[FLORIDA HOLIDAY]

Getting There

We left Strathaven at approximately 6:30am as our flight was at 10:40am at Prestwick Airport. It seemed like no time until we boarded the plane (a Boeing 767), and soon we had taken off and were on our way to Sanford Airport, Florida, USA!

The journey took 8 hours - it seems like a long flight but time does pass quite quickly. Usually I hate plane food (it always smells and tastes the same no matter what it is!), but the first meal they served was chicken and pasta, which was really nice. There was in-flight entertainment, including the film "Stuart Little" which hadn't been released in the UK at that time, and "The Bachelor". But of course you had to purchase the Airtours headphones to be able to hear them! A couple of hours before we landed, they served us up some sandwiches.

It was amazing flying over the US and seeing the vast expanse of land, and all the trees! The landscape really is breathtaking, the roads were so wide you could see them clearly from the plane!

We landed at 6:40pm (UK time) at Sanford airport (a great airport because it's so small and clean) and as soon as we stepped off the plane you could feel the heat. Going through US Immigration was an experience too, they have so many laws before you can get into their country! On the plane, you had to give up any fruit, meat or dairy products as they weren't allowed into the country!

After we had collected our baggage etc etc, we got our transfer via taxi to our accommodation, Travelodge Hotel in Kissimmee. Thank god the taxi was air-conditioned!

In Kissimmee

On first impression, the Travelodge seemed quite nice, staff were friendly and helpful, the apartment was nice and the grounds were well looked after. That night, we ate our dinner in the restaurant downstairs - the onion rings were the size of large saucers!!

The next day we had to get up early for the welcome meeting at the Motown Cafe in Universal Studios, and on the way the taxi driver was talking to us about our hotel. He couldn't believe Airtours had put us there - it was in the middle of nowhere and over 40 mins from all the attractions! So when we saw our rep we asked for a transfer, and the next day moved to the Days Inn, 7200 International Drive.

International Drive

When we saw the location of our new hotel, we were really pleased because it was in the middle of all the shops and restaurants, and quite close to the attractions too. Then we saw the hotel...

The staff on the reception desk were moody, unhelpful and old hags!! Most of the women there looked like drag queens stuck in the seventies! Then we were put in a room which was non-smoking, which was stupid since we requested a smoking room (for dad). The apartment was gross and lacking in facilities, the door looked as if somebody had been at it with a crowbar several times, the toilet was blocked, mould was growing on the bathroom ceiling, and there were no tea/coffee making facilities which we had in the Travelodge - and this was an upgrade!! I was beginning to think this was going to be a nightmare holiday, but luckily the next day we were moved to another room (right above the plant room which was very noisy). This was slightly better so we settled in OK.

The First Week

On Friday morning, we walked down International Drive, and all the way to Universal Studios in a 90°C + heat!! We were exhausted when we got back, so after we had freshened up we ate at a nice restaurant called Sizzlers - the food is laid out buffet-style, and you choose a main meal and get the salad bar to go with it. Great value for money!

The following day we ate our breakfast in a popular restaurant called Ponderosa, and we used this the most often for breakfast during the holiday. Then we got a taxi to Universal Studios - although it was actually more of a minibus since there was eight of us! The first ride everyone went on was the "Twister" experience. It was really short though and quite disappointing, although the special effects were spectacular. Most of the rides were 3-D virtual reality ones, and I think these are the best kind of rides. We went on: Back To The Future, Earthquake - The Big One, Jaws, Kongfrontation, E.T. Adventure and Woody Woodpecker's Nuthouse Coaster. The best of the lot was definitely the Back To The Future ride because it was so realistic! As well as great rides, Universal Studios also has a great variety of shops and eating places. The Endangered Species shop is all about animals and sells some really cool stuff, plus there are stalls dotted all over the park selling jewellery and karma beads. I would certainly recommend the hotdog stands for a snack!!

On Sunday (Father's Day) we treated mum and dad to a coffee at Starbucks, and, as usual I was doing a spot of people-watching when I saw a boy who looked familiar... turns out it was Chris Armstrong from school! Typical, you go 6000 miles from Scotland and you still bump into people you know!

Later that day we went to Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure. Even better than the first park! We went on the Hulk rollercoaster first - scary! We also went on the Spiderman Adventure, One Fish-Two Fish-Red Fish-Blue Fish, The Duelling Dragons rollercoaster, Tower of Terror and lots of others. We watched a hilarious show on the Citywalk and didn't get home until about 11pm. That night we were too tired to walk far so we went to the restaurant across the road - Chillis - I wouldn't recommend the chilli by the way!

You'd think that after a non-stop weekend of theme parks we'd just want to relax the next day, but that wasn't going to happen...

At the welcome meeting a rep had told us about a timeshare called Oasis Lakes, and if we went to it we'd get a free breakfast and Seaworld tickets, and it would only last about an hour and a half. Yeah right! We were there from 8am until 1:30pm - then we had to go to Seaworld!

