Two Weeks in Orlando

As significant as air-conditioning, Walt Disney World turned a wedge of Florida farmland into one of the world's most lucrative destinations. Disneyworld is the pacesetter amongst theme parks. It stretches across an area twice the size of Manhattan with 4 main theme parks which are quite separate entities.

It is hard to believe that Orlando was once a sleepy little southern town surrounded by farmland. Since the opening of Walt Disney World in 1971, it has grown to become one of the world's top holiday destinations.

50 million people each year visit to sample the host of activities. If you have children, a trip here is almost a requirement. This was our 4th visit - the first time with our 4 year old son, but we visited on 3 occasions before he was born.

The theme parks do their utmost to best each other, and every year they add new attractions and tweak old ones.

Orlando is a year round destination. For most of the year, days are hot and humid. Winter is drier and colder, while the scorching summer heat is often relieved with afternoon showers.

Having visited in August, September and October in the past, we found May to be a good time to go. The humidity is slightly lower, there are less showers and the drier air is a bit more comfortable. It is still really hot though.

The itinerary we followed is suitable for people with young children. Keeping our 4 year old son happy was our main priority, and what drove our activities on this holiday. We didn't go for roller coasters and thrill rides, but things suitable for pre-schoolers. It proved to be a magical time for him - and us.

Quick Tips:

* Plan, plan, plan! Visit the theme park websites and plan exactly what you want to see and do before you go. The website www.disneyworld.com has a section called "My Disney Vacation." Here we created our own set of customised maps which were invaluable and time saving when we were in the parks.

* Arrive at the parks at opening time and then take an afternoon break at your hotel. If you want to see the evening fireworks, have a lazy day and go around 6pm - time for some rides and then little ones still have enough energy for the fireworks/evening parades.

* Wear comfortable shoes - expect to walk 3-5 miles daily on hot, hard pavements. Bring your own stroller if you have a young child. We saw children as old as 8 resting in strollers. Our son is 4 and used to doing lots of walking, but the stroller was invaluable. You can rent them at the park - they cost so expensive and a logistics nightmare. Make sure your stroller is lightweight and easy to fold/unfold. We also saw cheap strollers in a couple of the supermarkets, basic but serviceable costing .

* Orlando is not relaxing. There are crowds, heat, an overabundance of attractions and travelling to and from them will keep you occupied all of the time. Plan to leave needing a holiday! You will not be able to do everything. Do not fall into the trap of trying.

* Schedule an indoor show in an air-conditioned theature 2-3 times daily and arrive early.

* Pack lots of sunscreen. The Florida sun is really strong and you can get burnt even on cloudy days. You also need a wide brimmed hat and sunglasses. Drink lots of water.

* Buy all of your theme park tickets and make all dining reservations well in advance. This means you do not have to waste time in queues on holidays. The Disney restaurants can be booked up to 6 months in advance - lots of people do this.

* Florida is well-known for its afternoon downpours, but they don't usually last long. You can buy rain ponchos in the parks quite cheaply. Put it on, shelter and usually in about 30 minutes the rain will pass.

* For some retail therapy that doesn't revolve around Disney, the Mall at Millennia is wonderful. It is modern, upmarket and has some really great shops. We spent a few hours here.

* Another place to get away from Disney for the evening is Universal Studios Citywalk. There are great bars and restaurants and it has a nice atmosphere. We had a meal at Margaritaville. Food was great, the atmosphere was lovely and we had an enjoyable evening.

* Buy an autograph book and bring a pen on your first day at the parks. This was the thing our son enjoyed most - meeting the Disney characters and collecting their autographs in his book - it became an obsession!

Best Way To Get Around:

We flew from the UK into Orlando International Airport, which is 25 miles east of Downtown Disney. The airport is really modern, bright, cheerful and user-friendly. We cleared customs and immigration easily and quickly. <br/><br/>Monorails shuttle you from the gate areas to the core area where you find the baggage claim.<br/><br/>Shopping at the airport is great - we had 3 hours there before our departure and enjoyed browsing - the time flew by.<br/><br/>You really need a car to get around if you are not staying at a Disney hotel. We hired our car through Dollar, and pre-paid the tolls. This was unnecessary. Just driving to and from the Disney parks each day, meant we only ever used 2 toll roads.<br/><br/>It costs per day to park at the Disney parks. If you leave one park and go to another though, there is no additional charge. Downtown Disney and water-parks have free car-parking. The car parks are enormous, so make sure you note carefully where you have left your vehicle. We saw numerous people wandering around in the correct section, but still struggling to locate their car.<br/><br/>Driving is a fun experience, but the freeways are large and crowded and there are no fast lanes. Cars and trucks overtake and undertake. Speed limits are lower than in the UK. Fines for speeding are large and there are lots of police cars around to ensure the speed limits are kept.

We stayed in a 4 bedroom villa on the Windsor Palms estate in Kissimmee. We booked directly through the Windsor Palms website and after that conversed directly with the owner - who happened to live in England.

Windsor Palms states on its website it is 10 minutes from the gates of Disney. This is probably true, but from the gates to the actual theme park can take a further 10-20 minutes, depending on where you want to visit. Realistically it takes about 25 minutes from door to car-park. It is however an easy drive.

