We are staying in Longboat Key for a week. How far is the drive to Disney? We are in our 50's and neither if us has ever been to Disney! Is it a waste to try to do this in one day? Can Epcot and Animal Kingdom be seen in one day and still leave us time to drive back? How bad is it finding parking - entrances - and knowing where to go? It all seems very overwhelming to me!

No this isn't a day trip. For me, I am in line and at the park BEFORE it opens, then stay late. You need a whole day for a single park. You are about 125 miles from Disney.

it all depends on how long of a day you want. it is probably about 2 hours from longboat key. see if you can get a map of the area before you go. there are lots of signs, but it is a sprawling area.

i'd do animal kingdom first. try to be there when the park opens. i believe there will be a parking fee but parking is easy. they have trams that take you from the parking lot to the entrance. go to the safari first and if there is a long line, fast pass it.

then i'd go to epcot and have lunch and even an early dinner before heading back. if you don't want to drive to both parks, and don't mind taking some extra time, you can take a free disney bus from one park to the others. so you can park at one park and bus it back and forth.

Driving in Florida during the height of the season can be horrible. But if there's no traffic, it would be about 2 hrs. You should leave Longboat after 9A so you don't get all the Bradenton traffic. Stay late and have dinner and you should be OK to drive back. Epcot is great. I've not been to Animal Kingdom although I stayed at their Lodge and it was so interesting with all the animals that also live there on the hotel grounds.

I think you could do Animal Kingdom, but not Epcot. We live locally, and cannot do Epcot in 1 day. Even just planning specific stops (since we are familiar with it), we are exhausted. Part of the problem is the crowds. It takes awhile to park and then get into the park, then time for anything you want to see. Plan for an overnite stay at one of the on-property resorts, and you will enjoy it much much more.

I think you will really enjoy Epcot. just remember to keep an eye on the schedule as much of Epcot is shows. There is a great website that gives this information:

http://pages.prodigy.net/stevesoares/

A lot of people go straight to Spaceship Earth (the silver golf ball) right away because it is the first thing you come to but there will be very little line if you go a little later in the day.