We had to do it. Jamie has been dreaming his whole life about visiting the theme parks in Florida. He took the reigns and planned out a nine day stay in Orlando.
DISNEY
We visited all of the parks that make up Disney World: Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and Epcot. They are all different and are all worth a visit.
Magic Kingdom is everything you imagine when you think of Disney – the castle, It’s a Small World ride, teacups, Mickey and so on.
Animal Kingdom is great fun and, not surprisingly, offers the chance to see animals close up.
Neither of us had expected much of Epcot but were pleasantly surprised at how much we enjoyed our visit.
Hollywood Studios (previously named MGM) has some of the big thrill rides like the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and the Rock’n’Roller Coaster. Jen impressed herself by stepping up and going on even the scariest!
The parks each have their own parking lot ($17 per day!) and are linked by various forms of transport; monorail, ferry, bus and trolley car. Getting around is not difficult but not as straightforward as you might hope. The parks are spread out so it is a good idea to have a firm plan of what you want to see each day. Be sure to allow yourself plenty of time to between park attractions, and remember that getting from one park to another can also be very time consuming.
Another (fairy obvious) tip is to USE FASTPASS . I can’t stress this enough because even if the parks are crowded and waiting times are insane you can at lease ensure you get easy access to three of the most popular attractions. If you sign up online you can make Fastpass reservations up to thirty days in advance of your visit. This would be especially useful during very busy times of year.
Disney also have an app that you can download. It gives you a detailed map, updated waiting times for each attraction, and you can link it to your Fastpass information.
There are plenty of theme park nerds who publish guides and tips. Type ‘disney world tips’ or something similar into Google and you won’t be sorry. Planning can really make the difference to a good visit or a tedious one.
UNIVERSAL
Universal Studios and Universal’s Islands of Adventure are two must-see parks while in Orlando.
The rides are top notch and seem to be very modern. Most are based on popular films and TV shows. Jamie was especially taken by the Springfield USA section of Universal Studios where there is an operational Krusty Burger and Moe’s Tavern complete with Duff Beer on tap and Flaming Moes.
Again, Universal have cleverly spaced out their attractions across two parks meaning you really need to visit both to ensure you don’t miss out.
SEAWORLD
We debated about whether or not to even go to SeaWorld Orlando. Jamie has wanted to visit for eons and Jen has already been before as a teenager. Jen had major concerns about knowingly supporting a corporation with such questionable practices. If you’re not sure what she means by this, be sure to watch the 2013 documentary ‘Blackfish’ which looks at the history of keeping killer whales in captivity. We both watched this film before we left London. Jamie decided he still wanted to fulfil his childhood dream of visiting SeaWorld and Jen agreed to go along with him, albeit with a guilty conscience.
We both agreed we would not watch the Shamu killer whale performance as it would be too sad to witness.
We did enjoy our time at the park – especially the Kraken and Manta rollercoasters. Perhaps ironically, given Jen’s guilt, the heavens opened late in the morning and there was an almighty downpour. Some of the rides were closed for safety reasons and we decided it was time to leave.
jamoandjen 