10 Best Things to Do in Orlando

Universal Epic Universe opened in May 2025 as Universal Orlando Resort's third gated theme park and the largest single-phase park expansion in Orlando history. The 750-acre site is organised around five themed lands: Celestial Park at the centre, plus Super Nintendo World, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Ministry of Magic, How to Train Your Dragon - Isle of Berk, and Dark Universe. Signature attractions include Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge, the multi-launch Stardust Racers coaster, and Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry.

Single-day tickets in 2026 start at $149 and peak at $179, with a two-park bundle adding Universal Studios Florida or Islands of Adventure for $220 total. The park usually opens at 9am and closes at 9pm, though early entry from 8am is available to on-site hotel guests. The Universal Boulevard entrance connects to a dedicated 12,000-space parking hub. See the official Epic Universe page for opening-hour updates.

Pro Tip: Head straight to Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge at rope drop - virtual queues fill by 9:15am and standby waits pass 90 minutes by noon. Universal Express passes start at $99.99 and are worth it on weekends between March and August.

Universal's Islands of Adventure sits inside Universal Orlando Resort's original park complex and remains many long-time visitors' favourite park in the city. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogsmeade section, with its snow-topped rooftops, the Hogwarts Express platform (which runs a themed train ride over to Universal Studios Florida) and Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey inside Hogwarts Castle, is the reason many people fly in. Add the Jurassic Park River Adventure, Jurassic World VelociCoaster (reaching 70 mph with a 155-foot inverted drop), and the classic Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man ride, and you have a full day.

Single-day tickets in 2026 start around $129 with peak pricing at $189. Hours run 9am to 9pm most of the year and extend during Halloween Horror Nights and the holiday season. A one-day Park-to-Park ticket that adds Universal Studios Florida costs an extra $65 and unlocks the Hogwarts Express, which requires admission to both parks.

Pro Tip: Arrive 45 minutes before rope drop and head directly to Jurassic World VelociCoaster - single-rider lines cut waits from 90 minutes to about 15-20, and the front row is worth waiting the extra ten minutes for on the second ride.

SeaWorld Orlando combines marine-animal exhibits, education programs and some of Florida's most extreme coasters on a 200-acre lakefront site south of International Drive. On the animal side, the Manta Ray habitat, penguin encounter at Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin and the dolphin nursery each occupy their own areas. For thrill riders, Pipeline: The Surf Coaster (the world's first stand-up wave coaster), Ice Breaker with its 93-foot vertical drop, and Mako (one of North America's tallest hypercoasters at 200 feet) headline the coaster lineup.

Single-day tickets in 2026 start at $99 online and multi-park bundles including Aquatica or Discovery Cove run $154 to $225. The park generally opens at 10am and closes at 8pm during summer, with shorter hours in winter. Bayside Stadium hosts sea lion, otter and other animal shows on rotation through the day. Under-3s enter free.

Pro Tip: Reserve the Dine with Orcas experience ($59 adults, $29 children under 9) 30 days ahead through the SeaWorld website - the buffet lunch overlooks the Killer Whale habitat and includes reserved viewing seats for the following One Ocean show at Shamu Stadium.

Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex sits inside the working NASA spaceport on Merritt Island and delivers the closest civilians can get to active rocket-launch history. The Space Shuttle Atlantis exhibit displays the actual orbiter suspended nose-up mid-flight, while the Apollo/Saturn V Center houses an original 363-foot Saturn V moon rocket lying on its side beneath its five massive F-1 engines. Bus tours through the restricted areas pass Launch Complex 39A, still active for SpaceX Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy missions.

Standard 2026 admission runs $75 adults and $65 children (ages 3-11), and the ticket includes the KSC Bus Tour, all exhibits and IMAX films. The Complex opens daily at 9am with last admission at 4pm. If a launch window falls during your visit, upgraded Launch Transportation Tickets put you within about 4 miles of the pad. Plan on at least 6 hours here to see everything worthwhile.

Pro Tip: Book the Chat with an Astronaut program ($30 add-on) in advance - former shuttle and ISS crew members share unscripted mission stories and take audience questions. The $199 Astronaut Training Experience half-day program for ages 10 and up includes it automatically.

Lake Eola Park is the closest thing downtown Orlando has to a Central Park, wrapping a 43-acre spring-fed sinkhole lake with a paved 0.9-mile walking loop, the city's signature Linton E. Allen Memorial Fountain, and unobstructed views of the downtown skyline. The park hosts the Orlando Farmers Market every Sunday from 10am to 4pm at the southeast corner, and the Walt Disney Amphitheater on the western shore stages free live music through most of the year. Swan-shaped paddle boat rentals cost $15 for a 30-minute session at the boat house on the north side.

