How to Plan an Orlando Itinerary

Planning an Orlando itinerary is incredibly overwhelming because there is so much to see and do. As a frequent visitor I have planned many Orlando trip itineraries and in this post I am going to share how to plan it and what we did during our Orlando vacation.

We love visiting Orlando. You may want to mix it up with theme park and beach days, but we are really there for the theme parks. If theme parks are your thing you are in the right place.

The most difficult part about planning an Orlando itinerary is decided what parks to visit and which ones you may have to skip. Below I share what we did on this itinerary but you can mix and match theme park days any way you would like.

Orlando Itinerary (Overview)

For this trip to Orlando we did a mix of theme park days with pool days at the resort. Our itinerary looked like this:

• Day 1: Travel to Orlando, Drive to LEGOLAND FL
• Day 2: LEGOLAND Florida, Drove back to Orlando, Check-In to Lake Buena Vista Resort
• Day 3: Universal Studios Florida
• Day 4: Early Check-Out, Check-In Cabana Bay Beach Resort, Islands of Adventure
• Day 5: Universal Studios Florida
• Day 6: Islands of Adventure
• Day 7: Travel Home

Budgeting for Your Orlando Trip

Just like any family vacation, budgeting for an Orlando vacation can be vastly different. There are ways to save and ways to splurge. My best advice, and what I do, is plan big. Research and compare all of your options and then start pulling back.

You never know what deals you may find on accommodations or tickets. Doing a bit of work searching the theme park sites for deals and comparing will save you in the long run.

Where to Stay

This is one of the most fun parts of planning an Orlando vacation!! There are so many options for Orlando accommodations for families. Ranging from budget friendly to super luxury, there is something for everyone.

When we are visiting the theme parks we almost always stay at an on-site property. It saves us time parking, driving around Orlando, and offers guests perks. If you are only doing one day at a park and want more resort time you may want to look into renting a house.

Orlando Theme Parks

There are a lot of theme parks in Orlando and you will not be able to visit them in one week. They are Walt Disney World (4 theme parks, 2 water parks), Universal Orlando Resort (3 theme parks, 1 water park), SeaWorld, and LEGOLAND Florida (Peppa Pig Theme Park, LEGOLAND Water Park, SeaLife Aquarium).

With so much to choose from you need to decide what theme park destinations work best for your family.

Should you do Disney World and Universal Orlando in one vacation

The most popular question people ask me is ” Should we do Disney World and Universal during the same vacation?” My answer is…it depends.

If you are visiting for the first time to either of the parks, I suggest you allow a week to fully enjoy one destination. Disney World and Universal offer enough activities for their guests to spend a week exploring.

If you have visited before or only want to visit specific parks you may be able to do both. The biggest issue with this approach is cost. Disney and Universal ticket options both work on a “more days you buy, less you pay per day” type of ticket.

Recently we did a Disney World and Universal Orlando split stay and it worked out well but I would not recommend it if this is your first visit with limited time or you are on a budget.

Orlando Itinerary- Recap

Our Orlando itinerary included 3 different hotel stays, hanging out at 3 different pools and visiting 3 theme parks. It was busy, but that is how we like to vacation.

We started the trip with finding a great flight deal. We flew roundtrip for the 5 of us for under $800. After the flight was booked, I started planning our Orlando getaway.

To get the best deal on flights, be flexible with your arrival/departure cities and dates. We live in Rochester but ended up flying out of Buffalo. We also flew into Fort Lauderdale and out of Orlando.

It may seem like extra work to research, but it saved us so much money.

Day 1: Arrival & LEGOLAND Hotel

We had an early flight into Fort Lauderdale and had our rental car by 10:00am. We stopped at a friends house for brunch before making our way to Winter Haven, FL.

Winter Haven is home to LEGOLAND Florida Resort. My kids love LEGOLAND and we had reservations at the LEGOLAND Hotel in the Knight Room.

The drive from Fort Lauderdale to Winter Haven was about 3 hours but it was worth the extra driving for the money saved on flight. We had an early morning so the kids used the drive to take a nap.

We checked into the LEGOLAND Hotel around 4:00pm. Our room was ready and I made reservations for an evening Master Builder class as well as our breakfast at BRICKS in the morning.

We were disappointed to learn that the Master Builder class was full except for 2 spots at the last class. We reserved the spots and hoped they could fit all three of the kids.

