Disney Orlando Trip Guide

It has been a while since my last blog post. Summer time is always so busy as I try to maximize my time with the family and enjoy the beautiful weather.

Today I want to share with you about my trip and give you a preview of our Disney Orlando trip guide. Hubby and I took the kids to Disney this summer and let me tell you these type of trips take planning if you want to maximize your time and get your money’s worth. So I will share my tips about the trip, where we stayed, what we did and where we ate. I will also share about the Disney parks and which rides are worth it and which are not in the next blog.

Having been to Disney 4 years ago I remembered the importance of pre-planning. These trips are not cheap by any means and you want to make sure that you maximize your time fully.

I have booked the trip for 9 days to get the most out of the parks as well as to have some downtime in between because those parks are EXHAUSTING.

Where we stayed:

I have booked Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress because it is more of a resort than a hotel and when I am away I like to have that vacation feel. It has very nice restaurants , large pools and amazing service. I am very happy with the choice I made. I know the big debate is always whether or not to stay on Disney property or not. And honestly I cannot justify the huge price difference between a Disney and a non Disney resort.

Our hotel, just like most hotels in the vicinity, offered a free shuttle to all the theme parks as well as Disney Springs (which is downtown Disney), so it didn’t cost extra to go to the parks. We also don’t care for the one hour earlier admission since we stay at the park until it closes. The only time I can justify the price is if kids are very small kids and will need to nap at the hotel or need to take lots of break. But if they do they are probably too young to fully enjoy the Disney parks.

So my advice is to stay off property as you will be able to better maximize you dollar. And trust me this is not a cheap vacation once you factor in all the park admissions, food and obviously “stuff” you will buy there.

What to do and where to eat:

Our hotel had some amazing options and Hemingways restaurant was absolutely amazing. From the food to the service it was impeccable.

During the days we went to the parks we ate at the restaurants there and I will talk about them in my next blog about what to do at the parks.

The way I spaced out the trip was park day followed by a pool day. Trust me you need it. As I mentioned earlier we would get to the parks between 9-10 am and stay until closing time. So a relaxing day was a must to catch up on sleep and to rest the achy feet after walking for 16-17km a day (good thing though since I didn’t need to workout).

We also loved going to Disney Springs which is a busy area of downtown Disney. It is full of shopping, restaurants and entertainment.

If you are there you have to try Trex restaurant with the kids. It is similar to Rainforest Café but with dinosaurs…and personally I like it better. However make resos before you go or you will be waiting up to two hours to get seated.

Another one of our faves is Paddlefish restaurant. If you love seafood you will definitely enjoy it. It is located on a boat and the food is delicious.

If you are looking do some shopping I would recommend Orlando Vineland Outlets. They have some great deals there. I found some amazing deals at DKNY, Jimmy Choo and Salvatore Ferragamo. But make sure to check the exchange rate because sometimes what seems to be a deal is really not once you convert it to Canadian dollar.

At Disney Springs shopping wasn’t worth it. I went into Zara and with the exchange rate it ended up being cheaper to buy in Canada. Just have you phone ready and check the article number to see the price in Canada.

It was a wonderful trip however do some planning on all the activities you want to do and then work your schedule to ensure that you can fit everything you want to do with a little downtime in between.

Hope this helps with your planning, and please share with anyone who is planning a trip to Disney. Also check out highlights on my Insta for more photos of the trip. xoxo