What's the best way to spend a seven day vacation ...

A seven day vacation in Orlando can be a wonderful dream but it can also be very frustrating nightmare without proper planning. I really recommend you should have a look at the web site of some Orlando attraction; this could give you a glimpse of what you can do with your time. I found this site to be very helpful, it has listings of the main sites of attraction and other helpful features like distance calculator etc.

Well, I was born in Orlando, so my answer might be a bit biased. ;-)

Orlando has SO much to offer outside of Disney.

How you spend your vacation though depends on what you want to get out of it.

If all you want to be while you're down there is a tourist blowing away your hard earned cash to Mickey and Goofy, then look no further than Lake Buena Vista.

However, you could have a great adventure and save some money by staying outside of Disney and checking out everything else there is to see and do.

Hint, avoide I-Drive (International Drive).  Tourist trap. Overpriced crap, and gas would be on average of 50¢ more per gallon than elsewhere.

Also, avoid South Orange Blossom Trail (OBT/ SR 441).  Too many bad areas if you don't know where you're going.

Check out The Orlando Science Center, the Orlando History Museum, Leu Gardens, Kennedy Space Center.

Spend a day at the beach!  Coccoa Beach is only about an hours drive from Orlando east on SR 528 (Bee Line Expressway).

Check out Silver Springs (an hour north of Orlando in Ocala up the Turnpike) for crystal blue water and river rafting.  Famous for its glass-bottom boats.

You can check out live manatees in Crystal River (about 2 hours NW of Orlando).

Sea World believe it or not is a blast!  So is Wet N' Wild water park.

Think about how you really want to spend your vacation. Do you want to be running around being herded like cattle from one ride to the next while a megacorporation steals your money, or do you actually want to relax?

For a larger group like yours, I would recommend staying in a vacation home instead of getting multiple hotel rooms. This saves you money on food (since you can cook some meals at home), and typically comes with a private pool and more area for your family to relax and interact. Here's links to some companies that list homes: FloridaGold.com, HayesVacationRentals.com, DisneyFloridaHolidays.com, DisneyOrlandoHomes.com, SunstateVacations.com, and Vacation-Orlando.net. If your traveling with pets, try SunNFunUSA.com.

If you go the Disney route, you'll make those traditional memories that will last a lifetime -- but be prepared to spend a fortune. If you go, do it off season or otherwise the lines will be horrendous - your $60 admission might only get you two rides at $30 each. Sea World and Cyprus Gardens are just as fun and a bit cheaper. Water parks like Wet and Wild are great on a hot day as well.

If you've got a strong constitution, you can get free or discounted tickets to any park by signing up for a timeshare tour that's available at just about every hotel lobby and tourist shop in Kissimmee. You'll get the hard sell for about 2 hours but end up with your free tickets. If you really want a timeshare, by in the secondary market for less than half the amount they'll try to charge you on site.

Old Towne on 192 in Kissimmee can be a lot of fun (one of my family's favorite spots). Buy a wristband for the 6 year old (unlimited rides for $15 weekdays and $20 on weekends), but that's probably a waste for the older kids since the wristband doesn't include the good stuff for them -- a couple of daredevil rides that the older kids will like but that scare us old folk silly. They do an antique car show every Sat night and typically have a band playing. Overall a fun place that I'd highly recommend.

Dinner theaters are a lot of fun for the kids if you want to splurge some night - Midieval Times and Pirates Dinner Adventure are my favorites, but there's also Dixie Stampede, Arabian Knights and Al Capones.

For boys, there's also a great go-cart and arcade place up by Universal Studios called Fun Spot.

For an adventure, head about 1 hour east on 192 to where the road goes over a bridge (St Johns river, I believe). Right there is a place where you can take airboat rides to see HUNDREDS of alligators in their natural habitat. Airboat rides are offered in Kissimmee as well, but this area is more primitive and lets you see the real Florida -- you may never go in the water again :-)

Paul Price
Florida Vacation Network

You can go to an all-inclusive resorts, Bahamas, Cruise, Cancun, Orlando if you like theme parks. check the need ideas section on this website www.LouMarTravel.com

For sure, I would find some sort of package deal in order to see all the Disney parts, including the water parks.  They are tons of fun, and Universal Studies is also something you should not miss.  In addition though, I would make sure that you take some time to see downtown Orlando because it is a very cute city.  You can get a package Disney or Universal deal to stay in one of their hotels, and then you get special deals inside the parks.  For example, if you stay at one of the Universal hotels, you can go in front of every line inside the 2 Universial Studios parks.. and this is tons of fun.  I don't know what your budget is, but enjoy what Orlando has to offer and have fun!