Hi guys
Just got back from an enjoyable holiday. Not very nice to be back and missing Florida terribly. I will just do a short diary of our two weeks or thats what I planned!! First time to Universal .... etc second time to Orlando.
Wednesday 3rd April
Got up early (4.00am) went to Gatwick early as we knew we had to check in 4 hours before. We ate at Garfunkles and had a very nice breakfast ( our last english one for two weeks! ) The plane was 20 minutes late taking off. We flew with virgin and had very nice meals. But we didn't know what a disaster the flight was going to be till we were going to land. As we went to land we came back up again and it felt like we were circling. The pilot then said he could land due to strong winds. We took about half an hour trying to land and he could so we had to do an extended 15 minutes to our journey to Tampa where he could re-fuel. So when we got to Tampa we had to wait an hour for the re-fueling and then we were off again. We ended up landing about 2-3 hours later than we should have!
So anyway after that and feeling VERY tired we had to do an hours drive to our house, grabbing a McDonalds on the way. We couldn't see the true beauty of the house till the morning so we just collapsed into bed and had a good nights sleep.
Thursday 4th April
When the sun was out that morning the house looked beautiful. We had a three bedroom house with two bathrooms and a lovely pool. The house was spotless. ( to look at the house go onto www.ashvillas.co.uk DEERWOOD was the name of the house) We had breakfast at SIZZLERS which we ate at last year. We really like this resturant as it is great value ($3.99 for an adult) there's a wide selection of the buffet, with a friendly service. We were mainly around the pool sunbathing as we didn't want to do any parks due to being so tired. We ate at Pizza Hut as we don't have it much in England.
Friday 5th April
We had got up early ( which didn't happen much in the two weeks) stopped off at SLIZZLERS for another buffet breakfast and went to Universal. It was just under an hours drive and when we got there we were admazed at how big the car parks was. We went on our first ride which was Et. We were very impressed with this ride and how the second part of the waiting was decorated. Terminator was our second. We also really liked this one and thought how different it was using real actors. Konfrontation was one of our favourites. The wild, wild, wild west show was very good entertainment. Wasn't that impressed with Jaws but it was one of those rides you just
have to do . Earthquake was good but it was a really long buildup before the ride which did get a little boring. Had McDonalds for dinner.
Saturday 6th April
We had breakfast in the house which seemed the easiest thing to do and got quite a habbit from then on. We went and played Mini-golf along the 192 in a place called PIRATES COVE. We had great fun and liked the theme of the golf course. Went in the pool in the afternoon which had been tempting since we got there. We ate at Tony Romas which is a favourite of ours, the ribs are the best!! Went shopping at DOWNTOWN DISNEY ( the closest we got to the diseny magic!) Did some shopping in the Disney shop.
Sunday 7th April
Once again had breakfast in the house. Went to Islands Of Adventure for the first time. First of all I have to tell you I don't go on roller coasters or water log fumes, I just don't like them. So anyway baring in mind that I didn't go on a lot in IOA. My sis wanted to go on The Cat in the hat which I wasn't expecting much of but was quite impressed. Went on Pteranodon Flyers and really enjoyed it but what a long wait it has!! Then went on Spiderman. My best ride of the holiday!! It was brilliant I really loved it. As we had some time free we went to US which was quite a walk from IOA. In US I went on Hanna Barbera which I loved! Then on Twister which was hugly disappointing after the really big build up. Kongfrontation which we just had to ride again! And to finish off with was Back to the future. I loved this ride but my Dad wasn't that impressed. We saw the Nickleodeon show which I wasn't too impressed with but my 10 year old sister was so I think it depends on the age of the child. We had dinner at SIZZLERS which is also very good and at very good value. There is a buffet for dinner too and they do really great burgers.
Monday 8 th April
Breakfast was once again at the house. We went to Wet 'n wild. Some of you may remember my post which was that I can't swim so I was limited to what rides I could go on here. But I mangaged to go on 3. They were : Bubba Tub, the flyer, The surge. Doesn't seem much but I went on some of them a few times and we ended up spending all day there. We ate at Golden Corral. We hadn't been here before. The food was very impressive and had a very large selection of food including steak and chicken, the dinner was a buffet. The only down side to Goldne Corral was that the interior reminded me of a cafe.
