How to plan a 10 day Orlando itinerary?

Ten days is the trip length where Orlando stops forcing hard choices. All four Disney parks fit, all three Universal parks fit, and there is still time for the pool at the house. This plan counts 10 full days in Orlando, the same way we count them in how many park days you need in Orlando, plus your arrival day and your departure day. If you only have a week, use the 7 day Orlando itinerary instead.

What is a good 10 day Orlando itinerary?

A good 10 day Orlando itinerary has 7 park days, 2 rest days and 1 day outside the parks. That split works for a family seeing everything for the first time without going home worn out.

• Disney, 4 days: Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom, EPCOT and Hollywood Studios.
• Universal, 3 days: Islands of Adventure, Universal Studios Florida and Epic Universe.
• Rest, 2 days: pool, groceries, laundry, sleeping in.
• Off the parks, 1 day: Kennedy Space Center, the beach or an outlet mall.

The rule that holds it together: never more than three park days in a row, and an easy day right after the longest one.

What order should you do the Orlando theme parks in?

Start with Disney, with Animal Kingdom on day 1, and finish the park days at Epic Universe. The table shows the full plan and what time to leave the house, based on the hours Disney and Universal published for one day in October 2026.

Day	Plan	Why this day	Leave Kissimmee	Leave Davenport
Arrival	Airport, groceries, pool	From Orlando International (MCO) it is about 31 minutes to Kissimmee and 44 to Davenport. If you drive down from Georgia or the Carolinas, you will want this day off too
1	Animal Kingdom	Open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. It ends earliest, which helps on the first park day	6:35 a.m.	6:35 a.m.
2	Magic Kingdom	The longest day of the trip, with parades and fireworks. Do it early, while energy is high	7:25 a.m.	7:20 a.m.
3	Rest	Comes right after the fireworks night
4	EPCOT	Open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Stay for the nighttime show	7:45 a.m.	7:35 a.m.
5	Hollywood Studios	Also opened at 9 a.m. Closes out the Disney block	7:45 a.m.	7:35 a.m.
6	Rest	A break before three Universal days
7	Islands of Adventure	Opened at 9 a.m., an hour before Universal Studios	7:20 a.m.	7:10 a.m.
8	Universal Studios Florida	Opened at 10 a.m. With Park-to-Park, Hogwarts Express links the two parks	8:20 a.m.	8:10 a.m.
9	Epic Universe	Opened at 10 a.m. The newest park, with its own parking	8:35 a.m.	8:25 a.m.
10	Off the parks	Outlet for last-minute shopping, or the beach or Kennedy
Departure	Packing, car return, airport

Hours: official Disney pages for October 6, 2026 (Animal Kingdom 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Magic Kingdom 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., EPCOT and Hollywood Studios 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.) and the official Universal calendar for October 5, 2026 (Islands of Adventure 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Universal Studios 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Epic Universe 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.). Drive times: OSRM on OpenStreetMap data, no traffic, from Storey Lake (Kissimmee) and Posner Park (Davenport).

One warning about day 2. On October 6, 2026, Magic Kingdom closed at 6 p.m. for regular guests because a separately ticketed party took over the evening. If fireworks are the highlight, pick a date without a party on the official calendar. Park by park advice is in our Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom, EPCOT and Hollywood Studios tips.

What time should you leave for each park day?

Leave early enough to reach the parking lot 60 minutes before opening at Magic Kingdom and on your first Universal morning, and 45 minutes before at the other parks. The times in the table add that buffer, the drive and 15 extra minutes.

Magic Kingdom gets the longer buffer for a reason. You park at the Transportation and Ticket Center, and the Express Monorail to the park only starts running 30 minutes before opening. Disney hotel guests get into all four parks 30 minutes early. Universal hotel guests can enter select attractions up to an hour early. Vacation home guests get neither, so the first lines already exist when you walk in.

Hours change from day to day. The night before each park, check the official site and redo the math. The full method, including drive times from ChampionsGate, is in what time to arrive at the Orlando theme parks.

Why save Universal for the end?

Because the three Universal parks flow well back to back, and Epic Universe deserves a day of its own. Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios share the garages at 6000 Universal Boulevard. Epic Universe has separate parking at 1001 Epic Boulevard. Double check the address in your GPS.

Days 7 and 8 can swap. The ticket is what matters. With one park per day, you see Diagon Alley one day and Hogsmeade the next, but you cannot ride Hogwarts Express, which Universal only allows with a Park-to-Park ticket. More in Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure from a vacation home and the Epic Universe guide.

What should you do on the day off from the parks?

Spend it on something the parks cannot give you: rockets, the ocean or shopping. All three work as a day out from the house.

Outing	Distance from Kissimmee	Drive time, no traffic
Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex	60 mi (96 km)	1 h 20 min
Cocoa Beach (pier)	63 mi (102 km)	1 h 20 min
Orlando Vineland Premium Outlets	5 mi (9 km)	12 min

Source: OSRM on OpenStreetMap data, routes calculated in October 2026.

Kennedy and Cocoa Beach sit close to each other, but both in one day turns into a rush. Pick one. If you choose the outlet, it fits the last day, when you know what is missing and how much room is left in the suitcases. For the beach or Kennedy, swap: outing on day 6, rest on day 10. See whether Kennedy Space Center is worth a day trip, the best beaches near Orlando and the Orlando outlets.

Which tickets do you need for 10 days in Orlando?

For this plan, you need a 4 day Disney ticket and a 3 day Universal ticket. Disney tickets run from 1 to 10 days and can be used on non-consecutive days within the window shown at checkout, so the rest day on day 3 does not burn a day. Disney’s terms note that some tickets require a park reservation for the same date, so check that when you buy.

For 2026 visits, Universal’s options include a 3 day ticket with one park per day and a 3 day Park-to-Park ticket that lets you switch parks on the same day. Only Park-to-Park covers Hogwarts Express. Prices change by date, and 2027 options may differ. Compare in Disney World and Universal tickets.

In practice: print the table and stick it on the fridge at the house. The night before each park day, check the official hours, recalculate your departure time and load backpacks and snacks into the car before bed. If someone wakes up sick or exhausted, swap that park with the next rest day. At Disney, first check that your ticket window and park reservation allow the change.

What if your 10 days include arrival and departure?

Then you have 8 full days, and the plan loses two. The gentlest way to cut:

• Combine Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios in one day with a Park-to-Park ticket.
• Keep one rest day, right after Magic Kingdom.
• Move the outlet to the morning you leave, if your flight or drive home starts late.

How do you stretch this to two weeks?

Keep the backbone of this plan and use the extra days to repeat favorites, not to cram in more. With 14 full days:

• A second Magic Kingdom day just for parades and fireworks.
• A second day at Epic Universe or at the kids’ favorite park.
• The beach and Kennedy on separate days.
• A third rest day around the middle of the trip.
• A water park, after checking its operating calendar.

On tickets, Disney’s go up to 10 days, which covers the Disney share of a long trip. Universal’s 2026 multi-day lineup in the US includes 4 and 5 day Park-to-Park tickets. Universal also announced, in Portuguese and Spanish, an All Parks Ticket with 14 consecutive days at the three theme parks and Volcano Bay, described as ideal for travelers from Brazil, so check whether it is sold where you buy. Consecutive means the days run on the calendar whether you visit or not.

Ten or fourteen days call for a comfortable base. To drive less, start with our homes near Disney or homes near Universal.