Disney orlando vacation question

amother

Lemon

Sun, Jan 13 2019, 10:04 am

I will be taking my kids to orlando for a few days during mid winter vacation, a few questions for the experienced...
1. I keep reading about fast pass that can be booked 30 days in advance, can people suggest which rides are good ones to book for?
2. I plan on doing magic kingdom 1 day, looking for something else for another day, deciding between legoland and seaworld but open to more ideas
my kids are 5-15 and a baby for who it will make no difference
3. any other tips that I should know about when going?
thank you in advance

flowerpower

Sun, Jan 13 2019, 10:21 am

Download the MyDisney app. You can order fastpasses if you have your tickets already.
Pooh is a cute ride. Splash mountain and thunder mountain are also good ones to book. 7 drawf mine is probably booked. Also a great ride.

UQT

Sun, Jan 13 2019, 9:03 pm

Epoct is really nice, you may save money if you get a two day Disney pass - the kids would like it. I agree leogland is not for the older kids.
If you go to SeaWorld do some research before hand on what to go on. I went without looking into it and we wandered around with no idea what to do and where to go. After I read up on it and saw we missed some really good attractions.

amother

Pewter

Mon, Jan 14 2019, 12:25 am

We have been to Orlando in the summer for the past few years
My experience:
1. The my Disney app is so helpful. We were able to see wait times , book fast pass etc. as also mentioned, I watched YouTube videos and researched online which rides and how to structure my day..
2. Abt 10 years ago we went to sea world and loved it. Two summers ago we took our kids and it was such a bummer. They took out all the fun stuff and it felt more like a trip to the aquarium. Not worth it. Last summer we did Epcot. Was awesome. Kids ages 4-11 and everyone loved it. This summer I hope to do universal. Also supposed to be great. Depends on your kids interests. Really read up online on the main attractions for each park are and see what fits your kids best.
3. If you do a Disney park, many ppl don’t know this but up to 48 hours before, you can order kosher meals to be served at any sit down restaurant. Although you pay what a non kosher meal in that restaurant costs, you get the experience of that restaurant. ( Dint choose a pricey one because your not getting any better food...) to my kids surprisingly enough, this was a huge highlight- to sit in the themed restaurant and eat a normal meal!!! You have to call Disney dining to arrange.

amother

Ginger

Mon, Jan 14 2019, 2:03 am

Lego land is up to age 11. My oldest was 8 and it was okay. We got a coupon for half price tickets and I remember saying that Lego land isn’t worth a penny more. There is a lot of walking to do and very few rides.

Also don’t go to sea world we just went and my kids came home so bored. They shortened all the shows to about seven minutes where they used to be 20 minutes to half an hour plus the whole kiddy area is closed due to renovations so there is really nothing to do there right now.

I would recommend doing more days in Disney world or universal studios. If your kids love Harry Potter they will love universal.

Also Epcot and animal kingdom is amazing do one of those parks.

Any other questions you can ask me I have been taking my kids twice a year to Orlando so we know all the parks.

amother

Lemon

Mon, Jan 14 2019, 4:22 pm

thank you everyone for your replies,

I've bought the magic kingdom tickets and tentatively set up fast passes
as you've predicted seven dwarf mine has none left but I've read if we get to the park at opening and go here first, the line shouldn't be so bad,

the next day we fly out 9 pm that night,
so I won't have a full day, which is why I was leaning more towards sea world than another day at disney at epcot let's say

there's no discounts for a 2 day pass, and we'd have to leave by 6ish to eat supper, get to the airport, return rental car, etc...

amother

Ginger

Tue, Jan 15 2019, 2:23 am

If you only have a half of a day then do something like fun spot. The kids love Its it’s just an outdoor amusement park for a lot cheaper.

