3-day itinerary · United States

3 Days in Orlando

A realistic first-timer plan that gives day one to Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, from rope drop to the fireworks over Cinderella Castle, with a late evening at Disney Springs; day two to Universal's newest park, Epic Universe, opened in 2025, with the 400-foot wheel at ICON Park on International Drive to finish; and day three to the city that lives around the parks, the camellias and oaks of Leu Gardens, the Tiffany glass of the Morse Museum, the Winter Park boat tour through the lakes and canals, and swan boats and dinner at Lake Eola downtown. Every stop comes with distances and the 2026 prices and rules that matter.

3days
8sights
0.7 kmon foot between sights

Updated 12 September 2026 · 8 official sources checked · report an error

Magic Kingdom — Photo: Rstoplabe14 Carlos Cruz, CC BY-SA 3.0

The plan at a glance

One day Disney, one day Universal, one day the city

Orlando is a car city spread over 50 km, and its parks are all-day affairs, so the plan is one park a day and no more. Magic Kingdom needs a date-based ticket bought in advance and an early start; Epic Universe the same. Both parks sell out on holidays and school breaks, and their prices move with the date. Day three is different: Leu Gardens, Winter Park and Lake Eola are within 10 km of each other north of downtown and cost a few dollars, with the Morse Museum free on Friday evenings from November to April. Kennedy Space Center, an hour east on the Atlantic, is the day four that most people should take.

Day 1Magic Kingdom and Disney SpringsMagic Kingdom · Disney Springs2 sights · Transport between sights Day 2Epic Universe and ICON ParkUniversal Epic Universe · The Wheel at ICON Park2 sights · Transport between sights Day 3Leu Gardens, the Morse Museum, Winter Park and Lake EolaHarry P. Leu Gardens · Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art · Winter Park and the Scenic Boat Tour · Lake Eola Park and Thornton Park4 sights · 710 m on foot

At a glance

Ways to use these days

Lightest day on foot: Day 2 — 1.9 km between stops
Most walking: Day 3 — 10.7 km

Morning

1Theme park

Magic Kingdom

Walt Disney World's first and most visited park, opened in 1971 on the model of Disneyland and built on a raised platform over a floor of service tunnels, is Main Street U.S.A. leading to Cinderella Castle and the six lands around it: Space Mountain and the TRON Lightcycle Run in Tomorrowland, the Haunted Mansion in Liberty Square, Pirates of the Caribbean and the Jungle Cruise in Adventureland, Big Thunder Mountain and the Tiana's Bayou Adventure flume in Frontierland, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train in Fantasyland. Arrive before the published opening for rope drop, ride the headliners first, book Lightning Lane if the budget allows, and stay for the parade and the fireworks.

Plan about 10 h
Date-based ticket bought in advance, 1-day from US$119 for ages 10+; typical hours 9:00 to 22:00 or later; parking charged; the Disney app for wait times, mobile orders and dining reservations

Midday

LunchLunch inside the park: quick-service counters in every land, the Dole Whip at Aloha Isle in Adventureland, or a booked table at Be Our Guest in the Beast's castle or the Crystal Palace; the Disney app takes mobile orders and the reservations, up to 60 days ahead.

Evening

Free Disney bus from the Magic Kingdom transportation centre, or a 20-minute drive with free parking

2Dining and shopping district

Disney Springs

The resort's open-air district on the shore of Lake Buena Vista, rebuilt in 2016 as a made-up Florida spring town, is free to walk, free to park in and open until 23:00 or later: 150 restaurants and shops, the World of Disney store, the Coca-Cola rooftop, Gideon's Bakehouse cookies, Chef Art Smith's Homecomin' for fried chicken, Morimoto Asia, the Boathouse's amphicars on the lake, live music and, for the exhausted, a bench by the water. It is the evening after Magic Kingdom for anyone not staying in a resort hotel.

Plan about 2 h 30 min

Day 2

Epic Universe and ICON Park

Spend the day in Universal's Epic Universe, the biggest new theme park in America in a generation, through its portals to the Wizarding World's Ministry of Magic, Super Nintendo World, How to Train Your Dragon's Isle of Berk and Dark Universe, then drive up International Drive to ICON Park for the 400-foot observation wheel and dinner.

2 sights
Transport between sights

Stops in order, straight-line distancesDriving route in Google Maps ↗

Morning

1Theme park

Universal Epic Universe

Universal's third Orlando theme park opened in May 2025, the largest built in the United States since 1999: a central garden, Celestial Park, with the Stardust Racers dual coaster, and four portals into worlds, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter's 1920s Paris and the Ministry of Magic, Super Nintendo World with Mario Kart and Donkey Kong's mine-cart coaster, How to Train Your Dragon's Isle of Berk with the Hiccup's Wing Gliders coaster, and Dark Universe's Frankenstein manor. It is a full day; the two older parks, Universal Studios Florida with its Hogsmeade twin across the way at Islands of Adventure, are 5 km north and the alternative for anyone who wants Diagon Alley and the Hogwarts Express.

