Hello, we are thinking of going a little out of our way on a grandparent visiting trip to spend one day in an Orlando area theme park. Two questions. The day would be the Friday preceding Presidents Day weekend. Would this be insanely crowded?

If we go, which is the best one for teens (14 yo boy/girl twins? My daughter spent one day at Disneyworld last year(her first time).

I've never been to any of the parks, and really have never had an interest in them, but it seems like it was a great experience for my daughter, so we're thinking of giving this a try.

We need to make a decision now, because then we would fly into Orlando, but return from Sarasota, and our hotel in Sarasota is also dependent on the decision (the nicer place requires a 4 night stay, which we would not be able to do if we go to Orlando).

Many thanks!

Yes, it will be crowded but there is a way to make this work. Stay at one of the Universal Resort hotels and you'll have front of the line passes to the entire park. For 1 day with teens, I suggest Islands of Adventure. Lots of thrill rides. The Spiderman ride is, in my opinion, the best ride in all of Orlando. If you are less roller coaster oriented, then the Universal Studios park is lots of fun. But stay in a Universal room the night before or night after so that you have front of the line passes. You can check in and pick up the key early in the am and/or continue to use the key after you check out so it's good for the entire day. I cannot say enough about what an amazing feature this is. Of course, I did have to explain to my daughter that it didn't work when we were standing in line for a soda!
President's weekend should be beautiful weather and this seems like a good chance to check out the area.

That Friday is the beginning of a school vacation period in the Northeast and flights into Orlando, or anywhere into Florida, will be at a premium. Car rentals at MCO will also be three or four times as expensive as at other times of the year. So yes, book soon!

It will be busy, but not Christmas-week busy, and the weather is usually beautiful at that time of year, so let that be a comfort to you. ;-)

As to which park, get a copy of a guide to Orlando and read through the park descriptions to see which one will be of most interest to your teens. I agree that if they like thrill rides, Islands of Adventure is the one (and I do mean thrill rides: these are not for the faint of heart which unfortunately includes me!).

One important thing to remember: sunscreen and comfy shoes are essential.

We went to Disney when our boys were 12 & 14. They loved Disney MGM - The Tower of Terror was their favorite ride.

Don't underestimate them. My 12 year old bought a camera in the country portion of Epcot and was fascinated by everything. We spend most of our time at Epcot there.

I had assumed we'd be bored while the two boys spent their time in future world. They figured they could to that stuff at home and wanted to see something new.

We did not stay on site. We had a car and ate breakfast at the house we had rented, then drove to whichever park we were visiting that day. We arrived before opening every day. After the first day they stopped complaining because they got 2 or 3 big rides in before the lines got long.

We were home by early evening most days. Not by plan, but because we'd seen and done everything we wanted, and the parks were very crowded by 4 in the afternoon. They wanted to go home to rest and swim.

Have fun, my kids say it was their favorite vacation.

I also think 14 year olds would LOVE Island of Adventure at Universal. Especially if you got a room at the Hard Rock Hotel. One night stay will give you two full days of automatic express access to all the attractions. With that you could do Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure.

thank you everybody, for your great suggestions. It turns out we can't make the trip to Orlando. We do need to stay at the four-night minimum place, since it's more convenient for my ILs. We had to decide this morning to get the reservation, and we only have the 4 nights.

It sounds like my kids will miss out on some great adventures, but will just have to settle for some R & R gulfside instead! (we really only have one certified thrill-seeker in the family, so some of the rides would have been a little problematic anyway...)

Thanks again for your quick and thoughtful responses.

If you are staying in Sarasota, why not go to Busch Gardens in Tampa one day? An hour away. Smaller park. I enjoyed going there with the kids MUCH more than the bigger Disney parks?