The complex is gated, very well maintained and landscaped with lots of very similar looking villas. It has a clubhouse, tennis courts, swimming pool and shop, but we didn't have time to check out any of these facilities.

Our villa was 2202 Wyndham Palm Way - one of the best situated on the development, as it backed onto a little conservation area and was secluded and private. Be aware when booking, that some of the villas seemed to back onto a brick wall or the main road.

We were thrilled with our choice - it had 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and a wonderful pool/spa. It had a luxurious and comfortable feel with a light and airy open-plan living/dining/kitchen area.

There was a television with reasonable choice of channels, DVD and CD player and a Playstation. The owner also supplied a selection of books and magazines. It also had free WIFI.

The master bedroom was really huge, with walk-in closet and a big ensuite which had bath and separate shower. The second bedroom also had an ensuite. There were 2 further bedrooms, furnished as children's rooms with each having 2 single beds and a shared bathroom.

The kitchen was well equipped with all mod-cons. There was no barbecue however.

Outside the deck area had lots of sunloungers, a table and chairs and there were lots of pool toys and inflatables.

Check-in time was any time from 4pm. A front door key was in the lock box on the wall in the porch. We had to leave by 10am on the last morning, with the same procedure for the key.

The total cost for 14 nights was £1,040 including taxes.

The owner was extremely helpful with all queries we had both before and during our stay. We had a problem with the WIFI and they pulled out all the stops to get it sorted out.

The only minor issue we had, was that we decided not to have the pool heated. There was an extra cost involved in this - about £80. In hindsight though, we felt we should have had this arranged, as although the weather was very hot, the pool temperature was always bracing. It just would have made it a little more comfortable.

We loved staying here - there was so much space to relax and unwind after a busy day. There would have been room for another family as well, and still plenty of space. Obviously this would reduce the cost. Lots of space, a well equipped kitchen where you can cook if you want to, relatively close proximity to the Disney parks and a great private pool - what more could you want!

The Discovery Channel ranks this as the second best water park in the United States. According to them, Schlitterbahn in Texas is number one.

Blizzard Beach is designed for speed and great rides. It has been themed as an Alpine ski-resort and the theming, as is normal for Disney, is very clever.

Mount Gushmore is the "snow-covered" mountain you see from all points in the park. There is a chair-lift with snazzy overhead umbrellas which provides continuous 1 way trips up the mountain throughout the day.

The park is open 9am-7pm. We arrived at 11am on a Tuesday and had no problem finding loungers in a shady spot. They take the theming very seriously - by our seats and throughout the park they were playing Caribbean calypso versions of winter/Christmas songs. It feels a bit surreal in the hot Florida sunshine.

There are lots of extreme slides - Summit Plummit is the world's largest and fastest free fall slide. It is 120 feet high and you reach speeds on the way down of up to 60 miles per hour. It has been compared to free-falling from a plane. There are also water flumes you go down on your stomach on a mat, high speed tube rides and side by side racing slides.

Our time in the park was spent on more leisurely and less thrilling pursuits, but no less enjoyable. We first rode the Cross Country Creek - a 2,900 feet long lazy river that encircles the park. We did this a couple of times and had no problem getting a tube and then peacefully floating round. They also provide children's tubes which have covered bottoms.

Tikes Peak is a smaller reproduction of Mount Gushmore designed for younger children. We spent a lot of time here with our 4 year old who loved the gentle slides, water fountains and playing in the shallow water.

We ate lunch in one of the park restaurants - it came to $20 for the 3 of us - sandwiches, drinks and a child's meal. The child meal came with a bucket and spade. The meal was very good.

After lunch we rode the ski-lift to the top of Mount Gushmore. It is a nice, sedate ride to the top. At the viewing area you get great views in all directions, both of Blizzard Beach and beyond.

To get back down the mountain we rode Teamboat Springs - the longest family slide in the world. 1,200 feet of sloshing, careering and climbing up high banked curves. It is great fun.

We also spent time relaxing on our sunloungers in our shady spot. We picked a sandy area, so while we relaxed, our son used his bucket and spade to play in the sand.

We stayed in Blizzard Beach for about 5 hours. It is a nice way to have a relaxing day between hectic theme park visits. You do need to remind yourself to keep drinking - it seemed easy to forget this in the water parks. Also use lots and lots of sunscreen.

Car parking at the Disney water parks is free.

Epcot has 2 sections - Future World and World Showcase. We visited on 2 different days. On day 1 we got there early and explored Future World. On the second day, we arrived late afternoon, spent our time at World Showcase and stayed for the 9pm fireworks.

Inspired by Walt Disney's creative vision, Future World is dedicated to the exploration of tomorrow and divided into 3 main areas. World Showcase has different pavilions representing countries around the world - each one staffed by native citizens and providing eateries, shops and entertainment with authentic merchandise and menus.

Epcot is a huge park - it is really a good idea to bring a stroller for younger children.

Future World is open 9am-7pm. We arrived in the car park at 8:45 and walked to the turnstiles, getting there just as the park opened. We went straight to Soaring - one of the newest rides, where there can be long queues. We only stood in line for 20 minutes.

