Family Vacation GuideOrlando

This 110-acre wildlife reserve is filled with gators and fun attractions. Zipline over a gator-infested lake, even pose for a wrestling photo.

Home to dozens of shops, restaurants, Cirque du Soleil, and more, it's a nice way to spend an afternoon or evening. You get a taste of Disney without the price of park admission.

This place is a little kid's dream. Giant dinosaur statues and a huge octopus surround the tables. It's very popular so make reservations early.

Get the Big Big Pig if you're appetite can handle it or a number of delicious sandwich baskets. The ribs fall off the bone at this family-friendly BBQ joint.

Enjoy pastas, soups, fresh baked goods, and healthy salads at this family-style Italian restaurant.

When you're really hungry, there are few joys like a hot sandwich with gooey melted cheese.

While you're in Florida, you might want to try some of the state's delicious Cuban food.

It's like stepping inside a storybook from your childhood. You enter a land of fairy tales, pirates, astronauts, and cowboys. This is Disney World's flagship park.

Fly through the canyons of the American Southwest on a roller coaster ride.

This 8-minute ride takes you through pirate battles and the adventures of Jack Sparrow. It's great for all ages, but really young kids might get scared.

Restless ghosts party in the halls of this haunted mansion. It's a delightfully scary ride for all ages. Kids will even love playing with the cooky attractions in the line.

It's one of the best attractions with the shortest wait. You venture inside a Disney movie, and wind hits you as fall, water splashes you, and you even get a whiff of perfume in Aladdin.

This coaster dips and dives, howling through the darkness of space. It's magical, futuristic, and very popular. So be sure to reserve your fastpass+ ahead of time.

You control the spin and blasters on Buzz Lightyear's spaceship. Aim for the evil Emperor Zurg and score points. You may just get the high score.

You spin around in oversized tea cups in this Alice in Wonderland themed ride.

It starts as a calm river ride with animatronic animals, and ends with a huge drop down a waterfall. Sit up front if you want to get wet.

The roller coaster car swings around turns and takes you into the workplace of the 7 Dwarfs. Make sure to reserve fastpass+ for this popular ride.

Grab burgers, fries, and taco salads at this counter service restaurant in Frontierland.

It's the Italian restaurant where the Lady and the Trap ate from the same plate. They serve pasta, pizza, and Italian classics.

Sit down for a family-style Thanksgiving feast, any time of year. Enjoy New England food too in an elegant dining hall from the time of our founding fathers.

You can see the candy makers making fudge, taffy, and brittle behind the counter. It's an old-fashioned candy shoppe on Main Street USA

This tiki hut serves frozen slushies, juice, and cookies, perfect for a hot day in Magic Kingdom.

Even in the future, the classic sundae reigns supreme. Stop by for a cold ice cream or soda float in Tomorrowland.

This beautiful glass atrium is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and host to daily meet and greets.

Inside Cinderella's Castle, this royal banquet hall has food fit for a princess with a refined palate. Make sure to reserve far ahead of time!

Hidden in Pinocchio Village Haus restaurant is a secret fairy wish book where you can write down your wildest wishes. The Blue Fairy checks it regularly ;)

In the big tree in liberty square you can find 13 lanterns representing the 13 colonies. Come by in the evening and watch them glow.

Disney's newest restaurant is open for lunch and dinner. They serve delicious French food in the banquet hall of Sebastian's (the Beast's) castle.

Disney's manliest restaurant features giant pork shanks, BBQ, and burly cinnamon rolls. They also have a kid version of beer called LeFou's Brew.

Hearty Reubens, sandwiches, and burgers make up the menu at this old-fashioned American restaurant in Main Street USA.

In a romantic candlelit cellar, this French-Canadian restaurant serves gourmet steak and seafood.

A highly seasonal menu features simple, yet delicious dishes prepared from fresh California ingredients. It also offers a great view of Magic Kingdom fireworks.

Enjoy a delicious Hawaiian banquet with storytelling at dinner time and character brunches with Stitch.

Fireworks light up Cinderella's Castle, while you finish off the night with a dessert party over the lake in Tomorrowland.

It's "haute" cuisine, which is to say it's very fancy. This tasting menu only restaurant is $135 a pop and extremely delicious.

Equal to the thrill of taking off in a jet plane without a windshield, this riveting ride takes you from zero to 40 MPH in about two seconds.

You get to pick a song to listen to as you fly down 17 stories on the world's first non-inverting loop.

Drop down 185 feet and you'll feel weightless. Then you jolt upwards at the speed of a space shuttle.

Two rides in one, you can pick one of two dragons to race on intertwining loops. It's worth trying both, and with two coasters, the line goes faster.

Embark on a whirlwind adventure with Harry and his friends as you fly through the classrooms and halls of Hogwarts Castle.

This is how wizards use the ATM. Zoom through the underground vaults of Gringotts Bank in a multi-dimensional 3-D thrill ride.

What could possibly go wrong on a leisurely jungle cruise in Jurassic Park? Well, the raptors get loose, and now you have to escape by plunging down an 85-foot waterfall.

Fire lights up the ceiling and scarab beetles cover the walls. Then everything goes pitch black and you don't know whether to hold your breath or scream.

This classic log flume sends you flying over a 75-foot drop with a cool story beforehand that will have kids laughing.

You may be on the ground, but it sure feels like you're flying across the skyscrapers of Manhattan in this 3-D ride with stunning effects.

This I-Drive attraction is an odd museum filled with all the unbelievable anomalies of the world like six-legged cows, vampires, and giants.

Kids get to learn about science, the fun way, by doing cool interactive experiments. The upside down building is quite a sight too.

This smaller theme park is home to classic, hard-hitting thrill rides. Ride the slingshot and fly 300 feet in the air.

This old-timey themed park and shopping mall has bumper cars, laser tag, an arcade, go carts, and haunted house, among stores and restaurants.

Tons of thrilling waterslides will keep you cool on a hot Orlando day. The park will close in Dec. 31, 2016 to make way for another, bigger one: Universal's Volcano Bay.

The water's always cool and clear in this natural spring. Take a scenic walk and then hop on in. Sure beats swimming with the gators.

They've got griddles by your tables where you can make your own pancakes. This 300-year-old mill at De Leon Springs was onced used by Spanish sugar plantations.

In this gorgeous coastal river, you have the opportunity to swim with hundreds of manatees. You can even kiss these loveable Sea Cows.

Sixty minutes from Orlando is a beach park, perfect for picnic. Bring your bathing suit and swim with dolphins and manatees in the warm ocean.

Stop for lunch or dinner on their gorgeous lakeside patio and admire the reflection of skyscrapers on the water.

Their calamari is amazing and the pan-fried Gator Tail Tenderloin is something you've gotta try. Sit outside by the lake or in their upscale, yet casual dining room.

It's a hipster's sports bar with creative burgers, big screen TVs, and an eclectic mix of graffiti art.

Twists on classic dishes include Smoked Salmon Flatbread, Herb Truffle Fries, and Cajun Lime Calamari. This spot is a downtown favorite.

The rustic wood and lamp-post lanterns make for an inviting atmosphere. Try the Smoked Black-Eyed Pea Tortellini or Hanger Steak with Molasses Glaze.

Kayak or paddle through a dense swamp forest at the headwaters of the Florida Everglades.

Take a boat ride on the canals that connect the lakes of Winter Park. You'll pass through a botanical garden and cruise by a sculpture garden. Then go explore the town.

With something for all ages, they have 8 unique ropes courses and one zipline.

You fly across over