Time of Year. This is our third trip to Orlando and third one in January. This of course means it is Winter for the US. We pick January for a few reasons, firstly it is our long Summer holiday break. Secondly the parks are generally a little quieter than other periods. Lastly although it is Winter, the weather is mild and there are still plenty of swim days on offer, especially when you have access to a heated pool. The first week of our stay was quite hot. We had a couple of cold days in the second week but it was still quite comfortable when doing the parks. Our tip here is to check the typical weather patterns for the time of year you intend to visit.

Accommodation. We have on previous trips stayed at hotels outside of Disney and also Disney Resorts. We loved both. On this trip thanks to the exchange rate, staying at Disney was not really an option. Below are our thoughts on accommodation.

• There are hotels and resorts outside of Disney that are classed as "Disney Neighbourhood Hotels". What this simply means is that these resorts are located in close proximity to Disney, they have a desk where you can purchase tickets and often have complimentary shuttles to the parks. They are not official Disney premises.
• Disney Resorts. These resorts are no doubt special. The theming of each resort is strong and consistent with the parks. If you are staying at a Disney Resort then we suggest planning a couple of days (call them rest days) where you can explore your resort. Many of the Disney Resorts are destinations in themselves and therefore you will want time to enjoy the amenities etc. Disney Art of Animation where we previously stayed was one such resort and my boys to this day still talk about it. Only one downside for us, the pools at Disney are not heated, only a concern for Winter trips.
• This trip we stayed at Holiday Inn Suites and Water Park. This is a Disney Neighbourhood Hotel. We loved it. During our stay we discovered this resort was the former Nickelodeon Resort and it is very similar in terms of amenities to Disney Resorts. The big bonus for the boys was that the pool is heated and in fact has a decent water park. We would recommend this hotel, the staff at the resort were super friendly.

Universal. There ae two main parks, Studios and Islands of Adventure. There is also a water park. Universal is also opening up a fourth park in a couple of years time based around Super Mario and Jurassic Park. We loved Universal. Here are a few tips.

• Express Pass. The Express Pass is not cheap but it is totally worth it. Apart from one ride, the new Hagrid Rollercoaster, the other rides all accept Express Pass. If you are travelling from Australia or someone else far away, I would recommend getting the Express Pass. The pass allows you to do each park in one day easily and that includes doing rides multiple times. I loss count of how many times we did the Mummy Ride, one of our favourites.
• Plan. So we had a three day pass for Universal. Day 1 we did Islands of Adventure and Day 2 we did Studios. Day 3 we did the best of both parks. If you encounter wet weather, Studios is one park you could do as most attractions are in doors.
• Hagrid Rollercoaster. OK this was an amazing ride and located in Islands of Adventure. Sadly Express Passes do not at this time allow you to bypass the Hagrid queues, BUT the ride is totally worth it. Best way to ride it is to be at the park first thing in the morning. There is a race to the ride when rope drops, think of Pamplona and the running of the bulls, now imagine all types of humanity racing to the ride, elderly people, young families, strollers, mobility scooters … the race to the ride is part of the fun. If you get to the attraction early enough you may be able to sneak a second ride before the line builds, but you would need to seriously run.
• Harry Potter. The Harry Potter area is amazing, at Orlando there are two Harry Potter areas linked by the Hogwarts Express. There is so much to do there.
  • Ollivanders Wands. You will see a small queue at the Ollivander Wand shop. The Ollivander store has a show (limited numbers of people each time) where one member of the audience is chosen and a wand is picked for them. It is a lot of fun. My youngest was picked on this trip. However be prepared to purchase the wand afterwards if your child is picked, they are between $40 and $60 USD each.
  • Wands. One thing my boys loved was trying the magic tricks using their wands purchased at the park. The wands at the park have a device in them that can be used to cast spells at designated areas. It is so much fun going to the different locations and getting the spells to work. If you buy a wand and the spells are not working go back to the store as the wand tip may need replacing and they will do this at no cost. The box containing the wand includes a map of all the spell locations, both for Hogsmeade and Daigon Alley areas. You will have a ball doing this with the kids.

Disneyworld.