Soaring is wonderful. Rows of seats rise from the floor before the ride begins and you "fly" through the sky in California. It is a lovely experience, all the children seemed to enjoy it and you really felt like you were gliding.

Our next stop was Turtle Talk with Crush at the Living Seas pavilion. This is a must-see for younger children. It is a show in a small, intimate theatre. Children sit on the ground at the front by a big "fishtank" and Crush the turtle appears and interacts with them. It is very clever and very cute.

The Nemo ride here is also fun. We did not queue, and all enjoyed riding in a small pink clammobile past scenes from Finding Nemo.

The rest of this pavilion is a huge aquarium - it is just like the ocean dropped in. There are 2 different levels, fascinating exhibits and great observation areas. We enjoyed the manatees and the dolphins.

Our next stop was the Land pavilion - the Circle of Life film with Simba and friends was quite interesting and our son loved it. They have a good food court here, we had lunch, having first picked up a fast pass for the Land boat ride. When we had finished eating, we got straight on.

This is an interesting boat ride through different eco-systems, culminating in a ride through greenhouses, where they are carrying out all sorts of food growing experiments - look out for Mickey Mouse ear shaped pumpkins and peppers!

Spaceship Earth - the famous "golfball" was our next ride. It is an incredible combination up-close of steel and triangles and the ride inside is great. It takes you through 40,000 years of human development beginning with cavemen. The best bit is at the top, when you are "transported" to space and you see the earth. The sphere is 18 storeys tall, so at the top of the ride you are 163 feet up.

You are turned backwards for the ride back down with a great interactive part, where you "star" in your own movie. This ride was a big hit with our 4 year old and we did it 3 times!

Not far away is Club Cool - sponsored by Coca Cola. They have fountains where you can get a paper cup and taste Coca-Cola from around the world. It's fun, free and a good chance to get cooled down and rehydrated.

At Character Connection nearby, you can meet Disney characters. We lined up for 45 minutes, but did get to see 7 characters, which was another big hit with our autograph obsessed son.

Our last ride on the first day was Ellen's Energy Adventure - you go back in time to see dinosaurs in their natural habitat. We told our son in advance it would be really dark and sometimes noisy and he was fine with it all. The ride lasts 45 minutes, so take children to the bathroom beforehand!

It took us until 6:15pm to do all of these areas on our first day at Epcot.

On our return vist, we spent all our time at World Showcase - it opens 11am-9pm.

Disney sells "passports" in all the Epcot shops. They are a great idea for children - they cost $11 and have pages and stamps for the different countries in World Showcase.

Every pavilion has a Kidcot booth - look for a small table and chairs with craft stuff and a cast member. There you can pick up a mask, which your child can decorate and then bring to each country pavilion where it is stamped. They can also get the passports stamped by the different countries, and the cast member will sign and write a message in their native tongue. It is fun.

The highlights of World Showcase for us were as follows:

* Mexico and the Gran Fiesta Tour ride. It has lots of visual details and Donald Duck. You ride on a flat boat and are pushed gently along a journey that ends at the Grand Fiesta celebrations at sunset in Mexico City.

* Norway has a great Viking themed playground and a replica of the Stave chapel in Oslo.

* The Kidcot area in China was great - children get a Chinese Mickey stamp and are given a stamp of their Chinese zodiac symbol. Their name is also written in Chinese. The department store full of all sorts of interesting things was also a big hit for our son.

* The atmosphere in the Germany pavilion was great - the biergarden has a band which performs on the hour. They also have a very nice toy shop and a cute miniature train ride.

* At the Italian pavilion try and watch the show with Sergio the clown juggler. It is really funny and a treat to watch. We loved him.

The Illuminations show at 9pm is another must-see. It takes place at World Showcase Lagoon - a beautiful man-made lake which covers over 40 acres. The walkway around the lagoon is 1.2 miles.

Illuminations debuted in 1999 - we saw it then - but is still a great spectacle with fireworks, a laser light show and special water effects.

We arrived 20 minutes early and picked a spot in front of Germany to watch. This was a good choice. There are lots of good spots all around the lagoon - just watch out for islands with trees on them which may block your view.

After the show we walked the longest route around the World Showcase back to the exit, and walked it slowly. We did not get caught up in mass crowds when leaving.

This is an entire district of shops, restaurants, cinemas, a virtual reality interactive themed area and Cirque du Soleil.

Disney Marketplace is a collection of shops set around the Buena Vista Lagoon. It provides some of the best shopping opportunities at Disney World.

We spent ages in the Lego Imagination Centre. It has an activity centre just outside the front door that allows hands on play. We had to drag our son away from here. The shop has lots of really clever Lego sculptures including a huge T-Rex. There is a Build a Lego character station and Pick a Brick wall. The green Lego serpent rising out of the lagoon is also great.

World of Disney and Once Upon a Toy have every item of Disney merchandise you can think of. We especially enjoyed building our own light sabre.

Basin has bath products and lots of different "flavoured" soaps. We picked up some great Mickey Mouse souvenir soap in this shop.

