Less Obvious Orlando

Driving in America is a whole new experience to a Brit. I am the map-reader in the family so the driving always falls to my husband, after four trips to Orlando we feel that we are starting to get to grips with it and there are some things worth remembering.

The hire-car will be an automatic. Having always driven manual cars this does take a bit of getting used to. The best thing to do is to put your "clutch" foot well under the seat and just concentrate on using the accelerator (gas) and brake. Failure to do this will see you bunny-hopping out of the airport! The attendants at the hire station will run through the basics with you if you ask. You will have to be in "Park" before you can take the key out.

Obviously you need to drive on the right. America does not have roundabouts (or at least I have never seen one) so if you have gone wrong you can usually do a u-turn.

Parking should always be done bonnet first. The cars don’t have plates on the front and I was told that you should always park with the plate showing.

You are not allowed to park near to fire hydrants.

You are not allowed to pass a yellow school bus on either side of the carriage-way if its lights are flashing.

Traffic lights are suspended above the road. It is easy to miss them when you are used to seeing them at the side. They swing around a lot when it is windy which can be quite scary! When you arrive at a junction and the light is on red you must stop first (obviously!). However if you are turning right and it is safe you are allowed to proceed as long as there is not a sign prohibiting it. This will save you having angry locals blaring their horns at you whilst you sit innocently waiting for the lights to change.

When a sign says something is "next left" it does not mean in a short distance like it does in the UK. It normally means almost immediately, sometimes directly behind the pole holding the sign so be prepared.

Filling up with fuel requires payment first so you will have to go into the kiosk before you can start.

Always carry small change as the toll-roads are usually 25 or 50 cents. Try and get some coins or small notes before your trip as several roads that you may use from the airport will have a charge and they don’t take kindly to a $20 bill. It is useful to have small notes available for tipping at the airport too.

Carry your passport, driving licence and hire-documents with you at all times.

If you are driving in to Disney or Universal be prepared by knowing which roads you want when you drive out. Getting into these places is easy but getting out when you are tired, it is dark and you have lost all sense of direction is trickier. Work out the road number you need and keep heading for it as you will no doubt end up coming out in a completely different way to the way you went in!

We have managed perfectly well on all our trips and a car really is essential to make the most of your holiday. Public transport and pedestrians are definitely rated behind the car-driver. Take things easy, always carry a map and use your common sense and you will soon be as happy on the road as the locals.

Location-
This hotel is situated on the Southern end of International Drive. It is a set south of the attractions and restaurants which make International drive very busy so it is much quieter than many hotels. I-drive is easily accesible in about 5-8 minutes by car, there is also a stop for the I-drive trolley bus outside the hotel. Seaworld is about 5 minutes dive away, Universal studios area is about 20 minutes north and Disneyland entrance is less than 10 minutes south. The roads are easy and there are no tolls. There is a Publix supermarket about 3 mins drive away. The journey from the International airport takes about 25 minutes and the property is easy to find.

Rooms-
This is an apartment hotel and it has 1 or 2 bedroom apartmaents sleeping up to 4 or 8 people respectively. The 1-bedroom apartments are quite small and require you to use the sofa-bed in the lounge area, since there was a dining table in here as well we found it a bit difficult to get around at night. There is a good size bathroom and kitchen area and a balcony. The decor is fairly heavy and dark for british taste but we found several places in the US are like this so it is not off-putting. If you can afford it try to go for a 2-bedroom apartment. They are HUGE! Great kitchen, laundry area with washing machine and tumble dryer, two bathrooms and a great whirlpool bath in the master bedroom. There is everything you could need, loads of towels, toiletries, a safe, TVs everywhere and a real bonus was daily housekeeping so even if we had left in a hurry in the morning to get to the parks early we walked back in to a clean apartment, they even stacked the dishwasher and put it on one morning when we forgot! The rooms are accessed like a motel from external walkways with lifts.

Facilities-
Free car-parking, it was always very easy to park next to our apartment building. I felt even if it was absolutely full the parking would be more than adequate.
Magnificent swimming pool- there is a lovely pool complex with additional adults pool and jacuzzi. The children loved the waterfall that they could swim under. We found the pool was always quiet when we were there. I believe there is another smaller pool on the other side of the complex where there are some new blocks but we never ventured over there.
Dive-in movies-the hotel project a movie onto a big screen one night a week in the pool area.
There is also a small fitness area, table tennis and a lake to walk around.
There is also a small deli on site but it looked pricey so we stocked up at the local Publix for essentials.
Security-the hotel uses a security gate for access so you are given a window notice to display in your car to allow easy entrance.

My Opinion-
We loved the space offered here over a normal hotel room. It did cost extra but allowed great relaxation after days at the park. We didn't cook as there are great,cheap restaurants close by but we did keep our fridge stocked with water and had breakfast in our apartment so saved a bit of money that way. The close proximity to Disney and Seaworld was brilliant and we could get to some disney areas quicker than friends who have stayed on the Disney site and you certainly get more value for money at the Sheraton. Hopefully we will be returning soon!

