# Orlando: map, what to do and when to go

The Disney, Universal, and SeaWorld parks bring in most of the visitors, and you can spend a whole week among them. Outside the parks, Orlando has Winter Park and its canals, Lake Eola, the Vietnamese food of Mills 50, and clear springs half an hour away by car.

Canonical: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/orlando/
Language: en. Extended author commentary and itinerary notes may remain in Portuguese. Dates below belong to individual sources; this is not live availability.

## Direct answer
- **Orlando: Can you get from the airport to the parks without a car?** You can use rideshare or buses, with transfers: LYNX links Terminal A to downtown on route 11 and to International Drive on route 42, for US$2 a ride, with one free transfer within 90 minutes.
- **Orlando: How many days should you stay?** Five days: two at Disney, two at Universal with the park-to-park ticket, and a no-park day in the middle, in Winter Park, at Lake Eola, and in Mills 50.
- **Orlando: What is the day trip to the Kennedy Space Center like?** The NASA visitor complex is in Merritt Island, 72 km east, about 1 hour by car.

## The Magic Kingdom, start to finish
Get to the Magic Kingdom parking lot at least an hour before opening: from the car, there is still the tram and the crossing of the Seven Seas Lagoon by boat or monorail.
- Magic Kingdom
- Disney's Animal Kingdom

## Epic Universe
Drive to Epic Universe, a few kilometers south of the other Universal parks, and arrive before opening: the parking is its own and does not have the evening free parking of the other parks.
- Epic Universe

## Winter Park, Lake Eola, and Mills 50
Start at the Morse Museum, on Park Avenue in Winter Park, to see Tiffany's 1893 chapel; check the museum's website beforehand for hours and the closing day.
- Lake Eola Park
- Scenic Boat Tour

## EPCOT and the World Showcase
Enter through the front, near Spaceship Earth, and ride Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind early, or leave it for Lightning Lane.
- EPCOT

## Islands of Adventure and Diagon Alley
With a park-to-park ticket, start at Islands of Adventure and go straight to Hogsmeade, for the Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, which does not accept Express.
- Disney's Hollywood Studios
- Islands of Adventure
- Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art
- Gatorland

