Which Orlando Park?
 

We are going to Orlando from April 20 - 26. We are mainly going to visit family but would like to spend one day at one of the amusement parks. It will be my husband, our two boys (11 and 12), and me. One son likes rides and one does not. Is there one park that you would recommend given their ages?

Given the time crunch, I would recommend the Universal parks. Interchangeble passes allow you to enjoy both parks. Islands of Adventure has the best rides of any park in Orlando, while Universal Studios has a lot of virtual reality type rides/shows that are not scary and would maybe appeal to the non-rider.

I have a son and would definitly recommend Islands of Adventure. They have Marvel Land which has Captain America, SPider Man ride, etc. They have fast roller coasters and slow rides, too. Disney's animal kingdom is something to consider as well, some rides and lots of shows and Animal exhibits.

I also would recommend going to the Universal Parks. Islands of Adventure had some of the best rides around! Go to Universal's website for a description of all the attractions.

The Universal site is advertising a 2 day pass with 3 free days for $99 per person. Not sure of the date of expiration though. My daughter loved Islands of Adventure for the coasters and I like the studios. This year I'm going to both. Since your boys have opposite tastes, you may want to consider both.

Disney's Magic Kingdom is often criticized by Universal fans for having too few thrill rides, but the magic of the Disney parks can't be topped in my opinion. The theming and thought that goes into all of Disney's tamer (and not all of them are tame) attractions make them more thrilling than any roller coaster.

Universal is great, but if I had but one day to explore an amusement park in Orlando, I would have to choose the Magic Kingdom or one of the other Disney parks.

In consultation with my 13 year old daughter -who has been to all the parks many times - its hands-down Disney. Universal is great, and would have been my answer, but her point is if you have only 1-2 days, and one son doesn't like rides, then Disney is the only answer. There really isn't anything else to do at Universal but ride the rides (great rides, however!) Disney has a lot of fun rides, but the magic of Disney is worth the price of entry alone. There are great shows, and the Animal Kingdom with all kinds of things to do and see (Its Tough to be a Bug!), and so much more. Go with Disney, and do the Animal Kingdon and Magic Kingdom if you can squeeze two days.

We have been to the parks in and around orlando so my advice would be,
Get up earily and drive to Busch Gardens
in Tampa! It's much better then the parks around Disney world.

Thank you all. I really appreciate the response from people who have been there and done that. We are going to a Tampa Bay/Red Sox game over the weekend so perhaps the Busch Gardens suggestion is doable in addition to the Orlando parks.