Tuesday 9th April
We went to Bucsh Gardens today. Don't get me wrong this park can be good and enjoyable for people who like BIG rides and roller coasters. But for me this park didn't do a lot after the 1 and a half hour drive!! I went on the river rapids ride there which I really enjoyed you get a little wet but not soaked. I also went on Tidal Wave the drop was not that bad and the sceanic route is enjoyable and relaxing but you do get SOAKED!! We saw the dolphin show which was very good but be careful you don't get picked to go up with the clown at the beginning. Dinner was Pizza Hut again!
Wednesday 10th April
We had another buffet breakfast at SIZZLERS. we did some shopping along the 192 and went into one of the flea markets. I would recommend going to one at least once as I had never been to one before. Relaxing time after the parks around the pool. We ate dinner at Key W cools open pit grill. this was one of our favourites. I would strongly recommend this. It is a little pricy though! It is situated along the 192 going towards Disney so it was that end of the 192. I had chicken which was really good and my parents had T-bone steak which they said was the best. The theme of Key W Kools was the outside. It is decorated as if you were siting outside as you could see the painted sky. You can also look down at your meals being cooked on the open pit grill and there is a wonderful smell as you walk in! We finished off our evening with a bit more shopping at Down Town.
Thursday 11th April
We went to Seaworld today which was a big hit with all of us, it was our favourite park. I went on Wild Artic which was Ok but the actual simulator bit was very very tame. The part after with all the polar bears ect was just one of the best. We saw the Shamu show which as everyone knows is a MUST, the dolphins which was good. Cirque de la mer was a brilliant show and very funny. We also got to touch the stingrays. But the best part of the holiday was just round the corner at the DOLPHIN COVE. Getting to touch the dolphins was something I never thought I'd get to do. We fed them some fish and got to stroke them. We took lots of pics which you must do to treasure the moment. And if you go make sure you stay for the feeding at buy some fish. We went to Tomy Romas for dinner ( again, I know!!)
Friday 12th April
Today we were doing some more shopping. We went to Osceola shopping centre. The best place for bargins on clothes is here. I managed to find some very cheaply priced clothes, it is definatly worth going. The shop is called ROSS. It is along the 192. Had dinner at TGI fridays. And believe it or not we have NEVER been there before even in england. We were very impressed and had some lovely dinners.
Saturday 13th April
Done another two park thing today. US and IOA was on the plan. We just went to IOA for the show which we heard was very good. We saw The Voyage Of Sindbad. We thought it was very good. At US we went on Et ( again I know but we just love this ride)!, Woody Wood peckers Nuthouse Coaster. My sister loved this one! We finished off with Animal Planet LIVE. Seen as we love animals we really enjoyed this show. Ate at SIZZLERS again we just can't keep away!
Sunday 14th April
Lazy morning by the pool. Then went to Seaworld but it was pouring!! We all wore ponchos (sp?) we must have looked really stupid but at least we were dry. We saw the Manatees, penguins and the tropical reef, all very good. Saw the Pets Ahoy show which we all enjoyed. We ate at Pizzairo Uno, I really loved this place. But the rest of the family didn't. I think it depends on what sort of pizza base you like. It was very thick (the deep pan one) and tasted very home-made, but as I said I liked it. Went to Board walk and were lucky to catch the Epcot fireworks over the bridge.
Monday 15th April
This was our last full day and we tryed to make the most of it by trying to soak up the last of the sun. We ate at Bennigans and for those of you that haven't already gone then go. It's very good value and really nice food. To finish off our last evening we saw Shamu Rocks America. This was one of the BEST shows. ( although it was in the rain!)
Tuesday 16th April
Had the last morning by the pool and grabbed some lunch on the way at guess where??? SIZZLERS!!!! We then made the depressing journey to the airport. The filght was very good on time and took exactly 8 hours.
Finally I have finished my diary, hope you all enjoyed reading it and hope it wasn't too long! Tell me what you think of the house we stayed in the link is DEERWOOD once you have clicked on houses.
If you have any questions then just ask.
