We made a quick 4 day trip to Orlando during the first weekend on November 2021. We drove from Charlotte to Orlando, which is roughly around 8 hours. We started Wednesday evening at 5:30 pm after work and reached Orlando around 2 am.
Fun inside story, my husband's original plan was to just drive 5 hours on day 1, so he had a stay booked at Jacksonville, Florida for Wednesday night. But, during our drive we decided to drive the whole leg in one stretch, so needed a stay at Orlando for Wednesday. I called the Universal Resort and luckily got a beautiful room with early park access.
(We had remaining 2 nights booked at a vacation club resort and 2 night at Disney resort)
Sharing some tips from our trip:
👉🏻Stay at the park resort- this gives you the extra one hour before the park opens for general public. It’s a great way to avoid the lines and enjoy the top , high demand attractions without waiting in line.
👉🏻Express lane/Fast pass - worth spending the extra dollars to get the express access to the attraction, especially if your are traveling with kids and only have 1 day at the park.
👉🏻Child swap- At Universal Studios -there is an area called child swap at all the rides that has a height restriction. One parent can stay with the little kids, while the other enjoys the ride. When they come back the waiting parent goes to the ride without waiting in line again.
👉🏻Must do rides for all ages - A majority of rides at the theme parks are for all ages with some exceptions. Doing some research on height restriction before visiting and making a rough day plan before the visit will allow families to enjoy the theme parks more efficiently, especially if you are only spending a day at each park.
👉🏻Food - Most restaurants fill out quickly and with Covid restrictions are only operating on a reservation schedule. Call ahead of time and reserve tables. Epcot has some amazing food to offer, you don’t want to miss on.
👉🏻Entertainment - there are free parades, shows and fireworks in all the parks. Make sure to know the timing and location/route. I highly suggest making full use of free shows , they are also a great opportunity to take a break, relax and enjoy.
Please note: character meet and greet are not operating in any park at this time.
👉🏻Shopping - when visiting Orlando, Disney Springs is a must visit place for shopping lovers. Ladies take notes, all your high end brands have stores at Disney Springs. You won’t be coming home without a shopping bag or two. Plus, you gets tons of food options, movie theatre, live music and You will also get to ride the worlds biggest helium balloon.
👉🏻Covid Restrictions - All the parks/shops/restaurants will require to wear a mask while being indoor.
We as a family love to visit Disney, especially Epcot. Me and my husband visited Epcot for the first time in 2006, then we visited again with our daughter in 2014, 2017 and 2021.
I hope this small write up helps you plan your trip better and you and your family make lots of beautiful memories while visiting Orlando