If we asked you to think of a holiday in Orlando, Florida you would probably conjure up images of families having fun at the theme parks, you might be surprised to learn that 70% of visitors to this destination are adult only!
With 300 days of sunshine and average temperatures ranging from 18-28 °C, Orlando in Florida is a year round destination. Whilst the theme parks are a major draw for tourists, they also visit to enjoy the shopping, sports and gastronomy. A whopping 9 of the 20 top theme parks in the world can be found in Orlando, plus over another 100 attractions close by. There’s also over 2,000 lakes, 176 golf courses and 900 tennis courts for outdoor enthusiasts to enjoy.
Theme Parks
Walt Disney World® Resort including Magic Kingdom® Park, Epcot® , Disney’s Hollywood Studios®, Disney’s Animal Kingdom®, Disney’s Blizzard Beach®, Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon®, plus Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge due to open in October 2019.
Universal Orlando® Resort including Wizarding World of Harry Potter™, Universal Studios Florida™, Universal’s Islands of Adventure™ and Universal’s Volcano Bay™.
SeaWorld® Orlando including Aquatica, SeaWorld’s Waterpark™, Discovery Cove® and Busch Gardens.
LEGOLAND® Florida Resort including LEGOLAND® Water Park, plus LEGO® MOVIE™ WORLD due to open in spring 2019.
Stay On-Site
Universal Orlando Resort
Stay on-site at one of Universal’s hotels to be within walking distance of the parks and enjoy early admission. Water taxi and shuttle buses also provided. Choose from 2 value hotels, 2 preferred hotels and 2 premium hotels according to your budget and preference.
Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort, a retro styled hotel (guest rooms & family suites) with 2 swimming pools, winding river and bowling alley. Restaurants include American gastronomy at the Galaxy Bowl and Bayliner Diner.
Universal’s Aventura Hotel opening in August 2018, a modern and cool hotel (guest rooms & kids suite) including a splash pool and fire pit. Restaurants include a Food Hall and the rooftop Bar 17 Bistro.
Loews Sapphire Falls Resort, a Caribbean themed hotel with waterfalls (guest rooms & luxury suites) and a 16,000 ft2 pool including a sandy beach and water slide. Caribbean inspired cuisine at the Amatista Cookhouse and Despicable Me character breakfasts at Cayman Court.
Loews Royal Pacific Resort, a Polynesian tropical paradise themed hotel (guest rooms, club level rooms & suites) with a huge palm tree lined lagoon style pool including a white sand beach. Hawaiian & Polynesian inspired cuisine at the Islands Dining Room, dinner entertainment at Wantilan Luau and tropical dishes at the Orchid Court Lounge & Sushi Bar.
Hard Rock Hotel, a hotel where you’re treated like a rock star (guest rooms, club level rooms & suites), even the 12,000 ft2 pool has an underwater sound system, as well as a 260ft slide and beach club. American cuisine served at The Kitchen and The Palm restaurants.
Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, an Italian themed hotel (guest rooms, club level rooms & suites), where you can enjoy the romance found in the seaside village of Portofino. There are 3 pools at the Portofino! The Beach Pool is popular with families with a Roman aqueduct-themed water slide and sandy beach. The Villa Pool offers exclusivity with private Cabanas for rental, and the Hillside Pool offers peace and privacy. Restaurants include Mama Della’s Ristorante with Italian Cuisine, Bice Ristorante for fine dining and Trattoria del Porto for family friendly dining.
Universal’s Endless Summer Resort, coming soon! Surfside Inn and Suites in Summer 2019 (2 bed suites), and Dockside Inn and Suites in 2020. These brand new hotels will have the lowest rates within the Universal Orlando Resort.
Guests of ALL Universal Orlando On-site Hotels Enjoy:
Early Park Admission† to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™ and select attractions at Volcano Bay™ water theme park, one hour before the theme parks open (valid theme park admission required)
Complimentary water taxis or shuttle buses that take you directly to Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, Volcano Bay and CityWalk™
Resort-wide charging privileges with your room key card
Complimentary delivery of merchandise purchased throughout the resort to your hotel
Complimentary access* to select live entertainment venues at Universal CityWalk™ for the length of stay.
