Orlando & Cocoa Beach Vacation

[mustangcy]

Taking the family on last minute Disney vacation on Sunday-Thursday of next week. Going to spend the first two nights/days in Cocoa Beach doing the beach thing and the other two days in Orlando doing the park thing.

Any suggestions on things we need to make sure and hit? Never been to Orlando or Cocoa Beach so going in pretty clueless. We figured we'd hit Magic Kindom one of the days in Orlando but not really sure the other (Magic Kingdom again?, Universal?, ???). Outside of the beach not really sure on Cocoa Beach places to hit either.

Kids are 9 & 7.

Appreciate the feedback...oh, flying those cheap Allegiant flights so any tips or recommendations are appreciated there as well.

 

[Clonefan32]

We did something similar, but over a longer period of time. Cocoa Beach was a lot of fun, although we were only there for a day. I was upset we didn't get do to the Cape Canaveral stuff, and there was actually a launch planned for the morning we were there that was canceled. If your kids would like that I would recommend it.

As for Disney, we did Magic Kingdom 2 days, Animal Kingdom, Epcot and Hollywood Studios. My 4 year old daughter undoubtedly had the most fun at Magic Kingdom, and that is a must. Make sure you go at night and see the lighted parade and fireworks.

I had a lot of fun at Epcot, but there wasn't as much there for the kids.

As for Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, I wasn't overly impressed, but again I was there with a 4 year old girl. If your kids like star wars, or Cars or Toy Story or those types of things, I would recommend Hollywood studios. Animal Kingdom was cool, but at the end of the day it's a fancy zoo.

 

[nj829]

Just got back from Orlando, did Cocoa Beach last year. Magic Kingdom you can easily spend 2 days in and still not get everything done you want to do. Universal is more big kid driven, so I would stick to Disney based on your kids ages. Disney Hollywood Studios is also really cool for the kids, as is Animal Kingdom. Epcot isn't bad but they might be bored pretty quickly after the few rides.

If you do go to Disney, make sure to arrive early or else the lines on the big rides will be 50 minutes at least. The others will be 20-30, but the main roller coasters will be. At Hollywood Studios the main ride is Toy Story Mania, and it was up to 70-80 minutes last week for wait times. Tower of Terror and Rock N Roller Coaster were not terrible but still upwards of 50 minutes.

Animal Kingdom the longest wait was the Jungle Safari at 70 minutes, and at Epcot Soarin and Test Track were both 50-60. If you hit the parks when they open, you should have pretty minimal wait times on those rides, and then you can do the other rides the rest of the day.

Cocoa has the beach, a pier, Ron Jon's Surf Shop, and not much else. You could drive up to NASA and check that out, but we were pretty bored with Cocoa after a couple of days on the beach.

Allegiant is pretty no frills, you pay for everything except flushing the toilet and maybe water. Make sure to pre-pay any luggage fees to avoid getting ripped off at the counter by them, and the big suitcases are a 40 lb limit, not 50. Even carry on's get charged, the only "free" item is your personal item you can carry on.

Plan to get the kids a snack pack from the menu, $5 each last time we flew them, we did Southwest this past trip for the first time, and although it cost a little more the lack of headaches from dealing with Allegiant was nice.

 

[cyflier]

My brother spent several grand at Disney last year taking his whole family. On the way home he asked his kids what their favorite part was. All 3 of them said the day they went to the beach.

 

[mustangcy]

Another question I had was on tickets. We are staying off site so where is the best place to get passes to Magic Kingdom and potentially other places? My wife also said that her coworkers were saying something about getting a "fast pass" ticket that I guess lets you slide up the lines and not have to wait as long? Anybody do that?

 

[nj829]

Another question I had was on tickets. We are staying off site so where is the best place to get passes to Magic Kingdom and potentially other places? My wife also said that her coworkers were saying something about getting a "fast pass" ticket that I guess lets you slide up the lines and not have to wait as long? Anybody do that?

At this point you want to go ahead and buy from Disney. Undercover Tourist has some deals, but you would need to pickup the tickets in Orlando since I don't think there is enough time to ship them. They control the resellers pretty tightly, and although you might be able to buy from a ticket agent, they likely re-bought somebody else's tickets that weren't fully used. Disney uses a biometric finger scan on adult tickets to prevent fraud so it's really buyer beware.

Orbitz has had some deals in the past as well, might be worth a look.

Fastpass has changed to where when you get to the park (as an off-site guest without tickets) you need to find a kiosk and then reserve 3 rides and the hour window you want to ride it in. We stayed on site, and were able to book 60 days out for ride times, so the popular rides are likely already booked up, but you can still use them on the other rides and avoid the 30 minute waits. Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin at MK is a great one to use it on, and if you can get a FP for Peter Pan use it, as that line is typically 70 minutes (forgot about that one).

Also, if you want to look at a site which is all things Disney, do a search for disboards and you should find everything you will ever need.

 

[Jer]

We went to Disney World for a week in May 2013, for two weeks in May 2014 and again for a week in August 2014 (only booked a week in advance).

Our son is 3 (turns 4 in Dec) so our key attractions are going to be much different, though you can't go wrong with Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. Personally, we avoid Epcot as the big attraction there is the world cultures and foods and we avoid Animal Kingdom due to allergies.