We had lunch in the Earl of Sandwich shop at Disney Marketplace. I highly recommend the food here. They have the most delicious hot sandwiches. My husband and I shared one of their specials while our son enjoyed the turkey kids sandwich.

The West Side of Downtown Disney has a different feel to Disney Marketplace. It was built in September 1997 and has a more sophisticated "worldly" atmosphere, but there are lots of family friendly entertainment options.

We had dinner here one evening in Bongos - the Cuban style restaurant owned by Gloria Estefan and her husband. We arrived at 5:30 when it was half-full, but by the time we left at 7:00pm they were queuing for tables. The atmosphere is good - lively music and nice decor. We especially liked the Bongo bar stools. The service was good, but we were a bit disappointed with the food and felt it was a bit bland.

We also spent a couple of hours at Disney Quest. Our Disney tickets covered us for the entrance fee - otherwise it would have cost $37 to go in per person. We did enjoy it, but I don't think it is value for money at $37.

There are 5 floors of virtual and interactive attractions. One of the best parts is the lift that takes you up from the entrance. It has amazing special effects and a cute cartoon genie.

They have a huge human pinball machine - we all enjoyed this. Reuben, our son was under the height limit to play, but was able to use a manual control. He ended up coming second over all in our game. We did the human pinball option - it is exhausting.

There is a whole floor packed with children's arcade games. We spent ages here.

Last of all we tried out the Jungle Cruise - an interactive ride down a river which is great fun.

On our last evening in Orlando, we went to the Cirque du Soleil show at the West Side - La Nouba. This is a really exciting show in one of the most unusually styled buildings in this area. It is a bit like a circus - but there are no animals, only human performances with amazing feats of choreographed acts.

The whole show was fantastic. The live action stunts and sequences are breathtaking and awe inspiring. The live music which is a bit weird and eerie just adds to the experience.

There are 2 x 90 minute shows at 6pm and 9pm. The theatre has 2 tiers and all seats get an excellent view.

We booked our seats on-line months in advance, but there were still seats available just one hour before the performance. In fact at the 6pm show there were quite a number of empty seats. We paid $89 for our tickets ($63 for the child seat) so it is quite expensive.

They open the doors at 5:20 for the 6:00 performance. There is a small food area selling pretzels, hot dogs and drinks, including alcoholic beverages. They welcome food and drink in the theatre. In fact during the show people were going in and out for refills.

There are very nice full sized leather like cushions that act as great seat boosters for children. They are stacked up outside the seating area as you enter the theatre.

We all loved this show. It was amazing. It is a visual delight - there are always 2 or 3 things happening at the same time on stage, the performers enter and exit in all kinds of weird and wonderful ways and it just holds your attention the whole way through. I would thoroughly recommend it.

The Magic Kingdom is the place everybody automatically thinks of when you say "Disney World." It is a wonderful place for the young and the young at heart.

It is divided into 7 lands, each with its own distinct atmosphere and attractions. Our itinerary and recommendations in this review are very much based around what our 4 year old son enjoyed.

We split our visit into 2 days. On day 1, we got there early and left just after the afternoon parade. On day 2 we arrived in the late afternoon, did some rides, had dinner but still had plenty of energy left to enjoy the evening parade and the fireworks.

The Magic Kingdom opens at 9am - we arrived in the car park at 8:15 and took the ferry boat from the ticket centre. The trip takes about 10 minutes and you get beautiful views of the Seven Seas Lagoon.

We arrived at the turnstiles before they opened at 8:40, there were quite a lot of people there, but we got a great view of the opening ceremony - lots of singing, dancing and a finale with glitter and streamers.

Main Street USA was our first experience of the park - a beautiful area, turn of the century themed and decorated with bright colours and lovely window displays. It is really picturesque.

Our first stop was Fantasyland. This area is themed like a fairytale and has lots of rides and attractions suitable for young children. Our highlights/recommendations were:

* Dumbo - I read somewhere that this ride has the fastest growing line in the park. There are only 16 elephants and it takes longer to load and unload these than the 90 second ride. This was our first stop, we did not need to queue.

* Winnie the Pooh - again the queue line grows quickly here so do it early in the morning.

* Peter Pan - we adored this, in my view the best attraction in Fantasyland.

* Cinderella's Carousel - great photo opportunities.

* It's A Small World.

* Mickey's 3D Philharmagic - a must-see. This 3D show is truly wonderful, with great special effects and a cute storyline. It is also a good place to get out of the heat.

We next took the Disney Railroad to Frontierland. This looks like a set from a Western. Apparently Hollywood movies about cowboys and indians were some of Walt Disney's favourites.

We rode Big Thunder Mountain - our son hated it - the noise, dark, speed and bumpiness of this ride terrified him, so be aware!

Our next stop was Adventureland. This was inspired by Disney's own travels to exotic locations and is designed to give guests a taste of the Pacific/Polynesia and the Carribean. Highlights for us here were;

* Pirates of the Carribean - our queue time was significantly longer though than that suggested on the timeboard outside - tip - take small children to the toilet before using this ride!

* The Enchanted Tiki Room - not usually much of a wait and it is a really cute show with exotic "birds" singing and dancing in the ceiling of the Tiki Room.