Universal Orlando character appearances with some of your favorite theme park characters
Start your day with a wake-up call from one of your favorite Universal Orlando characters
Golf Universal Orlando™ program offers an exclusive program for golfers that enables guests to take to the links during their stay. You can reserve a perfect tee time, arrange for complimentary transportation* to and from select courses and more.
Guests of Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, Hard Rock Hotel® and Loews Royal Pacific Resort enjoy:
FREE Universal Express Unlimited™ ride access^ to SKIP THE REGULAR LINES in Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure—a benefit worth up to $129 per person, per day (valid theme park admission required)
Priority seating at select restaurants throughout both theme parks and enjoy first available seating at select Universal Orlando and Universal CityWalk™ restaurants.
Walt Disney World Resort
Stay on-site at a Disney Resort hotel for extra magic hours, Disney FastPass, MagicBands and the Magical Express service from Orlando International airport. Disney have 5 value resorts, 5 moderate resorts, 8 deluxe resorts (Club Level Concierge) and 10 deluxe villa resorts.
Book free Disney Dining for free breakfasts at value resorts, free Disney Quick-Service Dining Plan at moderate resorts (min 5 night stay & park tickets required), free Disney Dining Plan at deluxe resorts and selected deluxe villa resorts. Currently available for new reservations made before 6 November 2018, for selected arrivals 1 January–30 November 2019, excluding Easter 8-25 April 2019.
Disney Value Resorts:
Disney’s Art of Animation Resort
Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort
Disney’s All-Star Music Resort
Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort
Disney’s Pop Century Resort
Disney Moderate resorts:
Disney’s Port Orleans Resort-French Quarter
Disney’s Port Orleans Resort-Riverside
Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground
Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort
Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
Disney’s Contemporary Resort Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
Disney’s Yacht Club Resort Disney’s Beach Club Resort
Disney’s BoardWalk Inn Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
Disney Deluxe Resorts:
Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge
Disney’s Contemporary Resort
Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
Disney’s Yacht Club Resort
Disney’s Beach Club Resort
Disney’s BoardWalk Inn
Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
Disney Deluxe Villa Resorts:
Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort
Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas
Disney’s Beach Club Villas
Disney’s BoardWalk Villas
Disney’s Old Key West Resort
Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows
Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
Disney Resort Hotel Guest Benefits Include:
Early Access to FastPass+ Planning Get access to reserve select shows and attractions up to 60 days before arrival.* Planning your favorite Walt Disney World Resort experiences early means more time for fun. When booking a Disney Resort hotel room, purchase and link theme park tickets and you’re good to go. Secure up to 3 FastPass+ experiences at one park per day of your visit in advance—at no additional charge.
Magic Hours Spend extra time at one of the theme parks each day—park ticket and Resort ID required. Additional hours at the parks each day provides more time for fun with family and friends at select attractions and entertainment experiences.
Complimentary MagicBands Access vacation choices selected with My Disney Experience—at no charge.
Resembling a wristband or bracelet, MagicBands are available in 7 different colours and can be customised with your name up to 10 days before arrival. Use your MagicBand to:
Unlock your Disney Resort hotel room
Enter theme parks and water parks (with valid admission)
Charge food and merchandise purchases*
Connect PhotoPass images to your account
Check in at FastPass+ attraction and entertainment lines**
Complimentary Transportation & Parking Disney’s Magical Express Service is a convenient service that transports you and your party between Orlando International Airport and your Disney Resort hotel via motor coach, including luggage delivery service—at no additional charge. Disney’s complimentary motor coach, ferryboat and monorail services are available to take you throughout Walt Disney World Resort. Guests staying at Disney Resort hotels enjoy complimentary standard parking at Disney Theme Parks, Disney Water Parks and Disney Springs Area.
Disney Dining Plans Book a Magic Your Way vacation package with a dining plan that fits your travel style and budget. Dining plans let you pre-pay for snacks, Quick-Service meals and Table Service restaurants throughout Walt Disney World Resort. Each of the Disney dining plans offers prepaid meals and snacks at over 100 locations so it’s easy to find a great place to eat at Walt Disney World Resort. Restaurant servers provide easy-to-read receipts that display your remaining meal balance, making it easy to keep track. Many Disney Table Service restaurants book quickly, and reservations are highly recommended. You can reserve dining up to 180 days in advance.
