The PERFECT Disneyworld 10-Day Itinerary
In April last year we travelled with a 12, 6 and 1 year old to Florida, USA. We went for 10 days in total, and can’t wait to go again in a few years’ time! But for now, here is our suggested 10 day itinerary for going to Florida (including theme parks of course!)
Day 1
Arrive. That’s the most important part! Our first day was wiped out by travelling, if you can arrive earlier in the day, I would factor this in as a ‘villa’/’hotel’ day: chill by the pool, take it easy, and catch up on sleep (unless you managed to get your full 8 hours on the flight, but with young children, that’s unlikely!)
Day 2
Now that you’re settled, tackle the busiest part of your plans first. At this point in your vacation you’re still energetic and raring to go! If you’re going to DisneyWorld, I’d recommend going to Magic Kingdom first as this has the most to do in the park. We started the day with Jungle Cruise!
I’d also recommend staying late on this day to catch the firework display!
If you’re planning on going to another theme park, either Universal Studios or Busch Gardens in Tampa Bay are a great option for the first full day of your trip. Busch Gardens is great for all ages with the dedicated Sesame Street Land, and there is so much to do and see there, but it is about an hour’s drive away from the Orlando area which is where most holiday-goers are likely to be staying.
If you’ve been to Busch Gardens and are still going strong in the afternoon, it may be worth a trip down to Tampa beach too to take in some of that glorious Florida sunshine!
Day 3
After a busy and full theme park day, take a rest. If you’re doing Disney, head to Blizzard Beach/Typhoon Lagoon, or Aquatica or one of the Universal water parks like Volcano Bay. Our favourite waterpark so far is Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon. The wave pool is incredible! You’ll have a great day, but it’s much slower paced and still buckets of fun.
Day 4
Another theme park day! Our recommendation would be to head to EPCOT. There are fewer rides here and more opportunities to explore the gorgeous surroundings and food set out in each area of the park. The themed lands are amazing, and the rides that are here are great ones too. Realistically, you could spend a decent amount of time in EPCOT and get through most things by about 2pm, leaving you an afternoon free to park-hop or head back to your villa/hotel and relax by the pool!
Day 5
After a couple of slower-paced days, you’ll be ready to go again! If you’re doing Disney, I would recommend going to another of the parks. Hollywood Studios has tons to day and is a jam-packed fun-filled day.
Alternatively, you can visit one of the Universal parks, or take a trip to the Kennedy Space Center, followed by some shopping at the Orlando Vineland Premium Outlet.
Day 6
We would suggest another waterpark day here, or a trip to Discovery Cove. Discovery Cove was incredible - we booked dolphin swim packages for 3 of our group and this was an absolutely amazing experience.
The lower age limit is 6, so if your children are younger than that, it’s probably best to opt for one of the water parks. We did a day each in Typhoon Lagoon and Aquatica, but for us Aquatica was too busy and we would have much preferred another day in Typhoon Lagoon in hindsight!
After this, you can head to Disney Springs for some evening shopping!
Day 7
Again, if you’re doing Disney, head to the last of the Disney parks: Animal Kingdom! Or go to one of the Universal parks or SeaWorld, depending on what you’re fancying.
Animal Kingdom was incredible (my favourite park for sure!) and you can definitely spend a whole day there. Plenty of rides and lots of amazing shows and music throughout the park.
Day 8
Final waterpark day! Head to one that you haven’t seen yet. For us, we planned to go to Blizzard Beach but it was closed for refurbishment when we were there, so we headed to Aquatica instead!
Day 9
Head back to Magic Kingdom! We found that this was the only park that we needed to go to for an extra day. We took it a bit slower on the second day as we got a lot done in the first day, and we had Genie+ for this day too! Again, if you’re not doing Disney, head to one of the other theme parks on day 8, or bag another rest day at the villa/hotel/waterparks!
Day 10
It’s probably time to start packing your bags and hoping everything fits! Then head to the airport for the worst day of all - travelling back home!
