Tips for Orlando Theme Parks
I’m not fond of flying, but my trip to Orlando, Florida, was completely worth it. We visited Disney World, Universal, SeaWorld and Discovery Cove. I’ll tell you about my experience and some tips for your trip. A huge tip in general for rides is: always use the single rider line if they have one.
On the first day we went to Discovery Cove, an amazing place in Orlando you must visit. Definitely try to book swimming with dolphins. It can get really cold in the pool, but the dolphins are so cute and it’s amazing to be able to touch them and see what they can do. Snorkeling is also very interesting. You’ll see all sorts of rays and fish, and you can touch the backs and wings of the rays. You definitely want to borrow a wetsuit rather than a vest from the free rental places as it’s pretty cold, but for other activities a vest is much more comfortable and easy to get in and out of.
On day two we visited SeaWorld and Aquatica. We went to SeaWorld early in the morning. This is definitely a good idea so you can avoid the longest lines. We did Mako, Manta, Pipeline and then Infinity Falls. Unless you don’t mind getting wet, bring a rain poncho or swimsuit for your ride on Infinity Falls. Mako is one of the most thrilling rides there. Manta is definitely a really fun experience. After you ride, you definitely want to see the Orca Encounter in the stadium.
If you go to SeaWorld in late May like I did, there’s a pretty high chance you’ll get rained out in the evening. If so, you can ask for a one-time Express ticket at Guest Services which will cover up to six people for one ride. If it rains, it’s a great opportunity to visit the stingray lagoon and other places to look at the animals as well as see the aquarium. At night there is a really cool show that starts when the park closes that I would definitely recommend. There is also a slow-moving walkway that leads you through a huge aquarium by the Shark Encounter stadium, and it’s so, so cool—it’s a tunnel with an almost a 360-degree view of the aquarium—you
will be next to and directly underneath all the sea life. SeaWorld is probably one of my favorite places in Orlando.
We went to Aquatica in the afternoon. Since it is a water park, it’s very busy in the afternoon and you will wait a long time in line. Maybe split SeaWorld and Aquatica into two days. At Aquatica we did the wave pool and the lazy river and that was about all we could do without waiting way too long in line. Definitely pack your sunscreen! I think one of the more unique experiences is Roa’s Rapids, which has no line and is sort of like a fast-moving lazy river. Tassie’s Underwater Twist slide is too short and has a very long line, but the experience inside is really cool—you see an aquarium type thing inside the twist and you slowly drift back into a closed flume. Also, the Reef Plunge water slide takes you directly into a marine habitat, but the slide is cloudy and you can’t really see anything before it’s already over, but what you can see is cool. The Crush n’ Gusher is sort of a roller coaster waterslide and I thought that was pretty cool. Some group slides are really fun, too. Overall a pretty nice place, but with pretty long lines to go with it, at least the day I went. I’m still not sure if it was worth it.
Day three was Disney World. We went to Animal Kingdom in the morning with the early access we got from staying at a Disney Resort hotel. We lined up for the Avatar ride and wasted pretty much all our early access, because it turns out, way too many people have early access at Animal Kingdom. They did a good job of immersing you in the story while you were in line, but if you’re like me and haven’t watched the movie the whole thing is kind of confusing. The ride itself is nice, honestly one of the best rides at Disney World. Worth the wait though? Kilimanjaro Safaris was such a cool ride. So many photo opportunities, and if you have a good tour guide, the experience is so much better. Other rides here are also pretty fun. Expedition Everest is really fun and a must-do here.
Later we went to EPCOT. Always try to catch the nightly show here and at Magic Kingdom. Also, get food here!! It has the best food at Disney—the crepes are amazing in France. Honestly, the rides here are great. Do the Ratatouille, Mission: SPACE, Test Track, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Soarin’. Mission: SPACE almost never has a line. Guardians of the Galaxy will have the longest line, followed by Soarin’. In the line for Soarin’, be sure to answer the quiz questions that pop up on screens.
If you’re going in the afternoon…don’t go to Disney in the afternoon. Go to one of their water parks like Typhoon Lagoon. If you’re going early in the morning, go: Guardians, Soarin’, Ratatouille or Test Track–whichever line is going to be longer that day, then the other one, then Mission: SPACE. If you’re going in the evening, completely flip that schedule and make adjustments because you want to wait until the lines are shortest.
On day four: Hollywood Studios! This one was quick. We had early access and rushed to Star Wars. Then we did the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, both of which were amazing. Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway was also pretty fun. Slinky Dog Dash is fun but when it ends it feels short even though it isn’t. Honestly, go to this one early in the morning. Probably the least lines at Disney.
Evening Day five: Magic Kingdom! Do EVERYTHING here or try to. Just apply all the tips I’ve told you—do the ones with the longest lines first in the morning or last thing in the evening. Try to catch the evening shows. Plan out your time here. Frozen Ever After and Peter Pan are good for younger kids, but if you’re older try to go for other rides.
Typhoon Lagoon is a great place. The rides here are amazing. The wave pool? Crazy. Again, I had time to do everything here and, honestly, line length doesn’t matter as much here. You probably will also have enough time to experience everything here. The ambience is really nice. Just do whatever you want. They have some nice dining options as well. Just try not to get rained out. All this is the exact same for Blizzard Beach. You’ll probably have time to experience all of it. They provide free towels. At these two water parks everything was really fun and nothing in particular was bad. You can come here any time honestly—in the afternoon it’ll be nice to cool off but the steps while waiting for the rides are going to be burning hot. So will the sand in any parks. In the mornings and evenings it might be a little cold but the steps while in line won’t be as hot. Maybe wear water shoes or your flip flops/sandals/crocs. They do have little foot sprinklers everywhere—so does Aquatica—so try to stay in range of those when waiting in line.
At Universal I went to the Islands of Adventure—great photo ops and rides are all amazing. Start with the Skull Island ride. Then move to the VelociCoaster to avoid the longest lines. Then do all the wet rides so you can dry off the rest of the day, then again just hop around trying to skip lines. Everything here is really fun—I would recommend trying everything.