Your family is going to spend seven days in Orlando Florida? Excellent! Well, your only problem is not what do I do in Orlando for seven days--it's what don't you do? You are heading into the land of sun, fun and many, many theme parks. You need a plan of attack and some tips and tricks that can help you get the most out of your vacation: With 20 years of Orlando vacation experience, I am just the girl to give them to you.

First, purchase all your tickets for Disney, Universal and Sea World online. It will save you valuable time when you actually get to the parks. (Insider tip: Also book the restaurants you would like to try ahead of time. Disney's popular restaurant Le Cellier can be booked up to 6 months in advance!)

If you arrive on a Sunday, DO NOT visit Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom first! Everyone arrives on Sundays and hit MK first because it is the most popular. Head over to EPCOT instead and take a relaxing day exploring Future World and sampling culture from all around the World Showcase. (Insider tip: Future World's hours are listed from 9am-7pm, but the major attractions are open until 9pm!)

It is a good idea to try and hit two parks in one day, to maximize your time. The best two to do together are Disney's Animal Kingdom and Disney's MGM Studios. Animal Kingdom opens the earliest of the parks and has no fireworks. MGM is fairly small and easier to get through in an afternoon. (Insider tip: The fireworks show Fantasmic at MGM has limited seating. Try to be in the theater an hour early for good seats!)

You can do both of the Universal theme parks in one day! They are located side by side so that they are easy to travel between and you are able to purchase an Express Pass for both parks. The express pass will allow you to skip the line of every ride in both parks, but they are limited so arrive early! (Insider Tip: You do not need to purchase admission to visit Universal's City Walk! It has amazing shopping and dinning so check it out before you leave.) 

Sea World is a pretty cool spot, but if you feel a little "theme parked out" by your last full day, it would be the one I would leave out. Instead, why not try one of Disney's water parks if it's a nice day. If not, Disney also offers an indoor interactive theme park called Disney Quest for lots of games the kids will love. After, for evening entertainment, there are nightly shows of Cirque Du Soleil's, La Nouba. Downtown Disney also features a market place where you can purchase any Disney merchandise you have seen in the parks.

Outside the theme parks, there is wonderful shopping and dinning to be found. I recommend heading to either the Lake Buena Vista Factory Outlets or the Premium Factory Outlets. Dinner theaters galore are stamped along the roadside, my favorite being Medieval Times, but the Dixie Stampede is great too. And if you find being surrounded with the hustle and bustle of Orlando too much, about 45 minutes away is Cocoa Beach, where you can relax and have some fun in the sun.

Finally and most importantly, don't forget that this is your family's vacation! Have fun and don't get stressed. If you don't fit it all in; it will just be your reason to go back!

This tidbit of real travel advice was provided by Lesley Faraday

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