On the 4th September 2001 I and my new bride of 2 weeks headed off on our Honeymoon to Florida, leaving Gatwick at 7pm – We were going to our favourite place in the whole world – Florida in the great country of the US of A. Mel and I have been avid Florida-a-holics for many years, Mel since her first holiday to Florida at the age of 16 and I on mine at the age of 22. Over the years whenever we could afford it we have gone back to Florida to have 2 more weeks of fantastic smilaes and experiences in what has always been on our view the greatest place on Earth.
Having used to work for BA I had managed to get gain enough Air Miles for us to head off to Florida in style as we travelled Business Class, upper deck which was a great experience, the peace and quiet – What a great start to what would surely be a great holiday – Our Honeymoon.
For the first week we did what we all must do in Florida, we attacked the theme parks with gusto, we ticked off SeaWorld (our 3rd visit so we could feed the Dolphins), Magic Kingdom, and the 2 Universal Continue reading “In Florida on Honeymoon on 9/11” »
There are a great selection of times when it is fun to be in Florida, and yes I know it is always fun to be in Florida but this is about Extra fun! Halloween is one of those times. In England we don’t really do Halloween, in America they really do do Halloween and in Florida with the parks, as you can imagine they go a bit further!!!!!!
Halloween this year in Florida consists, as normal, of events in each of the main theme parks where you can take your families along and chose quite how scared you want to make them all. This year just to give you am idea of what there is out there for both the brave and the terrified you have got
Busch Gardens is a bit further away from the main Disney Parks but I would strongly advise the extra half an hours or so journey in the car as this park has it all and holds some fantastic memories from each of the times I have been there.
The first time it was just Mike and I and I wanted to go, mainly, to see the White Tigers. For me these are just utterly gorgeous creatures that I was so keen to see up close. I remember walking through the animal area then over this kind of bridge and there you look down on the Tiger’s Continue reading “Busch Gardens – A Place of Wonderful Memories” »
Dolphins at Seaworld are either the largest (pardon the pun) or second largest reason that people go to SeaWorld in my opinion. The first time we went to Florida I wasn’t really bothered about going to Seaworld as I just wanted to go to Disney and the water parks and see whatever there was. Mel however was quite adamant that she wanted to go to SeaWorld and as my kid brother was 6 at the time it would be a good park for him to go to. I must now admit that I have been converted and I too insist that we have to go to Seaworld on each trip, see any new rides that there are and also go and feed the Dolphins.
The first time we fed the Dolphins in Dolphin Cove it was just Mel and I and the enjoyment from having a Dolphin come up to get a fish to eat out of your hand and you have the rare opportunity to stroke a Dolphin was well worth having to hold smelly fish! I felt like i was in Flipper. With there just being the 2 of us that did rather mean there was no-one to take a photo, however on the other side of the pool there are a few photographers that take pictures of people doing the feeding and then radio over the people on your side to let you know there is a picture if you want one. This is I think the only time I have bought one of the photos that has been taken, but it is one of our most cherished!
You can understand how they have taken this to the next level with the creation of Discovery Cove (make sure you book early) where you can swim with Dolphin to fulfil the desire to just jump in the tank with them!
Feeding the dolphins at Seaworld technically is not a charged experience although to feed them one has to argue that you have to spend to get the fish that you feed them. Make sure that you get the timing right as you can only feed them at their feeding times as well as there is a limit on the amount that they can feed and so there is normally a good queue at the fish buying stall and so as usual you should make sure that you arrive in good time.!!
These are always worth a day as an alternative to
Disney. It is very refreshing. On site are various pools slides, for
all tastes and levels of courage, and in Typhoon Lagoon there is
an artificial wave maker _ exciting but perfectly safe. There are all
the usual food outlets so no need to take your own picnics. Every
activity is supervised and controlled by trained lifeguards.
This is usually offered as an “extraâ€
day-trip and is an interesting and different experience. We arrived
by coach and went to an alligator show. This was followed by a
trip around Miami harbour where we saw houses belonging to
movie-stars. Lunch in the harbour cafes was Continue reading “A Grandads Experience Part 2” »
Often the case is that different groups of people have a different perspective on an experience and so here is a post from the kids Grandad who came on our last Florida trip. This was his second trip to Florida but this was the first one being there with the Grandchildren.
Plan your week(s) carefully so that you don’t buy too many tickets. You and the kids will need rest days as these sites are very large and need a lot of walking. Then, of course, there’s the heat and humidity to cope with. You can always buy extra tickets from the roadside booths (who sell left over tickets from other tourists who over-bought) at very advantageous prices.
Watch out also for tour-operators “special events†which are either great value or even free. We even got free tickets for “The Arabian Nightsâ€(horse riding-show with free meal and drinks)for sitting through a time-share presentation!
These are invariably very clean, spacious, fully furnished, with Continue reading “Grandads Florida Experience” »
Being true Florida lovers, having had our first holiday in Florida and engaged in Florida when we got married and the idea of a honeymoon came around the location was not a tough one. Having been to the Maldives before we thought that was an option and it would be the idyllic honeymoon location as the brochures will show, but then we thought if we were going to spend some money on a holiday it should be to the place that we love the most. There could only be one answer to that one! Florida.
However as we thought about it and how Florida holidays are, we thought it would be good with the 2 of us but it would be more fun with some friends and so we decided to make the most of the different areas of the state.
So we knew the people that we wanted to ask, having been with them before and knowing they are just as childish as we are. Fortunately they were keen to come to and so the plans were drawn up. As this was a honeymoon we started hunting for a 5 bed luxury villa even though we only needed 2 rooms so that we can slob in the space and benefit from a larger pool.
This worked really well as we were with good friends and in the best place in the world. We all flew out together, picked up matching convertibles (different colours so we did not get confused) and spent
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