Family Fun in Florida

Imelda McCarthy 11 July 2019
To describe this family holiday as hugely anticipated is an understatement, we travelled to Orlando in April 2019 (over Easter) but the planning and excitement started as early as the previous September. With flights booked, the kids (11 & 13) had 8 months of theme park research to fulfil. They approached their task with massive enthusiasm. A compromise however needed to be negotiated, we were not going to spend the full 12 days at the theme parks, so a split stay in Orlando was "agreed", taking 5 days out mid-way, for a Caribbean cruise.

In advance of travelling we researched our options and decided to concentrate our theme park visits to Universal Studios, this was based on the kids age and best value. We booked 14-day unlimited access tickets allowing entry to each of the three Universal parks. Anticipating that Easter would be a busy time in the parks, we booked our first four night at Loews Portofino Bay, a Universal on-site hotel. Staying at Lowes Portofino Bay earned us special park privileges including early admission, express pass and easy access. Some tips before travel, download the Universal App, purchase some mobile data and book some Universal restaurants for evening meals.

We flew from Cork via Manchester to Orlando, arriving early evening and without an initial need for car hire, took an Uber ($36) to the hotel. Our room keys were personalized, featured different Universal characters, but importantly also served as our express passes at the parks. Unable to curb the excitement for a moment more, we immediately head for the Parks, which from Lowes Portofino is an enjoyable 5-minute boat trip, clearing park security at the hotel was a breeze and saves valuable time later. The boat docks at Universal City Walk (the entertainment and dining centre outside the parks) and a one-minute stroll to the park entrances. The sign over the entrance says "Let the Adventure Begin" and it certainly did, with some of the most desirable rides ticked off on the first evening.

A moment to explain "express pass", rides have a standard line, some have single rider line and all have an express line. Waiting times vary depending on time of day or popularity, but almost without exception the express line never exceeded 20 minutes, we saved hours of waiting over the holiday. Express pass is reserved for residents of some Universal Hotels but can also be purchased as an add on to your normal entrance ticket, but at over $100 per day, per person! We topped off the evening with dinner at Vivo Italian Kitchen in City Walk, thankfully our reservations were invaluable, avoiding a lengthy wait for a table.

Over the next three days we alternate between Universal Studios and Island of Adventure and each morning take advantage of our early park admission. We did feel that early admission wasn't an enormous advantage. Everyone is allowed through the park’s turnstiles before the advertised opening times and you have access to the shops and restaurants immediately inside. We did need to show our hotel key to proceed further into the parks, before the official opening. However, with only the Harry Potter rides open early, all the early admission folk (who all hold express pass) head straight to these rides and they quickly become busy. We discovered it was better to visit these rides later in the day and use the express line then.

Eating and drinking in the parks is expensive and park food is not as good as the offerings in City Walk, we snacked during the day and used our reservations in the evenings at City Walk. Top tip for drinks, we got a single Coca Cola freestyle cup on day one of our visit for about $16 which allows unlimited top ups of Soda's and water at various vending machines situate around the Parks for the full day. Remember to bring your cup on subsequent days and pay about $10 daily for the unlimited refills thereafter.

The proximity to our hotel meant we could retire to our room and refresh rather that spending the entire day in the Parks, these sneaky breaks also give an opportunity to get in some all-important shopping. We visited Mall of Millenia and the outlet centers and everyone was delighted with the bargains bagged, Uber was our friend for getting around and journeys to the shops were all less than $10. With part 1 of our Orlando trip complete, we collected a hire drive car to head for Fort Lauderdale.

Fast Forward five days and we are back in Orlando, this time choosing to stay on International Drive, the main commercial area of Orlando, in the comfortable and excellently located Avanti Resort, which has ample parking for our hire drive which we had until we departed. The freedom of driving allows us to explore further and check out more shopping locations and restaurants. We had deferred visiting Volcano Bay water park, the third Universal Park until now, they operate a different waiting system and do not have express pass, so this was perfect as we gave up that privilege when we left Loews Portofino. We leave the car at the hotel and took an Uber to the park, a return trip on Uber is half the price of parking for the day and so convenient.

Overall top marks to Orlando, it delivered exactly as expected. We enjoyed a perfect mix of relaxing, park madness and shopping bliss. In the kids own (American) words "Best Vacation ever".