For most families, a trip to Orlando is about expensive theme parks and kids. But, we are here to tell you that you can get a sports trip out of your family vacation.

In fact, you might be able to sneak it in without your kids and wife being any the wiser.

Now, in Orlando, very little is free. With one exception: Downtown Disney. Downtown Disney is an entertainment district adjacent to the Walt Disney World Parks. If you and your family need a mere dose of Disney (a FREE dose of Disney) then this is the place to be.

You can stroll through the Downtown area, browsing through Disney-themed toy stores, and clothing stores evening passing through a Lego-Land that is facilitated with park employees. Also, there is a DJ-Dance Party for children. Kids can go up on the stage and a Disney DJ will play tunes by RadioDisney and exhaust them. Finally, there are even small rides for kids and live animals outside of the Rain Forest Café. For the untrained, inexperienced kid, this COULD be Disney World. How would they know? And, it is free. So, with the kids tired, move on to a nice dinner. There are tons of restaurants to chose from: Cuban, Upscale Irish, Italian, Sea Food, Planet Hollywood and Rainforest Cafe. You pick your favorite.

Now, onto the sports: With the family happy and fed, you have a sporting event to attend.

The Orlando Magic play at the TD Waterhouse Center in downtown Orlando which is only 20 minutes (with traffic) from Downtown Disney.

It is easy to get great seats for a great price in Orlando so we recommend you buy outside the stadium. (we got three seats for $50. The face value was $54 for one ticket).

For basketball, you can focus on the game but the rest of the family can focus on the peripheral entertainment: the pre-game player introductions (with fireworks), the time-out games, and of course, the half-time show. Plus, in the fourth quarter, they’ll pass out Thunder Sticks which is always a family favorite.

So, the key to getting a sporting trip out of any trip is to be creative and think of the others in your group. Satisfy them first, and the sporting event is yours.