LeashandRob

My family will be in Florida in October for approximately 9 nights. How long will we need to cover the theme parks? My kids will be 11 and 9. Would love your thoughts on the best parks to attend as we don't intend on seeing everyone. We thought Magic Kingdom, Universal Studios, Animal Kingdom and a water park - just not sure. Appreciate any suggestions. Also Kennedy Space Centre? Thanks!

spirobulldog

MGM and Epcot are good as well. They are all good, just different and unique. We love both of Disney's waterparks. Roller coaster are best at Universal. Pretty much allow a full day at which ever ones you pick out. I you need to do at least one of the Character Meals.

Ryan

Universal is two parks, not one, both would be great for a 9 and 11 year old. If possible, you might consider staying at one of their hotels as there are perks like early entry and shorter lines.

Best parks at Disney are Animal Kingdom and Movie studio. But, if they haven't been to the Magic Kingdom you really ought to go there. Plenty of rides for kids at that age.

Depending on when you go, the Disney Water Parks are great. Blizzard Beach can be quite fun.

Orlando_Vic

The best parks? Well, if you ask 10 different people, you will probably get 10 different answers. The four you have mentioned are as good as any. You could see all four in four days. Add another day for KSC.

But, what about the remaining time?

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Vic's travels: http://my.flightmemory.com/vogilvie

LeashandRob

Thanks for all suggestions. If we have 4 days at the theme parks in Florida and one day at Kennedy Space Centre, what else is great to do with kids?

Orlando_Vic

Go to the beach. You have two good options:
Canaveral National Seashore http://www.nps.gov/cana/index.htm
Cocoa Beach (Lori Wilson Park) http://www.beachhunter.net/cocoa-bea...ilson-park.htm

Visit St. Augustine (America's oldest city) two hours away by car.

Visit Gatorland http://www.gatorland.com

Go to the Orlando Science Center http://www.osc.org/


_____________________________________________
Vic's travels: http://my.flightmemory.com/vogilvie

L_Garabito

This is a difficult question to answer as it really depends on what your kids are interested in....are they more thrill-seekers? Then i say go to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventures (Islands being the better of the two IMO). MGM (Its called Hollywood Studios now...old-timers still call it MGM) is also great for thrills but you can literally buy a park-hopper ticket and visit MGM in the morning and then EPCOT in the afternoon as MGM is very small. FYI- EPCOT has the BEST fireworks show IMO plus EPCOT has the better restaurants, just make sure you call Disney Dining and make reservations in advance. Animal Kingdom is great too but i find that its more of a park for "observers" than "riders"...not too many rides to choose from except for Everest and Dinosaur. Magic Kingdom is a MUST for the family...especially since you've never been. Its such an amazing park, HUGE, and sooo many things to see and do there. whatever you decide, you'll have a blast...honestly with 9 days you can do all the parks...just remeber there are options of purchasing park-hoppers as it gives you to option to visit multiple parks in one-day (but i wouldnt do more than 2 a day and Magic Kingdom needs 1 full-day of discovery).

Good luck and Have fun!!

Carrabella

Just this morning, here in sunny Australia, I spoke to a friend who's just back from visiting the Orlando parks with 21 family members from Down Under -lots of kids amongst them. She said the boys loved Epcot best, and although they had two full days there, they wanted more. Apparently they loved building robots.
She too was impressed with Epcot's educational fun and information.

nytraveler

Depends on what you're looking for - for us Epcot is the best hands down - followed by Sea World. Have no use for Magic Kingdom - but with small kids you won;t want to miss that. With a 9 year old you want to check in advance to make sure that he won;t be too small for some of the rides - to avoid disappointments.

spirobulldog

well, Epcot would probably be my least favorite. They are all very good, though. It might even make a difference on the day that you hit the park, what your mood is that particular day. Someti

DisneyDuck

A lot depends on your children's interests. At their ages Epcot Future World could be a highlight for them. The World Showcase part of Epcot is generally more appreciated by adults. While Animal Kingdom is a fantastic park, there is actually very few thrill type attractions, and you can usually cover it in a half day. SO, my suggestion is to do a half day at Epcot Future World, and a half day at Animal Kingdom. A full day at Magic Kingdom, full day at KSC, and full day at Universal (they may have a park hopping option so that you can experience both parks.)

But........this is coming from a girl that spends a full seven days just at the Disney World resort once a year.....so I may be biased......