How Many Days Do You Need in Orlando?

How many days do you need in Orlando? Well, how long have you got?

Between four Walt Disney World theme parks, Universal Orlando Resort’s four parks, water parks, shopping, restaurants and enough attractions beyond the big resorts to fill another holiday entirely, Orlando isn’t somewhere you’re likely to run out of things to do.

The trick is working out how much you actually want to do.

Five days can work brilliantly if you have a few non-negotiables and are happy to stay busy. A week gives you more time to explore. Stretch your holiday to 10 or 14 days and suddenly rest days, water parks, shopping trips and afternoons spent doing absolutely nothing by the pool can be added to the itinerary too.

There’s no magic number, but there is a trip length to suit every kind of Orlando holiday. Here’s what you can realistically fit into 5, 7, 10 and 14 days or more, without needing another holiday to recover from your holiday.

And if you’re already mentally counting up your annual leave, take a look at our Orlando holidays to start turning those days into an itinerary.

5 Days in Orlando: Pick Your Headliners

Five days in Orlando is absolutely doable, but this is not the time for an “oh, we’ll see what we fancy” approach.

Choose the experiences your family cares about most and build your days around them. If Walt Disney World is top of the list, you could dedicate a day each to Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom, leaving one day for another Orlando favourite.

Alternatively, Universal fans now have even more reason to dedicate several days to the resort. Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure are joined by Epic Universe, which opened in 2025 with five immersive worlds including Super Nintendo World, Dark Universe and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Ministry of Magic. Volcano Bay gives you the option of swapping rollercoasters for waterslides, too.

Trying to conquer Disney, Universal and everything else Orlando has to offer in five days is where things start getting ambitious. If your heart is calling for one resort, give it the attention it deserves rather than spending half your holiday checking the time and heading home disappointed.

Our 5-Day Orlando Itinerary

• Days 1-4: Choose four theme park days based on your family's must-dos.
• Day 5: Revisit a favourite, spend the day at a water park, hit the shops or explore somewhere beyond the major theme parks.

With only five days, planning ahead pays off. Decide which rides and attractions matter most before you arrive and leave the “we’ll just pop over there quickly” mentality at home. Orlando is a lot bigger than it looks on Google Maps.

7 Days in Orlando: A Little More Breathing Room

A week gives you much more freedom to mix the major parks without every day becoming a race to the next ride.

If you want to experience both Disney and Universal, you can divide your theme park days between the two resorts. Walt Disney World alone has four main theme parks, while Universal now has Universal Studios Florida, Islands of Adventure and Universal Epic Universe to tempt you before you’ve even considered either resort’s water parks.

The extra time also means you can start exploring what Orlando has to offer beyond the rollercoasters.

International Drive is packed with attractions, restaurants and entertainment, while ICON Park makes an easy addition when you don’t want to commit to another full theme park day. Or slow things down completely with an afternoon by the pool. 

Our 7-Day Orlando Itinerary

• Days 1-2: Walt Disney World.
• Days 3-4: Universal Orlando Resort.
• Day 5: Another Disney or Universal park, depending on your priorities.
• Day 6: Water park, shopping or pool day.
• Day 7: Explore International Drive or return to the park you couldn't stop talking about over dinner.

A seven-day trip still involves making some compromises, but there’s enough flexibility to change the pace when everyone needs it.

10 Days in Orlando: Parks, Pools and Plenty More

Ten days is where an Orlando itinerary starts to loosen up a little, giving you a lot more flexibility and space to go with the flow.

You can give Disney and Universal several days each without sacrificing every morning lie-in or afternoon by the pool. It also gives you more opportunities to see some of the newer experiences across the resorts, from Epic Universe at Universal to recent additions and refreshed favourites across Walt Disney World.

And with more days available, Orlando beyond the theme parks deserves some attention.

You could spend time on International Drive, take an airboat ride through Central Florida's wetlands, try indoor attractions, or swap artificial rapids for some of Florida's natural waterways with a kayaking or paddleboarding trip.

If you book an eligible Orlando holiday with Ocean Florida, our complimentary Ocean Explorer package can add even more experiences to your itinerary. Depending on the offer available for your booking, this can include Orlando attractions and entertainment, giving you another excuse to venture beyond the parks.

Our 10-Day Orlando Itinerary

• Days 1-3: Walt Disney World.
• Days 4-6: Universal Orlando Resort.
• Day 7: Pool or rest day.
• Day 8: Water park or another favourite theme park.
• Day 9: Explore International Drive, shopping and other Orlando attractions.
• Day 10: Keep it free for whatever your family decides deserves an encore.

That final flexible day is important. By this point, you'll know whether everyone is desperate for another spin on their favourite coaster or would rather spend several hours horizontal beside the pool.

14 Days or More in Orlando: Take Your Time

Two weeks in Orlando sounds like a long time until you start filling in the calendar.

For UK families travelling all the way to Florida, 14 days gives you the luxury of seeing the main attractions without treating your itinerary like a military operation. You can dedicate proper time to Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando Resort, add a water park or two, explore beyond the resorts and, crucially, schedule days where nobody has to be standing at a park entrance first thing in the morning.

This is also where day trips become much easier to fit in. Head east to Florida's Space Coast for Kennedy Space Center, explore more of Central Florida's natural side, or simply dedicate a day to shopping, eating and seeing where you end up.

At Walt Disney World, extra time could mean exploring Disney Springs or returning to a favourite park rather than trying to squeeze everything into one visit. At Universal, you can give Epic Universe the time it deserves alongside Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure, with Volcano Bay ready when the Florida sunshine inevitably has everyone dreaming about a swimming pool.

Our 14-Day Orlando Itinerary

• Days 1-4: Walt Disney World.
• Day 5: Rest, pool or shopping day.
• Days 6-8: Universal Orlando Resort.
• Day 9: Water park.
• Day 10: Rest day or International Drive.
• Day 11: Return to Disney or Universal.
• Day 12: Kennedy Space Center or another Central Florida day trip.
• Day 13: Ocean Explorer experiences, shopping or another family favourite.
• Day 14: Keep it gloriously unplanned.

The beauty of a fortnight isn't necessarily that you can do more every day. It's that you don't have to.

So, How Long Should You Spend in Orlando?

If you want the highlights of one major resort, five days can work. Seven gives you more scope to combine Disney and Universal, while 10 days introduces much-needed room for water parks, local attractions and downtime.

For families who want to experience as much of Orlando as possible without counting every spare hour, 14 days remains hard to beat.

But the best itinerary isn't the one that fits in the most attractions. It's the one that fits your family. If that means three consecutive rollercoaster days, excellent. If it means alternating every park day with several hours beside a villa pool, that’ll work too.



Ready to work out how many Orlando days are right for you? Explore our Orlando holidays and start building a trip around the parks, attractions and downtime your family actually wants.