Travel: USA - Florida/Orlando

[GLORYmum]

DNLS, THANK YOU THANK YOU for so unselfishly sharing the details of your trip.


at which age between 5-10 will it most suitable for the child to visit Orlando and be able to enjoy the rides?

[Dnls_mum]

GLORYmum:

DNLS, THANK YOU THANK YOU for so unselfishly sharing the details of your trip.


at which age between 5-10 will it most suitable for the child to visit Orlando and be able to enjoy the rides?

Hi Glorymum, you are most welcome.
My DD is six now. She is tall for her age and thus could ride all the rides. The problem is that she is a scaredy cat and doesn't dare to go on coasters. When we went previously, my DS2 was 8 and he went all the huge coaster rides. So really, it depends on the height and personality of the child. There is a lot of walking, really really a lot, so it is very tiring and we solve that problem by resting and napping is most afternoons. This allowed us to enjoy lots of night shows and activities. Otherwise you get burnt out after a few days and it really ruin the vacation, or you end up skipping lots of things which is a pity since you have travelled so far for the vacation.

One more think I realize about different age kids is that your experience is also different. We did to do the kiddy rides and princess stuff previously with our boys as they are older. This time, we split up sometimes for the boys to do their stuff and for DD to do the kiddy and girly stuff. For example, we did not do Seuss Landing at IOA previously, but I did it with DD this time, it was pretty fun too. Also, when the kids are younger, they have a certain innocence and enjoy very simple things. They still believe in the magic of disney. It is wonderful when I see my DD's face light up in joy or shyness when she wears her princess costumes and is addressed as princess by the cast members and characters. The genuineness of her joy when she speaks to the face characters and they hug her. Such things can only be experienced with younger kids. So for me in particular, even though this is our second trip, I had a very different experience myself too.

For my boys, this is their second trip and while my DS1 seems outgrowing it already, he was really taken in by WWoHP. DS2 still enjoyed his coasters tremendously. To me, I am very happy we have many sit down meals planned. Around the Themeparks it is always going around and doing things. No meaningful interaction with the kids. Each day when we sit down for our meal, we either discuss what we want to do (at breakfast) or what we had done at (lunch or dinner) and discuss likes and dislikes.

Have fun planning and feel free to pop any questions here!

[GLORYmum]

Hi dnls thanks for reply.

When we were at ocean park legoland n theme parks in GC we usually start fr park open till close and drain out by evening. We try to Cover as much as we can at each park.
Do u manage to cover mostly all the rides in 6 hours ?

[Dnls_mum]

GLORYmum:

Hi dnls thanks for reply.

When we were at ocean park legoland n theme parks in GC we usually start fr park open till close and drain out by evening. We try to Cover as much as we can at each park.
Do u manage to cover mostly all the rides in 6 hours ?

Yes, you can do that at GC. We did that too. But not in Orlando. The parks are much bigger in Orlando. They are generally more spread out within the parks so more walking. Here's the amount of time we spent:

1. Magic Kingdom : day 1 - 8am (bf)- 2pm, back at 4pm for Bibbidi Bobbidi boutique. Left at 6.45pm for dinner
Day 2 - 8am (bf)- 2pm.
Night 1- 6.30 pm. left after dessert party and fireworks at 8.30pm
Night 2- 7 pm dinner then left
Spent most time at MK because of DD and it is the most crowded park with most things for younger kids.

2. Epcot : Day 1 - 9am - 3plus. Return for dinner around 7.30pm. Left after illumination at 10pm
Day 2 - 9am - 3plus

3. Hollywood Studios - 8am (early entry)- 7.30pm. Flat out

4. animal Kingdom - 8am (bf) to 4pm

5. Legoland - 10.15am - 4plus

6. iOA - 8am (WWoHP) - 3plus
Went back on second day for one hour during early entry just to do WWOHP again.

7. US - 9am - 3plus

8. Seaworld - 11am to 6plus ( had an early dinner inside Seaworld)

9. Discovery Cove - 8.30 am - 5pm. This is a relaxing swimming day.

We did IOA and US pretty quickly because on early entry and express pass.
All in all generally spend 1/2 to 3/4 days in the parks each day, choosing to return again rather than go all out. It conserve our energy. Exception was HS, becos of the Fantasmic show and yet, there wasn't enough things to do to justify 2 days there.

[GLORYmum]

Do u then need to buy two days tickets to return on the second day?


My elder one is crazy about roller coaster rides, which park for the most or more thrilling rides ?