Plan about 10 h
Date-based ticket bought in advance, 1-park 1-day from about US$139 for adults; opens in the morning, closes in the evening by season; Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure from about US$124

Midday

LunchEach world of Epic Universe has its own restaurants: the Toadstool Cafe in Super Nintendo World, Mead Hall on the Isle of Berk, the Parisian cafés of the Wizarding World and the Atlantic in Celestial Park are the ones to book or queue for; the park app handles mobile orders.

Evening

About 10 minutes north on Universal Boulevard and International Drive by car or ride-hail; the I-Ride trolley runs the length of I-Drive

Photo: Benoît Prieur, CC0

2Observation wheel

The Wheel at ICON Park

The 400-foot observation wheel on International Drive, the tourist strip of hotels, chain restaurants and mini-golf between Universal and SeaWorld, turns through a 20-minute rotation in air-conditioned capsules with a view of the whole flat city at dusk, the park fireworks going off on the horizon; ICON Park around it has Madame Tussauds, a SEA LIFE aquarium, a food hall and a dozen restaurants. It is the easy, close end to a Universal day.

Plan about 1 h 30 min
From US$29.99 per adult; 400 ft, 20-minute ride; 8375 International Drive

Day 3

Leu Gardens, the Morse Museum, Winter Park and Lake Eola

Start among the camellias and oaks of Harry P. Leu Gardens, drive to Winter Park for the Tiffany chapel and lamps of the Morse Museum and lunch on Park Avenue, take the hour-long scenic boat tour through the lakes and canals, and end downtown with a swan boat and dinner at Lake Eola and Thornton Park.

4 sights
710 m on foot
Longest walk 710 m

Stops in order, straight-line distancesDriving route in Google Maps ↗

Morning

1Botanical garden

Harry P. Leu Gardens

Fifty acres on Lake Rowena, 5 km north of downtown, given to the city in 1961 by the businessman Harry Leu: the largest camellia collection in the eastern United States, in flower from October to March, a formal rose garden, palms, cycads, bamboo, a tropical stream garden and 200-year-old live oaks hung with Spanish moss, with the 1888 Leu House at the centre. It is the calm morning after two days of parks.

Plan about 1 h 30 min
Daily 9:00–17:00, last entry an hour before closing; US$15 adults, US$10 ages 4–17; free on selected Mondays, including October 5, November 2 and December 7, 2026

About 10 minutes by car north to Winter Park; SunRail from the Florida Hospital station to Winter Park is the train alternative

2Art museum

Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art

The most comprehensive collection of Louis Comfort Tiffany's work anywhere, in a quiet museum on Park Avenue in Winter Park: the leaded-glass and mosaic chapel Tiffany built for the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, rescued piece by piece and reassembled here, the lamps, the windows, the daffodil terrace from his Long Island estate Laurelton Hall, plus American pottery and paintings. It is small, cheap and unexpected, and the best hour of art in central Florida.

Plan about 1 h 30 min
Tue–Sat 9:30–16:00, Sun 13:00–16:00, closed Mondays; low admission, free on Friday evenings 16:00–20:00 from November to April; 445 N Park Avenue

Midday

LunchPark Avenue, Winter Park's brick main street, is lined with cafés and restaurants with tables under the oaks: Prato for Italian, the Briarpatch for brunch plates, or a sandwich in Central Park across the road before the boat.

Afternoon

710 m · about 11 min on foot

3Town and boat tour

Winter Park and the Scenic Boat Tour

The town the northern rich built in the 1880s as a winter resort, with Rollins College on the lake, brick-paved Park Avenue and its shops and cafés, and a chain of lakes joined by narrow canals cut through the cypress: the Scenic Boat Tour, running since 1938, takes an hour from the Morse Boulevard dock through three lakes and two canals past the mansions, the college boathouse and the herons, with a guide who knows who lives where. Boats leave hourly from 10:00 to 16:00 and the ticket is bought at the dock.

Plan about 2 h 30 min
Scenic Boat Tour hourly 10:00–16:00 daily except Christmas Day, 1 hour, US$20 adults, US$10 ages 2–11, cash or card at the dock, first come first served; 312 E Morse Blvd

Evening

About 15 minutes by car south to downtown, or SunRail from Winter Park to Church Street and a 10-minute walk

4City park

Lake Eola Park and Thornton Park

Downtown Orlando's centrepiece is a sinkhole lake with a 1957 fountain in the middle, a mile of path around it, real swans, an amphitheatre for concerts and the swan-shaped pedal boats that are the city's most photographed rite; rent one for half an hour at sunset, then walk into Thornton Park, the brick-street neighbourhood on the east shore, for dinner and a drink. The Sunday farmers' market fills the park's east side.

