For me, Orlando is the ultimate kids fantasy. So many different theme parks to keep my inner child amused for days. So, let’s have a look at how to get the most out of your stay, and enjoy the theme parks of Orlando.
We first visited Disneyland in 1999 with our kids. For the most part since then, every holiday had to have a Disney component attached to it. We were Disney tragics.
We have Disney cups, hats, T-shirts, towels and all sorts of other merchandise. It’s fair to say that Mickey has made some money out of us.
Then in 2005 we went to Orlando. We suddenly discovered that there’s a lot more world out there. That parks don’t have to have just one theme.
We expanded out to see Universal Studios, Sea World and the Kennedy Space Centre. And then we found that Disney had expanded as well. With not 1 park, but 4 parks. Plus, water parks. We were overwhelmed.
Getting Around
Generally speaking, in America, the car is king. And Orlando is certainly aligned with that philosophy. However, there are some quirks here that make hiring a car less attractive as a whole of holiday approach.
For starters, most of the theme parks are contained within a fairly small footprint. If you select your holiday accommodation well, many of them include free transport to and from the theme parks.
Obviously, you are a bit restricted with the times that they run. However, the scheduled timings work out well for you to get the most out of the parks.
So, while you may lack a little flexibility, you will save a lot of money in the long run.
Kennedy Space Centre however, is well removed from the other parks. So it is worth planning your trip to account for this, and just hire a car for the 2-3 days that you need it.
The hotels in America cater well for cars, so getting parking at your hotel will never be a problem.
With each of the theme parks, I have highlighted the title in blue, and this will be a link to take you to the parks official website.
So, let’s have a look at the theme parks in a bit more detail.
Disney
Disney couldn’t control itself here, they just went all out and built a series of parks. Walt Disney built Disneyland as a test. To see if the concept was even feasible. When it opened in 1955, it was immediately successful, and plans were started for the behemoth that would become Disney world.
Magic Kingdom
As Disneyland had been so successful, it would have been madness to not include it at the new site. If you’ve already been to Disneyland, then the Magic Kingdom won’t be foreign to you.
Magic Kingdom retains the same general layout, including the hub in the middle, with the various lands radiating away from it.
You’ll find Adventure land, Tomorrow land, Fantasy land, Frontier land. But you also get Toon town as a bonus.
It’s not a carbon copy of Disneyland, but it’s close enough for you to quickly get your bearings.
EPCOT
The Experimental Prototype City Of Tomorrow, or more commonly known as Epcot, is an exciting place to visit. And, it’s very difficult to see it all properly in a couple of days.
There are 2 basic sides to EPCOT. There’s the EPCOT component which has a few different lands, and then there’s the world showcase, which is a vastly different experience.
The EPCOT side of the park focuses on science and technology. This is largely achieved through rides. You can ride the mission to Mars. You can travel through the world of the dinosaurs. Take the test track to try out the latest in vehicle technology. Or, enjoy a leisurely boat ride to discover what’s new in the world of agriculture.
The World Showcase is set around a large circular lake. As you move around the lake you will pass through different lands.
You can move through China, Japan, Norway, France and England to name a few.
In each case the buildings and sets have been designed to look like authentic examples of that country’s architecture. You can also sample the food and drink of that culture.
There is normally some educational component as well to teach you more about country and it’s people.
Naturally, the team members are dressed in culturally appropriate dress, and in many cases, also speak the language as well.
Animal Kingdom
Located somewhere between a zoo and a theme park. In many ways this is just building upon Walt Disney’s original vision for the Jungle Cruise.
He had intended to have live animals in the attraction, but logistically, that had been too difficult to achieve, given the short time period that they had to develop it.
At Animal Kingdom the African Safari realizes that dream. The animals are live, and the setting appears to be as natural as possible.
The very clever design means that, although there appear to be no fences keeping the animals apart. They are in fact separated by barriers that are out of site to the visitor.
As with any Disney Park, there are plenty of rides to keep you amused as well. The dinosaur ride certainly kept us wide eyed and engaged.
Movie Studios
Come and see how the magic is made. Get a behind the scenes look at your favourite movies.
You can spend time with an animator and see how the characters are developed and brought to life.
Enjoy an interactive experience with characters. Or scare yourself silly on the Tower Of Terror.
