When I Went: Aug. 18-22, 2011
Was That the Best Time of Year to Go? It was perfect. It was the weekend just before school started, so there were very few locals out and even fewer tourists. The longest line we saw at Disney was about 45 minutes (shorter with your fast pass) and about 20 minutes at Universal.
Why I Went There: I went to Orlando for my 30th birthday. I figured “what better way to turn 30 than to act like a kid at Walt Disney World and Orlando?” Plus I had the added benefit of having some drinks on Cocoa Beach at sunset.
Who Went With Me? My boyfriend of three years.
We Stayed Here: Walt Disney World Dolphin Resort
You Won’t Want to Miss: Definitely take advantage of the Fast Passes at Disney and the Express Passes at Universal Orlando. It’s worth it to splurge on the Express Pass Plus at the Universal parks: you can go on any ride at any time and go to the front of the line. Plan to spend all day at Disney if you go this time of year. You may be able to squeeze in a few hours at Epcot Center like we did, but their rides seem to shut down earlier. Don’t miss the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Islands of Adventure. Be sure to try the butterbeer. Skip “Poseidon’s Fury” (it’s a walking tour, not a ride), but be sure to hit the Hulk and Mummy roller coasters.
[mapimage url=”http%3A%2F%2Fmaps.google.com%2Fmaps%2Fapi%2Fstaticmap%3Fsize%3D200x200%26sensor%3Dfalse%26markers%3DOrlando%2C%2520FL%7CCocoa%2520Beach%2C%2520FL%26zoom%3D8″]Eat Here: We did most of our dining in the parks, but we did make time for a birthday dinner at the Il Mulino New York Trattoria in the Disney Swan resort. Excellent pasta and worth the price. The Disney Boardwalk, which is walking distance from the Swan and Dolphin resorts, also has a lot of dining options.
Play Here: Aside from the parks, the Disney Boardwalk appeared to have some fun nightlife options, though we did not take advantage of them. Also, Cocoa Beach is a one-hour drive from Orlando, so it’s worth it to rent a car for the day and spend some time over there.
If I Went Again: We’d hit Universal first. After two days of walking through Disney, our feet just couldn’t hold up at Universal, and we ended up rushing through the park and missed a few things we’d like to do. I might even start taking long walks about a month before, just to get my feet ready for all the walking!
How Did You Get There From Dallas? We booked our trip on Travelocity, so we flew from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport to Atlanta, and then Atlanta to Orlando.
Other Tips For Fellow Travelers: It’s a pretty popular destination, so there’s tons of information online.
