Orlando
2026

Land and stock up

Everyone's on the ground by 12:35. Tt & Casey land first at 10:40, Kara last at 12:35 (full times up top). By the time we've got bags and two cars sorted and reached the resort, it's mid-afternoon — so today is deliberately easy.

• Grocery run or Instacart. Publix on Turkey Lake Road is five minutes out. Full kitchens plus three toddlers makes this the highest-value hour of the trip.
• Pool. The zero-entry main pool has a shallow sloped edge with fountains bubbling up through it — toddler heaven.
• Cookout dinner on the resort grills — easiest first-night option for a crew this size. Or Sand Lake Restaurant Row for whoever wants out.

Fort De Soto

A shallow protected lagoon with almost no wave action and a wide walkable sandbar — with kids at one, two and three, calm beats clear.

• Shaded picnic areas and grills. Real restrooms, snack bar, about $5 a car.
• Pack a cooler — food options are thin.
• Bounce option: Upham Beach, about ten minutes from Fort De Soto — a wide, shifting sandbar that's easy to pair with a Fort De Soto morning if the kids want a change of scene.
• Backup: Clearwater Beach, 35 minutes north. If red tide or the flags look bad we reroute that morning without losing the day.
• Check FWC red tide status and beach flags before we leave.

Pool morning, easy exploring

Pool in the morning, a little exploring after, early night. Yesterday was the big beach day — today deliberately eases off.

• Pool opens at 8am. The 8-to-10 window is the best of the day — cool water, low sun, empty deck.
• International Drive for browsing — ICON Park's shops and promenade, the outlets, Pointe Orlando. Easy in-and-out, all ten minutes away.
• Or go green: Harry P. Leu Gardens — 50 acres of shaded walkable paths, a rose garden, a butterfly garden and a lakeside lawn the kids can run on. Calm, pretty, and a world away from the tourist strip.
• Lake Eola Park downtown pairs well with the gardens — swan boats, a walkable loop, and lunch nearby.
• Back for an early night.

ICON Park, then CityWalk

A recovery day disguised as an activity. ICON Park is ten minutes away, gate-free, with a free parking garage.

• SEA LIFE Aquarium — 360° ocean tunnel, sharks, rays, touch pools. Sixty to ninety minutes, which is a toddler's exact ceiling.
• Carousel and the Pearl Express train. Skip Madame Tussauds at this age.
• Check the Wheel is running before buying any combo ticket — it goes down for annual maintenance.
• Home by two. Naps.

Two separate tracks

A possible split — the adults who want a park day peel off, everyone else has a relaxed resort day. Totally optional, decided that morning.

Chores worth doing today: laundry in the in-suite washer/dryer, grocery top-up, and start repacking. It's the only day with no departure.

Over to Aqua Sol

Pure recovery and logistics. Both rooms are ours tonight, so there's no checkout clock and no rush.

• Load up late morning, drive twenty-five to thirty minutes west, check in.
• Aqua Sol has its own water park — slides, volcano feature, splash area — plus mini golf, paddle boats and a fishing pond. Free with the room.
• Early night. Friday runs late.

Dinner at Disney Springs

Aqua Sol is about fifteen minutes from Disney Springs — closer than Parc Soleil was. An easy, gate-free way to close out the week: no tickets, no turnstiles, just dinner on the water and a walk.

• Morning: Aqua Sol water park and mini golf.
• Noon to three: everyone naps. Adults included. Not optional.
• 5:00pm: drive over to Disney Springs. Free self-parking in the Orange and Lime garages.
• Dinner on the water — Homecomin', Raglan Road, or T-Rex for the kids. Reserve ahead for a group this size.
• After: walk the waterfront — shops, live music, a Ghirardelli stop — then out before it gets late.

Out early

All three flights go out Saturday morning — Kara at 9:00, Mom & Dad at 9:56, Tt & Casey at 10:20. Labor Day is September 7, so we're leaving on the front edge of the holiday weekend. I-4 and the airport both get bad and security can run over an hour. Add ninety minutes to whatever feels right — Kara's 9:00 means a brutal early start.