The Dreams Come True parade takes place at around 3pm. We watched it in Liberty Square. This was a great spot - not too crowded and we got an excellent view. We got there about half an hour beforehand. Our son loved this parade most because of all the Disney characters, the dancing and the music.

We left at this point on our first day and came back another day to carry on exploring the Magic Kingdom.

On our second visit we arrived at 4pm - we were not charged for car-parking. We saw the flag lowering ceremony on Main Street - a marching band, patriotic songs and music and a veteran carried the folded up flag as they marched back down Main Street. We enjoyed this.

Tomorrowland was our first stop. Disney was fascinated with the concept of planning for the future. This area is a combination of Jules Verne versus science-fiction. Our highlights were:

* Monsters Inc Laugh Show - quite funny, very clever with the screen Monsters interacting with the audience. We loved it.

* Buzz Lightyear - shooting and zapping aliens while spinning around is great for adults and children alike.

* Tomorrowland Transit Authority - relaxing, interesting and fun to go through Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear.

We weren't impressed with the Indy Speedway - don't bother queuing for this, it is a bit of a letdown.

The rest of our time was spent at Mickeys Toontown Fair. This area looks like it came from a Disney animated film. It's great for young children - you can visit Mickey and Minnie's house, ride on Goofy's rollercoaster and meet lots of characters.

Our son also loved the playground - but bring a change of clothes as most children end up getting soaked.

The Spectro Magic evening parade at 9:15 is fantastic. Again we watched it at Liberty Square and found it to be relatively uncrowded. We arrived just after 8:30 and got a front row position.

60,000 lights cover every float and character. Lighting throughout the entire parade route is dimmed to enhance the experience. There is a cast of 100 performers, 37 floats and it lasts 25 minutes. This is a must see. Every few minutes the floats change from all-colours to white to coloured again.

The Wishes Nightime Fireworks Spectacular is at 10pm. We watched from near Splash Mountain and had a wonderful view without the heavy crowds. The only downside was you could not hear the music.

The other bad thing about staying for this is leaving - mass exodus, mass crowds equals a nightmare. We hung around for half an hour after the fireworks, but still found we queued for the ferryboat for around half an hour. Be sure to bring a stroller for your child if you watch the fireworks. Our son fell asleep in it on our way out, we saw lots of parents struggling carrying sleeping youngsters.

We visited Seaworld on the last Friday in May - it was so crowded and seemed to us to be a lot busier than any of the Disney parks. Because of the crowds of people there, we had to limit what we did, get to the shows around 50 minutes early and miss some of the animal exhibits. We enjoyed the park, but all in all it really was a bit too packed.

Parking cost $10 and we had 7 day passes which allowed visits to Seaworld and Aquatica - their new water park.

Seaworld is a 200 acre marine park which lets you explore and learn about the oceans and their inhabitants while also having fun. The grounds are beautifully landscaped and centre on a 17 acre lagoon. There are flamingo ponds and a rainforest. Renovation work was going on during our visit though, and parts of the lagoon were boarded off.

We had a look at the manatee and stingray viewing areas at the front of the park. You can put your hands in the water and touch a stingray as it glides past. We did not do this for long, as you kept getting elbowed by all the people. It was a similar experience at the dolphin pool, which was a shame. It would have been fascinating had there been just a few less people.

Blue Horizons was the first show we went to. It is in the partially covered but open-air Key West Dolphin Stadium. The storyline follows a girl's dream with the dolphins playing a star role. There is action above and below water, with divers, aerial acrobatics and really colourful costumes. As well as dolphins there are lots of exotic birds - it is really good.

Our next visit was to the Sesame Street show. This is great for young children. Cookie Monster and the gang on stage, with lots of singing, dancing, clapping and audience participation. The theatre is indoors and fully air-conditioned which is also a bonus.

We had lunch in one of the self-service restaurants overlooking the lagoon. The food was very good. The child's meal came with a blue plastic lunchbox which had Shamu the whale on the front. We sat outside on a covered deck area by the side of the lagoon. Time it right and you can enjoy the hourly dancing fountains show on the lagoon as you eat. This takes place on the hour.

We spent quite a lot of time in Shamu's Happy Harbour. It is for children aged 3-12 and is 3 acres. They have all sorts of great things - a big ship with crow's nest to climb into and explore, water play, remote controlled vehicles, cannons, submarines, slides and a water maze.

This is one of the most extensive play areas at any park. There are several exits though, so you really do need to keep a very close eye on your children. Also bring swimming costumes or a change of clothes. The water maze and water play area is not designed to keep children dry. They get absolutely soaked through to the skin but it is great fun.

A must-see is the Shamu show - Believe. It is an all new killer whale show. It is wonderful - spectacular choreography, a 3 storey high stage set with a giant whale's tale, fountains, video screens, a great musical score and of course the killer whales. Shamu and friends, were of course spectacular and beautiful. You could watch them all day. We got some wonderful photographs. You do need to get to this show early - we took our seats almost an hour before it started.

The other must see show is Odyssea - a 30 minute Cirque du Soleil style stage show which opened at the Nautilus Theatre in July 2003. There are circus acrobatics, comedy, colourful costumes and fluorescent lighting, music and special effects all with an under the sea theme. It is fast moving and extremely impressive. It is also indoors in an air-conditioned theatre.

