7 Day Orlando Travel Guide

By: Elizabeth Wilding

If you're looking for more to do in Orlando that is (dare I say it) more than just Disney, then this 7 day Orlando travel guide is for you! Each day is filled with a different activity, ranging from gator boat rides to swimming at Daytona beach to drinking butter beer at Universal. Take a step back from your family vacation planning, and let this guide do the work for you.

Day 1

And we're off to Orlando!! We flew Delta from DTW to MCO (Orlando's airport), and arrived around 11 AM. We rented a car at the airport (I recommend doing this ahead of time. We rented through Enterprise, but there are other options depending on your price point and need). We were fortunate enough to be able to use our family friend's timeshare at Wyndham Grand Bonnet Resort. The resort is gorgeous, with multiple pools, restaurants, and other entertainment right on the property.

Before we checked into the resort, we headed to Disney Springs for lunch. Disney Springs has free admission, and is filled with shopping, restaurants and events (not just Disney themed!). We ate at Planet Hollywood, which is a must if you visit Disney Springs. The restaurant is filled with movie memorabilia (my favorite was the dress worn in the Hunger Games!), not to mention the food is great.

After lunch, we walked around Disney Springs while we waited for our hotel room to be ready for check in. My youngest brother loved Legos growing up and it was always his dream to go to Legoland. He loved seeing all of the life size Lego creations!

We checked into the resort and immediately put our swimsuits on to hop in the pool! We coasted down the lazy river and laid out to tan until we were hungry for dinner.

Our family LOVES to eat and Benihana is one of our favorite places! We made reservations in advance, which I highly recommend since Orlando is such a popular area.

After Benihana, we picked up some groceries for the week. Our room at the resort had a full kitchen, so we decided to grab things to make breakfast and snacks at the resort!

Day 2

The resort had a Starbucks, and nothing starts your morning off better than coffee on vacation! We ate breakfast in the hotel room, then headed out on a day trip to Daytona Beach.

Daytona Beach is about an hour and a half drive from Orlando. Daytona has so much to offer - Daytona International Speedway, one of the world's most famous beaches, waterfront dining, and much more! We spent the day swimming in the ocean, searching for seashells, and taking walks up and down the beach. We ate lunch at Cantina Louie; they had great salsa and street tacos.

After a day in the sun, we all fell asleep in the car on the way back to the resort! We lounged around for a bit, then got ready to go to dinner. We ate at Maggiano's Little Italy. We were craving Italian food, and this definitely hit the spot. I highly recommend getting a pitcher of sangria!

After dinner, we needed a sweet treat, so we headed to Disney Springs! We ended up getting ice cream and walking around watching the street performers and live music.

Day 3

We woke up bright and early on day three because we were headed to Universal!

We decided to go to the Islands of Adventure Park, which is the home of Harry Potter World, Jurassic Park, and Skull Island. Our family loves thrill rides, so we rode the Velocicoaster multiple times, as well as Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure (you have to put yourself in a virtual queue for this ride; I recommend heading to it first to scan the QR code and ride other things while you wait!) and the Incredible Hulk Coaster. We wandered around Harry Potter World, tried the famous butter beer, and grabbed a few Voodoo Doughnuts! We ate lunch at NBC Sports Grill and Brew.

I would highly recommend taking a picture of where you parked, because it is easy to lose your car in the parking structure (we did for over an hour, yikes!). We were exhausted after a long but fun day, so we ate dinner at the resort.

Day 4

We decided to sleep in and have a pool day at the resort on day 4. Remember, vacations are for relaxing too! I worked out at the gym(the resort had a gorgeous weight room!), then we had a few drinks by the pool, read our books, and enjoyed the beautiful day.

The resort had a lot of free activities we took advantage of! You could rent out ping pong tables, soak in the hot tubs, go to the arcade, and play putt putt!

We decided to have an early dinner, so we headed to the House of Blues in Disney Springs! The last time my family went to Florida together was when I was four years old. My parents have a picture of me at the House of Blues, so it was nostalgic to be back as an adult. The House of Blues almost always has live music and the food never disappoints!

We were told we had to visit Gideon's Bakehouse was a must to visit in Disney Springs, and it was more than my wildest dreams could have ever imagined! Each cookie is nearly 1/2 pound and could easily be shared, so get a few different flavors to split! We ended up going back a second time because the cookies were that delicious!

Disney Springs also doubles as a mall, so we did some back to school shopping for my brothers, as well as I did some shopping for myself. Anthropologie, American Threads, Fabletics, Kate Spade, Free People, and Lululemon are a few examples of the shopping options!

Later on, we decided to play another round of putt putt, so we went to Pirates Cove! The course was a bit expensive for putt putt golf, but hey, we're on vacation!

When we got back to the resort, my mom and I went for a walk on the boardwalk. There are tons of cute benches and swings across a deck on the water, so we had some girl time! It's important to remember that we take family vacations to do fun things, but also to spend quality time with those you love.

Day 5

On day 5, we had a lazy morning, then headed out to play (you guessed it!) more putt putt! We went to Fantasia Gardens and Miniature Golf, which is a challenging putt putt course, with each hole being 60 to 100 feet long! My family is competitive, especially regarding sports. Just to put it on the record - I won at this course!

It started to rain, so we headed back to the resort. We hopped in the hot tub for awhile, ate lunch at the resort (we were obsessed with the burrito bowl at one of the restaurants!). We really wanted to do an airboat ride, so we waited out the rain and went in the afternoon. We booked through Wild Willy's Airboat Tours, and it was so much fun! We went through the everglades looking for alligators and other wildlife. At the end, you get to hold an alligator; cross that off your bucket list!

Afterwards, we had to find somewhere to eat alligator! We ate at The Grille at Bellalago (which unfortunately Yelp said it's closed), and they were right when they said gator tastes like chicken!

Day 6

On day 6, our last full day, we went to Hollywood Studios at Disney World! My youngest brother had never been to Disney, so we had to take him to the Tower of Terror, the Rockin' Roller Coaster, Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, and much more. We went to the Muppet Show, ate some incredible snacks, and walked through Toy Story Land. I don't have many pictures from this day, which is your sign to truly focus on living in the moment!