For the ages you outlined, you would probably be able to spend a full day at Magic Kingdom and not feel like you're too thin on options for the ages mentioned. You could probably also spend a full day at Hollywood Studios, though the pickings are slimmer there so you might want to plan on going to a water park later in the day (either one of the Disney water parks or Wet N Wild are supposed to be great).

I would definitely look at some of the Disney oriented sites you'll find on Google as there are tons of tips and tricks to keep in mind.

For those ages, you'll probably find Universal just as attractive and the prices are very similar (slightly cheaper at Universal). The weather should be good when you're there, although that is a rainy time for Orlando, so make sure to take ponchos unless you want to buy the heavily marked up ones at the parks.

 

[Jer]

If you do go to Disney, use their smartphone app as you can use FastPass+ and make ride reservations before you leave home. If you check out Orbitz, you can easily find 15-20% off coupons that usually work on the Disney Resort properties and rental cars. If you stay onsite, you can also get their MagicBands which are really cool as they act as your credit card, room key, photopass, park tickets, etc. You can get them if you stay offsite but have to buy them.

Since you're going through Allegiant, the only thing I would suggest is avoiding Alamo as their location at Sanford airport is about 1/2 mile further out (walking) than all the other rental kiosks. Also keep in mind that you'll need to leave the Orlando area at about 5:00am for your return trip to get to the airport on time.

Another thing about Allegiant, and while we'll always fly Delta having used Allegiant once to Orlando, is that they're actually more expensive once you add up all their crazy fees (i.e. carry on bags or checked bags). Our suitcase on our way there was 40.5 lbs and they insisted that we pay a $40 excess weight fee for the 1/2 pound (we got creative instead).

 

[Cyvilian]

We did both this summer. Cocoa Beach--do the beach obviously, if you walk it at dusk, you might see a sea turtle coming up to nest and lay eggs. It'd also be fun for the kids to look at turtle tracks on the sand in the morning. We were just south of Patrick AFB, nearer Satellite Beach. Go to Ron Jon Surf Shop and get some souvenirs. Eat at one of the restaurants on the Cocoa Beach Pier. Food is average, but the setting is unique and is kid-friendly. If you have a full day for it, go to Kennedy Space Center and do the visitor center.

If the kids are into Harry Potter, you have to do Universal. They opened a new Harry Potter area about 3 weeks after we were there, in addition to the one in the other park. Universal has a lot of other good rides as well. It's worth the visit. Get the 2 parks/1day admission. Then you can hit both (they're adjacent to each other). Universal also had a NBA-themed restaurant that my son enjoyed. Magic Kingdom is nice for kids, but crowded. Might be better this time of year. Epcot is a possibility, but your kids might be a little young to enjoy it. That's a judgement call. They do have some neat rides, but half of the park consists of various international country mockups, some with rides, some not.

We did 6 theme parks in 6 days. Disney parks had the worst food. Take plenty of money...

 

[carvers4math]

My son flies Allegiant all of the time to Orlando. It's fine. Buy a bottle of water before you board. The Sanford airport is a bit of a hike from Disney. If I remember right, not much more to check a bag than what they charge for carry-on.

My kids absolutely love going to the Kennedy Space Center. The first time we went they were 4 and almost 2. They have been three times, now oldest are adults. Kind of depends on the interest of your kids. It's still pretty hot in Orlando now. Check their launch schedule, they still have frequent launches. We saw a shuttle launch when the kids were little, but last trip saw a satellite launch.

My kids actually liked Epcot a lot more than Magic Kingdom when they were younger. They are boys, not sure if that makes a difference, obviously not into the princess thing. They kind of loved the monorail when they were real little.

 

[CascadeClone]

Another vote for KSC. The Atlantis shuttle experience alone is worth it, that's a hell of a thing. Plus when you walk in, there are pics and quotes by astronauts along the wait queue path. One of the first ones -- Iowa State's own Clayton Anderson. Nice! Kinda expensive, like everything in that area.

Also, we did Universal and I was disappointed big time. Expected 80% rides, 20% food/shopping/crap. More like the reverse. And some lines were horrible (and some were fine). The Minions ride had a 3:45 minute wait. Read that again - people waited nearly FOUR HOURS to ride a ride for like 2 minutes. Also, do NOT waste your time on the Twister ride, it's less thrilling than our football entrance video. A LOT less thrilling. All that said, some of the rides were great (Hulk coaster, Simpsons ride). But not worth $hundreds$ for 3 or 4 rides.

Have fun, and try not to run over an alligator on the road. We saw several alligator roadkills. Free fun for the kids!

 

[iowaboy]

Another question I had was on tickets. We are staying off site so where is the best place to get passes to Magic Kingdom and potentially other places? My wife also said that her coworkers were saying something about getting a "fast pass" ticket that I guess lets you slide up the lines and not have to wait as long? Anybody do that?

If you rent a car there will be people all over offering you discounts to Disney. magic Kingdom a 2 day must. Epcot center was really cool and our 11 and 7 year old liked it. cape canaveral was interesting and I would do Cocoa Beach one day and canaveral the next. The Parade is a MUST SEE for sure. Just got back in July. Good time. crowds are friendly. Bring money!!!