Orlando for first-timers: the planning checklist
What to book and when, from six months out to the morning of your first park day.
Orlando rewards planning more than any holiday we know. Not because it is complicated once you are there, but because the decisions that save money and sanity all happen months before you fly. This is the order we would do them in.
Six months out: dates and flights
Pick dates around the crowd calendar, not the school calendar, if you can. Late January to mid-February, the first half of May, and late August through September are the quiet windows with good weather. Easter, July and the week between Christmas and New Year are the busiest and the most expensive. Book flights before tickets; ticket prices move less than airfares.
Four months out: tickets
Buy the UK-exclusive tickets while the price is right. The Disney 14-Day Magic Ticket, the Universal 3-Park ticket and a SeaWorld ticket cover almost every family. Combos save money when they bundle exactly what you would have bought anyway. Both sellers offer deposits, so you can lock the price and pay later. Once bought, link Disney tickets in the My Disney Experience app and Universal tickets in the Universal Orlando app, and set up your party in each.
Three months out: park reservations and dining
Disney park reservations are needed on some dates; make them the day the tickets are linked. Table-service restaurants at Disney open for booking sixty days ahead and the popular ones, Cinderella's Royal Table, Space 220, Oga's Cantina, go within minutes. Set an alarm for 11am UK time on the sixty-day mark.
One month out: the practical list
- ESTA for every traveller, including babies. Do it on the official site; the fee is small and it takes minutes.
- Car hire if you want it. Orlando works without a car if you stay on site at Disney or Universal, but SeaWorld, Kennedy and the outlets are easier with one.
- A magic band, a lanyard, or just your phone: decide how you will enter the parks. Phones work fine.
- Sun cream, ponchos, a portable battery. Florida afternoons in summer will drain a phone and soak a family.
The week before
Download both park apps and log in. Decide on Lightning Lane and Express Pass strategy: most families buy them for two or three busy days rather than every day. Check park hours for your dates, which change month to month. Book any Halloween or Christmas party tickets you want; they sell out.
On the day
Arrive before opening. The first hour in any Orlando park is worth three afternoon hours in queue terms. Do the headline ride first, then work outwards. Leave the park after lunch on the hottest days and come back for the evening. Nobody enjoys Magic Kingdom at 2pm in July.
The mistake almost everyone makes
Overbuying and overscheduling. Ten park days in ten days is exhausting. A fortnight with eight or nine park days and the rest by the pool is the holiday people come home raving about.
