05-09-2010, 04:11 PM
1
Orlando 2010 (Part 1)
We arrived in Orlando after a pleasant, but long 8 hour flight to be met with temperatures of 95/96º - quite a shock to our UK systems!We "sailed" through all the airport procedures and collected our hire car - a 7 seater Dodge Caravan, a great car and extremely comfortable. It took us an hour to reach our hotel where we had booked a 3-bedroomed self catering very spacious apartment.
Our car leaving the car park...
The Pirate ship with water chute in the Hotel pool ....
The following day we were up early (5.00am!!!) and set off to visit SeaWorld where you can be entertained by fabulous shows featuring dolphins, killer whales and sea lions. You are also able to feed the stingrays and watch the gentle giants at the Manatee Rescue.
SeaWorld
Shamu whale.....
Shamu whale performing a flip-over sommersault
After a tragic accident last year when one of Shamu's trainers was killed, the trainers are no longer allowed in the water with the whales ..... quite right in my opinion too.
Dolphins .....
Stingrays ....
Penguins....
A giant of a walrus!
Aside from these show, there were lots of rides for adults and children alike to go on.
Typhoon Lagoon
Our second day was spent at Typhoon Lagoon, a leisurely water park which had a man-made beach with a tidal wave that arrived every 5 minutes! Brilliant fun until we discovered the wave was so strong if frequently knocked our granchildren off their feet! We resorted to the calmer option lying in a ring and floating around the continuous flowing creek that encircled the Park ....... we came across waterfall hazards that soaked us, but it was great fun and so cooling on a hot day.
There were various speed slides and raft rides but I stuck to the quieter life in my rubber ring!
Magic Kingdom
Day 3 and we were off the Magic Kingdom, a paradise for children young and old. There was so much to see and so many different rides to go on and shows to see. We had Fast Passes for most of the rides and shows which was a relief as the weather was sweltering and I didn't like the thought of queuing up in the heat for almost an hour for any of the activities.
Cinderella's castle is truly beautiful, the looks on the children's faces stays with you. The last time we saw it was in 1997 when Disney World celebrated it's 25th birthday, the castle was then all decorated in pink as a giant birthday cake.
We went on Splash Mountain, a raft that gently takes you through dark caves and small waterfall, then when you think the ride is over, you plummet off the end in a massive splashdown! What a cooler that was!
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