At one time, the area of Orlando in Florida was once a fertile green expanse devoted primarily to agriculture, but since the 1970s the entire area has undergone so many transformations to render it virtually unrecognizable.
What was once grass is now the most incredible and daring concentration of theme parks in the world, the Orlando amusement parks, where the desire for fun for young and old has led to the creation of ingenious installations and imaginative reconstructions to leave you breathless!
In this article we will take a closer look at the best theme parks in Orlando, hoping that some information and tips will be useful to choose which ones to visit during your tour of Florida. First, though, a few preliminary tips!
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How to get to the parks in Orlando
The best way to get to the theme parks is by car (in case of need, check out our tips for renting a car at the lowest price), but if on the road is really not for you you can resort to the following public services:
- I-Ride: With this service, you’ll be taking distinctive buses with fun personalization. There are only two lines (Red Line and Green Line) and they connect the main hotels along the International Drive and Universal Boulevard area. The Red Line buses run about every 15 minutes, while the Green Line buses run every 30 minutes. The cost of a ticket is $2, but you can buy full-day, 3-, 5-, 7- or 14-day passes that will save you considerably.
- Lynx: this is a real public service to move throughout the Orlando area. Very convenient then even if you have chosen a hotel a little more distant from the parks. There are many lines to choose from, for this, I refer you to the company’s convenient trip planner that will help you choose the most convenient route for your needs. Again, a ride costs $2 and full-day, 7-day or 30-day passes are available.
If you want, you can rely on private tours for your transport from the main hotels in Orlando to the most popular attractions. Here are some examples:
- Roundtrip transfer to Orlando parks: this service connects hotels located in various areas of the city with some of the most popular attractions. First you will need to check the area of your hotel. If you stay on International Drive you will be in the so-called zone 3, while if you are near Lake Buena Vista, Highway 192 West or Walt Disney World you will be in zone 4. The parks are also grouped according to location. Area A includes the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Animal Kingdom, while Area B includes Universal Studios, SeaWorld, Discovery Cove, Aquatica, and Islands of Adventure. So depending on the area of your hotel, and the area of the attractions you want to go to, you can figure out what the price of the service will be.
- Theme Park Express to Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando Resort: This convenient shuttle service connects the major hotels along the well-known International Drive with Orlando’s two most famous and popular parks. If you are planning to stay in the city for more than one day, you can purchase multi-day passes with unlimited use of the shuttle, thus saving even more on travel.
In addition to the above cabs and the popular Uber (although more expensive) services are available.
Please note: Do you know that Orlando is not only amusement parks? There are some attractions Downtown that you might be interested in visiting… in case check out our guide on what to do in Orlando.
Where to Stay in Orlando for Theme Parks?
We’ve published an in-depth look at where to sleep in Orlando, where you’ll read that the best place to stay for value for money when visiting the main parks is on International Drive, a street full of hotels that will allow you to move around very easily between the main attractions in the area. To look for a good price hotel in this area I suggest you to take a look at the link below:
Accommodations on International Drive
Main Theme Parks in Orlando
The time has come to choose the park that best suits our tastes. Here is the list of the most important ones:
1. Walt Disney World
If there is one main reason why Orlando has become the most touristy area of Florida this is definitely Walt Disney World, the most impressive amusement park ever made! Suffice it to say that within it there are 4 main theme parks, each of which would require a full day for a complete visit. In short, not even its Californian counterpart (Disneyland, Los Angeles), as beautiful and fascinating as it is, can stand comparison. Here are the attractions of the 4 parks of Disney World Orlando:
- Magic Kingdom: Do you know the giant Cinderella’s castle that you see on every Walt Disney World postcard? Well, that picture was taken at the Magic Kingdom, the most typically Disney-like area of the park, full of attractions for children, but also of technologies, flying carpets and rides that can leave even adults breathless.
- Epcot: the immense 170-feet geosphere in the heart of Future World unequivocally sums up the theme of this park: science, technologies and cultures from all over the world, an attraction full of wonders, even if for children it can be a little tiring in the long run, given the long distances to be covered on foot.
- Disney’s Hollywood Studios: the park, created at the beginning of the 80’s by virtue of an agreement with MGM, was initially called Disney-MGM Studios. Subsequently, the themes of the park were expanded and today the focus, in addition to the ever-present cinema, is also on music, theater and television.
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park: this is the most recent area, and is a real must for those who want to admire up close the animal species of various continents. For each one, the typical natural landscape of the area has been reconstructed and it is possible to venture into these areas through evocative safaris.
