Orlando & Miami

Saturday 30th May We all met up at the airport to begin our holiday to Florida. After a slight delay we took off on our 10hr flight to Orlando. We eventually arrived at our villa that evening at 9pm (2am UK time!). It was a long day.

Sunday 31st May Sunshine… feeling hot hot hot. This morning we unpacked and had a relaxing morning as we were all so tired from the travelling the day before. However we did go out for a lovely lunch at the Cracker Barrel and have a look round a few shops. After a visit to the supermarket we returned to the villa for a swim in the pool and to use the hot tub.

Monday 1st June Today we went to Universal Studios, the first ride we went on was the E.T ride which was fantastic Helen and Debbie liked this ride best. We watched and animal show, the animals were very clever it had pigs, dogs cats and lots of birds in it. We also went the on the Simpsons ride, Debbie said never again! Ben thought this was the best ride. We tried Butterbeer and ice cream in the Wizarding world of Harry Potter.

Tuesday 2nd June Today we stayed at the villa and swam in the pool, Helen was very good a shooting hoops in the basketball net. As we had our own cinema in the villa we also watched movies, and ate popcorn when it clouded over and looked like rain. Angela and Kirstine cooked a delicious meal of Spaghetti Bolognese followed by chocolate brownies and ice cream. Yum yum.

Wednesday 3rd June Today we went to Seaworld. We watched the killer whale show with Shamu and Pets Ahoy where one of the dogs decided to join the audience rather than do the show! Two dogs got married and another stole a picnic! It was great. We then went to see the baby dolphins in the nursery and walked through the artic to see all the penguins, beluga whales, walrus and sea lions. After our lunch we watched a fantastic dolphin show that also had some pilot whales in that were just learning to be a part of the show.

Thursday 4th June We were so tired after our day yesterday that we got up late! We had pancakes for breakfast then swam in the pool and relaxed in the sun. Some of us also went in the hot tub. We went out for a lunch to Planet Hollywood. It was brilliant there was lots of memorabilia from movies on the walls. We had a walk through downtown Disney looking in a few shops till we got to Cirque du Soleil. Quite a few of us believe this was one of the best parts of the holiday. Debbie and Helen liked the clowns best, Lynda enjoyed the tightrope walking and Andy like the trapeze. Anna said she didn’t think the show was good she thought it was fantastic.

Friday 5th June Today we went to Bush Gardens in Tampa. We loved the Motown Groove show. We saw the chimps, bats, bush babies, sloth, snakes and a great big fat toad! It then decided to thunder so we sheltered by an enormous tortoise. Luckily thunderstorms in Florida don’t last long so we went on a train ride thought the’ Serengeti’ which we had to stop and wait for a rhino (not leaves!) on the tracks! We also saw a really big alligator and lions. After a stop off at the ice cream parlour we went home.

Saturday 6th June Today was a lazy day so we slept in late, had panckaes for breakfast (Angela is becoming quite the professional!) swam and sunbathed. After lunch it looked like rain so we voted for movies in the cinema. We didn’t even want to go to the shops today (very unlike us!) but we did send Angela! We had a very American dinner cooked by Kirstine and Angela of BBQ Chicken, mash, corn on the cob, carrots and corn bread followed by cheesecake pie.

Sunday 7th June Another lazy morning with swimming in the pool or the hot tub. We also had Anglea’s nail bar open! After lunch we went out for Ice Cream and to the shops to buy gifts and t-shirts. We had some freshly squeezed orange juice and fruit from a stall as it was a very hot day. After dinner we watched Indian Jones in the cinema with popcorn.

Monday 8th June After Breakfast we set off to explore universal island of Discovery. Our first stop was Starbucks café where some of us had Strawberry & Cream Frappes and ditched the coffee option as it was far too hot! After our refreshment we made our way to the cat in the hat area which was magical, we had a fab ride on a train which gave us great views of the whole area. Some of us didn’t want to get off! We travelled on the Poseidon adventure through the underground caves getting a good soaking! We split into different groups to account for preferences and whilst some had their photo taken with the x-men others went on the Spiderman ride, Lionel said this was his favourite ride. Some of us went on the Jurassic ride were we got very wet! So we dried off on the flight of the hippogriffin rollercoaster! Ben was most pleased to get a Homer Simpson t-shirt and also loved the Spiderman ride best too. We finally finished up in the gift shops and got some postcards which we hope we have the time to write!

Tuesday 9th June Today some of us went to Aquatica, we had a great time at the water park. We went in the lazy river, some boat rides and various tubs including the ones through the dolphins. Andy said he was going to fast through it so didn’t see any dolphins and Helen agreed, so thank goodness for the viewing area! In the late afternoon a thunderstorm threatened so we went back to join the others at the villa who had enjoyed a lazy day swimming in the pool and watching movies in the cinema.

Wednesday 10th June It was time to say goodbye to the villa and make our way to Miami. It was a long drive but we stopped on route to have a picnic lunch and just after it absolutely chucked it down with rain (we were so glad we were no outside!) we stopped off at dunkin donuts for coffee and donuts. We arrived at our hotel which was right by the sea. That evening we went to the bar by the water for drinks, it was lovely.

Thursday 11th June Today we went to Miami Seaquarium. First we watched the amazing dolphin show then it was our turn for our dolphin encounter. We were all so excited. We all got to kiss and shake hands with the dolphins. We got to see the dolphins under water with goggles on. We had an amazing time. After our encounter we had lunch and went to see the crocodiles, sea turtles and seal lion shows. We watched the sea lion show which was very funny and Anna got splashed. We wondered round looking at the other animals before watching the dolphin and killer whale show were we got drenched!!! We had a fab day and returned to our hotel via Miami Beach. That evening we went out for an Italian before returning to our hotel to pack.

Friday 12th June Today was our last day. We had a long drive back to Orlando before catching our flight home.

Saturday 12th June We finally arrived home and said our goodbyes to each other. We all agreed that it was an amazing holiday and would love to go back.