Florida Fun

Yvonne Reddin

|

October 7, 2026

Choosing Kissimmee as a base for exploring Florida and its theme parks offers many advantages for a family holiday on a limited budget

A holiday to Florida is on many families’ wish lists, but as any solo parent knows, the costs can quickly spiral even with one child and a lot more with multiple children. Between accommodation, park tickets, meals and transport, it can feel like your budget has disappeared before you even board the plane.

Having just returned from Florida with my twins, I discovered there’s another way to experience it all without sacrificing the fun. Instead of staying on the popular, busy International Drive, we based ourselves in Kissimmee, a city south of Orlando also known as the Vacation Home Capital of the World. Kissimmee is a family-friendly area just minutes from Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando and SeaWorld. Our vacation home, Encore Resort, had all mod cons including a washing machine. This complex also has a great water park with slides, a basketball/football court and a hotel which had a restaurant, gym and a pool bar.

Dining out on a budget

We were able to get groceries delivered (there is a Walmart close by for deliveries) and have breakfast at home before going out for the day. This cut out one meal for three of us, so it was just lunch and dinner out every day (over eight days I spent approx. $100 per day for three of us). Food portions in the diners, takeaways, theme parks and restaurants are considerably larger than ours so you could easily share two portions between three. We took away numerous doggy bags and devoured them the following day. You can bring packed lunches, but we wanted to experience the dining options (Raising Cane’s was a firm favourite to try for the twins as we don’t have it in Ireland). Most drinks you buy are refillable at no extra cost in diners and restaurants. I brought refillable bottles everywhere with me, particularly in the theme parks where there were refillable water stations everywhere. Disney and Universal both sell refillable popcorn buckets, too.

When to go

Going off-season, if you can, is the obvious way to get better value packages. Even a week earlier than the school holidays can make a big difference to prices. Flights can fluctuate and I did daily checks and picked a Sunday flight for a better price. Tip: if you are always checking prices from the same laptop, switch to another one and see if the prices change; sometimes the algorithms know you are looking for a better price!

Park Tickets

Buying theme park tickets before you go is a smart plan and I also heard from visitors I chatted with that they bought a 14-day multiple park ticket online on Black Friday for their trip the following year (also, if you can pay the extra, FastPass is worth it so you don’t have the long queues, especially if you have younger children). But really do your research on what parks you want to visit.

Packing

Most of the time, Florida weather is sunny and hot, but they also get lightning and thunder rainstorms. We went in early June and experienced lightning storms that appeared from nowhere; the rides in the theme parks and water parks will stop if they have weather warnings. If you can pack light, do and remember if you need anything, the shopping outlets in Florida are a bargain hunter’s dream, in my opinion. I always use packing cubes, so the children have a cube each with all their clothes in it, and it makes more space in the suitcase. You don’t want to be lugging around suitcases and children in airports and while waiting for transfers. I got three of our clothes in one 23kg suitcase and brought two 10kg on the plane in case we shopped – we did. I bought ponchos in Dealz before I left for the water rides in the theme parks but honestly it cooled us down and we didn’t mind getting wet one bit. I also invested in a portable charger in case our phones died (most people have all their tickets, cards, etc. on their phones).

Out and about

Going out to dinner is very casual in Orlando, because of the heat. Getting around if you don’t hire a car is easy and relatively good value. Ubers are the cheapest and so efficient. Staying in Kissimmee, everything was only between 10-30 minutes away, depending on the traffic and time of day. For eight days, I spent $600 on Ubers. If you rent a car, you can compare and see which is best for you, pricewise (I don’t drive in the US). There is usually free entertainment in places like DownTown Kissimmee, Disney Springs and the nearby town of Celebration was an unexpected surprise. We hired bikes from Celebration Bike Company, located right at the lake (from $40 pp).

Make use of your vacation home

In between visiting the theme parks, stay at home in your rental and make use of all the facilities. We had a private pool and jacuzzi and it was just heaven on our relaxing days. As mentioned before, this complex had a waterpark and a restaurant. No long queues here for the children. Another tip is to go to the theme parks later in the day instead of early. You can relax at home, not have to walk around parks in the extreme day heat and there are fewer crowds in the evening; most parks are open until 9/10 pm.

As a solo parent, I learned that the best Florida holiday isn’t necessarily the most expensive one. Staying in Kissimmee gave us space to breathe and relax, quieter evenings by the pool and a budget that stretched much further than I thought it would.

Theme Parks & restaurants we visited

Universal Islands of Adventure & Universal Studios one-day, two-park ticket €157 pp
SeaWorld Orlando – one-day ticket €130 pp
Gatorland – A super day out ziplining and learning about alligators. Entry €30 pp (zip lining is an additional €70 pp)
Island H20 Waterpark – €44 *price varies by season
The Elegant Villa from €200 per night *Price varies by season booked through Jeeves by Casago. Visit jeevesfloridarentals.com/encore-resort
Raising Cane’s is a popular fast-food chain.
Summerhouse by the Lake in Disney Springs is a great restaurant; you need to book and they are renowned for the size of their chocolate cake.
Downtown Diner in Celebration is right beside the lake and a great spot for food after hiring bikes and cycling around the neighbourhood.
Medieval Dinner & Tournament €67 pp. This is a quirky evening with a Medieval show and dinner.