Orlando - A Rollercoaster Journey

After a slight mishap with ordering the taxi to the airport, we had a very smooth check in with
+Aer Lingus +Dublin Airport, the desk attendant was so pleasant and helpful and was able to get our bags checked in for the whole journey, despite the transfer we had +Gatwick Airport and was able to give us our connecting boarding passes too. At security Niamh got pulled aside for a random drug test.  Once through security we all started to relax a bit more and enjoy the benefits of duty free including enjoying a free Jameson Whiskey tasting. The flight over to London was very smooth and quick. Once we disembarked into the baggage claim, it was very confusing where we needed to go next, we ended up going through security again as we didn't know what to do. Typically our luck, we had issues at security over our duty free and +Niamh's bag where they found her perfume which she didn't know was in there, it was quite funny really after the fact. As we waited for our flight to board, we thought we get few drinks from the vending machine and the machine wouldn't take our coins, we finally managed to get our bottle of Coke without losing any of our coins. Once on the plane, and we started taxing on the runway, we got stuck in a queue to take off for almost an hour. However once in the air, our air stewardess April, couldn't be any more helpful to us. The flight over to Orlando +Virgin Atlantic, despite the hour delay was a pure pleasure and delight. Once off the plane, and had to join the long queue for Passport Control which was experience in itself. After collecting our luggage, we rang for our hotel shuttle to collect us, after slight confusion and wrong terminal, we finally found our shuttle. Our Driver Randy was quite chatty and funny. Once we arrived at our hotel Rosen Inn International, checked in and unpacked, we finally could start to relax and enjoy our surroundings. We didn't do much the first night because of the long day and the jet lag. 

 Early Sunday morning, we set off on the iTrolley towards +SeaWorld, first park of many of our holiday. After we entered the park, and as there was no queue, I hopped straight onto Manta, which is classed as the only flying Rollercoaster. After experiencing the ride I can defo understand why, it was surreal. All 3 of us walked through the Mantra aquarium which has 10 underwater habitats over 100 rays and thousands of tropical colourful fish. After the aquarium we went to Stingray Lagoon where you can feel the Rays even if some of us were too afraid to touch them. We got great seats for the 10am Blue Horizons Dolphin show which involved several Dolphins, Tropical birds and acrobats. Lucky we were just outside the splash zone for the show which was funny seeing everyone get soaked. The show itself was very well orchestrated and done. Unexpectedly something I hadn't in my itinerary was the Clyde and Seamore's Sealion show,  which we went to at 11. The high school story line was clever, funny and playful. We managed to make the 12 o'clock One Ocean - Killer Whales Show, the whole layout with its use of technology and storyline was carefully thought out and performed. It was hilarious watching the first 18 rows getting saturated by the whales. As per our luck, after queueing over an hour for the Antaractica Empire of the Penguin, the ride breaks down, after waiting 20 mins more and nearly giving up, we finally all got on the ride which involves a simulator experience of the South Pole which exited at the Penguins colony. Turtle Trek was a 3D journey from the view point of the turtle through its life span which was surprising quite interesting. To finish off the day we queued and queued for Sky Tower, a capsule ride which gives seabirds view of the park. We went for drinks and food at Miller's Ale, although the food was superb, we were so full and still had jet lag we failed to finish the food. 