Admission is completely free 24 hours a day, and metered street parking on Rosalind Avenue runs $2.50 per hour with a 4-hour maximum. October sees Come Out With Pride Orlando take over the entire park with a fireworks finale over the lake, and Fireworks at the Fountain draws large crowds every Fourth of July. This is easily the anchor of any list of free things to do in orlando.

Pro Tip: Arrive an hour before sunset with a takeaway coffee from Foxtail Coffee at 1282 N Orange Ave (about a 12-minute walk) and grab a bench on the western shore - it's the best free downtown view of the skyline reflected in the lake, especially between March and May.

Winter Park has the walkable, tree-lined feel of a small New England town dropped into central Florida, and the hour-long Winter Park Scenic Boat Tour is the classic way to experience it. Pontoon boats leave every hour on the hour from 10am to 4pm, cruising a chain of three lakes and their connecting canals past cypress trees, Rollins College's lakeside campus, and some of the most expensive private homes in Florida. Tickets cost $18 adults and $10 children (ages 2-11), cash only.

The tour dock is a two-block walk from Park Avenue, the neighbourhood's main street of boutiques, restaurants and museums. Give time to the Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art at 445 N Park Ave, which holds the world's largest collection of Louis Comfort Tiffany's works including his stained-glass chapel from the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. Admission is $8 adults, free after 4pm on Fridays November through April.

Pro Tip: Combine the 11am boat tour with a lunch reservation at The Glass Knife at 276 S Orange Ave for its patisserie brunch, then finish at the Morse Museum in the afternoon - the whole loop fits inside a four-hour block and stays entirely walkable from the SunRail station.

ICON Park anchors the mid-section of International Drive with a free outdoor entertainment district built around The Wheel, a 400-foot observation Ferris wheel that stood as the tallest of its kind on the US East Coast when it opened. A single 20-minute rotation gives 360-degree views out to Walt Disney World Resort's Cinderella Castle on clear days; tickets are $34.99 adults and $29.99 children (ages 3-11). The 20-acre complex also hosts SEA LIFE Orlando Aquarium ($37) and Madame Tussauds Orlando ($37), sold together as a combi ticket for $52.

The plaza itself is free to walk and stays open until 2am, with more than 40 restaurants and bars ranging from Yard House to the seven-restaurant Sugar Factory. Museum of Illusions Orlando added a location on the north side in 2023 with more than 70 optical exhibits ($27.90). This makes an easy evening stop after a full theme-park day since parking is free and the layout is open-air.

Pro Tip: Ride The Wheel about 30 minutes before sunset - you get the daytime skyline on the way up, sunset horizon at the top, and city lights coming on during the descent, all on one $34.99 ticket. Tuesday and Wednesday evenings run 20% quieter than weekends.

Gatorland calls itself the Alligator Capital of the World and has been running under the same family since 1949, which makes it one of the few pre-Disney Orlando attractions still standing. The 110-acre park protects several thousand alligators and crocodiles along a boardwalk system through natural cypress swamp. Signature experiences include the Gator Jumparoo Show (staff feeding chicken to gators that leap 5-6 feet clear of the water), a Screamin' Gator Zip Line that carries you across the breeding marsh, and the Stompin' Gator Off-Road Adventure amphibious swamp buggy ride.

General admission in 2026 costs $34.99 adults and $24.99 children (ages 3-12), with the Gator Night Shine after-hours flashlight tour adding $28 on weekends. The park opens daily at 10am and closes at 5pm, making it an easy half-day. Kid-friendly touches like the Very Merry Aviary and the White Gator Swamp make this a top pick for orlando with kids at a fraction of the theme-park price.

Pro Tip: Reserve the Trainer for a Day program ($125, minimum age 12) at least two weeks ahead through the Gatorland website - you help feed the reticulated pythons and full-grown alligators alongside the actual keepers for about three hours behind the public boardwalks.

Orlando Museum of Art sits inside Loch Haven Cultural Park north of downtown and is the largest fine-art museum in Central Florida. The permanent collection focuses on American art from the 19th century onwards, contemporary graphics, and pre-Columbian and African art. Rotating exhibitions in 2026 include a major touring show on female Abstract Expressionists and an ongoing display of works by Central Florida artists in the Council of 101 gallery.

Admission runs $20 adults, $15 seniors, $8 students, and free for children under 12. The museum opens Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 4pm (closed Mondays) and stays open until 8pm on the first Thursday of each month for the popular 1st Thursdays event, which pairs art with live music, food trucks and cash bars in the courtyard ($20 admission includes a drink). Loch Haven Park also holds the Orlando Science Center and the Mennello Museum of American Art, making it easy to double up on museum time during one visit.

Pro Tip: Time your visit for the first Thursday of any month between 6pm and 9pm - the 1st Thursdays theme puts local artists inside the courtyard and turns the museum into central Orlando's best week-night cultural stop for under $25 including a drink and food-truck bite.