Seaworld wasn't as good as I'd hope it be, but the Shamu whale show was spectacular. There was a pool where you could touch the dolphins, but they never came near. It's also home to the new Kraken rollercoaster (said to be the longest, fastest and scariest rollercoaster in Orlando) and the Journey To Atlantis water ride. That night we were too tired to go out for dinner so luckily there was a Pizza Hut right next door to us where we got a take-out.

Tuesday was a lazy morning (no wonder!), but in the afternoon we got the I-Ride Trolley to the Belz Factory Outlet Mall, the largest in America with 170 outlets. Shopping heaven - prices were so cheap!

On Wednesday we took the trolley to the Mercado centre, which has a lot of nice little individual shops. My fave shop was Kandlestix, which had some very unusual candles. My little sister bought a puppet which is about half the size of her!

The Second Week

I think Thursday was definitely the hottest day of the holiday, and unfortunately we were at a theme park. We went to Disney's Animal Kingdom - a big disappointment, but OK. The Bug's Life 3-D show was great, but the Kilimanjaro safari was so fake! If it had just been the animals it would have been far better, but instead they invented this daft poachers thing about the elephants getting shot and it was all made up, which kind of ruined it. Seeing the animals so close up was really good though. Later on we went to Disney's MGM studios which was much better. First of all we went to see the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular show, but not long into it it was cancelled due to lightning (it was outdoors). The best rides were the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith - it was really fast and was inside! The Twighlight Zone Tower of Terror was great too - you went inside a lift and it took you thirteen floors, then dropped you to the ground. It wasn't as scary as I thought it was going to be though!

On Friday we got the bus to Disney's Magic Kingdom. What a mistake! It started off OK, we went on Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin and watched the parade. Then we posed for photos (as you do!) and headed off to Cinderella's Castle where we browsed the shops. Overhead you could see dark clouds and there was a wind getting up. We started walking towards the toilets and when we came out it was raining so heavy that the ground was already flooded! Luckily, we were sheltered in the little building that housed the toilets, but our party had been split up. Mum, dad, Lainie and I were together but Auntie Janie, Uncle George, Louise and Joanna were somewhere else! It rained so hard that we were stuck inside for an hour and a half! Eventually we braved the weather to go and find the others. We stayed under shelter for another hour then went on the Liberty Belle Riverboat. After that we went to The Haunted Mansion, which was pretty pathetic! It was quite late by then and we wanted to go home, so we had to buy these giant yellow ponchos with Mickey Mouse on the back to keep us dry!! It wasn't too bad though because everyone else was wearing them (in Disneyworld anyway), but when we got back to International Drive we felt really stupid and people were staring at us! We had the last laugh though because we were nice and dry and everyone else was soaked!

On Saturday we went back to the Belz Factory Outlet for some more serious shopping, then that night we went to the Pirates Dinner Show. We got our photo taken and after the show we went on to an Irish pub, just around the corner from our hotel. We had a great night and Dad and Uncle George didn't get home until 1:45 am!

We went to Florida Mall on Sunday, where there are large department stores such as J.C. Penney, Saks Fifth Avenue and Sears, as well as lots of other shops. Unfortunately because it was a Sunday it shut at 6pm, and we had only got there before 3pm so we didn't get to see everything, but there was certainly a good range of shops!

Again on Monday we went to the Belz Factory Outlet for last minute purchases for friends and family - and ourselves! I really would recommend the shopping in Florida to anyone! That night Louise, Lainie, Joanna and I went for a swim in the pool - the first and last time we used it!

Tuesday was our last full day (boo!) so we took the trolley bus up to the Pointe Orlando shopping centre, where there are shops such as F.A.O. Schwartz, Gap, Banana Republic, Armani Exchange, Abercrombie & Fitch, Ralph Lauren and Footlocker. We had a great lunch in a 50s style diner called Johnny Rocket's, and I got a pair of Adidas trainers and an Alanis Morissette interview CD, and by this time I had spent all of my money! It had started raining heavily (again!) so we waited for the trolley bus to take us home.

Going Home

On Wednesday morning, we got up early and went to Ponderosa as usual for breakfast and had our last stroll down International Drive. I didn't want to leave! Our coach picked us up at 12:50 in the afternoon and drove us to Sanford Airport.

We didn't have a long wait for our flight by the time we had browsed the shops and had a snack, and our flight was on time. We took off at 16:20 (US time) and the flight lasted 7 hrs 46 mins. We were served breakfast at 4:30 am! There was a fair amount of turbulence, and we eventually landed at 5:20 am (UK time), Prestwick Airport. We were on the plane 20 mins until they had connected the stairs, then we had to wait an hour before our baggage arrived, as there were only two baggage handlers on! Soon after that we got into the car and were on the way home to have a long sleep...

The Verdict

My holiday to Florida was excellent, although there is too much to do in as little as 2 weeks. We didn't get to see Epcot, Busch Gardens, the Kennedy Space Center or any of the waterparks, so I would definitely like to go back some year.