• Planner/Concierge. We used a planner for this trip for the first time and we were super impressed with the service. See my previous blog post about engaging WDW Planners. If you are travelling a long way and time is precious you need to really consider using WDW Planners.
• Play Disney App. Previously we discussed the fun we had with the wands at Harry Potter. The Play Disney App is far better, especially in Galaxy's Edge. My boys loved playing with the App, finding mystery symbols, solving puzzles, scanning/translating signs in the Batuu language and playing with locks. So make sure to download the app and have fun within the park. My boys were actually disappointed they could not use the app after the trip.
• Galaxy's Edge. Well what can I say, we were blown away. With three boys and being a Star Wars household this was always going to be a highlight. The trip was worth it for this alone.
  • General Info. Galaxy's Edge is a big area, 14 acres to be precise. It feels like you are seriously on the planet Batuu and part of a Star Wars movie. Make the most of this area, it is not just about the rides.
  • Oga's Cantina. A must do! WDW Planners booked this for us, otherwise we would never have visited. Fancy being at a bar in Star Wars? Well this seriously makes you feel like you are in the movies. The cantina serves a bunch of unique alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks and small food plates. Once admitted you have 45 minutes ( inside. We LOVED this place. Reservations needed.
  • Docking Bay 7 - Another great place to grab some refreshments. It is a walk-up restaurant.
  • Rise of the Resistance. OMG a MUST MUST Do. For more details view our blog link (entry of 21st January). Be careful as there are spoilers in the blog but this is marked so you can avoid them.
  • Smuggler's Run. Fancy piloting the Millenium Falcon? Now is your chance. This ride puts you behind the controls. End of Feb there will be Disney Fast Passes for this ride and it is well worth using one to get on board. That said it is worth a 50 minute wait. You could always do what we did, come to the park early for Rise of the Resistance and a bonus is you are in the queue early for Smuggler's Run.
  • Light Sabres … You have two options.
  • Savi's Lightsabre Workshop. OK this is both very cool and equally expensive. You get to build the lightsabre from scratch. It is a great experience, part show, part workshop.
  • Dok-Ondar's Den of Antiquities. You do not get to make your own lightsabre here but you do get to pick up a high quality legacy lightsabre.
  • Droid Depot. Build your own droid. Not as expensive as the light sabres and my boys had fund building their droids.
  • Milk Stand. Make sure to pick up our favourite, blue milk!
  • Ambience. Just enjoy walking around, seeing characters interact with patrons etc. Take time to appreciate the detail.

• Pandora. Another new and amazing attraction is the world of Avatar. Like Galaxy's Edge, the environment is immersive and has some fun things to do.
  • Flight of Passage. This is Isabelle's favourite ride. Think of the Soaring ride at Epcot but on steroids. Another MUST do. We did it 4 times and did not tire of it.
  • Na'vi River Journey Ride. Very cool. A ride for the whole family and very immersive.
  • Ambiance. Like Galaxy's Edge, enjoy what the imagineers have created. A MUST do is to visit at night, the colours etc. are different than day time obviously but this also changes the feel of this part of the park.
• Epcot. This park is changing a lot. There are multiple rides being installed. At the moment I am not sure there is a lot for young children to enjoy here. So if you are visiting with young kids maybe do a half day here. In two to three years time this park will be completely different.
• Magic Kingdom. This park has not changed much and remains a classic. However the new Tron ride is being built and will be a nice addition to the park. Tron opens soon.
• After Hours. We did an after hours event at Animal Kingdom which went from 9pm to Midnight. Totally worth it. We got to do the main rides multiple times and also enjoyed some free drinks and ice creams. A little expensive but also a good way to avoid long queues for attractions such as Flight of Passage, Na'vi River, Expedition Everest and Dinosaur.

Busch Gardens. Basically this is part zoo part rollercoaster park. So if you like rollercoasters there are quite a few of them here and worth the visit. You can take a free shuttle to the park from Orlando.

Seaworld. This park is slowly changing. With the release of the movie Blackfish, Seaworld has had to re-invent itself. They have added a Sesame Street area for the small kids and some decent rollercoasters. My boys still and always will love the stingray feeding area, they loved it in 2013, 2015 and 2020, we start and finish our day here feeding these cute creators.

NASA. No huge changes from our previous visit but we loved it nonetheless. Make sure to take a Gray Line tour if you do go, you get an exclusive welcome by an astronaut when you arrive at the park. Our astronaut was on the first ever Shuttle mission.

General Tips.

• US Healthcare is expensive and this is a shock for people from Australia who are used to Universal Healthcare. A visit to a GP and some basic antibiotics costs $600 and this is not an exaggeration. So health insurance is a must. However you need to remember to bring all the medications you need and also bring some some simple analgesics, basic antibiotics in case you need it. Our GP when we explained we were headed to the US prescribed a bunch of stuff to see us through.
• Many of the parks have water rides. Assume you will get soaked. Take your own ponchos as this is cheaper than the ones conveniently sold close to the ride. We also took thongs (flip flops) and a change of clothes just in case.
• If you can it is worth finding a local taxi driver to help with local logistics. We had a driver called Henry who helped us greatly, he was a great source of information and we used him for the entirety of our trip. Message me if you want Henry's details.
• Tipping. In Australia we are not used to tipping people. Remember in the US people survive with tipping so make sure to tip people 18% to 20%. Also remember wages are low in the US, some of the restaurants you will eat in are staffed by people who could not eat there themselves. So be kind to service people.
• Diabetes. I am a Type 1 Diabetic and when traveling this adds another dimension to travel.
  • Universal. I was pleasantly surprised to see that Universal accommodates diabetics well. They have medical lockers and most often once my insulin pump was locked away they took us to the front of the line. The park was exceptional and it was clear they had training on what T1 diabetics have to face.
  • Disneyworld. There were no medical lockers to my knowledge, I could be wrong. I was lucky because two in our party were not keen on the extreme rides and therefore could look after my pump etc. You may want to check with the park before you travel.

Our last and most important tip … have fun!!