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A good Orlando itinerary gives each big park its own day, puts a pool or rest day in the middle, and keeps you in a hotel close to the parks you’ll actually visit. Below you’ll find sample 3-, 5- and 7-day plans, laid out day by day, with the area and type of hotel that fits each one.
The plans cover Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando (including Epic Universe, which opened on May 22, 2025) and, on the longer trip, a day at the Space Coast. They’re built on how the parks’ own perks and ticket rules work, not on fixed opening times. Hours change by season and by day, so check the official park calendars before you lock anything in.
If you haven’t settled how long to stay, start with our guide to how many days you need in Orlando, then come back and pick the plan that matches.
Quick answer: With 3 days, choose one resort: three Disney parks or all three Universal parks. With 5 days, do three Disney days and two Universal days (Epic Universe, then a park-to-park day at Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure). With 7 days, add the fourth Disney park, a pool day and a trip to Kennedy Space Center or the beach. For a 3-day plan, stay near the parks you’re visiting. For 5 to 7 days, split your stay between the Disney area and Universal.
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Five rules behind every good trip plan
- One theme park per day. The big parks easily fill a day. Hopping between parks works best as an evening bonus, not as a plan to cover two parks in one day.
- Start early, break at midday. The first hour after opening is usually the calmest. A hotel close to the parks makes a pool break at midday realistic, especially with young kids or in summer heat.
- Plan a rest day on longer trips. From 5 days up, a lighter day in the middle (pool, Disney Springs, shopping) keeps the final park days enjoyable.
- Group days by resort. Do your Disney days together and your Universal days together, so you switch hotels once at most.
- Keep the arrival day light. After a flight, check in, swim and get groceries or dinner. Save park tickets for full days.
Tickets and perks that shape your plan
A few official rules decide which park goes on which day and where it pays to sleep. These were current at the time of writing, so confirm on the Disney and Universal sites before you buy.
| Rule or perk | Who it applies to | What it means for your plan |
|---|---|---|
| Disney Early Theme Park Entry | Disney Resort hotels and select partner hotels | 30 minutes early at all four parks, every day of your stay |
| Lightning Lane purchase window | Disney Resort hotels, Swan, Dolphin, Swan Reserve, Shades of Green: 7 days ahead. Everyone else: 3 days | Buy line-skipping passes early for your busiest park days |
| Disney Park Hopper | Tickets with the Park Hopper option | Switch parks at any time after entering your first park, subject to capacity |
| Universal Early Park Admission | Guests of Universal Orlando hotels | Up to an hour early at select attractions, in the parks Universal chooses |
| Hogwarts Express | Park-to-Park ticket holders | Needed to ride between the two Wizarding World areas |
Two more things matter for Universal days. First, check exactly which parks your Universal ticket includes. Universal sells tickets for different combinations of parks, and not every ticket includes Epic Universe, so check the parks listed on yours before you buy. Second, Volcano Bay, Universal’s water park, is scheduled to close for maintenance from October 26, 2026, with reopening expected on or before April 1, 2027, according to Universal. If your trip falls in that window, leave the water-park day out or look at a hotel with its own water features.
3-day Orlando itinerary: pick one resort
Three days isn’t enough to do Disney and Universal well. You’d spend most of your time in transit and in lines. Pick the resort that matters most to your group and give it all three days.
Option A: Walt Disney World in 3 days
- Day 1, Magic Kingdom. Arrive for opening (30 minutes earlier if your hotel has Early Theme Park Entry), do the most popular rides first, take a midday break if you’re close by, and return for the evening. This is the park most first-timers would hate to miss.
- Day 2, EPCOT. Start with the rides in the front half of the park, then spend the afternoon walking around World Showcase. Finish with dinner at Disney Springs. Parking there is free and no ticket is needed.
- Day 3, Hollywood Studios or Animal Kingdom. Choose Hollywood Studios for Star Wars and Toy Story fans and thrill rides, or Animal Kingdom for safaris, animals and a slower pace. With a Park Hopper ticket, you can add the other one in the afternoon.
Where to stay: the Disney Springs area and Lake Buena Vista give you short drives or free shuttles to every Disney park. Our guide to the best hotels near Disney World compares non-Disney picks by area.
Option B: Universal Orlando in 3 days
- Day 1, Epic Universe. Give the newest park its own day. It has five worlds: Celestial Park, Super Nintendo World, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Ministry of Magic, How to Train Your Dragon: Isle of Berk and Dark Universe. Use Early Park Admission if it’s offered at this park during your stay.
