Orlando for Big Kids
Disney World and Harry Potter World
In Just Two Days
When my friends and I decided to visit Disney World and “Harry Potter World”, we thought it would be easy and fun to visit a couple of the world’s most magical places. While it was definitely a LOT of fun, I found it to be a bit tricky to plan the right itinerary. Busy schedules meant that the trip could last only two days, a shockingly short time frame according to the blogs I read. In addition, the weekend’s activities needed to balance our appreciation of childlike magic and our carefully curated twenty-something cynicism.
After a bit of planning, we were able to create a trip that felt memorable and magical to us. Here’s how we did it!
The Destinations
- Disney World’s Magic Kingdom (the place you remember as incredibly magical with Cinderella’s Castle and classic rides like Space Mountain)
- Disney World’s Epcot (the place you remember as severely lacking in rides, but will now be your favorite because… drinks)
- Universal Studios (the place where you will spend all of your hard-earned muggle money on wands from Ollivander’s and butterbeer from The Leaky Cauldron)
Itinerary Overview
Friday Evening: Fly into Orlando
Saturday: Disney World (Epcot + Magic Kingdom)
Sunday : Universal Studios ( Diagon Alley + Rest of Park)
Early Monday Morning: Fly Home
The Hotel
I recommend staying at a Disney property. This enables you to stay later at a Disney Park than those staying off in the regular world! For example, on the night we visited, Magic Kingdom closed for regular folk at 12:00am, but we were able to stay until 2:00am. This means shorter lines after the kiddos go to bed.
Disney resorts are available at three basic levels: basic, moderate and deluxe.
To balance budget and fun, we stayed in a nicer room at a moderate resort. Our group stayed at the moderate Caribbean Beach Resort in one of the very fun pirate-themed rooms.
From beds shaped like pirate ships to mini fridges hidden in barrels, the theming was a lot of fun!
Getting Around
Airport to Hotel
To get from the airport to your Disney hotel, you can take the “Magical Express” — a bus that leaves regularly from the Orlando airport’s main terminal — for free! If your flight arrives before 10:00pm, your luggage can be delivered directly to your hotel. However, we just brought carry-ons for the weekend-long trip.
Hotel to Disney Parks
Disney buses run approximately every twenty minutes from your resort to the parks, and we found that to be the easiest way to reach Epcot and Magic Kingdom from the resort.
Hotel to Universal Parks
We took an extra-large Uber (accommodating up to 6 people) to and from the park. Each time, we waited no longer than 5 minutes. Each Uber cost about $30, which was not bad split among 6 people!
Before You Leave
Prepping for Disney World
There are four major things you’ll need to prepare before you leave: park tickets, MagicBands, FastPass+ reservations, and restaurant reservations.
Park Tickets
For your park ticket, you’ll need to get a 1-day ParkHopper pass for each person. This will technically allow you to visit as many parks as you want to in one day. You’ll be visiting two: Epcot and Magic Kingdom.
Magic Bands
MagicBands are accessories that pack a lot of punch. These wristbands serve as your hotel room key, your park ticket and your wallet (you can swipe your band to pay for anything around the park). If you don’t customize your MagicBand before, you’ll get a perfectly functional gray band when you arrive. However, my group was very surprised when they received their customized bands in the mail a couple of weeks before the trip!
Customizing MagicBands is completely free on My Disney Experience, and you can choose the color of each band in advance, as well as add names to the inside.
FastPass+
FastPass+ is Disney’s system for allowing guests to skip long lines and feel like the ultimate cool kids. You can select up to three FastPasses at a time, and they can apply to rides or experiences (i.e. seeing a favorite character).
I recommend you book your three FastPasses (again on My Disney Experience) for the following rides in Epcot’s Future World on Saturday morning: Soarin’, Mission: Space and Test Track.
Restaurant Reservations
For restaurant reservations, if you follow the recommended itinerary, lunch will be your time to transition from Epcot’s Future World to Epcot’s World Showcase. World Showcase features 11 countries situated around a lagoon, and it’s where you will be eating and drinking around the world!
With this in mind, have lunch around 1:30pm in Mexico. Specifically, I’d recommend the San Angel Inn. It’s inside a very fun Mayan temple, and you’ll be able to get a good meal and a great margarita to begin your journey around the world.
Again, if you follow the itinerary, you’ll transition from Epcot to Magic Kingdom around dinner time. However, you might be quite full from all the snacks and drinks you just had.
The hot spot for dinner(if you can get a reservation) is the Be Our Guest restaurant in Fantasyland. If you’re not as hungry, there are tons of quick service restaurants around Fantasyland. We were perfectly happy to grab a quick bite at Pinocchio’s Village Haus in Magic Kingdom.
Prepping for Universal Studios
This will be significantly easier than prepping for Disney World. You’ll just need a park ticket and an express pass. Universal Studios has two parks — Universal Studios Florida and Universal’s Islands of Adventure — and each has its own Harry Potter park. Florida has Diagon Alley, which is bigger and features Gringotts and The Leaky Cauldron. Islands of Adventure has Hogsmeade, which includes Hogwarts Castle. Both have their own sets of fun shops.