On our way out of the park we visited the Shark Experience. The pools at the front have small sharks and rays and inside there are eels, lion fish and barracudas amongst others. The best part though is the moving walkway through a giant clear perspex tube where you have creatures swimming all around you. We enjoyed spotting the hammerhead sharks.

The Penguin Encounter is similar - a moving walkway takes you through Arctic and Antarctic displays where you can see penguins swimming, diving, socialising and preening. A separate area has puffins. Unfortunately when we went at 6:15 there was not much activity. They were simulating night-time at the Antarctic so most of the penguins were resting - time this visit carefully.

This park has attractions and entertainment dedicated to Hollywood and the Disney art of film-making. The park opens at 9am and it costs $10 to park. We split our visit into 2 days - the first day we got there early and left following the afternoon parade, the second visit we arrived late afternoon, had dinner and then stayed for the evening fireworks and show. This worked out really well.

The Sorcerer's Hat is the first thing you see when you go in. It is the park's new icon and is the hat worn by Mickey Mouse in Fantasia. Built in 2002, it towers 122 feet into the air. We saw Minnie Mouse and several other characters near the hat and got their autographs without queuing.

Several times a day they have the High Street Musical show in this area. It is a parade, show and interactive event. They parade down Hollywood Boulevard and along the way cheerleaders interact with the crowd. The stage moves as well. When they arrive at the Sorcerer's hat there is a 15 minute singing and dancing show. We watched it, but our son is not really into High School Musical, so we stayed at the back of the crowd, in the shade. It is high energy and very good.

We arrived at the park at 9:30 and went to the first showing of Playhouse Disney. This has the characters from the television channel in their own song and dance musical stage show. It is designed for pre-school children and is on about 8 times a day. You sit on the floor, so wherever you are, you do get a good view.

Outside after the show, we saw several of the characters and got their autographs with minimal queuing.

The Magic of Disney Animation is nearby. This starts with a short presentation focussing on the stages of development an animated character goes through from start to finish. It is fun, especially when the live Disney animator interacts with the cartoon character Mushu. We all enjoyed this.

Afterwards there is an interactive area which is fun. You can put your voice onto a movie and play it back; colour in a character in a film and lots more besides. Mickey Mouse was waiting at the very end dressed in a Fantasia outfit doing autographs and posing for photos. There was also lots of promotional stuff for the new Wall E film which we enjoyed checking out.

The Little Mermaid show was next for us. It is wonderful - a small, intimate, "under the sea" theatre with a damp feel. The show is excellent - although you do get a bit wet. It also has some great special effects.

We had lunch at the Backstage Lot which was convenient for our next activity - Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground. Children love this - there are huge spiders and a web, a rope maze, caves, slides and a giant roll of Kodak film. There is only 1 entrance/exit so you can relax a bit and wait there while your kids run around and have a great time.

We managed to fit in the Muppets 3D show - really funny and a lovely theatre, as well as the Great Movie Ride - a fun way to "ride" through all the great movies with an action sequence in the middle fairly quickly. Our last show of the day was Beauty and the Beast. The covered theatre seats 1,500 guests and there is live singing and dancing. Try and get seats near the front. The show lasts 25 minutes.

The afternoon parade at Hollywood Studios is superb. We watched by Echo Lake and found this to be a great spot - not at all crowded. The parade is at 3pm and is called something like the Block Party Bash. They have huge floats, characters from Toy Story and Monsters inc and loud, lively music. The floats stop at 2 places on the route, they all open up and out come trampolines, stilts, props and performers. Check out the map and the parade route so you know where the stops will be. It is fun, lively, loud and interactive - the children all join in at different times. We all loved it.

By the end of the parade we left the park and went back to our villa for a much needed rest.

On our second trip to this park we arrived at 4:30. We went straight to the new Toy Story ride. We had intended to get fast passes but they had run out. It was the same story the previous day, so I strongly recommend if you want to do this ride, go first thing in the morning and get a fast pass.

The ride is new - they call it a 4D ride and it is so popular, everyone wants to ride it. When we got there, it said the queue time was 1.5 hours. We decided we could live with this, but actually stood in line for close to 3 hours. The ride is excellent, creative and very different, but not worth a 3 hour wait in a slow moving line!

After Toy Story we had time for a very quick bite to eat, before we went to the Fantasmic show. It takes place in a 7,000 seat outdoor amphitheatre. We went to the first show at 9pm. The theatre opens 1.5 hours before the show. We arrived at 8:05 and it was three quarters full. You really must get here early.

It doesn't really matter where you sit - you get a good view regardless. The amphitheatre is semi-circular and faces an enormous moat of water. There are toilets inside and you can buy snacks and drinks - both alcoholic and soft drinks.

The show lasts 25 minutes - it has lasers, fountains, boats with Disney characters onboard, fireworks and wonderful special effects. It is amazing - really a must-see.

This park only opened in spring of this year, so everything is brand new. We arrived at 11am to a packed car park. The car park and the water park itself are small in comparison to the Disney offerings.