- Day 2, Islands of Adventure. Hogsmeade, the big coasters and Jurassic World. In the evening, walk over to CityWalk for dinner.
- Day 3, Universal Studios Florida. Diagon Alley and the movie-based rides. With a Park-to-Park ticket, you can take the Hogwarts Express back to Islands of Adventure for anything you missed.
Where to stay: on-site Universal hotels get you Early Park Admission and walking paths, water taxis or shuttles. See our guide to hotels near Universal Studios Orlando for all the on-site options and a few nearby.
Two good bases for a 3-day trip
For Disney: Drury Plaza Hotel Orlando – Disney Springs Area. The hotel says it is half a mile from Disney Springs, runs a free shuttle to all four Disney theme parks and serves a free hot breakfast plus an evening 5:30 Kickback with hot food. It charges no resort fee. Self-parking was listed at $28 a night plus tax on the hotel’s information page at the time of writing, while its FAQ still showed $25, so confirm the rate with the hotel. It’s also on Disney’s list of hotels with Early Theme Park Entry. Read our full Drury Plaza Hotel Orlando review for rooms and transport details.
See prices and availability at Drury Plaza Hotel Orlando – Disney Springs Area
For Universal: Universal Cabana Bay Beach Resort. Loews lists 920 Family Suites with kitchenettes that sleep up to six, two oversized pools with a lazy river and a waterslide, Early Park Admission, walking distance to the two original parks and CityWalk, and free shuttle buses. It works well if your group is bigger than four and you’d rather book one suite than two rooms.
Check your dates for Universal Cabana Bay Beach Resort on Booking.com
5-day Orlando itinerary: Disney and Universal
Five days is the shortest trip that fits both resorts comfortably. You get three Disney days, two Universal days, and no day where you rush through two parks.
| Day | Plan | Where you sleep |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Magic Kingdom, opening to evening | Disney area |
| Day 2 | Animal Kingdom in the morning, pool in the afternoon | Disney area |
| Day 3 | EPCOT or Hollywood Studios (Park Hopper for both) | Disney area, then move |
| Day 4 | Epic Universe | Universal area |
| Day 5 | Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios (Park-to-Park) | Universal area |
Why this order: Animal Kingdom usually works best in the morning, which frees up a calm afternoon on day 2. Moving hotels after day 3 means you only pack once, and the drive between the Disney area and Universal takes far less time than a park day. If you’d rather not move at all, a central base can work. Our guide on where to stay for Disney and Universal compares a split stay with a single base.
Use your Lightning Lane window here. With a 5-day plan, Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios are the days where pre-booked passes matter most. Disney Resort guests (plus the Swan, Dolphin, Swan Reserve and Shades of Green) can buy from 7 days before check-in for their whole stay. Everyone else, including Drury and Signia guests, gets 3 days; with a date-based ticket, that’s 3 days before the ticket’s first day, for every day on it.
Where to stay on a 5-day split stay
Disney nights: Signia by Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek. Signia is on Disney’s Early Theme Park Entry list and runs its own motorcoach to the four Disney parks and Disney Springs. Its lazy river makes the day-2 pool afternoon easy. The hotel’s FAQ lists a $50 nightly resort charge plus tax (it covers the shuttle, Wi-Fi and lazy-river tubes) and $40 daily self-parking plus tax, at the time of writing.
Compare rates for Signia by Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek
Universal nights: Universal’s Loews Sapphire Falls Resort. According to Universal, guests get Early Park Admission, a free water taxi and buses to the parks, and walking paths, with a large beach-entry pool and waterslide for the evenings. Universal Express isn’t included here, so plan your Epic Universe day around opening time. More detail in our Loews Sapphire Falls Resort guide.
See available rooms at Loews Sapphire Falls Resort
7-day Orlando itinerary: all the parks plus the coast
A week lets you see all four Disney parks and all three Universal parks, take a real rest day and get out of the theme park bubble once. Here’s how to lay out the week.
| Day | Plan | Where you sleep |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Magic Kingdom | Disney area |
| Day 2 | EPCOT, with dinner at World Showcase | Disney area |
| Day 3 | Pool morning, Disney Springs in the evening | Disney area |
| Day 4 | Hollywood Studios, then Animal Kingdom by Park Hopper (or one each half day) | Disney area, then move |
| Day 5 | Epic Universe | Universal area |
| Day 6 | Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios | Universal area |
| Day 7 | Kennedy Space Center or a beach day | Universal area or the coast |
Days 1 to 4: Disney
Front-load the parks that matter most. Put Magic Kingdom on day 1 while everyone is fresh, and make day 3 a true break. If your group can’t do without four full Disney days, swap day 3 for Animal Kingdom and move the rest day to day 7.