Another option is gator land or wonder works for not such heavy days.

amother

Lemon

Tue, Jan 15 2019, 8:14 am

so some help planning my days then,

day #1, landing around 9, till I get rental car, etc.. figured I could do something from like 12-5, was thinking of disney springs, and then bbq for supper at hotel, does that make sense? or should I rather look into the fun spot you mentioned, is that appropriate for a 15 yr. old who likes wild rides?

day 2 is a full day so going to magic kingdom

day 3 is a pretty full day, let's say 10 to 6 - that's the day I was thinking seaworld, from their website it looks like my little ones would love all those animal encounters and there are some good roller coasters for the big ones,
is it worth it to rather spend the $ and go to epcot, will that be enough time? I was there once with my husband and I remember leaving early , cuz it was raining and just miserable to be walking around, but I don't remember too many kiddie things...

really appreciate all this help,
we never go on family vacations, so while I don't want it to be stressful that we must run like crazy, I do want to prepared that we know what we're doing so we don't waste time on that...

amother

Ginger

Tue, Jan 15 2019, 8:35 am

Epcot or animal kingdom is a lot of fun for big and little kids. The last two times we went to animal kingdom was in a Friday and my kdis felt bad we left early but they still had a great time.

Fun spot is fun for bigger kids also check out their website they have two locations.

Sea world a lot of the animals are put away throughout the day so your child might not get to see the animal the website looks better than it is.

If you want animal interaction take your kids to the zoo.

About half of a day it’s all about how much money you want to spend because Epcot is still a lot of fun if you start your day early but the question is how much money do you want to spend.

Also universal studios and island of adventure is a lot of fun for kids and it closes at seven.

Another thing is if you are pressed for time Lego land is an hour from Orlando so that fr sure doesn’t make sense for you to go there

etr

Tue, Jan 15 2019, 9:38 am

I think your plan is good. I like SeaWorld - there are 3 roller coasters and 2 water rides for your big kids and the shows are very good for all ages. I just want to remind you that after Magic Kingdom, asssuming you stay till closing, you are going to be very tired so I don't think you need to do Epcot. You're going to want a slightly relaxed day and SeaWorld will do that for you.

In terms of Disney Springs vs Fun Spot, both are great options - it's more about if you want Disney atmosphere or you want to give your older kids rides, especially because Magic Kingdom rides are on the tamer side. That's a personal decision for you.

Also, the Winn Dixie right out of Disney Springs has all your BBQ ingredients so you don't need to bring if you don't want to - hot dogs, meat, chicken, etc

amother

Dodgerblue

Tue, Jan 15 2019, 11:05 am

We did seaworld 4 summers ago with same age range kids and loved it. Also loved Lego land but I agree it’s better for the younger ones. 15 yr old will be bored, and it’s far from Orlando. Also for fast pass I tracked which attractions had the longest lines for a few days and booked the fast pass on those. We wanted to try and do as much as possible there so we booked the hardest to wait for attractions. Also once you get online at the Third fast pass on your list you can book another every time you use the last one. So be sure to book on the app as soon as you scan it, this eliminated almost any waiting in line for us. Enjoy!! It’s so much fun.

amother

Ginger

Tue, Jan 15 2019, 2:02 pm

Sea world changed in the past four years. I also went four years ago and my kids loved it. Now I just went and half the park is closed for renovations they are reopening up in the spring of 2019 plus they cut the show times down to seven minutes instead of it being between twenty and thirty minutes long. So until they open up the new park it’s a waste of money going. Unless you are inly going with big kids and want to do the roller coaster bec there is nothing for little kids to do there plus the dolphin cove was also closed for renovations they might be opened again.

amother

Lemon

Tue, Jan 15 2019, 6:24 pm

I really appreciate all the advice from the experts

so I'm leaning towards doing another disney park on the 3rd day, and go from like 10 to 6ish,
I'm hearing seaworld is not worth it and it's almost as expensive as disney, and I looked into funspot, it only opens at 2,
for children 5 and 15 what's a better option - animal kingdom or epcot?

thank you again for all the help!

amother

Pewter

Tue, Jan 15 2019, 6:51 pm

amother wrote:

We did Epcot this summer. My kids loved it - the future world part is so educational and the world showcase is fun to show them. However it’s a calm tame park. No major rides. You mentioned your older ones like wild rides so just look through the attractions to make sure they’d be happy.

flowerpower

Tue, Jan 15 2019, 8:10 pm

ra_mom wrote:

OU. You need to call 24 hours in advance to reserve. It's airline style meals.

We never reserved beforehand and never hand an issue. There’s one restaurant in each park that carries kosher airline meals.