Orlando in 5 days

Plan: Monday is not a party night in our sample week; October 13, 15 and 16 are Halloween party nights, when the park shuts to day guests at 6 p.m. From International Drive, the Magic Kingdom lot is 14 to 24 minutes away at 8 a.m.; add the monorail or ferry. Go left to Frontierland at opening for Big Thunder Mountain and Tiana's Bayou Adventure, then Pirates and Jungle Cruise. The railroad is closed this autumn. Stay for Happily Ever After, reported at 9 p.m. from October 5. Order and tips are in our Magic Kingdom guide.

Eat: a Dole Whip ($5.99) in Adventureland; counter food is the honest choice today, since you drive home late.

Lightning Lane: buy Multi Pass, reported at $35 a person for October 4. Off-site, you book it 3 days ahead from 7 a.m.; Disney hotel guests book 7 days before check-in.

Plan: the main entrance is where drivers arrive, so ride Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind first, then Test Track, Frozen Ever After and Soarin' Across America. After lunch, walk the World Showcase loop for the Food & Wine Festival (to November 21, included with admission). Booth dishes ran $4.29 to $17.50. Our EPCOT page has the ride order.

Eat: festival booths for dinner, or the lounge at Space 220 rather than its $79 prix fixe.

Lightning Lane: skip Multi Pass on a Tuesday. If Cosmic Rewind is already long when you arrive, its Single Pass was reported at $22.

Plan: without early entry, start on Sunset Boulevard with Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets and Tower of Terror, then use Lightning Lane for Rise of the Resistance and Slinky Dog Dash. Stay for Fantasmic! if it is scheduled. See Hollywood Studios.

Eat: a drink at Oga's Cantina (book ahead; two drinks a guest), then dinner at Disney Springs, which is free to park.

Lightning Lane: yes. The Rise Single Pass ($25) and Multi Pass ($29) were the reported early-October prices. This is the park where off-site guests lose most without them; see Is Multi Pass worth it?

Plan: Epic has its own lot at 1001 Epic Boulevard ($35, and the free-after-6 p.m. rule does not apply). It opened at 10 a.m. on September 22; be at the gate before opening and go straight to Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge or Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry. Mine-Cart Madness averaged 100 minutes of posted wait in 2026, so ride it early or late. Stay to close. The five worlds are laid out on our Epic Universe page.

Eat: eat in the park, then drive to Mills 50 for a late plate at Hawkers, open to 10 p.m. Sunday to Thursday.

Express: skip it. Epic's single-use Express ran $210 to $340 a person in October, more than the ticket, and the free Express Unlimited at Universal's top hotels is not valid here. See Is Universal Express worth it?

Plan: start at Islands of Adventure with Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, which Express does not cover, then VelociCoaster and Forbidden Journey. Early afternoon, take the Hogwarts Express to Universal Studios Florida for Gringotts and Revenge of the Mummy. Jurassic Park River Adventure is closed until November 19, 2026, and Fast & Furious: Supercharged closed for good on August 16.

Friday in October may be a Halloween Horror Nights night, when Studios closes early to day guests (6 p.m. on September 22) and after-6 p.m. free parking does not apply. Do Diagon Alley before dinner.

Eat: a Butterbeer in Hogsmeade, and a shake at Toothsome in CityWalk ($18 to $20) if you must.

Express: this is the one day it can pay. Express for both older parks started at $124.99 a person; on a peak-week Friday it saves the most. Hotel-included Express Unlimited at Portofino Bay covers exactly these two parks.

One base: International Drive sits between the resorts: 7 to 16 minutes to Universal and 14 to 24 to the Magic Kingdom lot at 8 a.m. Rosen Inn at Pointe Orlando was $131.19 to $194.99 a night on the November and December dates checked, with $10 a night parking and a free Universal shuttle booked a day ahead. You need a car for Disney; our rental car verdict says rent for a split trip.

Split: three nights at Pop Century ($238 to $318 on the dates checked, theme park parking included) and two at Stella Nova ($225 on November 17), which has a walking path to Epic. That removes Disney parking and gives early entry, at the cost of one hotel move.

Tickets before sales tax, parking tax included, prices from the official stores on September 22, 2026:

We could not capture the 2-day ticket's price for this exact week. Universal's store showed only its starting price; the 1-day calendar for October ran $150 to $200 for Epic and $195 to $235 for park-to-park, so buy the 2-day ticket if its price for your dates is below the two 1-day tickets added together. Lightning Lane as planned adds $178 for two, or $222 with the Cosmic Rewind Single Pass; Express on day 5 at the floor price adds $249.98. Ticket rules are on our Disney and Universal ticket pages.