Disney's Magic Kingdom...

So on our last day, we finally did a Disney park.

Now you may think I'm mad going all the way to Orlando, the HOME of Disney and only visiting one park for one day.  The reason why I did this, was because we did Disneyland Paris 4 years ago, and weren't that keen on it. The boys actually said Legoland was better.  But you can't go all the way there and NOT go to Disney!  To do all the parks would have cost me the same price to do Discovery Cove, so I though that would be mroe money worthy, which it certainly was!

I let Pickle chose the park, which was Magic Kingdom, the main one. The reason why, was because when we went to Disney Paris, he was too small to do Space Mountain.

So off to the Kingdom we went. 

So what did we think? 

Very old and outdated.

What I did like about it was the free 'fastpass'.  Other parks you need to pay extra. Here, you can chose a ride and they will give you a time you can go on it without having to queue for hours.  This made it more bearable.  So we did the major and small rides, and was nice, but some were just...boring...like the swiss family robinson tree and Tom Sawyers Island.  My kids don't even know these stories. 

We left Space Mountain till last, having two hours to kill before our fast pass was due.  Tomorrow land was the best part of the park, most updated with Toy Story, Monster Inc and Stich (from Lilo and Stitch) which were all awesome.  So when our time finally came, we went to Space mountain...to find the ride was closed because it had broken down!!!  So we had to kill some more time hoping it would be up and running again.  Pickle was in tears because that's the only reason why he wanted to visit the kingdom.  So we walked about and decided to go on the Peter Pan ride...only to find out the queue that was supposed to be only 15 minutes, took us over an HOUR! Because guess what? It also had broken down, but didn't bother to tell us.  We finally got back to Space mountain to find it still closed...but just as we walked up it re-opened and we RAN to get on it!  Now as I mentioned before, Dill doesn't like roller coasters.  He did go on the mountain train one because it doesn't go upside down and thoroughly enjoyed it.  So we didn't tell him this was a roller coaster, because it was indoors.  And because we were RUNNING to get on it, no waiting what's so ever, he had no choice but to hop on..I thought he would be alright because I would sit next to him...

I didnt know till we got to the ride...you sit behin each other.  So Dill isn't happy at all, but I make him go on it, know backing out.

This ride shoots off through these flashing tunnels, then most of the ride is in total blackness...and Dill just SCREAMED all the way through it!  Not a high pitch scream, but like an adult AARRRRGHHHHH!!!.....takes breath....AAAAARRRRGGGHHHH!!!!...all the way through.  I was crying of laughter the entire ride!

Dill didn't seem that traumatised by it all, but refused to go on it again.  Which was a bit of ashame, because the last ride we lined up for BROKE DOWN and we were given free fast passes for any other ride.  So that's 3 rides that broke down that day!

We caught the 8.50pm bus back to the hotel missing out on the electric parade and fireworks but didn't care, because we saw the exact same thing in Paris, seen one, seen them all.

So I asked the boys out of the 4 parks we went to how they rated them.

We all agreed Discovery Cove was number one, the best by far.

We couldn't agree on Universal and Seaworld, so they tied.

Magic Kingdom came last.

So if you are planning on visiting Orlando, I would recommend spending the money on Discovery Cove instead of the full passes for all Disney parks at the same price.  Disney is just too outdated.  They need to try and match the other parks to survive.  I mean, when was the last time you have even seen Mickey and Co on the telly? 

A paradise found....

Well we are halfway through our holiday in Florida already! And a busy few days it has been!

As you guessed from previous post, the relaxing first day I had  just spending by the pool and going shopping, turned into a bit of a nightmare with Pickle chucking up for England at the end of the day.

The next morning he woke up fresh as a daisy (me... not so!) and we ventured to Universal Studios!

We were all looking forward to this park as heard so much about it.  Although we were very dissapointed to find out the Harry Potter ride wouldn't be open in time for our visit.

Saying that, I would have to say the latest ride that opened last year, The Simpsons, was AWESOME and my favourite out of the lot.  The boys described it the best....'Mum it was like it was all a dream!'  The ride is a simulater, and it's the closest I'll get Dill on a roller coaster!  I swear, it was just like being on one, but a very bizarre one indeed!  We had a good day, although our feet were sore and we were all tired out by rides by 7pm (when we were in the park at 9am).  We still get to go on all the rides we wanted to because some of the lines were just too long (110 min for one) but it wasn't as bad as I believe in the Summer.  We only queued for 20 min for the Simpsons ride, and a couple we went straight on, oh like the rapid ride...no wonder there wasn't a queue...you got totally soaked on it!  5 hours later, my undies still weren't dry (and I don't mean weeing myself for fear/excitement!). 

Today, we were all looking forward to....spending the day at Discovery Cove.

Oh....my...god.

What a wonderful WONDERFUL place!

First impressions was....I feel like I'm staying at a 10 star resort (even better than 5 star, the service was so supreme).