Maps of the park were not easy to locate. We couldn't find them near the entrance and eventually had to ask a member of staff. After a bit of a search we managed to obtain one.

Near the entrance to the park members of staff had exotic animals you could get close to. We saw macaws and some kind of lizard on the ground which they allowed you to touch.

One real drawback to this park is the absolute lack of shady places to sit and relax. They have big areas of white sandy beach and lots of sunloungers, but very few beach umbrellas and no trees. We really struggled and eventually had to leave our stuff on a lounger and take shade in a cafe when we needed it.

They have private shaded cabana areas, but you have to rent these and pay a considerable amount for the privilege. I think the lack of shade in the other areas might be an attempt to persuade people to rent these cabanas.

Children under a certain height have to wear life jackets at all times when they are in the water. These are readily available and are free of charge.

There are 2 river rides in Aquatica. One is the traditional lazy river, where you grab a tube, sit in it and just float around and relax. This ride was incredibly busy and there were nowhere near enough tubes. We had to queue for about 10 minutes before we got one. They do not have tubes with middles for young children, like in the Disney parks, so it is a bit of a struggle with little ones.

When we eventually got our tubes, the ride was a bit congested and not that relaxing. There is a really nice part though, where you float past a huge fish tank full of exotic and colourful fish and you also go past the tank which is home to the dolphins.

The second river ride is much better. You jump in and are carried along by a fast flowing current. It is great fun. There are life jackets for adults as well as children in all sizes. Wearing the life jacket means you just whizz along and let the river do the work. We all loved this and did it about half a dozen times.

One plus point for Aquatica over the Disney parks is that the water is heated. It is a perfect temperature and doesn't take your breath away when you first get in. The Disney water parks do not have heated water, and no matter how hot the sun is, when you first get in, the water is bracing until you get used to it.

They have a large children's fun area which is really good - the best of any of the water parks we visited. There are lots of fountains, cannons, shallow water and things to climb on and play in. They also have lots of slides - tube slides and regular slides - we had to drag our son away.

You are not allowed to bring any food or drinks into this park. They are strict about this and check all bags carefully at the entrance. We saw a lady have a bread roll confiscated, which she said was for her baby.

The signature ride of this park is Dolphin Plunge. Prior to visiting and in the UK, we saw lots of advertisements and pictures of the ride. The reality was somewhat different and these pictures were, I felt, a bit misleading. They say you go down 2 x 300 feet clear tubes through a lagoon which is home to dolphins and you watch them swimming all around.

This is technically correct, however only a shortish portion of the slide is clear when it goes through the dolphin area. Also as you speed down, you go fast, your eyes are full of water and you don't really actually remember to look or pay attention to the dolphins.

We had lunch in one of the self-service places. Food was good - we had sandwiches and drinks and paid $20. Quality of the food and price is comparable to the Disney parks.

One bad thing though was all the bins in the outside eating area of the restaurant were full to the very top. Rubbish had actually started to spill over and blow around on the ground. 2 or 3 members of staff walked past this litter while we were eating and did nothing about it.

All in all we did have a fun day at Aquatica. The heated water is a real plus point and the fast river ride is great. However the lack of shaded areas to sit, the overflowing bins in the restaurant and some other niggles, led us to prefer the Disney water parks. If we returned to Orlando, we probably would give Aquatica a miss.

Animal Kingdom was my favourite Disney park. It has 6 regions, each one dedicated to a different ecological niche of the planet.

You enter through the Oasis. This is not really an attraction, but is the really pretty entrance to the park. On both sides of the path are small animal and bird holding areas.

We headed straight to the African area. Harambe represents a village in South East Africa and is the crown jewel of this wonderful park. Kilimanjaro Safaris involves a drive in a large truck through the "African" plain with a guide. We saw hippos, crocodiles, antelope, ostriches, elephants, sleeping lions, warthogs and a cheetah.

Disney has done an amazing job of transforming this area into Africa, with authentic settings, plants, rocks and trees. It is a very bumpy ride, which adds to the experience. We sat in the back row and had a wonderful, unobstructed view of the animals. Try and do this ride early morning or late afternoon when the animals are most active.

The Pangani Forest Exploration Trail is a self paced attraction to the far right of the safari exit. It takes about 20 minutes along a circular path. You see meercats, hippos underwater and gorillas. There are multiple observation areas for the gorillas but for us the best spot was the hanging bridge. They don't like the heat and were sleepy when we visited, but they are a magificient sight.

Rafiki's Planet Watch is also in this area. You ride a little train for about 5 minutes from Harambe to Planet Watch. The train station is great with its African theme. On the ride you can see the barns and enclosures the animals use at night.

The Conservation Station at the end of the train ride tells you how the animals here are cared for and about conservation around the world. You can see them preparing the food, see the vets and the operating theatre which is all very interesting. Our son loved it here.

There were also Disney characters to meet and the Affection Section outside had goats, llamas and sheep. They had brushes children could pick up and use to groom these animals.

The Asian area has the Expedition Everest roller coaster. My husband got a fast pass earlier in the day, then went back and rode it while we had ice cream. He thought it was a superb thrill ride, but not for the faint hearted. It is partly in darkness, partly you go backwards, lots of stopping and starting and a confrontation with a Yeti!!