Definitely, go and see the live stunt spectacular, Lights, Cameras, Action. This is a vehicle stunt show that demonstrates how the most spectacular car chase scenes are filmed. You may even end up in the final movie.
Sea World
Sea World is a bit of a contentious issue. Questions have been raised around animal welfare, and I’m sure that any time an animal is kept in captivity, there is bound to be grey areas regarding what’s good for the animal versus what brings in the public.
Whilst I certainly acknowledge that more could be done to give the animals more room to live. I am also very grateful to be able to see, and get close to animals that I would never have access to in the wild.
I’d like to think that what I’ve learned from Sea World, makes me a more responsible citizen regarding safeguarding our environment.
Universal Studios
Universal Studios is broken up into 2 parks here in Florida. And depending upon your point of view they are either frustrating or very clever marketing.
If your kids are all about Harry Potter, then you will need to visit both parks. Rather than putting 1 theme in 1 park, they have spread it out across both. This is clever marketing to get you to spend twice as much. And no doubt the argument will be that there is so much in here that we couldn’t fit it into just one park. Touché.
Universal Studios Florida
So, as I mentioned there is a whole lot of Harry Potter related stuff here. As well as The Mummy, E.T. adventure, Fast and Furious, Men in Black and Shrek 4D. Plus a whole lot more.
Islands of Adventure
Obviously, more Harry Potter. Jurassic Park, Amazing Spiderman, Tube and flume rides.
Now it used to be that you could buy a 2 park 2-day pass which was slightly cheaper than buying 2, 1 day passes.
Now the cheapest option seems to be to just buy one day at a time. You can buy a single day pass which covers both parks, but to be honest, you can’t do justice to either park in half a day.
The cost of these tickets is about 50% higher than a standard day ticket. Just but a day ticket and do one park. Then come back the next day and get a ticket for the other park. You’ll get more value that way.
Kennedy Space Centre
I think I was about 6 years old, when I discovered a children’s book at my school which showed space travel. It described how astronauts lived and worked in space. And traveled to the moon as well.
This was probably around the time of the last manned Apollo flight to the moon, and I was absolutely captivated. Since that time, I have happily described myself as an armchair astronaut.
I love every aspect of space travel. Except of course, the prohibitively long hours of study and training needed to become an actual astronaut. Hats off to the fine men and women who have achieved their dreams of traveling in space.
For those of us not quite so gifted. We go to Kennedy Space Centre.
Apollo Saturn Centre
The Apollo Saturn centre is the absolute pinnacle for me. Stand in the theater and be immersed in the sights and sounds of the space race up to the point of Apollo 8. This was the first flight of the mighty Apollo Saturn rocket.
Then step into the actual control room that was used for the launch of Apollo 8. Watch the control panels come to life. Listen to the recordings of the activity that took place in the room. And feel the room tremble as the rocket launches successfully.
The doors open and you step outside to see an actual Apollo Saturn rocket. It is huge. Nope. That’s not big enough. Immense. Probably still not quite there. Anyway, the point is, when you step underneath it, you’ll run out of words to describe it.
From memory it is about 363 feet long. 20 feet at the end is for people and technical bits. The rest is a controlled explosion waiting to happen.
We spent hours in here. And this is just one part of the Kennedy Space Centre. You can sit yourself in the cockpit of a Mercury, Gemini and Apollo capsule. This quickly tells you that at 6 feet 3 inches tall, early space travel probably wasn’t going to work out for me.
There’s an Imax theater which has some excellent showings, and all the memorabilia that you’d expect to find here.
Have a walk through the space shuttle Enterprise, to see how our astronauts lived and worked into the 21st century.
Hall Of Fame
Whereas the main site of Kennedy Space Centre focusses upon space travel and technology. The Hall of Fame looks more at the human side of the equation.
Learn the stories of the men and women who ventured into space, and see how space travel has evolved, to become more accommodating for extended journeys into space.
Final Thoughts
This really is a hint at what is available in Orlando. The last time we were here we spent three weeks and felt like we barely scratched the surface. If the time of year is right, you can also enjoy the many water parks as well.
If you’d like to know more about the area, or travel in general. Check out these posts which may help you out.
How to find budget hotels near Disney World
How to pack for overseas travel
Cheers and happy travels.