Packing For Your Orlando Holiday

OK, it’s summer and you’re getting ready for your much deserved and long-awaited Orlando holiday. It’s a wonderful prospect, but you have one key question before you set off – what to pack for the trip. Right?

If you read our recent blog about shopping like a local, you’ll know that Central Florida’s retail therapy is world class, and you can pick up all kinds of bargains, especially in clothing. And we know for a fact that some visitors arrive with empty suitcases, aiming to fill them during the trip!

But that’s not realistic for the majority, especially if you’re travelling with children, hence we have some more practical advice when it comes to all that pre-holiday planning, and what to take with you.

Just to start with, this is one of the most informal destinations on earth. Unless you are looking for ultra-fancy dining like Victoria & Albert’s at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort, you don’t need to think about a jacket and tie or a cocktail dress or two.

Rule No.1: Pack Light

Here’s our rule of thumb. Start by getting out of your cupboard and/or drawers everything you think you want to take with you. Then put half of it back in the cupboard. We’re serious. The vast majority of people – especially first-timers to the Sunshine State – seriously over-pack for this trip-of-a-lifetime.

Yes, our villas are super-spacious and provide max closet space for whatever you bring, but you really don’t need to test the limits of those cupboards. Apart from being able to do your own laundry while you’re enjoying that villa freedom (and who doesn’t like to arrive home with no washing to do?), you will probably only wear about half what you brought with you. One of the things we hear most from our first-time guests is that they could have saved time and/or money by not filling a second suitcase between two people.

Most restaurants will happily seat you in your theme park clothes, whether you’ve been out in them all day or not! You won’t get in to many places in swimsuits, but otherwise just about anything goes. T-shirts and shorts are pretty much all you’ll need from April to the end of October, when temperatures will usually be around 30C, if not higher.

You do need to throw in a sweater or sweatshirt, though. Not so much for the evenings, which can still be plenty warm in Florida’s notorious humidity, but for the full-service restaurants that all tend to crank up the air-conditioning to near Arctic conditions, hence you don’t want to freeze during lunch or dinner.

Rule No.2: Packing Light Doesn’t Include Footwear

While the ‘think casual’ mindset also works for what you put on your feet, it is advisable to bring more than one set of all-purpose trainers or other footwear that puts up with all-day use. This is NOT the place to break in that fancy new pair of Sambas, either. The amount of time you spend on your feet in the theme parks will be in inverse proportion to the time you’ll be able to dip them in your villa pool. Put simply, this holiday is tough on your tootsies.

Pack your two best pairs of well-worn walking shoes, whatever they may be – Converse, Adidas or that bargain you got from TKMaxx. By all means go shopping for new kicks at the discount outlet centres, but wear them in gradually. Don’t head out for the day in the latest fashion sensation only to find they have squished your toes into mush by the end of the day. It happens.

PS: If you do run into problems of the blistered tootsies kind, head to the nearest Walgreens or CVS store and pick up some moleskin patches, which are brilliant for relieving that special kind of pain.

Rule No. 3: Outdoor activities

Here’s the one real caveat to packing light, or even ultra-light. If you’re planning on going hiking, fishing, horse-riding or off-roading in the nearby wilds of Florida – places like Revolution Adventures, Lake Apopka or Wild Florida – consider packing a lightweight long-sleeve shirt and long trousers.

Yes, that will be a bit warmer than the usual tourist uniform of short everything, but it will go a long way to warding off the attacks of the local mosquitoes and gnats, which can be seriously anti-social away from the theme parks (where they spray to limit the depredations of biting insects).

Carrying a bug spray in the car, like local brands Cutter and Off, is always advisable, but long sleeves and trousers are a really good deterrent, and you can pick up a good pair or two at somewhere like Bass Pro Shops, Dick’s Sporting Goods or Columbia stores. You can even bag a handy all-in-one pair of “convertible pants” at any of the above, lightweight trousers that zip-off the lower legs to turn into shorts. Our favourites are the Silver Ridge brand from Columbia that are great for general wear as well as active outdoor adventures.

Savvy shoppers also head for Marshall and Ross stores, where you might have to wade through heavily-laden rack after rack of apparel, but you can get some big-name bargains and can easily kit out the whole family for under $100 per person.

Rule No.4 : Dressing for the summer weather

Did we say showers? How about torrential downpours? Orlando is in the sub-tropics, and that means plenty of atmospheric moisture from late April to the end of October, moisture that translates into heavy cloudbursts at regular intervals (typically around 4pm, before clearing out again).

Heavy rain – no matter how brief – and outdoor theme parks aren’t the best of combinations, hence here’s another little caveat to our “pack light” edict. Bring a lightweight rain jacket or umbrella with you. Either one will help you get around when it’s wet, and there WILL be rain at some stage in any two-week visit. Of course, you can also buy a jacket or – even better – a basic plastic rain poncho at most of the big shops, like Walmart, Target and Kohl’s. A jacket might be just $20-$30, while a poncho can be as little as $5 (and will be at least twice that in the theme parks).

By the same token as tropical weather, there’s also the tropical sun to pay attention to, as that can be quite debilitating if you’re not paying attention (and many people don’t as they dash from attraction to attraction). For regular visitors, this is going to seem like old hat (quite literally), but for long days in the parks you should definitely bring or buy a hat, along with your factor 50 suncream. Keeping the sun off your head is the prime directive at all times of year.

And finally…

Not all colours and fabrics provide equal protection, either. Dark or bright colours help to keep penetrating UV rays from reaching your skin, while there are also clothing manufacturers that specialise in UPF-protective apparel. Check out Amazon.co.uk and you can find UPF clothing from 30 to 50+, including swimwear.

For the water parks, it’s a good idea to wear a Rash Guard, an athletic shirt made of spandex, nylon, or polyester that protects the wearer’s skin while swimming, including damage from rashes, chafing and scrapes from body slides. They’re also excellent UPF material and can double as a coverup over your swimsuit. Most water parks will sell them (from $15-$40), and they’re also available on Amazon from £20-£45.

The bottom line remains that you can pack sparingly for Orlando. And, if you suddenly decide that you do need a jacket, or hat, or long-sleeve shirt, well, this is the ideal place to go shopping for it!

What are YOUR top tips for packing and clothing in Orlando? Tell us your experiences on our Facebook, X and Instagram pages.