This article contains links to our favorite places to find the best information when planning a trip to the Orlando / Kissimmee area of Florida as well as some of our own tips.
Theme Parks
There are three major theme park operators in this general area: Disney World, Universal Studios and Sea World.
Disney World
In addition to the website it is essential to install the My Disney Experience app on your smartphone. This app provides useful information like park hours, park maps, attraction wait times, show times and other useful information. This app is also how you must access Disney's Genie+ service, which can help you plan your day in each park you plan to visit, allowing you to make dining reservations, order food from quick service dining options, request or purchase fast passes and many other useful tools. Disney also has a very nice YouTube channel with lots of good information about its parks, cruse line and lots of other interesting content.
Also, be sure to check out our article: How to Plan your Trip to Disney World at Orlando, Florida.
The Disney Food Blog
This site has loads of great information about the food and dining at Disney, but don't let the name fool you. Here you will find not just a great website and blog with up to the minute information regarding all things Disney, but a very well produced YouTube channel by the same name.
Mickey Views
This site is another great place for up to the minute information about all things Disney and they also have a well produced YouTube channel by the same name.
All Ears
This site is yet another great place for current information about Disney and includes some Universal Studios information as well. They also have a well produced YouTube channel by the same name.
Mammoth Club
Mammoth Club has several outlets including a YouTube channel (linked above), TikTok, redit, instagram and a podcast. Mammoth Club provides a lot of great information about all things Disney.
Universal Studios Orlando
Universal Orlando is not nearly as big as Disney World, but is does have two theme parks, a water park several themed resort hotels and City Walk, which is similar in concept to Disney Springs. If you plan to visit Universal Studios Orlando this site is essential. Here you will find the latest news about Universal, purchase park passes, book accommodations for Universal resorts, make dining reservations, view maps of each theme park and more.
In addition to the website it is useful to install the Universal Florida app on your smartphone. This app provides useful information like park hours, park maps, attraction wait times, show times and other useful information.
Sea World Orlando
Sea World Orlando actually consists of three different parks: Sea World, Aquatica and Discovery Cove. Sea World combines amusement park rides with marine animal shows and increasingly marine life education presented in a fun and interactive environment. Aquatica is a very nice water park and Discovery Cove combines some features of a traditional water park with marine animal encounters and an artificial reef where you can swim and snorkel with rays and other fish. The Sea World website provides the latest news about their parks, ticket purchasing, maps of each park and more.
Legoland Florida Resort
This resort is located about 45 minutes south of Orlando and is an easy day trip from any of our villas. Legoland Florida Resort consists of the Legoland theme park (including Cypress Gardens), a Lego themed water park and the new Peppa Pig theme park. These parks have a lot of rides and activities geared toward smaller children so if you are a thrill seeker you may be disappointed, but if you have small children they should really enjoy it.
Busch Gardens Tampa
This resort is located about 1 hour west of Orlando and is an easy day trip from any of our villas. Busch Gardens Tampa is an African themed amusement park with lots of traditional amusement park rides, shows, shops and places to eat. It also has a large area where wildlife native to various parts of Africa can be seen. In addition to the amusement park there is also a water park called Adventure Island.
Orlando and Kissimmee
Visit Orlando
This site provides information on everything that is going on in and around the Orlando area including seasonal events, sporting events, dining, shopping, theme parks and much more.
Experience Kissimmee
Many people think the Disney parks are located in Orlando, but they are actually much closer to Kissimmee, an area south of Orlando. Kissimmee has a smallish downtown area, but also consists of many neighborhoods including all of the neighborhoods in which our villas reside. Although not as comprehensive as the Visit Orlando site, it still has useful information for things to do around Kissimmee.
As we come across new websites, blogs, podcasts and YouTube channels that we like we'll add them to this blog entry. Do you have a favorite tool for planing a trip to the Orlando / Kissimmee Florida area? Let us know in the comments below.
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