Planning a trip to Florida is often a once-in-a-lifetime thing for British families, and getting the planning right can make all the difference to your holiday.
Last summer, we were invited by Visit Orlando to check out some of Florida’s most famous attractions, including Universal Studios, Disneyland, Legoland and Sea World.
Here are our top tips for making the very most of your stay:
Top Tips for Visits to Orlando
- It’s hot. The day we arrived in Orlando people were wearing coats and apologising for the cold. It was 21 degrees. Later in the week, the temperature was in the mid 30s. So pack light, take lots of sunscreen and a wide-brimmed hat. And don’t trust Floridians when they tell you it’s cold – they don’t know what they’re on about.
- Book ahead. Almost every attraction we visited was cheaper for visitors who book online before they go to Florida. There are loads of special offers, some exclusive to UK visitors – so do spend some time researching before you go.
- Plan your “must-see” activities – even with VIP tours of all the attractions we visited, we only saw a fraction of what the parks had to offer – so if you only have 1 or 2 days at an attraction, plan ahead the things you REALLY want to see (for us it was the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal) and if they’re popular attractions, be sure to visit them early in the day, or at the end of the day, when the crowds are thinner.
- Consider ways to cut the queues. A trip to Florida is a big expense and something lots of us will only ever do once – all the theme parks offer a variety of packages designed to help you spend less time queuing – from FastPass and Express tickets that let you skip long lines to VIP packages that can eliminate queues altogether. It’s easy to think VIP tours are just for celebrities, but they’re not as expensive as I had imagined.
Top Tips for Trips to Disneyland Florida
- Wear comfortable shoes. It’s an absolute essential as the parks are HUGE, and there’s lots of walking – you won’t notice until the next morning quite how much of a pounding your feet can take
- Plan a show for the hottest part of the day – especially during the summer, when a bit of air conditioning will revive everyone
- Download the free Disney Magic app – you can plan rides and check show times, but once you’re inside the park it will let you check how long the lines are on different rides
- If it’s your first visit, get one of the “first time” badges from Guest Services and people who work at the park will be EXTRA nice to you
- All around Disneyworld there are hidden Mickeys – if you visit the Be Our Guest restaurant in the new Fantasyland, see if you can spot the hidden Minnie on the painted ceiling!
Top Tips for Trips to Legoland Florida
- Don’t get sucked into buying the Lego from the park – most of it is available online for less.
- Focus on rides in the morning – if you head for the back of the park early, queues will be shorter.
- Don’t forget to allow time to see Miniland – the models and scenes are amazing and the Star Wars models are especially fun, and worth taking your time to explore
- After riding the dragon coaster, be sure to the try the park’s Granny Apple Fries – a weird combo of chips and apples that is so much more delicious than you’d expect
- Bring your mini-figures. All model citizens (as Legoland employees are known) have a minifigure on their name badge, and if you want to trade with them, just ask! Rumour has it there’s a guy in the park who wears minifigures head to toe, but we didn’t see him. Maybe next time.
Top Tips for Trips to Universal Studios
- Go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter first. This part of the park was MOBBED on a day when the rest of the park was really quite quiet, and the queues for the owl post (where you can send a letter with a Hogsmeade postmark) were incredibly long. On some days, the area is closed and you’ll be given a ticket to return later. Basically? Expect for it to be busy. Go early, or go late.
- Frozen butterbeer is nicer than regular butterbeer. Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans? Really are every flavour. Ugh.
- If you’re staying for a few days, consider buying one of the (expensive) souvenir drink holders with your first drink – you’ll get a discount when you refill the cup in future.
- It gets HOT in the park but each ‘zone’ has a misting station where you can cool down, like the one opposite the Hulk rollercoaster. Alternatively, go on the Jurassic Park ride and sit about midway back in the car – you’ll get soaked.
- Rather than getting loaded down with souvenirs through the day, wait until you leave – there’s a big store right by the exit where you can buy almost anything you’ve seen during the day.
Top Tips for Trips to Sea World
- Definitely book a behind the scenes tour to meet animals in person – we met a penguin, but you can also get up close with dolphins and all sorts of other animals
- During hot weather, consider heading next door to Aquatica, Seaworld’s own water park – admission is only $40 on top of the Seaworld ticket
- You can book a table at Dine with Shamu once you arrive and it’s definitely worth it – the food is good but the experience of being so close to killer whales is what makes it special
- Pay attention to the signs that say “splash zone” around the park – they’re not kidding when they say the whales have worked out exactly when and how to get visitors drenched as they pass the enclosures!
- Talk to the guides – ours knew so much about the animals, even down to being able to tell us about individual manatees and where each animal had come from.
And one last tip!
- Many of the parks let you buy digital copies of photos, which are a great idea – it saves space in your case, which will be amply filled with all your other shopping – and means you can download photos later after seeing what photos you’ve captured for yourself!
Sally Whittle blogs about family life and travel over at Who’s the Mummy.