[Dnls_mum]

GLORYmum:

Do u then need to buy two days tickets to return on the second day?


My elder one is crazy about roller coaster rides, which park for the most or more thrilling rides ?

Disney has a Magic Your Way Base ticket. You can buy one day to 10 days in the ticket and visit any one disney park on each day. The more days, the cheaper on a per day basis. You only can visit one park per day. If you want to visit more than one park per day, you add a park hopper option. We did not do that as I thought it was more expensive to add park hopper then to increase another park day. Furthermore, the Disney parks are quite spread out and it is difficult to go from park to park unless you have a car. If I do go back to rest and return, I return to the same park.

The 2 Universal Parks have the most exciting rides including coasters. So does Seaworld. seaworld itself has 3. The Disney parks like MK has 3 mid way coasters, HS, 1 exciting coaster and 1 terrifying free fall ride, Animal Kingdom 1 exciting coaster, Epcot, no coaster but has high spend test track and space simulation. Not all the exciting rides are roller coasters as we know roller coasters to be. The rides are more sophisticated these days. The most exciting and longest coaster is rip ride rock it at Universal Studios. No express pass for this ride. It is also the newest coaster in Orlando. It is the latest new generation coaster. kraken in seaworld isn't big deal. No where near Rip ride Rock it or as fun as Manta. Manta in seaworld is much better and is newer than Kraken. For old time coaster, hulk at IOA is still an all time favorite as it is a very smooth ride. Even Rip RideRock it is not as smooth. DS found Dragon in IOA not as good as it was 5 years ago after its transformation to Harry Potter theme. He said Battlestar Galactical in Singapore more scary than Dragon at IOA now.

[GLORYmum]

Thank you. Need to print everything and highlight then formulate my itinerary for next year.


Is the weather best to go in June or nov ?

[Dnls_mum]

GLORYmum:

Thank you. Need to print everything and highlight then formulate my itinerary for next year.


Is the weather best to go in June or nov ?

June in Orlando is hot and humid like Singapore. Weather in Nov is cool I the 20s generally or high 10s. We went 27 Nov to 13 Dec. Most times we are in short sleeve tshirts. It gets hot some afternoons. It is cool in the morning and after sunset. So early morning may need a light jacket depending on your cold tolerance and in the evenings, a light jacket most days, except one or 2 days where you may need something warmer. The weather forecast is pretty accurate and should help you decide on your attire each day.

Personally I think cool weather is better for themeparks. More enjoyable and comfortable. Also, Nov is low season and so crowds are generally pretty low. Just need to make sure you avoid the run up to Thanksgiving and the weekend of it. It is the probably second highest season in Orlando, after Christmas week. Anything before thanksgiving or after thanksgiving but before Christmas is good crowd wise. June would of course be warmer for the water parks. If you go in June make sure you go before the official US summer break.

Have fun planning!

[GLORYmum]

Thank you very much.

[Publica]

Dnls_mum:

GLORYmum:

Who else to turn to for advice on holidaying in Orlando but you ... And you deserve a golden tablet for your contributions and sharing on this topic in particular. :thankyou:

Possible if you could kindly pm to me your itinerary including hotel dining and transportation ? Greatly appreciate in advance.

By the way, thanks! We had a good time Especially in Lucerne up the mountains of pilatus where we met with fresh snow and an unusually small crowd. Now need to plan for Orlando next but I have to first overcome my fear for long distance flight. Any advice on this? I get more air sick than my dc and dh so a full day flight can be very tiring for me :roll:

PMed you my itinerary. Hope it helps.
Most of my meals are character meals as I hate having to queue up to take pictures with characters at the parks. My DD likes it, so do i :rotflmao: More relaxing meeting characters over a meal. Also, I had several pre-rope drop reservations so as to get into the parks before they open. Great opportunity to take great photos without other people around. All the restaurants I selected are the very popular ones, if not for character, will be for the show packages or unusual or theme settings and food.

Air sick? Get those sea sick wrist bands and take motion sickness meds (helps you sleep on the flight too) Work for my DS who is prone to motion sickness. I think so long as transit not too long, then shd not be very tiring. My SG-Houston-Orlando timing that I got is pretty good.

Hi Dnls_mum,

I enjoyed reading all your sharing of your Orlando trip. I am planning to visit Orlando next December with my 13 year old DS and 5 year old DD. The last time I was in Orlando with my DH was 16 years ago!
Could you pm me your itinerary as well so that I can start some planning? As I understand from you that some reservations have to be made 180 days in advance.
Thanks so much.