Last minute trip to Orlando/Disney--need advice.

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With kids ages 6 & 8 you might want more time at Disney.  1 or 2 days would be OK if you just want to see Magic Kingdom, but there are three other parks plus the water parks.

I don't know about Discovery Cove, I've never been there - is it connected to Sea World?  We went to Universal for the first time a few weeks ago.  We liked it but felt it was better for my oldest (11), the rides were more real thrill rides than Disney type family rides.

The beach is pretty far from Orlando, over an hour - unless you want to book another hotel by the beach for a night or two I can't imagine you would want to do it more than one day.

If I were you I would probably do Disney for 4-5 days and Sea World/Discovery Cove, maybe a day at the beach if you really love it.  Disney tickets are cheaper the more days you buy.  Then again I love Disney so I am biased. 

Unless you want to shop at outlets there is not a ton of other special stuff to do in Orlando- Disney, Universal, Sea World & Discovery Cove.

With your username, I have to give you my favorite piece of advice.

Don't listen to the hype - Disney Hollywood Studios is an absolutely awesome park for kids that age. Get there early, like before "rope drop." As soon as you get in, run, don't walk, to the American Idol attraction. Just past it, is the signup for Jedi Training. There will be a sandwich board outside on the ground. Look for a very tall thin red light tower as a landmark.

Sign your kids up for this. They don't advertise it - only maybe 100 kids a day get to do it. It is easily the highlight of my Disney experience. I have video of my kids doing it in 2010 on youtube.My username is proudpapatimestwo

You get to see your kids fight Darth Vader, one at a time.

Need I say more?

Discovery cove is cool. but expensive.  You get to swim with Dolphins, but remember the time is limited.  I think the dolphin makes like 5 passes around your group and you get to touch him/her, and you get to "ride" the dolphin by getting pulled.  My daughter is 9 and loved it.  We just went last week.

With kids that age if I was to do Disney (which I would!) I'd do the magic kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom.  I'd skip Epcot.  Also I suggest getting the park hopper on your tickets, just in case you get bored at one of the parks you can hit the others on the same day.  At the Magic Kingdom hit one of the character dinning experiences, I suggest either the Crystal Palace or Cinderella's Castle.  You have to make reservations for these but I think it's worth it.  Utilize the Disney photo pass, the pictures they take are great.  The print prices are a little steep but the quality of the pictures are great and it saves you the trouble of lugging a camera around everywhere.  My biggest advice is don't rush anywhere.

X100 on this one.  My sons were 6.5 and almost 4 (but he's really good at saying he is 4).  the 6.5 year had his face painted like Darth Maul before he fought Vadar.  This was definetly the highlight of the trip.  And as their vacation souvenier they both built their own light sabers.  All the pictures of them on stage are videos, but here's a picture while they were waiting.

Also once you sign up for Jedi, RUN to the Pixar ride and get a fast pass.  The ride is awesome but the line can get up to 2 hours and the fast pass tickets run out quick.

(Darth Maul.jpg)

x4 on the Jedi Training at Hollywood Studios.  THANK YOU CLAW!!!!. I didn't know about that until mentioned here.  My boys (6 and 5) loved it.  They had so much fun doing it.  I've got some video somewhere, but haven't done anything with it yet. 

When Darth Maul came out to fight them, I'm not sure what they were thinking except Holy Snikeys....

I agree with the posters above, you can't do disney in a day with little ones that age.  It takes a day at each park at least.  Magic Kingdom can take 2 days.  Park Hopper tickets are a must (for us), so you can go from one park to another in the same day.  We usually spend 1/2 day at Animal Kingdom, then head somewhere else.  We just have not figured out the AK yet, not sure why.  More days you buy, the cheaper the tickets (per day).

As far as where to buy tickets, I think you can get them at the AAA office for a discount, or online at Disney maybe.  I've heard a place called undercover tourist has some good disney ticket prices, but never actually dealt with them.  I'd do a little research online.  Otherwise, you can get them at the park entrances, if needed.

This was the first year my 6 year old was able to ride the "thrill rides", so he really had a blast.  We did many of the coasters, etc.

We really enjoy Disney though and the crowds don't bother us.

My biggest piece of advice, is to have a plan.  It doesn't have to be 100% followed, but having a plan can save a lot of time.  I'm not a huge planner, but for Disney I like to have one.    Know what you want to accomplish before going into the park.  We are early birds, so we typically get there early and beat the biggest crowds and get most of the bigger attractions out of the way early, take advantage of the fast passes, etc.

A good website for getting information, etc.  Some of the stuff is free on the site, and you can get all kinds of ideas, etc.  It's $12 for a year membership if you want to expand the options, etc.

http://touringplans.com/

They have crowd information, touring plans, etc. and you can download apps to keep track of the wait times at different attractions.

We have not been to Sea World or Universal yet, and have not been to Discovery Cove.

Totally agree that those three will be good for your family.

We grew up in Fl so we've been there many many times.  We also just got back from the Princess½ a few weeks ago.  Get to the park as early as you can, we got annual passes so we'd go early ride a few rides, then go back to the resort (we stayed on Disney property so you just need to catch a bus) chill, relax, rest.  Then go back for dinner and a couple more rides.  

Fantasyland is undergoing a rennovation, not sure if it will be open.  They also started a new sorcerer game at MK.  Basically you go to the Fire Dept on Main St and pick up a pack of cards.  They have spells and a key card, you also get a map.  They direct you to a "portal" where you hold up spell cards to battle the baddie.  It directs you to the next one until you level up.  You can get more cards after leveling up.  I don't know how the lines at the portals are, but they weren't bad when we were there.  I guess the lines will get longer if it gets more popular.  BTW: there was no charge for the cards.

If you already are renting a car, going to the beach isn't that big a deal.  It is a little over an hour away (depending on route) but it will probably cost less than a day at any park.  Oh and an important thing to remember is to pace yourselves.  I witnessed many meltdowns on the bus.  

Disney should obviously be on the agenda (taking an 8- and 6-year-old to Orlando and not going to Disney is probably classified as child abuse), but if you want to get away from the "magic" for a day and see some real stuff, take a drive over to Kennedy Space Center.  It's about an hour's drive from WDW and the tours and displays are AWESOME.  You can see a decent amount in half a day and maybe hit the beach (Cocoa Beach is nearby), but better to make a full day of the Space Center.

For everything you want to know about WDW and more, check out allears.net and wdwinfo.com