The next morning, we got collected by +Florida Dolphin Tours  for our tour of the +NASA +Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex at 8.20am. Our guide Gracie throughout the whole tour was amazing. Apparently we actually managed to arrive ahead of schedule at the visitor complex. Which gave us free time to enjoy the Rocket Garden before our tour of the Atlantis Space Shuttle which is on permanent display in a building built around it. Shuttle Launch Experience is a simulator ride and the closest thing to actually experiencing a launch which was pretty cool. At midday, as part of our ultimate ticket, we got to dine with an +NASA Astronaut; +Tom Jones, who was insightful, entertaining and had several personal antidotes of his time in space. After getting our photo with him, we boarded a shuttle for a KSC Up Close Tour offering a 2 hour access to areas otherwise only open to NASA personnel such as Space Shuttle Launch Pads, VAB building or the launch control Centre. During the tour we got to see gators, manatees, dolphins and owls in the wild. Our bus drive Stan, who has been working at NASA for 40 yrs had the distinct pleasure of driving astronauts Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins and the family of Neil Armstrong about the site earlier this year. The tour concluded at the Saturn V exhibit area before getting a bus back to visitor complex. The space store in the complex is the largest in the world with thousands of different items. We departed back for Orlando at 5 sharply. It was an out of this world experience kinda day. 

 As beginning to be a pattern another early start to the day. We caught the free shuttle from the hotel to +Universal Orlando. We went to Universal Studios park first, and decided to get the Minions ride out of the way first, with one of the longest waiting time of 50 mins despite not been even 9 am yet, after photo op with Woody Woodpecker first of course. We bought the souvenir freestyle cup with free refills throughout the day, which we definitely made use of! Once we had Shrek out of the way, queuing time for most of the day wasn't too bad. In between shows and rides, we enjoyed the several photo op opportunities and the Studios Brass Band. We all enjoyed the Blue Brothers Show and Beetlejuice's Graveyard Revue shows. The parade itself we all were a tad disappointed with, we think other theme parks around the world, we had been to has ruined them for us. The ride our mother enjoyed the most was the E.T. Adventure one which I think surprised us all, but again wouldn't expect anything less from Spielberg.

I waited until right after the parade to go on the Transformers 3-D ride, as the queues were horrendous during the day and the single ride line was closed until then. As it was just me doing it, I was in and out in just a few mins which was great. I used the single rider too for the Men in Black ride and was out in no time. We entered +Diagon Alley - The Wizarding World of Harry Potter next and to finish off our first trip to Universal. We all were in awe of the place, enjoyed too the Ice Cream from Florean Fortescue' Ice Cream Parlour, Ollivanders experience and whilst I made use of the single Rider at Escape from Gringotts, our mother and +Niamh enjoyed the pre ride entertainment. As we still had time before the parks closed, we made use of the 2 park ticket and got the Hogwarts Express train over to +Hogsmeade and into Island of Adventure. The train was a particular highlight of our day at the park. As there was hardly no queue for Dragon Challenge, I did the intense one first without knowing it, it was an experience. Which was a surreal way to finish the day off at Universal. To finish off the day properly we had food and cocktails +Jimmy Buffett at +City Walk Orlando Resort. 

The next day we went back to Universal to do Simposons Ride first thing before there was any queue. My poor mother and Niamh after the ride were a tad shaken, as it was not what any of us expected however gave Niamh the courage to do Escape from Gringotts which she loved in the end and glad she did, as I know she would have been kicking herself if she hadn't. Before getting the train back over to Island of Adventure, we enjoyed Celestina Warbeck and the Banshees performance. Niamh and me both think, our mother enjoyed the whole train experience more than we did. Once off the train, we explored Hogsmeade more now that we had more time to enjoy it. Before entering Hogwarts for the Forbidden Journey ride, again I made use of the single rider line. Typical of my luck whilst I was on the ride, it broke down but luckily wasn't for too long. After the ride, I dashed across to the Flight of the Hippogriff. As I was queueing I used the free wifi to txt and FaceTime Niamh, who were still enjoying the pre-ride entertainment of the Forbidden Journey and telling me that I gotta do it later. We waited the few mins for the Frog Choir show, which was quite funny and really well done.

