Orlando hotels
 

I will be travelling with my family to Orlando 2nd week of April, we have 6 whole days for Magic Kingdom Epcot Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom and also Universal Studios and Island of Adventure. I have 2 boys a 3 years old and & 7 years old. We`re choosing to visit only 5 of those 6 theme parks i mentioned. Can you suggest which one of the 6 parks we don`t have to go because we would like to go to Premium outlet International Drive for our 1 extra day. And lastly can u suggest any nice hotel that cater a complimentary shuttle service going to both Disney theme park and Universal Studios and also nearby with a lot of restaurants to choose from. Thank You

Does that hotel have to have some sort of shuttle to those outlets, too?

I would be very careful about being reliant on shuttles. We stayed at the Hilton Downtown Disney once and they claimed they had a shuttle every 30 minutes. Well, it turned out that they had A (as in 1) shuttle. And besides the fact that it was sometimes full with people waiting when it left, there was no way they could make a roundtrip in 30 minutes. Plus, obviously the driver had to to take bio and meal breaks.

On the first day we ended up waiting 45 minutes (with them saying the shuttle would be there any minute) before we went and rented a car. Throughout the 4 nights we were there people were constantly complaining about waits for shuttles.

So, IMHO unless you know from personal reports (as in a friend who had used them at a hotel) I would count on renting a car. Esp with 2 little ones, one barely past toddlerhood, who are unlikely to be happy waiting 30 to 45 minutes when they are ready to go back to the motel or need to use a bathroom.

I would do Disney only. You can stay on site and use the magic express to and from the airport. Then on your outlet day, get a taxi. I'm not sure why you want to take little kids outlet shopping...

Universal won't offer much for your three year old. Many rides have height requirements that he won't meet. Save that for when they are older. We just got back and my six year old was too short for many rides.

Do two days at magic kingdom and one at each of the other Disney parks.

Thank you so much for your suggestions.

I too would do only Disney with children that young. Your best option would be staying on site at Disney. All their hotels provided transportation to the parks and you also get early entry, etc.

Disney has some very budget friendly options. Safety is important in Orlando and you are safest on property. Many perks. Stay off I drive, lots of crime.


Trust me, those outlet malls are not that great. Find a TJ Maxx or Marshalls.
Millenia Plaza II
4648 Millenia Plaza Way
Orlando, FL 32839
Phone: 407-248-1915

T.J.Maxx
2551 W. Osceola Pkwy,
Kissimmee, FL 34741

Mall of Millenia is very nice.

I would also choose to stay at just Disney parks with kids that age and being on the monorail at those hotels will give you the ability to go easily back and forth as much as you want. You can take a boat from epcot to some of the resorts too which makes it easier than just shuttling.
With having a 3 year old, the easier the better.

SeaWorld is nice for kids too, but I think having a car would make that better.

When our kids were young, we stayed once at the Polynesian and it was worth being on the monorail and then once at the Port Orleans which made it easy to get to downtown Disney.

I would save Universal for your kids about 10/12 years old and then stay on property there for the perks of being "on property".

I agree with the posts above regarding sticking with Disney parks and with Disney resorts, especially for convenience.

Several attractions are closing at Hollywood Studios as of April 3, as the park is going to be undergoing major changes. Most Disney-centric websites are recommending giving Hollywood Studios a miss in 2016.