I’d recommend you get your ticket for Universal Studios Florida. The bigger Harry Potter section means shorter lines, and you can grab a fun lunch at The Leaky Cauldron. You’ll also want to spring for an express pass, which allows you to use the shorter line once per ride.
Itinerary in Detail
Saturday
Epcot’s Future World
You’ll want to get to the park by 10:00am at the latest. This is where the FastPass+ reservations that you’ve made come in. You’ll want to set reservations that allow you to visit the three rides of choice — Soarin’, Test Track and Mission: SPACE — one after the other and ideally before 1:00pm. It’ll look something like this:
Note: Mission: SPACE can make even the toughest riders a little motion sick!
Epcot’s World Showcase
By now, it should be about 1:00pm, perfect timing to have lunch and then walk over to the other part of Epcot: World Showcase. World Showcase features 11 pavilions, each devoted to a different country in the world. This gives guests like you and me the fantastic opportunity to Drink and Snack Around the World!
Granted, 11 drinks is a LOT, so sharing is highly encouraged. Hopefully, you’ve already made your reservation at San Angel Inn in Mexico, so make your way into that temple for lunch and your first drink! In clockwise order, the countries are Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Italy, USA, Japan, Morocco, France, UK and Canada. From plum wine + pot stickers in China to prosecco + crepes in France, you’re in for a fun afternoon.
Magic Kingdom
By now, it’s around 6 or 7:00pm, and you’re ready to head to the Magic Kingdom. Good thing you got your Park Hopper Pass — you can just catch one of the Disney buses directly to Magic Kingdom and swipe right in with your MagicBand! You might be concerned that you’ve gotten to the park too late, but keep in mind that Magic Kingdom is beautiful at night, and you’ve got those handy extra hours from staying at a Disney Park!
As it gets later, the lines will significantly decrease for those classic rides like Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Also, by already using your three FastPass+ reservations earlier in the day, you now have the opportunity to add something new in Magic Kingdom. Whatever you do though, don’t miss the phenomenal Wishes firework show! It usually takes place around 10:00pm, but make sure to check the time on the day of your visit.
Sunday
Universal Studio: Florida — Diagon Alley
After a late night in the Magic Kingdom, you probably won’t want to get to the park too early on Sunday. I’d recommend just aiming to get the park around noon. First things first, head to Diagon Alley. You’ll definitely want to pick up a map to get there, as it is pretty far from the entrance. Complicating things extra is the fact that “in character” employees will not answer your questions if you are lost, instead opting to ask “Who is Harry Potter?”. It’s cute, but a little confusing. Once you finally make it, there are three main things that you’ll likely want to do on Diagon Alley.
- Eat Lunch in The Leaky Cauldron — British Pub food and a great place to enjoy Butterbeer or Pumpkin juice. Bonus points for phenomenal lighting for the selfies you will definitely want to take. You can’t make reservations here, but service is typically pretty quick.
- Ride Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts — While this ride is typically an exception for the Express Pass, it’s absolutely, 100% worth the wait. To improve the wait, consider buying a drink (ranging from fun pumpkin juice to regular beer offerings) during the outdoor part of the line. Once you get inside, there is plenty to see, including moving portraits and realistic goblins. As for the ride itself, it is part roller-coaster, part 3D adventure, all fun. You’ll honestly feel as if you’re in the movie.
- Buy all the things! — Stores on Diagon Alley are absolutely fantastic. One lucky person from every group will be selected for a special wand experience at Ollivander’s, which will thrill lovers of the HP books and movies. You’ll also want to leave time to buy candy and prank gifts at Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes, Butterbeer ice cream at Florean Flotesque’s Ice Cream Parlor and maybe the perfect snowy owl stuffed animal at the Magical Menagerie. We also enjoyed wandering into the sketchy part of town, Knockturn Alley, which includes fun dark magic shops like Borgin and Burke’s and wanted posters galore.
Universal Studio: Florida — The Rest
By now, it’s probably about 3:00pm. Once you’re ready to leave Diagon Alley, there are many more fun things to do in the park! We especially enjoyed the following rides, all eligible for usage from your trusty Express Pass:
- Rip Ride Rock It — This is the most intense roller coaster in the park — it includes all the features of a classic coaster (i.e. loops and thrills), but you get the amazing bonus of being able to choose your own soundtrack! After the ride, you’ll be able to see and purchase a music video of yourself rocking out (or, you know, panicking) to the song you selected. There is a lot of fun music included across a variety of genres, but if you don’t see what you’re looking for, here’s how to access a secret song menu!
- The Mummy — A dark roller coaster with lots of thrilling surprises.
- Minion Mayhem — A must for any Despicable Me fans, with a cute storyline and a lot of silliness.
For dinner, we enjoyed seafood at Lombard’s. While considered to be the fine dining option in Universal Studios, we still found it to be well-priced. In addition, it earned bonus points in our group for the ability to make reservations in advance.
That’s It!
Enjoy your trip! And please comment if you have different suggestions or actually try this out!
