The Theme Park Minimalist’s Family-Friendly Guide to Orlando
How to get the most out of Florida’s famous theme parks — and everything families should check out beyond the park walls
Orlando, the theme park capital of the world, is a huge destination for families, attracting tens of millions of visitors to Disney World and Universal Orlando every year. But with all there is to do here, it's easy to get lost in the logistics and hard to make the most of your time. The city’s theme parks are massive and complex, so it pays to know the ins and outs of the best experiences — especially if you don’t want to spend your entire vacation within the parks.
Orlando’s done its share of growing and growing up, and these days, there’s far more to entertain vacationers beyond princess-loving kids and wand-wielding wizards. The city is brimming with natural beauty (cypress-lined lakes and freshwater springs bubbling up in a parfait of emerald and turquoise), cool neighborhoods, and cultural highlights. Just venture north to enjoy the atmospheric Orlando neighborhoods where the non-animatronic residents live, work, and play.
After a perfect weekend, you may find Orlando’s biggest surprises are all the layers you never suspected it had in store — and how easy it is to balance time at Disney or Universal with everything the city has to offer.
Who I am: I’ve called Florida home for more than half of my life, having crossed the state and back to live in the Jacksonville beaches, Cocoa Beach, downtown Orlando and, for the last decade or so, Tampa. During my time in Orlando, a favorite after-work pastime was wakeboarding on one of its hundred-plus natural lakes. Since then, I’ve written extensively about Florida and Orlando, from articles to guidebooks, during my 25-year career as a travel writer.
Before you go
How to get around: If you plan to venture beyond the theme parks to proper parks in Central Florida’s natural landscape and downtown’s neighborhoods, you’ll want to rent a car — get one at the airport for better selection and more competitive pricing. Public transport exists, but you’ll spend more time figuring it out (and waiting for it) when you could be out enjoying yourself.
That said, don’t sleep on SunRail, Central Florida’s mass transit commuter rail service. When staying downtown, it’s a stellar way to hop between Church Street and the cafe- and boutique-lined Park Avenue in Winter Park.
Book early: Character dining events at Walt Disney World Resort fill up quicker than Tinkerbell gets her glow on. Especially if you plan to visit over a holiday or any other peak period, set a reminder 60 days before the day you plan to be at the park to secure your reservations (that’s the furthest in advance you’re allowed to book).
Know the seasons: Needless to say, it’s the Sunshine State, and no matter the time of year, you’re going to want to pack all the sunscreen, hats, rashguards, and coverups for any outdoor fun. Staying hydrated is also key to not becoming another heat stroke victim. Keep in mind that the summer months bring regular afternoon downpours that can be intense, if short lived (pack a poncho if you want to keep going through the rain). Hurricane season runs from June 1 through the end of November — even though Orlando is inland, it’s seen major effects from more than one storm in the past.
Where to stay
Two Days of Family-Friendly Fun in Orlando
Day 1: Park hopping at Disney, fireworks after dark, and plenty of sugar
Morning
- You could spend hours before your trip figuring out how to squeeze in all the rides you don’t want to miss. But I suggest a “one day and done” approach at Disney — by doing it right. Go all in with a fully guided Disney Private VIP Tour and you’ll get backstage access to the park in an air-conditioned SUV and super-quick access to all the rides.
- Spring into full Disney mode with an early reservation at 1900 Park Fare at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. One of the newest character breakfasts, it stars Tiana, fresh from her new Magic Kingdom ride (Tiana’s Bayou Adventure), and Mirabel Madrigal from Encanto, among other favorites.
Midday
- The Magic Kingdom is a great place to start your Disney tour de force, and thrill seekers should target Tomorrowland for TRON Lightcycle/Run. The ride, opened in 2023, seats visitors as if they’re on motorcycles for high-speed (59 mph) thrills.
- Your VIP guide makes it easy to hit more than one park in a day, so hop in the SUV to drive over to Epcot, where the must-hit ride is Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, with its backwards launch, smooth turns, and catchy tunes.