Plan about 2 h
Park free; swan boats US$15 for 30 minutes, Tue–Sun 10:00–19:00, closed Mondays, card only, no reservations

Before you go

Good to know in Orlando

Tickets and opening days

Walt Disney World's standard date-based theme park tickets require you to choose a start date at purchase; a 1-day ticket for ages 10 and up is listed from US$119.00 per day, with prices varying by date.Source: Walt Disney World Resort, tickets · checked Sep 2026
Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex daily admission is US$77 for adults (12+) and US$67 for children aged 3–11, including Gateway, Space Shuttle Atlantis, the bus tour with the Apollo/Saturn V Center, the IMAX space films and the Astronaut Encounter; a 2-day pass is US$91 and US$81, valid for two uses within six months. Parking is not included.Source: Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, tickets · checked Sep 2026
Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is open 9:00–17:00 in standard periods, extended to 18:00 from June 29 to August 9 and March 16 to April 12, 2026 and to 19:00 on December 20–24 and 26–30; it is closed on Thanksgiving (November 26, 2026) and Christmas Day. Entry ends one hour before closing and the last bus tour runs 2.5 hours before closing.Source: Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, hours of operation · checked Sep 2026
Harry P. Leu Gardens (1920 N Forest Avenue) charges US$15 for adults and US$10 for children aged 4–17, free for under-4s and active-duty military; fall hours are 9:00–17:00 with last entry one hour before closing, and free admission days sponsored by Orlando Health include October 5, November 2 and December 7, 2026 and January 4, 2027. The historic Leu House Museum is temporarily closed.Source: Harry P. Leu Gardens, admission and hours · checked Sep 2026
The Winter Park Scenic Boat Tour (312 E Morse Blvd) runs hour-long guided tours leaving every hour from 10:00 to 16:00, seven days a week except Christmas Day; adults pay US$20.00 and children aged 2–11 US$10.00 including tax, first come first served.Source: Winter Park Scenic Boat Tour · checked Sep 2026
Swan boats at Lake Eola Park cost US$15 for a 30-minute rental, Tuesday to Sunday 10:00–19:00 and closed on Mondays; boats seat up to five people with a 1,400-pound limit, payment is by debit or credit card only, there are no reservations, and boats can be rented up to 30 minutes before closing.Source: City of Orlando, rent a swan boat at Lake Eola · checked Sep 2026
The Wheel at ICON Park (8375 International Drive) is a 400-foot observation wheel with a 20-minute rotation; general admission starts at US$29.99 per adult.Source: ICON Park Orlando, The Wheel · checked Sep 2026

Getting around

LYNX bus fares are US$2.00 for a single ride, US$4.50 for an all-day pass (valid from 4:00 on the date issued until 3:00 the next day, requested from the operator before paying) and US$16.00 for a 7-day pass; passes are sold at retail locations or in the LYNX Paw Pass app, and free transfers last 90 minutes.Source: LYNX, buy tickets · checked Sep 2026

Questions

3 days in Orlando: quick answers

Is 3 days enough for Orlando?

Three days give you one Disney park, one Universal park and the city, which is the sensible minimum; most families come for a week and do all four Disney parks and the three at Universal. A fourth day should be Kennedy Space Center on the Atlantic coast, 70 km east, with the Space Shuttle Atlantis, the Saturn V rocket and the bus tour of the launch pads, open 9:00–17:00 and included in one admission.

Which days should I plan around?

The parks open every day, but they are busiest and priciest on weekends, school holidays and the weeks around Christmas, Easter and mid-July; tickets are date-based, so the cheapest days are midweek in late January, early February, late August and September, which is also hurricane season. Leu Gardens is free on the first Monday of most months, the Morse Museum free on Friday evenings from November to April, and the Lake Eola swan boats closed on Mondays.

How much do the tickets cost?

A one-day Magic Kingdom ticket starts at US$119 for ages 10 and up on the cheapest dates and rises past US$200 at peak, and Epic Universe runs on the same date-based model from about US$139. The ICON wheel is from US$29.99, Leu Gardens US$15, the Morse Museum a few dollars, the Winter Park boat tour US$20 and a swan boat US$15 for half an hour. Kennedy Space Center is US$77 for adults and US$67 for children.

How do I get around?

With a car: the parks, the airport and the city are far apart, parking is free at Disney Springs and ICON Park and charged at the theme parks. Ride-hailing covers everything, and the LYNX buses at US$2 a ride or US$4.50 a day reach both resorts from downtown, slowly. Disney's own buses, monorail and Skyliner are free between its parks and hotels. SunRail's commuter train links downtown, Winter Park and the Kissimmee area on weekdays.

How much walking is this itinerary?

The parks are the walking: 12 to 15 km in a day at Magic Kingdom or Epic Universe is normal, on hard paths in the Florida heat, so bring water, a hat and shoes you trust, and use the afternoon for the indoor rides and shows. Day three is gentle, about 3 km in gardens and on Park Avenue, and the boat does the rest.

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