Days 5 and 6: Universal
Same idea as the 5-day plan: Epic Universe gets its own day, then a Park-to-Park day for the two original parks and the Hogwarts Express. With a full week, you can also spread the two original parks over a day and a half, using the evening of day 5 at CityWalk.
Day 7: Kennedy Space Center or the beach
Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is roughly 60 miles east of the Disney and Universal areas, so plan on about 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes each way without heavy traffic. The visitor complex says no public transportation goes there, so plan on a rental car or a tour (Gray Line Orlando runs one), and parking for cars was $15 at the time of writing. If your group prefers sand to rockets, Cocoa Beach and the Space Coast beaches are on the same side of the state. Our guide to beaches near Orlando compares the options.
Where to stay: the same split as the 5-day plan works, with one more night in each area. Families who want to cut costs can choose the Drury for the Disney nights and Cabana Bay for the Universal nights. If you prefer pools and a bit more space, go with Signia and Sapphire Falls.
Itinerary tips that save time in Orlando
- Check the park calendars once your dates are set. Opening hours, Early Entry and evening events vary by day, and your best park order can change because of them.
- Plan Florida weather into the afternoon. Summer storms often hit in the afternoon, which is another reason to start early and keep a midday break.
- Don’t over-hop. Disney’s Park Hopper lets you switch parks at any time after your first park. It’s most useful for an evening switch, not for running across the resort at noon.
- Keep a car or not, on purpose. Hotels with free park shuttles let you skip a rental for Disney or Universal days. Day trips like Kennedy Space Center need a car or a tour.
- Book the right ticket. At Universal, a Park-to-Park ticket is needed for the Hogwarts Express, and Epic Universe access depends on the ticket you buy.
Where to stay for each Orlando itinerary
Your itinerary decides the area. Keeping drive times short matters more than the hotel’s star level, because you’ll do the trip to the parks every day. Our guide to where to stay in Orlando breaks down every area.
| Itinerary | Best base | Example hotels |
|---|---|---|
| 3 days, Disney only | Disney Springs area or Bonnet Creek | Drury Plaza, Signia |
| 3 days, Universal only | Universal on-site hotels | Cabana Bay, Sapphire Falls |
| 5 days, both resorts | Split stay: Disney area, then Universal | Signia, then Sapphire Falls |
| 7 days, parks plus coast | Split stay, optional coast night | Drury, then Cabana Bay |
Rates vary by season, availability and how far ahead you book, so compare a few nights in each area before deciding whether a split stay saves you money or just time.
Frequently asked questions
How many days do you need for an Orlando itinerary?
Plan on 3 days for one resort (Disney or Universal), 5 days to do both without rushing, and 7 days to see every major park with a rest day and a day trip. Fewer than 3 days works for a short add-on, but you’ll need to pick only one or two parks and accept that you won’t cover them fully.
Should I do Disney or Universal first?
Either order works, but doing the Disney days first and Universal second keeps the hotel move simple: you pack once and don’t backtrack. If Epic Universe is your top priority, you can flip it so the newest park gets your freshest day. Just keep all the days for each resort together.
Is 5 days enough for Disney and Universal?
Yes, for most first-time visitors. Five days gives you three Disney parks and all three Universal parks, using a Park-to-Park ticket for Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure on the same day. You’ll miss one Disney park unless you add a Park Hopper evening, and there’s no full rest day.
Do I need a car for an Orlando itinerary?
Not for the park days if your hotel runs free shuttles or you stay on-site at Universal, where water taxis, buses or walking paths connect the hotels with the parks. You will want a car or a tour for day trips. Kennedy Space Center, for example, says no public transportation goes to the visitor complex.
Should I split my hotel stay between Disney and Universal?
On trips of 5 days or more, a split stay usually pays off. You get perks like Early Entry or Early Park Admission at each resort and short trips to the parks every morning. On a short trip, or if you hate repacking, one central base is simpler, but every park day starts with a longer drive.
Bottom line
The best Orlando itinerary is the one that matches your days: one resort for 3 days, Disney then Universal for 5, and everything plus a coast day for 7. Schedule one park per day, add a rest day on longer trips, and book a hotel next to the parks on your plan. Then check the official calendars, ticket rules and your hotel’s perks before you finalize.
Check availability at Drury Plaza Hotel Orlando – Disney Springs Area
Sources checked in October 2026: Disney Early Theme Park Entry, Disney Park Hopper option, Universal Orlando park tickets, Disney Lightning Lane passes, Kennedy Space Center travel and parking