Think it’s over here? Not at all! Inside the complex there are also 2 water parks (Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon), a sports area (Disney’s Wide World of Sports) and the town where you can walk, eat and shop (Downtown Disney).
Walt Disney World tickets
The advice is to buy them online before the visit, thus avoiding long queues at the ticket office and taking advantage of the various offers and discounts. There are different types of tickets to visit Disney World and different sites where you can book them, for a detailed overview and advice on how to save money when buying tickets, please read our guide to Disney World tickets.
Our guide to Disney World tickets
2. Universal Orlando
The Universal Orlando movie park is the great competitor to Walt Disney World, although not yet on the same level from the point of view of the number of visitors it manages to attract. It is the equivalent of Universal Studios in California, but with many differences. The park is in fact structured in two large macro-areas:
- Universal Studios: the area where you will find shows and rides designed with a specific purpose: to make you feel suddenly catapulted into a movie, making you relive even famous scenes (do you want to try resisting the Twister tornado by attacking anything that passes under your hand?).
- Islands of Adventure: here the courses, as the title suggests, are marked by adventure, and sometimes even fear, given the incredible technology of motor simulation, sensory stimulation and three-dimensional immersion that characterizes the attractions of this park. Entire areas are dedicated to Marvel superheroes and Jurassic Park dinosaurs.
But there’s more! Both parks have two large sections dedicated to Harry Potter, almost as if they were another park in their own right (which we explored in depth in our guide to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando). In summary, Universal Orlando is the ideal park for those looking to relive the excitement of Hollywood movies. In addition, with the CityWalk, you will also have a valid alternative for nightlife. We have talked a lot more specifically about all these things in our article dedicated entirely to Universal Orlando – don’t miss it!
Universal Orlando tickets
The cost of tickets varies depending on the formula chosen. Also in this case, book online to avoid queues and get a better price; the most interesting solution is the Park to Park option, which allows you to move freely from one area of the park to another in formulas of 1, 2, 3 days, and also has bonus packages. The thing to watch out for is the Harry Potter theme park, so the attractions are spread across both of the 2 main parks. Before choosing which type of ticket to buy, read our guide on Universal Orlando tickets.
Our guide to tickets for Universal Orlando
3. SeaWorld Orlando and Discovery Cove
In this case, we are looking at the best marine park in Florida and probably the best of all time. In a full day, you’ll enjoy not only the sight of incredible aquatic animals (orcas, beluga whales and sea lions), but also spectacular themed rides (get ready to get wet!).
The most fascinating shows are Believe, a full 30 minutes of jumps made by killer whales, and the Shark Encounter, a quiet underwater walk among sharks (don’t worry, you’ll be inside a transparent tunnel).
Discovery Cove is limited to 1,000 people per day (so book in advance) and is the perfect place for those who want to swim side-by-side with dolphins, snorkel or swim among tropical fish of all kinds.
SeaWorld Tickets
Discovery Cove tickets are also valid for SeaWorld and Busch Gardens. Again, I highly recommend buying them online because there are great deals on single tickets, weekday admission and combined tickets with other parks (Aquatica, another great park with rides and water slides, and Busch Gardens, one of the best zoos in North America).
SeaWorld tickets on GetYourGuide
Othere Amusement Parks in Orlando
If all this was not enough for you, here is a selection of other parks around Orlando.
4. Legoland® Florida Resort
Lovers of the famous bricks, this is definitely the place for you. It is not located in Orlando, but in the small town of Winter Heaven. Obviously the park is great if you are traveling with children in tow, who will surely be positively impressed by the setting recreated in perfect Lego style. There are more than 50 rides, shows and a water theme park, the Legoland Water Park, which is open seasonally during the summer months.
One of the attractions not to be missed is definitely Miniland, where you can visit various areas of the United States rebuilt with bricks including the Kennedy Space Center, the city of New York, San Francisco, Las Vegas and many others. Star Wars fans should not miss the section dedicated to Lego Star Wars, where seven scenes from the films of one of the most famous and long-lived sagas in the history of cinema have been recreated.
As in all great American amusement parks, there are of course also restaurants, many of them themed, which will satisfy the tastes of virtually everyone. As you can see, the entire park has been designed to ensure a real full immersion into the world of Lego.
If you want, the entrance to Legoland Florida Resort is included in the Go Orlando Pass.