After the performance, we exited Hogsmeade into Jurassic Park area of Island of Adventure, where the first thing we did was refill our drink container as it was getting warm. We explored the area and I had to go on the water ride Jurassic Park River Adventure, it was very luck I had a poncho on me as I'd have got soaked other wise. The Ride itself was very cleverly thought out with use of animatronic dinosaurs and an 85 ft plunge in total darkness at the end. This is in contrast to Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls water ride which I felt was lacklustre in comparison, a bit dated however the finish was pretty cool. Something needs to be done with the queueing area inside the building, as their is no air to breath and we all were suffering. Despite wearing the poncho I still managed to kinda get wet, oh well. After using the single rider line for Spiderman, we got our mother into a cab back to the hotel, so she could enjoy the pool and relax and we could enjoy Universal. Once she had left, we got to meet several of the Marvel Superheroes characters especially Wolverine who was very funny asking me if I had brought my Hurley with me from Ireland, which slightly surprised me, that he know what it was. Niamh got her photo with Rogue and Storm.

We sprinted across the park towards the Lost Continent area for the Eighth Voyage of Sindbad Stunt Show, which we just made in time. However we both felt there wasn't anything great about it and that the Mystic Interactive Fountain outside the theatre was better than the whole show. Although Poseidon's Fury an indoor special effect show, an unexpected gem made up for the lacklustre disappointment of Sindbad's Voyage. After this show, we had time to enjoy the performance of the Triwizard Spirit Rally which was better than we figured. After the show, I managed to convince Niamh to go on the Forbidden Journey ride despite being terrified  through the whole experience. Before we left for the day, I managed to go on Dragon Challenge twice more, once on the red one when it was still bright and then the intense green one with 3 Irish guys met in the queue for it. We ended up in the front row for it. It was intense but was class. A great finish to the day. Niamh and myself managed to make the last free shuttle back to the hotel, which was handy.

 The next morning, we managed to have a slight to lie in, before breakfast at +Denny's before getting the iTrolley to +Aquatica. Once we entered the park, we got access to our River Roa's Cabana, our own private peace of heaven during our stay. After we got settled in, I went exploring the park and queued my first ride, Walhalla Wave a thrill ride, so you can imagine my surprise when my mother and Niamh joined me in the queue. My mother said it was because the woman she asked at the end of the ride, told her it was such an easy one and she would enjoy it. During the ride all I could see was her scared shitless, it was quite a thrilling ride. Other rides I enjoyed were the Dolphin Plunge, Omaka Rocka and the high speed Whanau Way. It was such a relaxing yet thrill day at the water park and we all enjoyed the Roa's Rapids and especially the Loggerhead Lane a leisurely raft ride where we also got to observe exotic tropical fish and 2 Comerson Dolphins which was pretty cool. On the Itrolley back to the hotel, we got talking to this couple who told us bout the coupon for Cici's pizza, which cost for the 3 of us with 2 large drinks and the buffet, 20 dollars and was surprisingly nice. Before we went there, we had a round of mini golf at Pirate's Cove, doing the Blackbeard Challenge. I managed on the 18th hole  after coming from behind to win.

Our earliest start was Friday morning, for our stay at +Discovery Cove which began with a taxi at 7 am. From the minute we arrived at the cove, it was like we were in paradise. After our breakfast, we were given a private tour, got our equipment and shown to our private island cabana which was unreal. After exploring the oasis and aviary, it was time for Niamh and me to do the SeaVenture, an underwater walking tour, while wearing a dive helmet. We got to see sharks up close, touch unique animals and the tour ends with schools of fish feeding around us which was pretty awesome. As we needed to recover for at least 2 hours before our dolphin swim. It gave us the opportunity to enjoy the cabana, the oasis and even enjoy a conversation talk about a Sloth and a three-banded Armadillo which was interesting and different.