Transport
There are 2 international airports serving Orlando. The main influx of visitors arrive at Orlando International Airport (MCO) which is a 15 minute drive, the alternative is Orlando Sandford International Airport (SFB) which is smaller and 30-40 minute drive. Disney’s Magical Express collects guests from MCO airport.
Hire cars can be collected from either airport. Be aware of tolls on the Interstate 4, SR 528 Beachline Expressway, SR 408 East–West Expressway, SR 417 Central Florida GreeneWay and SR 429 Western Beltway. You can arrange a SunPass or E-PASS with your car hire company or have cash ready on arrival.
SunRail is Central Florida’s commuter rail line. Amtrak is the national railroad passenger line.
I-RIDE Trolley is a hop on, hop off service along International Drive with two routes. The Red Line starts at the north end of International Drive running every 20 minutes, the Green Line starts at the Major Boulevard area running every 30 minutes. It is possible to transfer from green / red or vice versa at a number of stops to change destination.
For trains, SunRail is Central Florida’s commuter rail line and Amtrak is the national railroad passenger line.
For buses, Lynx is the local service and Greyhound the intercity bus service.
Places to Visit
Winter Park is a boutique shopping district near Orlando. Full of historic charm, this city is a firm favourite for visiting due to the Saturday morning Farmer’s market, a stroll around Park Avenue’s cobbled streets, amazing pavement cafés, central park, scenic boat tour and the Winter Park Village shopping mall.
Disney Springs is packed full of things to do, including retail therapy at 150 shops ranging from boutique to fashion brands and home to the largest Disney character store in the world. There’s lots of casual dining restaurants, cinema and free parking!
Restaurant Row is the name given to the area on Sand Lake Road in the neighbourhood of Dr. Philips that has attracted some of the top eateries in Orlando. Definitely a place for foodies to check out the range of fine dining options available in this location.
Universal CityWalk is a shopping, entertainment and dining hub close to Universal Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida. It’s a great place to take time out in the day to get something to eat outside of the parks, or a cool place to hang out a night. Free parking after 6pm.
Outlet Shopping, choose from Orlando Vineland Premium Outlet, Orlando International Premium Outlets, Orlando Outlet Marketplace or Lake Buena Vista Factory Stores to buy famous brands at discount prices.
Other Attractions, there’s over 100 other attractions in Orlando apart from the main theme parks! Visit Gatorland which was the original attraction, or ICON Orlando for a 360 degree birds eye view, indoor skydiving at iFLY, Dinosaur World, Madame Tussauds, Ripley’s Believe It or Not, Orlando Sealife Aquarium, Boggy Creek airboat rides, Buena Vista Water Sports, Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens to mention a few.
Day Trips
Space Coast: Visit NASA’s launch complex, the astronaut hall of fame, or see a rocket launch all just an hour from Orlando at Kennedy Space Center. Combine this with a visit to Cocoa Beach, the surfing capital of the East Coast. Enjoy seafood at Port Canaveral, a busy cruise, cargo and naval port or visit the Exploration Tower.
Daytona: Daytona International Speedway is within an hour’s drive of Orlando. The Daytona 500 has been a sell out for the last 3 years, so book early to watch this great American race on 17th Feb 2019. Or the Coke Zero Sugar 400 on the 7th July 2018 if visiting in the summer. Tours and driving experiences also available. Combine this with a visit to Daytona Beach where you can also find farmer’s markets and the Ponce Inlet lighthouse.
Mount Dora: Visit Mount Dora also known as “The Festival City” hosting some of the oldest and largest events in Florida every year. A place to shop for antiques, visit art galleries, taste local wines and enjoy eco tourism.
Twin Centres
Combine a week at the theme parks in Orlando, with a week chilling on the coast. Popular choices include Clearwater, St Pete Beach and Sarasota on the west coast. A bit further afield there’s Miami or The Florida Keys. Pick up a cruise to the Caribbean. We can tailor a package for your preferences and budget.