But it is not only the rides that will characterize your stay. The flagship of this park are also two Lego-themed hotels that can be useful as a support point after a full day spent inside the park. You can book yours and get more information by clicking on the link below.
Find accommodation in the park
5. Gatorland
Perhaps it will seem strange to dedicate an entire amusement park to crocodiles and reptiles in general, but here we are in Orlando, where everything is allowed. Gatorland can be defined as something between an amusement park and a zoo where you can also discover something more about the life and habits of alligators and the like. A lot of attention has been paid to make the interaction with these animals as interactive as possible, carving out a space for fun for the whole family.
But there are not only crocodiles and alligators, at Gatorland there are also two Florida panthers, snakes, scorpions, lizards and giant turtles. As for the more playful aspect of the park, you will have the opportunity to undertake some special attractions such as the Screamin’ Gator Zip Line, and watch adrenaline shows with alligators as the main protagonists. As for the Zip Line, you’ll pass at high speed over crocodiles that will seem so close as never before; not screaming will be almost impossible.
The entrance to Gatorland is also included in the Go Orlando Pass and in the Sightseeing Flex Pass. There is also ample free parking for guests near the park.
Find accommodations near the park
7. The Holy Land Experience
If you thought you’d seen it all with Gatorland as far as bizarre themes are concerned, prepare to be amazed again. The Holy Land Experience is in fact a theme park dedicated exclusively to the events narrated by the Bible and the life of Jesus. Inside you can watch shows inspired by the Holy Texts and walk through buildings and streets perfectly reconstructed including the Temple of Jerusalem in front of which shows and performances are staged.
One of the main attractions is the large model (called the largest replica in the world) of Jerusalem, which took more than two years of work, entirely handmade with hundreds of characters that almost seem to come to life in front of you. Among the locations reconstructed life-size you can visit the Tomb of Lazarus, the Garden of Gethsemane, and many others.
The Church of All Nations auditorium, which has a capacity of more than 2000 seats, is the main place where you can watch the shows. The biggest show being put on here at the moment is The Empire and The Kingdom, which is divided into two parts and tells the story of St. Peter on his journey to Rome to bring hope to those persecuted in the faith. Want to learn how to fight like a Roman soldier? Then the Roman Soldier Training Camp is definitely the place for you, as here you’ll be trained in the combat techniques of ancient Rome.
This park is open from Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm. The price to enter is 50$, if you want with 10$ more you can add the option Behind The Scenes Tours, where you will be taken to discover some more curiosities about how the whole park works and the work behind it.
THE PARK WAS DEFINITELY CLOSED IN 2020.
8. Sea Life Aquarium
If visiting SeaWorld wasn’t enough for you, you might consider stopping by this park, which houses, among other things, the only transparent underwater tunnel in all of Florida. Thanks to this, you can literally walk underwater and observe a multitude of fish, turtles and other specimens swimming all around you. Definitely one of the most exciting attractions of the park.
The opportunity to discover more about the animals present, and to amaze the little ones if you are traveling with children in tow, is to participate in the shows where the park staff go in the water and interact with the different marine creatures, or observe how they are fed. You can find out the daily schedules and programs divided by species directly at the park’s information desk. The more courageous and curious can also try to touch some of the most curious marine species including sea anemones, starfish and crabs that live in the so-called rock pools, or natural pools that are formed with the tides.
The Sea Life Aquarium is open every day of the week with a schedule that goes from 10:00 to 21:00. It is convenient and economical to use the free parking on site. Admission to the park is also included in the Go Orlando Pass.
9. WonderWorks
More than just another outdoor park, this is a series of interactive exhibits and attractions that are mostly on the edge of the strange and absurd, set inside a large, upside-down building. From the outside it makes a remarkable impression, and even if you don’t have time to explore its interior, it might be worth stopping by just to take a souvenir photo.
Among the attractions you’ll find an earthquake and tornado simulator, you can experience what it’s like to lie on a bed of nails like a fakir, wear a space suit and experience a variety of games and optical illusions. This theme park is at its best if you are traveling with children because, although curious, the main attractions do not fully satisfy an adult.
Ticket prices start at about $34 for adults and $25 for children ages 4-12. The park is open every day of the year from 9:00 am until midnight. The closest parking is the paid Pointe Orlando Parking Garage ($4 for the first two hours then $2 every hour thereafter up to a maximum of $10 daily).
More about WonderWorks tickets
Admission to WonderWorks is also included in the Go Orlando Card and Sightseeing Pass.