## Magic Kingdom
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/orlando/#g-lugar-magic-kingdom
Flórida · Half a day or more
Opened on October 1, 1971, it is the most visited theme park in the world, with about 17.83 million visitors in 2024. It covers 43 hectares in six lands, from Main Street, U.S.A. to Tomorrowland, around Cinderella Castle. The most in-demand roller coasters are the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, from 2014, and the TRON Lightcycle Run. Those who arrive by car park more than 1.5 km away, take the tram to the transportation center, and cross the Seven Seas Lagoon by boat or monorail: allow for that time before opening. A one-day ticket costs from US$139 to US$209 in 2026, depending on the date, plus 6.5% tax.
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## EPCOT
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/orlando/#g-lugar-epcot
Condado de Orange · Half a day or more
Opened in 1982, it covers 123 hectares, more than twice the Magic Kingdom. At the front is Spaceship Earth, the 18-story geodesic sphere; behind it, the World Showcase, a 1.9 km loop around a lake with eleven country pavilions, from Canada to Mexico, each with restaurants and shops. Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, from 2022, is the most in-demand roller coaster. The second entrance, the International Gateway, between France and the United Kingdom, receives the Skyliner gondola. A one-day ticket runs from US$129 to US$199 in 2026.
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## Disney's Hollywood Studios
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/orlando/#g-lugar-disney-s-hollywood-studios
Bay Lake · Half a day or more
Disney's movie park, opened in 1989, covers 55 hectares and has two areas that draw the crowds: Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, from 2019, with Rise of the Resistance and Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, and Toy Story Land, from 2018, with Slinky Dog Dash. In 2026, the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster reopened with a Muppets theme and the former Animation Courtyard became The Walt Disney Studios Lot. A one-day ticket runs from US$139 to US$204.
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## Disney's Animal Kingdom
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/orlando/#g-lugar-disney-s-animal-kingdom
Bay Lake · Half a day or more
Opened in 1998 on 230 hectares, it is a theme park and a zoo at once, with about 2,000 animals of 200 species. The Tree of Life, a 44 m artificial baobab, stands at the center; Kilimanjaro Safaris crosses a re-created African savanna in an open vehicle; and Pandora, from 2017, has Avatar Flight of Passage. The former DinoLand closed in 2026 to make way for a Latin American-themed area, planned for 2027. The one-day ticket is the cheapest at Disney, from US$119 to US$184.
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## Epic Universe
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/orlando/#g-lugar-epic-universe
Orlando · Half a day or more
Universal's third theme park in Orlando, the fourth counting the Volcano Bay water park, opened on May 22, 2025, on a 45-hectare (111-acre) site south of the others. It has a hub, Celestial Park, with the Stardust Racers roller coaster, and four worlds: Universal's classic monsters, How to Train Your Dragon, Super Nintendo World, and Harry Potter's Ministry of Magic, with the Battle at the Ministry ride. Entry, lockers, and the express lines use facial recognition. A one-day ticket costs from US$139 to US$199, and parking is on its own lot, with the same payment for the day valid for the other Universal parks.
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## Islands of Adventure
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/orlando/#g-lugar-islands-of-adventure
Orlando · Half a day or more
Universal's second park, opened in 1999, is divided into eight themed islands. Hogsmeade, the Harry Potter village, opened in 2010 and has the Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, from 2019; on the Jurassic Park island is the VelociCoaster, from 2021, Universal's fastest roller coaster. With a park-to-park ticket, the Hogwarts Express takes about 4 minutes to King's Cross, at Universal Studios Florida, where Diagon Alley is. A one-day ticket for one park starts at US$124.99.
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## SeaWorld Orlando
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/orlando/#g-lugar-seaworld-orlando
Condado de Orange · Half a day or more
Opened in 1973 near the southern end of International Drive, it mixes an aquarium, animal shows, and some of the city's most intense roller coasters: Mako, at about 61 m the tallest in Orlando, Pipeline, from 2023, which you ride standing up, and Ice Breaker. The rescue center cares for manatees. A one-day ticket bought online for a set date started at US$59.99 in October 2026, against US$151.99 with no discount, not including parking and taxes.
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## Lake Eola Park
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/orlando/#g-lugar-lake-eola-park
Condado de Orange · Up to half an hour
The 9-hectare lake in downtown Orlando is ringed by a 1.4 km path. The Linton E. Allen fountain, from 1957, was restored in 2011 after being struck by lightning and is lit at night. On the west side is the Walt Disney Amphitheater, and on Sundays, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., the Orlando Farmers Market is held. The land was donated to the city in 1883 on the condition that it become a park.
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## Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/orlando/#g-lugar-charles-hosmer-morse-museum-of
Flórida · One to two hours
On Park Avenue in Winter Park, the museum, founded in 1942, has the most complete collection of works by Louis Comfort Tiffany, along with art pottery and American painting. The heart of the visit is the chapel Tiffany built for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, reassembled and opened to the public in 1999; another wing, from 2011, displays pieces from Laurelton Hall, his house on Long Island. Check admission and hours on the museum's website before you go.
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## Scenic Boat Tour
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/orlando/#g-lugar-scenic-boat-tour
Up to half an hour
The Winter Park boat tour leaves from the end of Morse Boulevard, a few blocks from Park Avenue, and has run since 1938. It lasts an hour, with a guide, through the city's lakes and the narrow canals that join them, dug to control floods and carry logs to a sawmill. It departs every hour, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., every day except Christmas, on a first-come basis: it costs US$20 per adult and US$10 per child aged 2 to 11, tax included.
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## Harry P. Leu Gardens
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/orlando/#g-lugar-harry-p-leu-gardens
Orlando · One to two hours
A botanical garden of almost 50 acres (20 hectares), with lakes, on Forest Avenue, north of downtown, with a camellia collection that blooms in winter. The Leu family house, a history museum, is temporarily closed as of October 2026. It is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (9 a.m. to 4 p.m. from November 19, 2026 to January 3, 2027), with last entry one hour before closing, and closes on Thanksgiving and Christmas; admission is US$15 per adult and US$10 per child aged 4 to 17, and cash is not accepted, card only.
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## Gatorland
https://nilopelomundo.com/en/place/orlando/#g-lugar-gatorland
Flórida · One to two hours
Opened in 1949 by Owen Godwin, on a former cattle range on South Orange Blossom Trail, south of Orlando, it is still run by his family. It covers about 45 hectares, with an alligator breeding marsh crossed by a boardwalk and an observation tower, feeding shows, a small train, and ziplines, one of them about 370 m long over the alligator lagoon. It is the roadside Orlando from before Disney.
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**Orlando: Can you get from the airport to the parks without a car?**
You can use rideshare or buses, with transfers: LYNX links Terminal A to downtown on route 11 and to International Drive on route 42, for US$2 a ride, with one free transfer within 90 minutes. For the onward journey, route 38 serves Universal/International Drive, and routes 56 and 300 serve the Disney area; check connections and your park’s stop with LYNX. There is no train to the parks, and Disney’s free airport-to-hotel transport ended in January 2022.

**Orlando: How many days should you stay?**
Five days: two at Disney, two at Universal with the park-to-park ticket, and a no-park day in the middle, in Winter Park, at Lake Eola, and in Mills 50. With just one day, I'd pick the Magic Kingdom, buy the Lightning Lane Multi Pass, and arrive an hour before opening.

**Orlando: What is the day trip to the Kennedy Space Center like?**
The NASA visitor complex is in Merritt Island, 72 km east, about 1 hour by car. A one-day ticket costs US$77 per adult, parking US$15 per car, and it is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.: leave Orlando early to fit it all in.

**Orlando: Does the advertised price include tax and tip?**
No: in Orange County, the 6.5% sales tax is charged on top of the advertised price, park tickets included. In a restaurant with table service, the tip is 18% to 20% of the bill. Lodging taxes total 12.5%; also ask about any daily hotel fees.

**Orlando: When is the best time to go?**
November to April, the dry and cooler season. February to April have the highest hotel rates, and the busiest holidays, such as New Year's, have the most expensive one-day tickets.


## In the Nilo app
- Plan these 5 days on the map: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/app/guide/orlando/?utm_source=llm&utm_medium=markdown&utm_content=door-itinerary
- Mark your hotel on the map: https://nilopelomundo.com/en/app/map/orlando/?utm_source=llm&utm_medium=markdown&utm_content=door-stay

## Full editorial guide (Portuguese)
https://nilopelomundo.com/llm/orlando.md