After checking in we ordered a pizza from Hungry Howie’s down the street and got ready to enjoy some pool time. Last time we visited we didn’t have a chance to enjoy the pool. This year the kids loved it.

There are floating bricks to play with and the pool is heated!! That is a bonus for me. I’m not a big pool person and the air was cold in the evening, but the pool was lovely. It was a great way to wind down after a long day and we were in bed by 8:30pm for an early morning at the park.

Day 2: LEGOLAND Florida

Our breakfast at Bricks was between 7:30am-8:00am. If you’ve read my blog, you know that I like to get my theme park days started early.

My biggest reason is to avoid lines and enjoy the parks when it is quiet and has less crowds. By doing this we are often the first to ride on our favorite attractions.

We ate breakfast, checked-out of our hotel room, packed the car and arrived in line for park open around 9:15am. LEGOLAND is a great park for the 5-12 year old crowd. I would say 6-8 years old is the sweet spot.

My daughter is 9 and she was looking for more thrills. Project X, a roller coaster, was under refurbishment so we were unable to ride it. We still really enjoyed our day.

For our full day and all my tips check out Your First Visit to LEGOLAND Florida. We finished our day at LEGOLAND around 4:00pm and got on the road towards Orlando for our next hotel.

We drove from Winter Haven to Orlando in about an hour. The traffic on I-4 can be a challenge but it was moving along pretty nice. I-4 has exits to the Disney and Universal theme parks.

For our next stop we were staying at Lake Buena Vista Village Resort & Spa. These condos are great if you are looking for a little bit of space for your stay.

I checked us in and we were ready to explore our room. At this point the kids had fallen asleep so they were a little tired but once they got moving again they were ready to go!

Our room was a 2-bedroom suite. It had a full kitchen, 2 bathrooms, and a washer/dryer in the unit. It was nice to stretch out and enjoy the space. As a family of 5, hotels are often a tight fit but this room was great! Read my full review of Lake Buena Vista Village Resort & Spa.

After a long day at LEGOLAND we were ready to relax. We ordered food from Frankie Farrell’s Pub. This is an Irish pub and is on-site at the resort. The suite had a dining table and we enjoyed our dinner in  our room. Then it was time to unpack and off to bed for an early morning at Universal Studios.

Day 3: Universal Studios & Pool Time

We left our resort for the 20 minute drive to Universal Studios. If you are visiting Universal Orlando you park in one central parking lot and walk to the entrance to the park.

We were spending the day at Universal Studios and entered CityWalk and took the path to the right. We arrived very early because we needed to pick up our theme park passes.

This took much less time than I anticipated and we were first at the gate. Park opening was at 9:00am and it was 8:15am.

This part is always difficult for kids. They are so excited and it is hard to sit and wait. I always try to pack snacks and make it fun but it is usually a little crazy. The best you can do as a parent is try to distract them as long as possible.

Usually a Universal team member will engage with the kids and ask them where they are from. Anything to pass the time is welcomed. I always arrive early despite this because the entire day is better. In my opinion a short hour of annoyance is better than spending the day waiting in long lines.

Arriving early allowed us to ride everything before we left the park around 2:00 to have some pool time. We knew we wanted to spend some time relaxing on our third day.

Also Lake Buena Vista has an awesome pirate themed pool area that we didn’t want to miss. We left Universal ready for the pool and did another pizza night in the room.

This was our last evening at Lake Buena Vista Resort and we wanted to make it count. The pool was great and I also took the relaxing evening to get our laundry done.

I know doing laundry on vacation is not very relaxing but the convenience is great. It was nice to pack our bags for our next resort and have everything clean and ready for the last few days of our vacation.

Day 4: Check-In to Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort

We had an early check-out and then checked in early to the Cabana Bay Beach Resort. We wanted to take advantage of on-site perks at Universal Orlando and the early check-in allowed us to use them.

Be sure to give yourself time to check-in. Even at 7:30am there was a line at the check-in desk. At check-in we were given keys to use for early admission and parked our car. At Cabana Bay you take the 5 minute bus ride to Universal Orlando. Overall this was about a 30 minute process.

The buses were a pleasant surprise because I really had no idea what to expect. I was very happy with the amount of buses and the timing. The longest we ever waited was about 10 minutes and that was once.

Typically it was under 5 minutes or a bus was there when we arrived. I would recommend the buses as a great way to get around Universal Orlando.