 After the talk, we got to enjoy the Wind-Away River, which we all gotta into, and throughly enjoyed and relaxed in. Even had time to unwind in the cabana before we had to head for our dolphin swim. Even until the last minute, we were too sure if our mother would get in and do it or not. The whole experience was amazing from the start till the end. Both Niamh and myself did the deep swim with the dolphin and our mother did the swallow one. She took part in the whole experience and really enjoyed it. After the swim, we enjoyed the lunch buffet, for once being a vegetarian worked in my favour, as the chef personally took care of my order and I didn't have to queue. By the time, Niamh and our mother came out to me, I had finished, which was grand as it gave me time to collect our complimentary photo, to be told that our cabana host had put two copies in ours for us, which was nice and they gave me another anyways. I enjoyed some wine in the peace and quiet of our private cabana, waiting on the two to return after lunch. Niamh and myself went swimming to checkout the Marmosets and Asian Small-clawed Otters in the fresh water Oasis, before going snorkelling where we got to observe velvety rays, thousands of colourful fish, sharks for a different angles and even 2 eels. This was perfect way to finish off our day in paradise, but all good things must come to an end. So after our showers, we managed to make the next available shuttle back to Seaworld, and even arrived in time for the next itrolley.

 Saturday gave us the opportunity to have a lie in, a proper one until 10, first chance all week. After our breakfast, we hopped onto itrolley after my mad sprint back to see if I had left my Disposal camera behind me in Denny's, luckily enough I had. We got the trolley to the last stop on the South route, as we came to check out the Basilica of Mary, Queen of the Universe. I have never seen a church that looks so modern, hi-tech and flawless. After our visit to the church and its grounds was finished, we got on the next trolley to go to the other end of the route and do some shopping at the +Orlando Premium Outlets - International  before getting a bus to the +Florida Mall. The plan had been sure we'd get there in no time, everything was going to plan, until the trolley broke down about 4 stops from the end and we had to wait for a replacement one to come collect us. When we arrived, we made up for lost time and got shopping. Before getting the bus to the Mall, we put our mother on the trolley back to the hotel, so she could relax by the pool. It was funny on the bus, the closer we got to the mall, more worried we were about what stop it was, as the journey was taking longer than we thought. Luckily enough a fellow passenger told us exactly when and where to get off. Off the bus and inside the mall, we both were a tad disappointed with the size of the mall, as it wasn't as big as we thought. Although the whole reason was so Niamh could get herself a replacement or should say upgraded iPad mini in the Apple Store. Everything went smoothly, she all sorted and was very happy with it. The only downside was the long wait for the bus back to the hotel. At least once on the bus, the journey back didn't take half as long. To round off the day, Niamh accidentally pressed the stop button a tad too early, however was only 5 min walk from the hotel, so wasn't too bad. We both were very happy with all our purchases, despite the long tiring day.  

 Sunday morning, involved a roughly 90 mins coach trip towards Tampa for our day at +Busch Gardens. There was so much to do with so little time. We began our day by going to see the Iceploration show, which uses ice skaters, larger-than-life puppets, amazing costumes and animals to tell the story of exploring the world around us. It was breath taking show and still in awe of how it was achieved. After this performance we wanted to get good seats for Motor City Groove, show about the Motown era, after nearly missing the Iceploration show. As it got closer for the show to start, we got informed the show had to be cancelled due to technical difficulties however the cast did come out and gave us, a song from the show, they sung Acappella. As we had time to enjoy some of the park before the next show, we visited the Myombe reserve to check out the Gorillas, before boarding the  train for the Serengeti Railway at Nairobi station and gave us relaxing view of large free-roaming herds of African animals such giraffe, zebra, antelope, ostrich and rhinos. Before we departed the train at the Stanleyville Station. As the afternoon wore on, we got to see shows such Opening Night Critters and Treasures of the Mirage which was the unexpected gem of the day. We planted our mother at the Garden Cafe for the Live band, Forrest Hoffar who was performing, whilst Niamh and I finished exploring the other areas of the park. We tried to get back for the next train departing from Stanleyville at 5, but we missed it by a minute, which it seems was a good thing. as we realised then that our mother didn't have my bag with her. I had to literally sprint back to the Garden Gate and talked to the staff. Who rang security for me and told me to go report it at their office. I arrived after another dash, just as my bag was being brought into Lost and Found, pure luck and good timing. I ran back all the way to Stanleyville station and literally just made the train before it was departing.  A satisfying end to an enjoyable day despite all the running that was involved. Our day at Busch Gardens was worth the 90 min coach ride there and back to Orlando, only down side not enough time to see and do everything.

