Things to do in Orlando – Our Family Vacation
I’m so excited to start sharing about our recent Orlando family vacation and sharing ideas for things to do in Orlando! To start things off, I’m posting our 10-day itinerary details and then will be posting more specific posts about our experiences. I have three hotels to share with you (Buena Vista Palace, Doubletree Suites by Hilton, and Walt Disney Swan & Dolphin), seven theme parks, and other tips and thoughts about our trip.
Day 1 (Sat)
Flight from SEA-MSP-MCO
Arrived around 9:45 pm and rented car from Hertz via Priceline bid
Checked in to Buena Vista Palace Hotel & Spa Family Suite
Day 2 (Sun)
Waffle House for breakfast
Swimming at Buena Vista Palace Hotel & Spa
Disney Fantasia Mini Golf
Fuddruckers for dinner
Blue Man Group at Universal Orlando
Day 3 (Mon)
- Islands of Adventure
- Universal Studios
Cinco de Mayo Dinner at Chevy’s
Day 4 (Tues)
Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World
Checked in to Doubletree Suites by Hilton 2 Queen Suite
Day 5 (Wed)
Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Park
Day 6 (Thur)
Day 7 (Fri)
Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World
Rainforest Cafe for dinner
Day 8 (Sat)
Epcot
Day 9 (Sun)
Disney Character Breakfast at Garden Grove Restaurant in Walt Disney Swan Resort
Checked in to Walt Disney Swan & Dolphin Resort 2 Double Dolphin Room
Disney Quest
Moe’s Southwestern Grill
Day 10 (Mon)
Hollywood Studios at Walt Disney World
Picabu Buffeteria at WDW Swan & Dolphin
Day 11 (Tues)
Return flight fiasco courtesy of Delta
MCO-JFK-SEA became MCO-JFK-SLC –> overnight –> Wednesday SLC-SEA
Day 12 (Wed)
Finally home a day late
It was one of our longest trips. My list of post ideas is long, there’s so much I have to share about things to do in Orlando! I hope you’ll follow me on a social media channel (facebook, twitter, instagram, pinterest, google+) or subscribe to the newsletter (just below this post) so you can follow along and get your own ideas about all the things to do in Orlando.
If you’re looking for more ideas for something to do while in Orlando, perhaps plan a small road trip over to the coast and visit the Kennedy Space Center, or visit one of the great Florida beaches, and here’s my friend’s recommendations for what to do in Orlando. Finally, here’s another great spot to get some Disney Orlando articles.
Sounds like a great trip! I used to be able to see your first hotel from my apartment window! :) I really love the Swan & Dolphin – the whole Boardwalk area is a lot of fun. Looking forward to hearing about your trip!
It was such a busy trip Crystal! We really had a wonderful time at all of our hotels and moving around was a lot of fun for our girls. The FL heat about did this Seattle family in though. :)
You guys were SUUUUUPER busy! We are headed to Disney for our first time in August for 7 days! I am very excited! Can’t wait to read more of your recaps. Stopping in (late) from SITS Share Fest!
Thanks for stopping by Britton! Hope you guys have a great visit. I just posted an article today about the new Disney Fastpass+ system.
I see you only did one day at each Disney Park. Did you buy the Park Hopper option for your tickets? Did you feel like you missed out (if you didn’t buy it)? I’m planning a trip to Disney World with my DH and DDs ages 6 and 2. I’m wondering if we should get the park hopper or not.
Hi Frayda,
We did not get the park hopper option. The parks at WDW are very spread out and we didn’t feel the need to spend the time transferring from one park to another. Some people do however, and others like the option for dining and hitting the major rides multiple times. At Disneyland I’d get the park hopper everytime no questions asked, but the distances between the parks at WDW make park hopping a lot to manage, especially with small kids!