A flight down to Florida and we're in Orlando - well, technically outside of the city as we stayed in Theme Park Central: International Drive. If you like all-you-can-eat buffets, people dressed as cartoon characters and queueing for half an hour for a minute-long thrill, you're in the right place. Luckily these are things I enjoy.
My favourite day was of course my birthday - April 16th if you need to update your diary for next year. The lovely Liz woke me up with great presents, cards from my family (which was a nice surprise) and a chocolate muffin with candles in it. It was then time to complete over 15 years of waiting: finally I could go to a waterpark. Since I visited one as a child, I have been desperate to go again - and I got my chance at 'Wet n Wild'. It lived up to expectations; I got to enjoy Elizabeth's screams on the Black Hole, surfed the wave pool and took on the near-vertical Bomb Bay slide. It's pretty scary falling through a trap door onto a 100 foot steep slope. Luckily I was rewarded with a Chicago deep dish pizza for my birthday dinner...
As for the rest of our week, you probably already know if you would like Orlando or not. Universal's speciality is the attraction/show, like the amazing Simpsons ride (which feels like you're on a wild coaster but you actually stay in one room) and fun Fear Factor Live show. Islands of Adventure is best for rides like the Popeye rapids and Dudley-Do-Right falls which soaked us so much we might as well have been at the waterpark and the Incredible Hulk coaster with its 360 turns and high speeds. What made it even better was Liz keeping her eyes open and refraining from just counting how long the ride lasts. Seaworld is a weird mix of rides and wildlife - seeing killer whales leap out of the water in synchronised movement and the chance to get close to polar bears, beluga whales and manatees is unique. Aquatica gave me the chance to go to another waterpark; while less extreme, it was probably more fun than Wet n Wild with plenty of group rides.
Other than that - there's more 'British pubs' here than in your local high street, more Northerners than you can shake a deep-fried Mars bar at and more buffets than you can throw up at. Incidentally, some buffets have been renamed all-you-care-to-eat buffets, presumably because all-you-can-eat sounds like a challenge. And believe me, we've seen a few people who have taken that challenge.
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