A vacation in Orlando is full of exciting days at theme-parks, long journeys to the beach or frantic visits to shopping malls to bag a bargain. Sometimes there is a need for a couple of hours peace and quiet to enable you to recharge you batteries. We had friends who had visited Orlando before us who told us to seek out Celebration for a quiet walk.

Celebration is a town that Disney Development Company built in the early 1990s. The running of the town has now passed to another firm. This may account for why there are not many signs directing you to the town from the Disney site. However if you get onto World Drive and head south you will soon reach this quiet gem.

The town architects modelled this town on an idealised version of small town America in the 1920s/1930s. It is obviously very artificial as it is a totally manufactured community. However it is a delight to explore on foot.

Parking is not terribly easy to find but we eventually found a lot behind some shops. Along the road you will not see cars parked; you will see electric vehicles parked instead. These nifty white machines are what transport some of the locals about.
The buildings are a mixture of residential of business. Theye are painted in lovely bright colours with shutters and unusual features like porthole windows. There are several shops set around the square closest to the lake. These offer unusual shopping opportunities and also there are some nice restaurants and a fantastic ice-cream parlour where you can sit outside and admire your surroundings.

An ornamental fountain can be found near the lake. Around the lake there are walking and running trails and you will probably see an alligator or two floating lazily around. On the shores of the lake there are plenty of signs warning about not feeding the alligators (are people stupid?). You will also find so amazingly comfortable rocking chairs made from wood which simply invite you to sit and relish the peace and tranquillity. Alongside the lake there is a very impressive looking hotel.

We spent a good couple of hours here; we just walked around enjoying the scenery and then sat watching the lake and enjoying the fact that we hardly saw another person. This is so unusual for Orlando that it is somewhere we will return to. We also visited in October which meant that all the houses were decorated in the best Halloween style I have ever seen!

Holidaying in Orlando can get expensive so it is good to be able to save some money where you can. We actually found that food was an easy area for us to cut down on. My family like to be on the go most of the time and we found that restaurants took up a lot of our holiday time. There are places that we visit in the world where the dining is a large part of the experience, in Orlando we found that the dining options seemed to be similar no matter where we went it was just the surroundings that were different.

We ate breakfast in our apartment; we filled up on cereal, juices, toast, yogurt and fresh fruit. We were able to buy all this at the local supermarket and this would then keep us going well into the day. Due to the heat we actually found that we were not particularly hungry during the day. This meant that we packed a backpack with lots of water, some apples, sultanas and cereal bars and usually managed not to want any lunch but instead treated ourselves to an ice-cream.

We then opted for an early tea. Several places offered discounts for sitting before 6 so we took advantage of those. If we were at a themepark we often left to eat and then went back in the evening. The only exception being magic Kingdom because it takes so long to leave.

The childrens favourite places to eat, by far, were Sizzler and Ponderosa. These steakhouses do not offer exceptional cuisine or fantastic surroundings. However they did provide nice steak, fish or chicken with fries or jacket potato and an All-You-Can-Eat buffet. With children this was a much appreciated. It meant that they could start eating as soon as we arrived, no waiting. The buffet had a good selection of fruit, vegetables, salad, pasta, soup and desserts. I found that in the more expensive restaurants I could not get much fresh salad or fruit. Here I could have a huge plate of salad before I started. The children could also help themselves to lots of fruit which they like, particularly sliced pineapple. For about $14 a person we could eat plenty, have refillable soft drinks and a nice cup of tea with cakes. After a nice big meal we were able to have a good evening out without feeling at all peckish although we always picked up some extra mints so we had something to suck later on. If you look in all the voucher booklets around you will normally find a voucher for money off these places so it gets even cheaper!

Occasionally we went to one of the more interesting restaurants. Jungle Jims was a favourite for fantastic burgers but unfortunately it has recently closed down. Hard Rock Cafe at City Walk is a fascinating place to visit as well as eat. The huge pink Cadillac suspended from the ceiling and the gold discs give a rather surreal atmosphere. The waiting staff are all a bit over the top but they are good fun. The food here is ok but not very exciting although the setting makes up for it. It can get really busy so be prepared to queue if arriving after about 7pm.

The Theme park restaurants can be quite pricey so we tend to avoid them. My children would really not like to give up any more "ride-time" than they really have to. We usually opt for the fast-food options and they have always been of a satisfactory quality even if they are not very exciting!

I must admit I am always glad to come home and fill up on fresh vegetables which I really miss when I am on holiday in Orlando. Perhaps if we went to more expensive places to eat we may find more interesting fare but the children and my back balance would both moan!

On our last visit to Orlando we heard that a shuttle launch had been delayed and it was rescheduled for a day during our trip. My husband has always been very interested in anything to do with space and he was desperate to see the launch. I felt it would be a great opportunity to see something that doesn’t happen everyday so we decided that we would make the trip over towards Cocoa Beach to see the spectacle.