- Give everyone some downtime with a late lunch at Epcot’s Coral Reef Restaurant, where you might feast on coconut fried shrimp and key lime pie while watching some of the 2,000 creatures swimming in a 6-million gallon aquarium (look for the sea turtle named Tolstoy, said to be the oldest in captivity at 102 years old).
Evening
- Knock out a few more rides at your choice of park then make dinner out of dessert at Tomorrowland Terrace Restaurant during the Magic Kingdom Fireworks Dessert Parties: Pre-Party — a lavish spread of mini tres leches cakes, butterscotch pudding, caramel apple crepes, and more.
- The dessert bash gets you access to a cordoned-off nearby lawn to watch the nightly Happily Ever After Fireworks Extravaganza, with scenes from Moana and The Little Mermaid lighting up Cinderella Castle as explosions light up the sky.
Day 2: Hogwarts, and the Muggle world
Morning
- Arrive early at Universal Orlando and tuck into a traditional English breakfast — complete with baked beans, grilled tomato, and black pudding — at the Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley (there are pancakes and the like for the kids).
- Make your way to Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts and effectively dodge the wrath of Voldemort before hitting up Ollivanders, where you can marvel at packed shelves of wands embellished with “unicorn hair” and “phoenix feathers” (not to mention fully costumed park-goers of all ages, with serious faces, browsing said wands).
- Catch the Hogwarts Express to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter to ride the family-friendly Flight of the Hippogriff roller coaster before treating the kids to the obligatory Butterbeer from Three Broomsticks. Then it’s time to bid the parks adieu.
Afternoon
- The Mills 50 District, one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods, has been a hub for the Vietnamese American community since the late 1970s. Stop for lunch at Z Asian, helmed by Vietnamese American chef Huong Nguyen, and order the bánh xèo — fried crepe with shrimp, pork, and fish sauce.
- Downtown Orlando, right nearby, is a mashup of new high-rise condos and cozy neighborhoods, like Thornton Park, where Craftsman-style bungalows hug brick-lined streets. At the heart of it all is Lake Eola Park, where it’s kitsch and totally fun to rent an oversized pedal boat in the shape of a giant white swan for a self-powered cruise around the lake.
Evening
- Make the kids smile with a train ride on the SunRail, which connects downtown Orlando to the Craftsman-style Winter Park Station in the pleasant neighboring burg of Winter Park, home to a small liberal arts university, Rollins College, and lakefront mansions.
- Winter Park’s main drag, Park Avenue, is lined with lively cafes and an eclectic collection of boutiques selling things like bespoke stationeries at Rifle Paper Co. and Florida nature books at the indie Writer’s Block Bookstore.
- For delicious Turkish food as tasty as anything you’d get in Istanbul, Bosphorus offers delicious doner kebabs and hummus. Passersby’s eyes open wide at the enormous domed lavash bread that arrives at tables piping hot from the oven and served alongside copious dips.
If you have three days
All of the above, but add…
- Drive 15 miles north of downtown Orlando to Wekiwa Springs State Park, where emerald-hued, spring-fed waters conjure the Gran Cenote near Tulum, Mexico. Swimmers enjoy the watering hole surrounded by dense tropical forest, and the refreshing water — a constant 72 degrees year round — effervesces up from the aquifer at a rate of 42 million gallons a day.
- Make time for a market. Downtown Orlando’s best weekend market, the Orlando Farmers Market, held every Sunday at Lake Eola Park, has more than 20 vendors selling fresh produce, crafts, and more. In Winter Park, the Saturday Farmers Market brims with plants and delicious baked goods for sale.
- Visit the Lake Nona neighborhood, which features a 50,000-square-foot outdoor sculpture garden for the kids to explore and a wakeboard cable park.
If you have four days
All of the above, but add…
- Take in a show at the 2,700-seat Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, the city’s main stage, which regularly welcomes touring Broadway and Disney shows. Onsite, Judson’s Live is a more intimate (150-seat) jazz venue.
- Near downtown, the 45-acre, lake-dotted Loch Haven Cultural Park has several entertaining museums kids love, including the Orlando Fire Museum, inside an original 1920s-era red-brick firehouse, and the interactive Orlando Science Center. At Orlando Family Stage, classic children’s stories and innovative theatrical productions are brought to life.