Dinoland USA is themed to look like a country fair. We rode the Triceratops spin - a ride in a baby dinosaur where the riders in front control the height you fly, and those behind tilt it backwards or forwards. You get a nice view of Dinoland during the ride.

The Boneyard is a child's playground paradise with bridges, stilts and fun things to climb on. There is only 1 exit, but we stayed with our son as it is a very large area. He loved the fossil dig site - the Disney staff cover the fossil at the end of each day so it can be "rediscovered" daily.

The Tree of Life is the icon of this park. 10 artists worked full time for over 18 months to create the 325 animal carvings on the trunk and the roots. Inside the tree is a 3D encounter - It's Tough to be a Bug. It is 100% computer generated and interactive. The show is great but it can be a bit scarey for young children at times. Our son had to remove his 3D glasses as it got a bit intense at times for him.

Mickey's Jamming Jungle Parade takes place in the afternoon. It is 20 minutes long with imaginative floats, great animal puppets and the Disney characters. We saw it in Harambe, but it was very crowded here and there wasn't much shade from the intense sun. You need to be at your spot minimum of half an hour before the parade starts.

There are 3 wonderful shows at this park - all superb in their own way.

The Pochohontas show is targeted at young children. It is not very long and the concept, about the environment is simple. The highlight is the "helpers" in the show which include a skunk, a possum, a rabbit and a turkey. The first few rows are reserved for young children.

The Lion King is the most amazing show, which takes place in the centre of a round theatre. Everyone gets a great view. The show is very popular and you need to get there early, although they don't open the doors to let you in until 15 minutes before the show starts.

The music and singing is spine tingling and the costumes and animal puppets are fantastic. At the end, about 15 young children are picked from the audience and taught to march around the stage banging drums. Our son got picked - he was thrilled. It is very cute and a great photo opportunity.

Finding Nemo is the third show. It is a Broadway style "puppet" show, based on the movie. The creator is the man who designed the puppets in the Broadway version of the Lion King. The theatre holds 1,500 people, but the show we went to was filled to capacity. You need to get here about 1 hour before the show starts. The show lasts half an hour and the music, singing and special effects are absolutely wonderful.

Typhoon Lagoon is themed as a beautiful tropical resort. It is more relaxed and less action packed than Blizzard Beach. The atmosphere is lovely and there is white sand, blue water and palm trees.

The park is open 9am until 7pm.

We arrived on a Saturday morning in June and although busy, it was not too crowded.

We easily found sunloungers in a lovely shady area at Sharks Reef. We left our stuff there and headed off to explore.

Castaway Creek is this park's lazy river. Over 2,000 feet of winding, shady, sometimes sunny, relaxing fun. There are 5 exit/entry points and the water is 3 feet deep all the way around. We had no problems getting tubes. There are also special tubes for young children with middles in them, so the child doesn't fall through - these are great.

Remember to put fresh sunscreen on before you go on the lazy river as you tend to be on this ride for quite a while! Also there are lifeguards all the way along the route, but you need to keep a watchful eye on your child. It can be easy to get separated.

There is an area in this park where you can snorkel with sharks and fish. We didn't try this, but enjoyed watching those who did. They have an underwater viewing area, designed like an upside down submarine, so you look out at the fish through the portholes.

Ketchadiddee Creek is a wonderful area for young children. It is a water-filled playground of slides, fountains, jets and squirting playthings. Children must be 48 inches or less to use this area and must be accompanied by an adult. You need to keep a watchful eye on our child and be with them, as there are rocky formations and playthings which block your view from the covered seating areas. Our son had great fun here. He really loved the children's tube ride and did it time and time again.

There are plenty of thrill slides in this park too. The body slides are on the right side of the mountain and the tube slides are on the left.

Humunga Kowabunga is the fastest, steepest and most thrilling slide. There are 3 identical tubes and in 5 seconds you reach the bottom, hitting speeds of 35 miles per hour. There is a shady sitting place at the end of the slide where you can watch them come out.

Crush and Gusher is a water slide roller coaster - the only one of its type in these water parks. There are 3 slides and it is themed as an abandoned fruit plant. You grab a tube and choose either the Coconut, Pineapple and Banana slides - all different. It can be wild and you have to hold on tight.

There is a beautiful mountain trail which is well worth exploring. It is not very long and doesn't take much time to walk along, but it is lovely. Lots of lush tropical plants, foliage and scenic waterfalls as well as a couple of rope bridges. You can take some great photographs. Be sure to wear something on your feet though - the paths get super hot and it is extremely uncomfortable if you are in bare feet.

The Typhoon Lagoon surf pool is one of the best parts of this park. There are great sand bottomed wading areas off from the main surf pool, which are great places for children to play with their buckets and spades.

The surf pool itself is the largest wave pool of its type in the world - 2.5 acres with 6 feet tall waves. Listen to the sound that roars through the palm trees and a geyser erupts from the top of the mountain. Stand at the edge and the waves are still strong. It is fun with children to hold on tight to them and try and jump over the waves.

We spent about 5 hours in this water park - we didn't actually do most of the main slides in this time.