It started from the Seaworld carpark.  Our bus dropped us off, and Discovery Cove offers complimentary shuttle from that park to theirs (it's all owned by Seaworld).  I say complimentary but really, you pay for it all in the price.  I'll let you know now the tickets cost me nearly £200 each.  That's a days access to Discovery Cove plus unlimited access to Seaworld. Anyways, back to being picked up.

There is a phone by the pick up area, to notify you are there.  I gather majority arrived earlier, as our bus didn't arrive to Seaworld until 9.40am, when the park officially opens at 9am, checking in from 8am.  So we are the only ones there, I pick up the phone, in two rings it was answered asking me how many in the party.  I said 3, and she said they were on their way to pick us up.  Within 5 minutes, a lovely big black SUV (as you guys call them over here, 4WD with trimmings in Oz!) turned up, with a lovely lady driver, who chatted to me all the way, very sweet.  I asked her about being returned to Seaworld she told me the waterparks closed at 5.30pm, officially the park closed at 6pm, but they would keep the shops open till the last person left, and the shuttle buses were there for when we wanted to leave, not the other way round.  A great start to the day, being treated like we were the most important people on the premises.

On arrival, the entrance looked superb, like an extremely expensive large hotel.  Of course this may have looked a little different at peak time, but there was only one other party in front of us when we arrived. 

Oh BTW, Discovery Cove only allows a maximum of 1000 people a day, so there are hardly any queues, and no pushing and shoving, making it more relaxed.

They took our photos, and gave us ID cards to wear around our necks for the day, which also double as our tickets to Seaworld.  The boys were MOST impressed with this little souvenier they received that they didn't have to pay for! (Cause...ya know....I did.)

We were told what time we were swimming with the dolphins, then we were sent on our way to enter the cove, with a lovely little plastic map (that could also attach to the necklace we had to wear).  As we were walking down through the lovely tropical surroundings, we could hear all sorts of birds chirping away.  Pickle asked me 'Mum, are those bird noises real or just recordings?'.  I chuckled...'They are real, they have an Avery here.'  As we kept on walking through the jungle path, Dill is making comparisions of the place looking like the Jurassic Park of Universal, and the bird noises were getting louder and such a different RANGE of birds, I was beginning to think maybe it WAS a recording!

We were stopped by a couple of staff, to take our complimentary entrance family photo (I really do hate how they say complimentary when you really have paid for it!) and I had to ask one of them...'Is the bird sound real or is it filtered through?'  They both look dumbfounded at me...'Yeah, it's real, we have an avery!'  I felt stupid for asking it, but could understand why Pickle thought it was fake, as it was so loud and so many different bird calls!

The next step we took there was ANOTHER staff member there, explaining where everything was, which way to go for wetsuits and towels, when and where the food was on, etc.  It was like staying in an all inclusive for the day.  Continental breakfast was on till 10.30am. Then the snack bars were open offering drinks (including beer) hotdogs, pretzils, icecream and snacks. The main restaurant was doing buffet lunch from 11am till 4pm, as much as you could eat....all in the price (yes, they use the word all inclusive there...that's better!) and the food was TOP NOTCH!!!

So once breaky was in our belly (I waited till I got there, kids had already had cereal, but gorged on the pastries!) and our wetsuits on, we went to the reef.  It was absolutely fantastic!

As most of you know I'm sure, in my past life...(as in pre UK!) I was a scuba diver.  Ok, I still am, just never ge to do it.  The bad points of Scuba diving, is you don't know what you are going to see, how the visibility will be or any of the dangers out there.  The same with snorkelling.  With this reef, you have all the different 'safe' fish, and can snorkel in total safety knowing no harm can come to you.  What a perfect enviroment to introduce snorkelling to children! (Not that I thought about it when I started snorkelling at the same age as Dill!)  There were even sharks in the reef....well, it looks like they are, but they are actually in another part, but you can't tell till you touch the glass! 

The biggest hit with the boys was the sting ray pool.  They swim all around you, you can touch them, feed them.   It's totally safe because they cut their prongs off every month so they can't sting.  All rays are actually born in the pool, being scooped out when born, to be trimmed of the prong, and returned, or sent over to the petting pool in Seaworld.

Then of course, there was the actual swimming with the Dophins.  It was only for half an hour, but so special! We did the hand guestures to make the dolphin, splash us, wave, sing, blow raspberries.  Photos were taken holding and kissing them (Mauri was the one we held, 3 years old)....then swimming with them.(Dexter, 6 years old and very playful!)  These dolphins are so loved by the trainers.  All born in captivity, and the trainers spend 8-10 hours a day with them.  They are taught like children should be (I'm saying should, because not all are I'm sure) they are rewarded every time they do something right, never chastised for doing wrong, just keep trying till they do get it right.  What a fantastic job to have, being a dolphin trainer.

I ended up spending $200 getting prints, frame, DVD and CD of all photos of the dolphin experience, but well worth it I believe, as how often do you get the chance to do something like that? I've done plenty of dives before and never got that close to a dolphin!

So if you ever get a chance to visit Orlando, make sure you visit Discovery Cove, because it is really such an experience and is worth every penny!!!  I'd forgo every park in the area to visit this place everyday!