Once back in the hotel, we chilled, changed and headed back out again for dinner at +Bahama Breeze. Was a nice way to finish the day with trying several different cocktails, no better way sure.

 As Monday was our last full day, Niamh and myself decided to get the shuttle to Universal to finish doing the stuff we had time to do yet. Nearly within 45 mins of being in Universal Studios I had done the 3 rides I had't, Hollywood RIP Ride Rockit, Twister and The Mummy. Niamh was determined to get her photo taken with Shrek, Fiona and Donkey, although we had a wait before that started, we managed to get group one with The Simpsons whilst we waited and of course making use of Souvenir cup and daily $6 refill we bought.

As Niamh queued in line for photo with Shrek and co, I went exploring seeing what was next. When it was our turn with Donkey, he took the piss out of me for a good 10 mins which was so funny, and Shrek had to shut him up. Niamh and me were laughing for ages about it.

At 11.15 for Animal Actors on Location, we thought it was a show but was just a Meet and Greet, which was grand as we got to meet and touch the animals.

 We finally got to see the performance of The Tales of Beedle the Bard's 3 Brothers which was worth wait and effort of trying to see it.

Throughout the day, we got to see the various parades and performances for Dora, Hop, Spongebob and the Minions. Both Niamh and myself thought that even these separately were better than the All Star Street parade as a whole. With Hop and Sponge bob ones being particular entertaining.

After the Minions one, we decided to cross over to the Islands of Adventure to finish off our list over there. With the essential one being getting a proper photo of Niamh outside Hogwarts Castle. Despite remembering while we were there to book our seats together for the flights home, we were having some difficult on the website. Luckily enough when we met up with our mother at Aquatica later, got sorted using her iPad.

After leaving Universal for the last time, and walking toward the Wet n Wild iTrolley stop, it actually wasn't until we got onto to the trolley that we realised, we somehow had lost one of our plastic wallet which had our itrolley tickets, one of the hotel keys and our Eat and Play card. Fortunately the driver let us stay on as he could see we were stressed over something. When we finally got to the water park, we didn't have long to enjoy ourselves. So we decided to head back to the hotel, to finally make use  of the pool and have a few drinks.

Our last morning, I finally got to meet up with my mate Andrew, who was staying there at the stay time, which was nice to catch up, chat and say thanks for given me help and info during our stay. Once we were all packed, and checked out, we finally made it to +IHOP, which was so worth it, between the pumpkin coffee and New York Cheesecake Pancakes, we all were stuffed. We decided to play one last round of mini golf at Pirate Cove, trying the Captain's Course this time. It was very close throughout the game, which ended up being a draw at the end. On the route back, our mother realised she couldn't find her sunglasses, after a search of the course, there was no sign of them. We were back at the hotel for one last glass of wine and the obligatory photo of me and the green hoodie, which I think is nearly more travelled than me.

 The bus back to the airport was quick enough, and checking in of bags was straight forward that we had time to relax before going through security. Once at duty free, we all found the process they have in place for purchasing alcohol a tad confusing but we managed to collect it just before we boarded the plane. The journey to Manchester went smoothly despite a small bit of turbulence. Once disembarked, we made our way to Flight Centre for our connecting flight which was at 11.40 with Aerlingus. We arrived all back into Dublin in one piece, and safely and with all our luggage.

The trip to Orlando was amazing with so many highlights that its impossible to pick any particular one. So glad got a few days to recover though, as I feel need another holiday to just recover and my body back on the right schedule.