What to do in Orlando and how to plan your trip
Four Walt Disney World parks, three at Universal Orlando and SeaWorld, inside twenty minutes of each other — and the airport transfer that gets you there before the first line. An hour east, rockets still launch.
- 121 daysto see it all, says the board
- 1 hto either coast
- UTC−5Eastern time, with DST
Everything you need to know about Orlando
Orlando was a citrus town until the parks arrived, and it has been the Theme Park Capital of the World ever since — the visitors bureau reckons it would take more than 121 days to do everything the destination offers, and the parks are only the start of that list. The city that grew around them is not one place but a spread of districts along I-4: Lake Buena Vista and the resort areas in the south-west, the International Drive entertainment district with the convention center and most of the standalone attractions in the middle, Universal’s cluster beside it, and the actual downtown with its lakes to the north-east. Getting between them is a drive, every time. Outside that corridor, central Florida is springs, cattle land and cypress swamp, and the Space Coast is an hour east.
Getting to Orlando
- Orlando International (MCO)South-east of the city, about twenty-five minutes from the Lake Buena Vista resorts and twenty from International Drive. One of the busiest airports in the country.
- Sanford (SFB)Forty-five kilometers north-east, used by low-cost and charter carriers. Cheaper flights, longer drive.
- Port CanaveralAn hour east on the Space Coast, and one of the largest cruise ports in the world. Most Orlando holidays that include a cruise start here.
Beyond the beach
Where the transfer actually drops you, and the one day out that is worth leaving the parks for.
Good to know
- LanguageEnglish, with Spanish and Portuguese widely spoken — Orlando has large Puerto Rican and Brazilian communities.
- CurrencyUS dollar. Cards everywhere; resort fees and parking are usually charged separately from the room.
- Time zoneUTC−5, Eastern time, with daylight saving.
- Power120 V, 60 Hz, flat US plugs.
- WaterTap water is safe. Carry it in summer — the humidity does more damage than the heat.
- Emergencies911. Afternoon lightning is the genuine seasonal hazard; parks clear outdoor lines when it arrives.
What to see and do in Orlando
The full list, not a top three: what the tourist board of the destination puts first.
The one with the castle and the one most first-timers mean when they say Disney. Busiest at opening and at the evening fireworks.
Two halves: the future-technology side and a ring of eleven country pavilions around a lake, which is where the food festivals happen.
Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and Toy Story Land. The one with the longest lines per attraction, so it rewards arriving at opening.
Part zoo, part theme park, with a safari that runs best early because the animals are out. Pandora is the reason most people come now.
Film-set rides and the Diagon Alley half of the Wizarding World, on International Drive rather than Disney property.
The higher-intensity park of the pair, with Hogsmeade and the Hogwarts Express linking it to Universal Studios if you hold a park-to-park ticket.
Universal’s newest park, opened in 2025, and the biggest thing to arrive in Orlando in a generation.
Universal’s volcano-themed one, plus Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach. Worth a day when the lines elsewhere get long.
The third operator, also on International Drive, with the city’s steepest roller coasters and a reservation-only swim park next door.
The entertainment strip itself: the convention center, ICON Park and its observation wheel, dinner shows, outlets and most of the standalone attractions.
An hour east: the Saturn V hangar, the shuttle Atlantis, and a public launch schedule you can plan a day around.
Wekiwa, Rock Springs and Blue Spring run at 22 °C every day of the year, fed straight from the aquifer. Tubing in summer, manatees in winter.
The Florida that was here before 1971: canals you tour by boat, oak streets and lake towns, twenty minutes from the lines.
An hour to the Atlantic at Cocoa Beach, ninety minutes to the Gulf, and the cypress swamp in between.
Springs and beaches near Orlando
Orlando is inland. This is the water that is actually near it.
Twenty-five minutes north of downtown. A spring-fed river at 22 °C year round, with swimming, tubing and trails.
A natural lazy river you float down on a tube. Arrive early — the park closes when it reaches capacity.
An hour north. In winter hundreds of manatees shelter in the warm water, and swimming closes while they are there.
An hour east on the Atlantic, with surf, a pier and the rocket launches visible up the coast.
Two hours west on the Gulf: white sand, calm shallow water and the better beach if you are going to drive anyway.
When to visit Orlando
The weather matters less here than the school calendar.
The best weather of the year: 10 to 24 °C, dry and comfortable for full days outdoors. Busy around holidays and spring break.
Warm and still dry, with the crowds between school breaks. Arguably the best compromise.
Hot, humid, above 33 °C, with a thunderstorm most afternoons and the parks at their busiest. Also hurricane season.
Cooling down and pleasant, with the quietest weeks in early November and early December before the holidays.
Getting around Orlando
Everything is on a highway. What each way of dealing with that costs.
The default. Everything is on a highway, the districts are far apart and parking at the hotels is normal, if charged.
Work well and are often cheaper than a car plus parking if you are only moving between a hotel and the parks.
Many hotels run scheduled buses to the parks. Free, and on a timetable that may not match yours.
Airport to hotel at a fixed price per vehicle — worth it with children, luggage and a twenty-five-minute drive at the end of a long flight.
Tips from our local team in Orlando
What travelers ask us most, answered by the people who live here.
Where you stay decides your week
Lake Buena Vista, International Drive and the Universal area are not walking distance from each other. Pick the district closest to what you will actually do most days.
The school calendar is the crowd calendar
Weather barely changes the lines; American and Brazilian school breaks do. Early November, early December and late January are the quiet weeks.
Afternoon storms are a daily event in summer
They arrive around three, last an hour and shut outdoor rides. Plan indoor attractions for mid-afternoon rather than waiting it out.
Resort fees and parking are extra
Hotel rates in Orlando frequently exclude a nightly resort fee and parking. Read the total, not the nightly rate.
The springs are the local secret
They are twenty to sixty minutes out, cost a few dollars and are 22 °C every day of the year. On a hot day they beat any line.
Check the launch schedule
Rocket launches from the Space Coast are public, frequent and visible from Cocoa Beach for nothing. If one falls in your week, it is worth the drive.
Orlando travel guides
Practical, written by the team that drives the area every day.
International Drive: the compromise address, and a good one
International Drive is a strip roughly 25 kilometers long running between Universal and the edge of Disney, lined with hotels, restaurants, the conventi…
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Orlando: the city is not where the parks are
Walt Disney World does not have an Orlando address — it sits southwest of the city, largely in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, and it is roughly the size…
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