We were not willing to pay the expensive entrance fee to the NASA space centre on launch day so we had to make an alternative plan. In the end we decided to just head out of Orlando on the Beeline Expressway and decide on a viewing location when we got closer.

As we crossed the bridge towards Merritt Island we saw several cars parked up at the side so we decided this might be a good place to stop. We had arrived early so we parked easily. There was a trailer broadcasting the radio transmissions from the Space Centre and it was very exciting. As everybody was there for the same reason everybody was very chatty and we spoke to lots of locals who were thrilled that English people were there too, we were even interviewed for a local radio station.

As the countdown got closer there was a problem with ice on the fuel lines and it was thought that they would have to abandon the launch. We all waited with baited breathe and there was an audible sigh when it was announced that they would proceed to launch.

The last couple of minutes of the countdown were very tense. It was very quiet as everyone sat on the banks looking out across the Banana River towards the launch pad. With binoculars you could just make out the shuttle on the pad. The next thing we knew the liftoff started. We could see the rockets fire and all the smoke but there was absolutely no noise. A second or so later the enormous boom hit us as we watched the shuttle speed across the sky. Everyone cheered and we all stood transfixed until the bright light disappeared from view.

The experience was one of the highlights of our holiday and I would encourage anyone to go and see a launch if they get the chance. You may have to sit around for hours but the exhilaration is amazing and it is a sight I won’t forget for a long time.

I have always had a yearning to visit the Florida Everglades and travel on an airboat. However as my family and I are Theme Park addicts we never seemed to have been able to afford the time for the journey to the Everglades. However before our last trip I read a guidebook which said that Boggy Creek Airboats were as good an experience as the Everglades. I don't know if this is true but I can give you a review of our trip.


There are quite a lot of Airboat companies operating around the Orlando area. I did some research before we travelled and I found the best recommendations, especially for safety, were for the Boggy Creek Company so that was where we headed.


The Boggy Creek Airboat company have been in business since 1994 and now run at two sites in Orlando. There is one at the East Lake Fish Camp and then there is one at South Park Road. When we visited the Fish camp was closed for refurbishment so we had to travel about 20miles to the Southpark road site. However I have heard that this does tend to have better wildlife so is worth the extra drive. The place opened at 9 and we arrived early as we had heard that is when you can see the most wildlife (except for nighttime).


When we arrived there was free parking and you had to go into the gift shop to buy the tickets. It was $25 for adults and children under 11 were $19 , we paid slightly less than this as we had vouchers that gave us a discount. (Voucher books can be picked up at any hotel or diner.) The staff were lovely and engaged my son in converstaion and showed him a joke bag of rattlesnake eggs which he thought was great fun.


The rides run every half an hour, this time starts from when the first customers arrive so you should never have to wait longer than 30 minutes. We were shown to our airboat which can seat up to 17 passengers. They cannot take wheelchairs on board but if a person can transfer they will do their best to accomodate their needs. Every passenger is given ear protectors which you have to wear all the time the engine is running as the noise is INCREDIBLE! Children under 6 must wear lifejackets and everyone else is told where the lifejackets are. You really need to wear glasses to protect your eyes from insects and waterspray, there were some people on our boat that spent the whole journey with their eyes closed as things kept blowing into them!


The airboat left the dock quite slowly and I was beginning to be disappointed but then the captain told us that there was a speed restriction near the lake shore. Once we got out into more open water the boat travels upto 45mph. The captain was very knowledgable. Every now and then he stopped the boat (so we could take off the ear-protectors and hear what he was saying!) and pointed out things to us. We saw a couple of alligators that I would never have spotted lurking amongst the grass. We also saw a Golden eagle which was very impressive and lots of water fowl. The lake is surrounded by cypress trees, it is a truely beautiful and incredible peaceful place (when the engines aren't running). Skimming quickly through the long grass was exhilarating. Unfortunately it began to rain on our trip which meant we couldn't see quite as much and the rain actually HURT when you were travelling fast!


When we got off the boat we were sent out via a "photo opportunity" spot where they let you handle a baby alligator and you could buy a photo as a donation to their protection fund. I usually find these things really annoying but actually the handler was very informative and there was no hassle. Both of my children held the alligator (I declined!) and when I said I didn't want the photo there was no hard sell and we were pleasently wished a nice day in true US fashion.


It is possible to go on Night rides but these have to be pre-booked. There are also 6 seater airboats which you can hire as a private excursion. It is wise to cover yourself in insect repellant before you go. We wore shorts which meant even though it rained we could just brush the water off and its much more comfortable than wet trousers! I felt that the whole operation was based on safety and although my son was scared to death at the start of going on an alligator he had such a good time he wants to do it again! I would certainly recommend this to anyone tarvelling to Orlando and my only regret is that I hadn't done it before!