USA_mad
Just got back from an enjoyable holiday. Not very nice to be back and missing Florida terribly. I will just do a short diary of our two weeks or thats what I planned!! First time to Universal .... etc second time to Orlando.
Wednesday 3rd April
Got up early (4.00am) went to Gatwick early as we knew we had to check in 4 hours before. We ate at Garfunkles and had a very nice breakfast ( our last english one for two weeks! ) The plane was 20 minutes late taking off. We flew with virgin and had very nice meals. But we didn't know what a disaster the flight was going to be till we were going to land. As we went to land we came back up again and it felt like we were circling. The pilot then said he could land due to strong winds. We took about half an hour trying to land and he could so we had to do an extended 15 minutes to our journey to Tampa where he could re-fuel. So when we got to Tampa we had to wait an hour for the re-fueling and then we were off again. We ended up landing about 2-3 hours later than we should have!
So anyway after that and feeling VERY tired we had to do an hours drive to our house, grabbing a McDonalds on the way. We couldn't see the true beauty of the house till the morning so we just collapsed into bed and had a good nights sleep.
Thursday 4th April
When the sun was out that morning the house looked beautiful. We had a three bedroom house with two bathrooms and a lovely pool. The house was spotless. ( to look at the house go onto www.ashvillas.co.uk DEERWOOD was the name of the house) We had breakfast at SIZZLERS which we ate at last year. We really like this resturant as it is great value ($3.99 for an adult) there's a wide selection of the buffet, with a friendly service. We were mainly around the pool sunbathing as we didn't want to do any parks due to being so tired. We ate at Pizza Hut as we don't have it much in England.
Friday 5th April
We had got up early ( which didn't happen much in the two weeks) stopped off at SLIZZLERS for another buffet breakfast and went to Universal. It was just under an hours drive and when we got there we were admazed at how big the car parks was. We went on our first ride which was Et. We were very impressed with this ride and how the second part of the waiting was decorated. Terminator was our second. We also really liked this one and thought how different it was using real actors. Konfrontation was one of our favourites. The wild, wild, wild west show was very good entertainment. Wasn't that impressed with Jaws but it was one of those rides you just
have to do . Earthquake was good but it was a really long buildup before the ride which did get a little boring. Had McDonalds for dinner.
Saturday 6th April
We had breakfast in the house which seemed the easiest thing to do and got quite a habbit from then on. We went and played Mini-golf along the 192 in a place called PIRATES COVE. We had great fun and liked the theme of the golf course. Went in the pool in the afternoon which had been tempting since we got there. We ate at Tony Romas which is a favourite of ours, the ribs are the best!! Went shopping at DOWNTOWN DISNEY ( the closest we got to the diseny magic!) Did some shopping in the Disney shop.
Sunday 7th April
Once again had breakfast in the house. Went to Islands Of Adventure for the first time. First of all I have to tell you I don't go on roller coasters or water log fumes, I just don't like them. So anyway baring in mind that I didn't go on a lot in IOA. My sis wanted to go on The Cat in the hat which I wasn't expecting much of but was quite impressed. Went on Pteranodon Flyers and really enjoyed it but what a long wait it has!! Then went on Spiderman. My best ride of the holiday!! It was brilliant I really loved it. As we had some time free we went to US which was quite a walk from IOA. In US I went on Hanna Barbera which I loved! Then on Twister which was hugly disappointing after the really big build up. Kongfrontation which we just had to ride again! And to finish off with was Back to the future. I loved this ride but my Dad wasn't that impressed. We saw the Nickleodeon show which I wasn't too impressed with but my 10 year old sister was so I think it depends on the age of the child. We had dinner at SIZZLERS which is also very good and at very good value. There is a buffet for dinner too and they do really great burgers.
Monday 8 th April
Breakfast was once again at the house. We went to Wet 'n wild. Some of you may remember my post which was that I can't swim so I was limited to what rides I could go on here. But I mangaged to go on 3. They were : Bubba Tub, the flyer, The surge. Doesn't seem much but I went on some of them a few times and we ended up spending all day there. We ate at Golden Corral. We hadn't been here before. The food was very impressive and had a very large selection of food including steak and chicken, the dinner was a buffet. The only down side to Goldne Corral was that the interior reminded me of a cafe.
