Visiting Florida for the First Time With the Family?

Here’s what you need to know…

Insider Travel Tips from the travel agents who know best. The team at The Travel Suite, Tour America, and Cruise Holidays share their top 20 tips for travelling abroad to Florida in 2024.

1. Give yourself plenty of time to explore what Orlando has to offer.  If it’s your first time visiting, a minimum of two weeks stay is recommended. The best time to visit the theme parks is mid-week as it’s quieter and queue times are lower compared to weekends when locals visit the parks. Keep your weekend to can catch up on some shopping or relax by your hotel pool.
2. Before you get on the plane, think ahead of the airport and flight and be organised for the little ones. Pack sandwiches at home if needed and separate backpack essentials for each child for easy access.
3. Encourage the smaller children to walk/run around as much as possible before any flight so they will be tired and depending on the flight times, they might even go for a sleep on the plane.
4. If your child hates loud noise, bring noise cancelling headphones for sensitive ears. It’s noisy in the parks. 
5. Have some dollars set aside for tipping when out and about.
6. Buy Souvenir Cups as they are refillable at Freestyle machines. New cups with a full day of refills are $18.99 per person and recharges of the same cup to add on another day of use are $11.99 per cup per day. There are Coke Freestyle stations situated around the parks too and a similar deal as the Souvenir Cups – they are $15.99 each, plus tax and entitles you to unlimited free refills at any Coke Freestyle station at any of the three parks for the day.
7. The popcorn buckets will cost you around $12, with $2.19 per refill – a great deal if your children love popcorn and plan on being there for multiple days (or returning for multiple trips). Avail of Tour America’s ‘kids eat free’ card which can be used in many restaurants in Orlando.
8. You can get free water refills at most beverage carts and kiosks, all restaurants and any of a dozen water fountains around the park.
9. The parks are vast so a useful recommendation to visit specific parks, is to break up your hotel locations. You could book a hotel for seven days near Disneyland, Universal and other Disney parks and then a different hotel on International Drive (Universal Hotel recommended) for a further seven nights (if on a two-week holiday) Staying on International Drive will enable you to be closer to the Universal Parks, SeaWorld, Discovery Cove etc. and the outlets here are worth visiting also. 
10. If you can stay onsite, you get early entry into the parks. Staying in a Premier Hotel for 1-2 nights will give you access to the Fast Pass which cuts out all that queuing.  On arrival into the parks head to the back of the park, making your way to the front throughout the day. This way you avoid the longer queues as most people gravitate to the front rides throughout the day.  Another tip for avoiding long queues in Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure is to prebuy a ’Free Universal Express Unlimited’ Pass for $164.99 per person, per day. Valid theme park admission is required. (Not valid at Universal Volcano Bay)
11. Buy before you Fly. Book the park tickets before you go and if staying on International Drive, prebook a ride trolly as it’s $3. This covers everything you want to ride on and is much better value for the duration of your stay.
12. The legal drinking age in Florida is 21 and they are strict. 
13. There is WIFI so make sure to download the apps for the parks and keep an eye on the real-time queue notifications so you will have less time in queues and you can even order ahead for lunch from the app. 
14. The car is convenient but expensive at the parks so it is much easier to stay in hotels with shuttle buses.
15. Pack lots of goodies and sandwiches for snacking in between the main lunch/dinner times especially if you have children who are fussy easters.
16. Get yourself an AirTag, they are handy to keep track of your keys, wallet, luggage, backpack and more. Just download the Find My app. It is a simple one-tap setup and instantly connects AirTag with your iPhone or iPad. You can download all apps for the Parks in case you lose anything while there. 
17. Don’t pack too many clothes as the shopping is fantastic in Florida.
18. Bring a portable charger as you will need it for all the photos and videos you will be taking. 
19. If you are hiring a car from your destination, you can arrive at the airport, have some drinks on the plane and get collected with the included transfer. The following day you can collect the hired car near your hotel when you are more refreshed and had a good sleep. 
20. The main important things to check are your passports, have an additional six months validity, have your Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) application done before you travel and always use the official website as there are many fake websites (it costs $22 pp) and ensure you have travel insurance that includes travel to the USA.