We arrived at Islands of Adventure ready to experience The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The Universal Team Members do check to see if you have a hotel key as you are making your way through the park.

After Harry Potter we enjoyed the rest of the park. We loved all the characters at Universal. We received a text that our resort room was ready, so we left Islands of Adventure to get settled and ready for dinner. Universal has a walking path from CityWalk to Cabana Bay. It is about a 15-30 minute walk.

Our room number was texted to us and because we had our hotel key we walked to our room. Cabana Bay Beach Resort is retro themed and it is awesome. I really enjoyed this resort and hope to stay again during our next visit.

A huge perk for us is the rooms fit 6 and it is budget friendly. There are two beds and a pull out couch. My son even got creative and put two chairs together to make his own bed!!

After settling into the room we got ready to go to our dinner. We had made reservations to dine at Toothsome Chocolate Emporium and Savory Feast Kitchen. They have amazing milkshakes and so many dining options.

We really enjoyed the meal and the ambiance. If you are thinking of visiting, we all loved it. Keep in mind this will take a couple hours out of your time at the theme parks, skip it if you want a quicker meal.

After dinner we headed over to Universal Studios for the Mardi Gras parade. This is a seasonal event that has beads and parade floats. We have lots of beads and the kids thought it was so fun!

We also rode a few rides after the parade when crowds were low. If you want to do this plan be sure to purchase a park to park ticket to visit both parks in one day.

Day 5: Universal Studios… Again

This was our last day at Universal Studios and we wanted to hit all our favorites. We started early, went back to Cabana Bay Resort in the afternoon for some pool time and then went back to the park. We had a chance to ride our favorites a few more times and enjoyed a few attractions we missed on our first visit.

We also took advantage of the pool at Cabana Bay Beach. They have a water slide that my kids loved and we could have stayed all day. I have to admit for dinner we did another day of pizza in the room.

This might sound crazy but as a larger family it makes more sense to save on food. We try to do quick and easy meals where we can and splurge on other things like park tickets.

For the evening we returned to Universal Studios but used the parade time to ride our favorite attractions. Of course this meant Gringotts at Diagon Alley. We rode it 2 times with only a 5-10 minute wait. During our visit this ride had wait times up to 120 minutes so it was awesome to be able to ride so quickly!

Day 6: Islands of Adventure

Islands of Adventure was our last park of the vacation. I love both parks but this park has Seuss Landing which makes me smile every time I visit.

We arrived for early admission again and you want to do this to be get on a few rides before park officially opens.

After a busy week the kids were ready to relax, so we left the park and enjoyed hotel time and pool time. It was a nice way to wrap up our vacation. Thankfully we were all so tired that we didn’t mind going to bed super early to compensate that it was daylight saving time and we had to catch a 6:00am flight.

Day 7: Travel Home

We were up at 3:00am and off to catch our early flight. It was a quiet drive and we were all exhausted but we had an incredible time enjoying Orlando. As always I was already planning our next visit and am counting down the days until we visit again.

Final Thoughts

For this Orlando trip we spent most of our time at Universal Orlando with a little time at LEGOLAND. You may want to do more or less depending on the age of your kids and what your interests are.

We have done this itinerary numerous times and as my kids have gotten older we have swapped LEGOLAND for SeaWorld. SeaWorld has some great roller coasters if you are looking for thrills.

We didn’t do Disney World for this trip or Epic Universe (it was not open yet). I suggest planning a full week for each destination if you plan to do all the parks.

If I was doing all 4 Disney World parks I would do a week stay at Disney. If I was doing all 3 Universal parks I would do a week stay at Universal. It makes sense from a logistical and budgeting stand point. If you have more time then you may want to do a split stay and stay half your time at Disney and half at Universal.

My biggest tip is to pick the activities that fit your family and budget, then enjoy your family time and one of the best family destinations in the US!

Don’t expect to see and do everything. We have visited every year and there are still things that we have never done, and new activities added all the time.

Don’t do something because everyone else loves it. Plan your vacation with your family in mind. If a week at the theme parks is too much, plan more time by the pool.

If you are planning a full week at Disney World check out my all things Disney blog: My Pixie Dust Trip. Planning a Universal Trip? Check out my all things Universal blog: My Universal Trip. These are dedicated to planning your trip and I share lots of guides, tips, and itineraries specific to the parks.

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