Tuesday 9th April
We went to Bucsh Gardens today. Don't get me wrong this park can be good and enjoyable for people who like BIG rides and roller coasters. But for me this park didn't do a lot after the 1 and a half hour drive!! I went on the river rapids ride there which I really enjoyed you get a little wet but not soaked. I also went on Tidal Wave the drop was not that bad and the sceanic route is enjoyable and relaxing but you do get SOAKED!! We saw the dolphin show which was very good but be careful you don't get picked to go up with the clown at the beginning. Dinner was Pizza Hut again!
Wednesday 10th April
We had another buffet breakfast at SIZZLERS. we did some shopping along the 192 and went into one of the flea markets. I would recommend going to one at least once as I had never been to one before. Relaxing time after the parks around the pool. We ate dinner at Key W cools open pit grill. this was one of our favourites. I would strongly recommend this. It is a little pricy though! It is situated along the 192 going towards Disney so it was that end of the 192. I had chicken which was really good and my parents had T-bone steak which they said was the best. The theme of Key W Kools was the outside. It is decorated as if you were siting outside as you could see the painted sky. You can also look down at your meals being cooked on the open pit grill and there is a wonderful smell as you walk in! We finished off our evening with a bit more shopping at Down Town.
Thursday 11th April
We went to Seaworld today which was a big hit with all of us, it was our favourite park. I went on Wild Artic which was Ok but the actual simulator bit was very very tame. The part after with all the polar bears ect was just one of the best. We saw the Shamu show which as everyone knows is a MUST, the dolphins which was good. Cirque de la mer was a brilliant show and very funny. We also got to touch the stingrays. But the best part of the holiday was just round the corner at the DOLPHIN COVE. Getting to touch the dolphins was something I never thought I'd get to do. We fed them some fish and got to stroke them. We took lots of pics which you must do to treasure the moment. And if you go make sure you stay for the feeding at buy some fish. We went to Tomy Romas for dinner ( again, I know!!)
Friday 12th April
Today we were doing some more shopping. We went to Osceola shopping centre. The best place for bargins on clothes is here. I managed to find some very cheaply priced clothes, it is definatly worth going. The shop is called ROSS. It is along the 192. Had dinner at TGI fridays. And believe it or not we have NEVER been there before even in england. We were very impressed and had some lovely dinners.
Saturday 13th April
Done another two park thing today. US and IOA was on the plan. We just went to IOA for the show which we heard was very good. We saw The Voyage Of Sindbad. We thought it was very good. At US we went on Et ( again I know but we just love this ride)!, Woody Wood peckers Nuthouse Coaster. My sister loved this one! We finished off with Animal Planet LIVE. Seen as we love animals we really enjoyed this show. Ate at SIZZLERS again we just can't keep away!
Sunday 14th April
Lazy morning by the pool. Then went to Seaworld but it was pouring!! We all wore ponchos (sp?) we must have looked really stupid but at least we were dry. We saw the Manatees, penguins and the tropical reef, all very good. Saw the Pets Ahoy show which we all enjoyed. We ate at Pizzairo Uno, I really loved this place. But the rest of the family didn't. I think it depends on what sort of pizza base you like. It was very thick (the deep pan one) and tasted very home-made, but as I said I liked it. Went to Board walk and were lucky to catch the Epcot fireworks over the bridge.
Monday 15th April
This was our last full day and we tryed to make the most of it by trying to soak up the last of the sun. We ate at Bennigans and for those of you that haven't already gone then go. It's very good value and really nice food. To finish off our last evening we saw Shamu Rocks America. This was one of the BEST shows. ( although it was in the rain!)
Tuesday 16th April
Had the last morning by the pool and grabbed some lunch on the way at guess where??? SIZZLERS!!!! We then made the depressing journey to the airport. The filght was very good on time and took exactly 8 hours.
Finally I have finished my diary, hope you all enjoyed reading it and hope it wasn't too long! Tell me what you think of the house we stayed in the link is DEERWOOD once you have clicked on houses.
If you have any questions then just ask.
USA_mad
