Lets clear up a few misconceptions about Florida in general and Orlando and its attractions in particular.

Firstly for those of us from the U.K. or Europe, it is important to mention the sheer size of this place, although one of the smaller US states (22nd largest), Florida is roughly the same size as England and Wales combined, with Walt Disney World alone equivalent in size to Sheffield! Orlando itself is larger than many small countries.

The point I am making here is that Orlando is a BIG place, for those that have not made the "pilgramage" to Florida with the kids in tow, I cannot emphasise enough the relative difference in scale, a family could easily spend a whole week in Disneyworld, with plenty to see and do!

A popular conception in Europe is that Americans always seem to do things bigger and better, unfortunatley in this case its true! No matter which attractions or theme parks you may have visited previously in the UK, you will experience "shock and awe" as you see for the first time any of the larger Orlando parks.

These parks are so big that there are many full blown books and guides dedicated to each one, in fact, if you are planning a trip it would be advisable to read several guides and do lots of research on the web to plan your itinerary. Do not think for a minute that you can "do" a theme park in an afternoon, you will need a full day at least for the major attractions (of which there are many).

I would estimate it would take around 4-5 weeks for an average family to take in just the MAIN attractions. Many of the 34 million people visiting Orlando are repeat visitors, after a 1-2 week initial stay they want more, its not unusual to find yourself on the flight home thinking what a great time you have had - and at the same time feeling disappointed as you realise there is so much more that you missed.