Unfortunately you can’t. End of article? Well not quite. There is no such thing as a ‘perfect’ Florida holiday – every family will look for different things from their holiday and even for repeat guests different holidays may need different elements. There are some simple suggestions that can perhaps help you get the most from your holiday, here is a few.
Research everything:
The more background reading you do, the better you will be able to make informed choices about your holiday possibilities and activities. One of the best resources can be the homeowner that you rent from, they will have the low-down on local knowledge, essential driving routes and be able to answer the many “how do you …, how to get to …, where’s the nearest/best …” type questions. The homeowners who are members of this family of sites also have a fantastic resource in the community of homeowners here, if they don’t know the answer, they will know someone who does! There are many different books about Florida and in particular the Orlando area, read a few different ones, as they will all offer slightly different information or recommendations. There are also holiday planning DVD’s available from many of the major themeparks/attractions – sometimes they can be a little superficial and they are also obviously biased in favour of whoever supplies them, however they can still provide useful information.
Don’t over commit:
When preparing a holiday plan it can be tempting to try and fill it absolutely full of different activities and days outs. Everyone will know their own parties abilities, but it is simply impossible to do everything. Be realistic, it can be hot and humid in Florida in the Summer and this can make it more tiring than you expect, especially in a very busy themepark. Plan for rest days or unplanned days to allow flexibility, plan in some of the quieter attractions. Remember, even a shopping day can be quite a tiring day!
Remember who you are:
If you are not normally a highly active family, then don’t make unrealistic commitments about what you can achieve in your holiday, it is better to leave things out of your plan and then if you find that you want to and have the energy you can easily add them in while you are.
Remember where you are:
Although everything is relatively close and even the coasts are only an hour away from Orlando, remember the time that it can take to get from one location to another. The roads can be very busy at peak traffic times, so a journey that normally takes 15 minutes can sometimes turn into an hour.
Finally, remember this is a holiday, not a military campaign:
While it is useful to have a plan, perhaps try to leave it as flexible as possible. Try to involve everyone in the holiday into the planning stage, this will help to avoid the ‘but I wanted to …’ situation. If you also leave in flexibility then this will help if things don’t go to plan, as you can easily adapt while you are on holiday.
Research everything:
The more background reading you do, the better you will be able to make informed choices about your holiday possibilities and activities. One of the best resources can be the homeowner that you rent from, they will have the low-down on local knowledge, essential driving routes and be able to answer the many “how do you …, how to get to …, where’s the nearest/best …” type questions. The homeowners who are members of this family of sites also have a fantastic resource in the community of homeowners here, if they don’t know the answer, they will know someone who does! There are many different books about Florida and in particular the Orlando area, read a few different ones, as they will all offer slightly different information or recommendations. There are also holiday planning DVD’s available from many of the major themeparks/attractions – sometimes they can be a little superficial and they are also obviously biased in favour of whoever supplies them, however they can still provide useful information.
Don’t over commit:
When preparing a holiday plan it can be tempting to try and fill it absolutely full of different activities and days outs. Everyone will know their own parties abilities, but it is simply impossible to do everything. Be realistic, it can be hot and humid in Florida in the Summer and this can make it more tiring than you expect, especially in a very busy themepark. Plan for rest days or unplanned days to allow flexibility, plan in some of the quieter attractions. Remember, even a shopping day can be quite a tiring day!
Remember who you are:
If you are not normally a highly active family, then don’t make unrealistic commitments about what you can achieve in your holiday, it is better to leave things out of your plan and then if you find that you want to and have the energy you can easily add them in while you are.
Remember where you are:
Although everything is relatively close and even the coasts are only an hour away from Orlando, remember the time that it can take to get from one location to another. The roads can be very busy at peak traffic times, so a journey that normally takes 15 minutes can sometimes turn into an hour.
Finally, remember this is a holiday, not a military campaign:
While it is useful to have a plan, perhaps try to leave it as flexible as possible. Try to involve everyone in the holiday into the planning stage, this will help to avoid the ‘but I wanted to …’ situation. If you also leave in flexibility then this will help if things don’t go to plan, as you can easily adapt while you are on holiday.