or waiting to get in to the very small store). All the wands can be bought from the massive gift shop over in Universal Studios where there is zero queue.
Be careful if you take the kids to Disneyquest. It is a dark multistory arcade with confusing stairs and layout and lifts that only stop at certain floors. It is very easy to lose kids in. If you love retro arcade games though like I do, this place is mecca. Original arcade cabs from the 80s all in great condition set to free play.
If your kids love the Disney characters and are dead set on meeting them, try to convince them to do that with a Disney Breakfast. If you get meet and greets done first thing, you hopefully won't get continually stopped by the kids every time they spot a character in the park which can break a touring plan and introduce queuing both for a photo-op and for subsequent attractions on the plan that is now behind schedule.
USE A TOURING PLAN. I cannot emphasise how important this is to avoid queues, stress, meltdowns, and a ruined holiday. Sacrifice a small bit of spontaneity and a lay in and in return, you will see far more in less time with less waiting than someone who rocks up and tries to wing it.
brian dunn vin scully petrino fired george zimmerman charged big sean sherri shepherd sherri shepherd
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.