Orlando before you book: the practical facts we checked

Orlando International has three terminals. Terminals A and B are opposite sides of one main building, and Terminal C, opened in 2022, stands to the south beside the airport's train station. A shuttle bus links Terminals B and C around the clock. At Terminals A and B, taxis and shuttles pick up on Level 1, the ground transportation level, and app cars on Level 2, the arrivals kerb; at Terminal C both are on Level 6. Taxis run on the meter, with no flat fares.

Mears Connect, the airport's shared shuttle to every Disney-owned hotel, leaves Level 1 of Terminals B and C every 20 to 30 minutes and allows 30 to 60 minutes for the ride, depending on traffic and stops. Its list of hotels leaves out the Universal hotels, the Four Seasons, The Ritz-Carlton and The Alfond Inn, and Grande Lakes runs no airport shuttle of its own. Universal's SuperStar Shuttle picks up on Level 1 of Terminals A and C. Brightline's trains leave the train station, open from 5am to 11pm, only for West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Aventura and Miami; none stops at Disney or Universal.

The times below are routed by car from the Level 1 road on the Terminal A side, with the roads clear; from Terminal C they are 3 to 11 minutes longer. At busy times Mears' 30 to 60 minutes is the better guide, and on I-4 the state is extending the express lanes towards Disney until 2027.

Not for a stay at one resort's parks. Disney's transport is free to guests of its own hotels and runs from 45 minutes before the parks open until an hour after they close. From the Grand Floridian the Resort Monorail reaches Magic Kingdom in one stop, with Epcot one change away, and water taxis cross the lagoon. From the Yacht Club, FriendShip boats run to Epcot and Hollywood Studios, and Epcot's International Gateway is a nine-minute walk. Pop Century's Skyliner station is five minutes from the lobby, with gondolas to Epcot and Hollywood Studios via Caribbean Beach; Disney closes the Skyliner from 24 to 30 January 2027, with buses instead. Animal Kingdom Lodge has Disney's buses only, and the Four Seasons runs its own free coaches, about once an hour.

At Universal, hotel guests ride free shuttle buses to CityWalk, Epic Universe and Volcano Bay: every 10 minutes from Helios Grand, which has its own gate into Epic Universe instead, every 15 from Cabana Bay and every 30 from Portofino Bay, whose water taxi crosses to CityWalk.

A car earns its keep at Grande Lakes, where the park shuttle is booked a day ahead, in Winter Park, with no park shuttle at all, or for both resorts in one trip. The expressways from the airport take no cash: a transponder such as E-PASS or SunPass, or Pay By Plate at double the rate, billed to the owner, which for a hire car means the hire company's toll programme; I-4 Express takes transponders only.

Room rates are quoted before tax. A hotel night in Florida carries the state's 6% sales tax, the county's discretionary sales surtax and the county's tourist development tax: 12.5% in Orange County, where all ten stand, and 13.5% in neighbouring Osceola County, around Kissimmee. Disney's own rates are set before tax, with 12.5% added on top, and Loews says the same at Helios Grand.

Three of the ten add a nightly resort fee, charged per room and taxed with it: $55 at the Four Seasons in 2026, $55 at The Ritz-Carlton, where it covers in-room internet, the park shuttle and two floats for the JW Marriott's lazy river, and $27 at The Alfond Inn, for Wi-Fi, the pool terrace, the gym and the concierge. Disney's and Universal's own hotels charge none. Since 12 May 2025 a Federal Trade Commission rule has required hotels to show a total price that includes mandatory fees like these, with taxes allowed at the end.

Parking is the other extra. Disney's own hotels charge nothing for overnight self-parking, and their guests park at the four theme parks for free; valet at the Deluxe hotels is $42 a night, and Pop Century has none. The other six all charge: for self-parking at Universal's three, and for valet at the Four Seasons, The Ritz-Carlton and The Alfond Inn, though The Ritz-Carlton's guests may self-park at the JW Marriott next door.

By NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals for Orlando International, January is 22.1°C (71.8°F) by day and 9.7°C (49.5°F) at night, and July, with the hottest days, 33.3°C (92°F) by day and 22.9°C (73.2°F) at night; a normal year has 110 days of 32.2°C (90°F) or more. Of 1,307 mm (51.45 inches) of rain a year, more than half falls from June to September, and June is the wettest month at 204 mm (8.05 inches). The National Weather Service office at Melbourne dates Orlando's wet season from about 27 May to 15 October and says summer afternoons can usually be counted on for clouds building into storms where the Gulf and Atlantic sea breezes meet. Its outlook for November 2026 to April 2027 flags an increased chance of well above normal rainfall and severe weather. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from 1 June to 30 November, peaking around 10 September.

Prices follow the calendar, as Disney's own rates show. At Pop Century the Standard Room is $223 a night midweek in early November 2026 and $242 in the first days of December, then $344 from 11 December and $359 from Christmas Eve to New Year's Eve. 4 January to 3 February 2027 is the cheapest stretch, at $195, though weekends cost more, the Walt Disney World Marathon weekend, 6 to 10 January, most of all. Presidents' Day week, which is also English February half-term, is $259, the Easter fortnight $315, June and July $239 and late August $206. Thanksgiving week, 19 to 27 November 2026, is $292.

Prices are in US dollars and shown before sales tax, which is added at the till: 6.5% in Orange County, where all ten stand, and 7.5% in Osceola County, around Kissimmee.

Tips are expected and are not included. Brand USA, which runs the official Visit The USA site, suggests 15 to 20% for a sit-down meal and 10% at a buffet, $1 a drink or 15 to 20% of a bar tab, 10 to 18% of a taxi fare, $1 to $2 a bag for bell staff and shuttle drivers, $2 to $5 a night for housekeeping and $3 to $5 for the valet who brings the car back.

Read the bill first. Since 1 July 2026 Florida law has required any restaurant that adds an automatic charge, whether a service charge, an automatic gratuity or a card surcharge, to state its amount and purpose on the menu and wherever orders are placed online, and to show it on the receipt on its own line, apart from any tip and the sales tax. Some restaurants add one for groups: Galaxy Bowl at Cabana Bay adds an 18% service charge for parties of six or more, and 15% on takeaway orders. Check what the bill already includes before adding a tip of your own.

Visitors from the 42 Visa Waiver Program countries, the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain among them, need an approved ESTA, the Electronic System for Travel Authorization, before they board, for stays of up to 90 days, and an e-passport, the kind with a chip. Every traveller needs one, children included. Apply at esta.cbp.dhs.gov, the official site; other sites charge a fee of their own for submitting the same form.

From 16 October 2026 the fee is $40.62 an application, up from $40.27. If the application is refused, only the $10.62 processing charge is kept. Customs and Border Protection asks travellers to apply as soon as the trip is planned, and no later than 72 hours before departure.

An approved ESTA lasts two years, or until the passport expires if that is sooner, and covers any number of trips in that time, each limited to 90 days. A new passport, name or nationality means a new application. A refusal means applying for a visa instead, which in most cases involves an interview at a US embassy or consulate, so hold off on a non-refundable rate, or a non-refundable park ticket, until the ESTA is approved.

The changes since 2025, in date order.

On 16 April 2025 Universal Helios Grand took its first guests. On 12 May 2025 the Federal Trade Commission's rule on unfair or deceptive fees took effect: hotels must show a total price that includes mandatory fees, resort fees among them. On 22 May 2025 Universal Epic Universe opened, Universal Orlando's fourth theme park, with Early Park Admission for Universal hotel guests from the next day.

On 30 September 2025 the ESTA fee went from $21 to $40, in January 2026 to $40.27 and on 16 October 2026 to $40.62.

On 10 November 2025 The Perch bar opened in the Grand Floridian's refurbished lobby; work on its covered entrance, and on Animal Kingdom Lodge's rooms, runs into early 2027. By March 2026 Pop Century's lobby and rooms had been refreshed.

In spring 2026 the westbound I-4 exit to the Beachline Expressway was widened to two lanes. On 1 July 2026 Florida's rule on automatic restaurant charges took effect.

On 26 October 2026 Volcano Bay closes for the season until on or before 1 April 2027, and from 24 to 30 January 2027 the Skyliner is closed.

Disney says Early Theme Park Entry and Extended Evening Hours continue through 2027. Guests of Disney's own hotels and four others on its land, not including the Four Seasons, can buy Lightning Lane passes seven days before the stay, for up to 14 days, and everyone else three days ahead; Disney's site for European visitors adds that they can be bought only once in the US.