kram

Hi, we are a family of 3 including my 8 year old daughter. We are based in Singapore and visiting the US for a holiday. Part of the trip is a visit to Orlando - mainly driven by the need to take my 8 year old to Magic Kingdom before she grows out of it.

We arrive Day 0 evening
Day 1: Magic Kingdom
Day 2: Universal Studios
Day 3: Kennedy Space Center and surrounding area
Day 4: Sea World (still a maybe)

We then have Day 5 and Day 6 and we take a flight out Day 6 evening. Flying out is flexible - out of Orlando or Miami or any other city with a direct flight to Chicago...

What would you recommend? We initially considered going on a 2 day drive down to Key West and fly out of Miami. But it looks to be a long trip and it will be in the July heat.

gmoney

You may be surprised to find out that one day at Disney (there are 3 other parks besides Magic Kingdom) and one day at Universal (2 parks) is not enough. Driving to Key West takes the better part of a day and would be a waste of valuable time in my opinion.

nytraveler

Agree that I would expand your time at Disney - perhaps Animal Kingdom and some parts of Epcot can be fascinating (she is old enough for many of them).

To and from Key West would be all driving and really no fun for anyone.

Orlando_Vic

You could and should (IMO) visit St. Augustine, America's oldest city. It's only 2 hours away from Orlando.

A few links:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/trave...ry.html#page=1
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/trave.../st-augustine/
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/trave...2.photogallery
http://www.staugustine.com/visit/
http://www.visitflorida.com/St_Augustine
http://www.getaway4florida.com/
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/ar...#ixzz2eo5AnXR7

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

vincenzo32951

St. Augustine isn't a bad idea.

Or, since you're going to the space center, you might spend a few days at a nearby beach. It will be hot, so look for a hotel that has a pool where you can cool off.

Good idea to nix KW. Too long a drive, and it's not really a family-type place.

kram

Thanks for the inputs. We will drop the Key West for another time and see if we can fit St Augustine and maybe one more park. The Key West drive was more to get a break from park hopping to get out towards the open - Everglades and Key West.

But looks like the time available is too short....

gmoney

If you want to get away from it all and experience the real Florida another option is to head to Deland and Blue Springs state park. Here are a couple of places to check out.

http://hontoon.com/stjohnstour.html

https://www.floridastateparks.org/park/Blue-Spring

At Hontoon landing you can either rent a boat or take a boat tour of the St. Johns river for some great wildlife viewing. Close by is Blue Springs state park which offers swimming, snorkeling, tubing and possibly viewing manatees in the wild.