Orlando

One park in the morning is a full day. Put a nap back at the room on the calendar before you buy the ticket. Rider-switch and stroller rental matter more than a second gate. Art of Animation suites and Animal Kingdom Lodge give you space to disappear at 1 p.m.

This is the sweet spot for Magic Kingdom, Seuss Landing, and a character meal you reserve. Four park days inside a week is enough. A pool afternoon keeps the next morning from falling apart.

They will trade a nap for a second rope drop. Hollywood Studios, Islands of Adventure, and Epic Universe earn the commando pace. Still leave one evening with no ticket so nobody is negotiating bedtime in a queue.

All-Star, Pop Century, or Endless Summer, plus one standard room. Tickets are the large line. Skip the table-service meals and the hopper. A three-day Disney sprint or a four-day Universal stay sits in this band on our estimates.

Coronado Springs, Cabana Bay, or an Art of Animation suite. You are paying for a better bus loop or a room that actually sleeps four. Add one character meal and one water day, not both every day.

Polynesian, Animal Kingdom Lodge, Hard Rock, or Portofino. The rate is the plan: walking or a monorail instead of a 40-minute bus. Our deluxe estimates are a standard room, not club level and not a savanna guarantee.

Morning: Fantasyland and Tomorrowland before the parade crowd. Afternoon: a sit-down meal or the room if the kids are small. Evening: the parade, then leave if fireworks will push bedtime past what the group can do.

Morning: the ride side, Guardians and Remy, while World Showcase is still quiet. Afternoon: a long lunch you can sit through. Evening: the lagoon. This is the park that forgives a late start better than the others.

Morning: Toy Story Land with little kids, or Rise of the Resistance if the group is tall enough. Afternoon: one big ride, not three. Evening: Galaxy’s Edge after the strollers thin out.

Morning: the safari and Pandora. The animals are up and the park opens earlier than it closes. Afternoon: Festival of the Lion King or the room. This park is a poor choice for a night-only visit.

Morning: the headliner you care about, at rope drop. Afternoon: a water ride or a show so the group can sit. Evening: CityWalk is free to walk. Epic Universe is its own ticket; do not treat it as a hopper afterthought.

Morning: animal habitats. Afternoon: one coaster if anyone wants it, then a show. It pairs with a Disney week as the day that is not a rope drop.

Stay here when the Skyliner or a free Disney bus should do the commuting. Pop Century and the value resorts sit on this side, close to Disney Springs for a night that is not another park.

The hotel strip between the parks and Universal. Useful when the group is splitting Disney and Universal days, and when you want a grocery store without a resort premium.

A brick-street neighborhood north of downtown for the day you leave the parks. The boat tour, the Tiffany museum, and dinner that is not themed.

Skyliner resorts (Pop Century, Art of Animation) for EPCOT and Hollywood Studios. Monorail resorts (Polynesian) for Magic Kingdom. Animal Kingdom Lodge and Coronado if the bus is acceptable and you want a resort day that feels like a destination.

Hard Rock and Portofino walk to the parks. Cabana Bay is the value hotel with a lazy river and a bus or a boat. Endless Summer is the lowest-priced on-site hotel in our estimates, with a longer shuttle.

International Drive, including Rosen Inn at Pointe Orlando, when the week splits SeaWorld and the parks and you want a grocery store. You give up early entry. You keep a lower room rate. A car or a rideshare day belongs in the estimate.