Thursday 24th March

We had an early meeting at Heathrow Airport. We all arrived eager to start our holiday, introductions were made, and paperwork checked, and we said our goodbyes were made to our families and loved ones. The adventure starts here😊. We all made our way through the airport security with ease, excited to board the plane. We settled in for the long flight. Choosing movies, games, and music from the onboard entertainment. Chatting to crew to pass the time was a favourite along with the variety of meals that all came our way, and finally watching the plane come into land via the onboard camera. A special treat for those of us in the group that chose it was a trip to see the captain in the cockpit with a go in the captain’s seat. This led to smiles all round as we disembarked. We still were not finished, with a walk-through Orlando Airport to passport control where we all had our fingerprints taken. Then on to collect the car, while we waited, we bought some snacks and drinks. We had a 30-minute drive to our villa, our home for the next fortnight. Our eyes were full of excitement, still some 17 hours later after first setting off together at what the villa had to offer. Pool, Jacuzzi, Cinema Room, Giant chess, and many games to try. Bedrooms chosen we all settled in and went to bed ready to see in a new day.

Friday 25th March

We had a lie in and relaxing day today to recover from the journey. We started the day by finishing our unpacking and started the day with breakfast together. We were all excited to enjoy the sun, and pool area with swimming, challenging each other to chess and shooting the ball through the basketball hoop from the pool. We had a round of spotting the friendly lizard that scurried all over the place to naming the various birds that came to visit us that are native to America. We had a leisurely lunch before we headed off to the local supermarket to collect supplies of food and drink. When we got there, we wandered around with an arrangement to meet at the Starbucks café at the entrance to the store. We then returned to the villa for more sun, swimming and then a dinner of roast chicken, vegetables, roasted potatoes, and gravy with added corn bread to get a taste of some real American cuisine. Zootopia was chosen for the evening film in the villas very own cinema room to round of the evening before bedtime.

Saturday 26th March

We were all up and dressed, with breakfast eaten and eager to go on our trip to Wild Florida. A 50-minute journey in our bus to our first experience riding on an airboat through the everglades. At times we got up to speeds of 35 mph racing though the natural waters with the wind blowing our hair and the noise of the airboat stopping conversation, our guide Chuck😊 winding through the plant life stopping at various times pointing out the Alligators that live in and around lake Cyprus. Our next stop after we left the airboat was to the gift shop with some of us trying frozen bananas covered in chocolate and sprinkles – delicious😊 A quick treat before lunch. We then wandered through the Gator Park looking with amazement at the many native and exotic animals before some of us went to feed the Alligators. A highlight of the day was when we got to experience holding and stroking a young Alligator called Fluffy. Some of us that wanted to, and were brave enough, even got to hold a snake called Red. We came away with photos as a keepsake to show our friends and families back home. We then made our way through the park exploring the many animals that Wild Florida had to show us. Before we headed back to our bus for a drive through the safari park. We saw Zebra, Bison, Wildebeest, and Ostrich to name a few with some of them walking awfully close to our bus. We ended the trip with a visit to the Giraffes where we were able to hand feed them from a very tall feeding platform. We then returned to the villa where some of us had a quick swim before dinner, with a chat about the day and a relaxing drink before bed.

Sunday 27th March

And we’re off to Universal Studios our first trip to one of the Disney Parks this holiday. We met Donald Duck and Daisy as soon as we arrived, and we were all excited to see more. Our first stop was to visit the Muppet 3D arena, we all looked silly together in our 3D glasses, but we loved the show as the characters came into the audience. Our next trip for those of us that wanted to, was the ‘Tower of Terror’ where we hurtled up and down the haunted elevator lift. Great, brilliant let’s do it again we all chorused as we came out grinning to meet the others. The rest of us went to see the Beauty and the Beast show where we got to see the magical tale swirl to life in the lush stage performance with all the songs and colourful costumes and gorgeous scenery, a wonderful experience. We next found a place to sit in the shade from the glorious sunshine to have lunch and rest ourselves before we head of to the Indiana Jones show along the way meeting characters from Monsters Inc. and Toy Story. The Indiana Jones show was spectacular showing us all how the stunts were done in the movie. The show was action packed leaving us all wide eyed. We then walked to the ‘Cars’ show stopping for a cool drink and ice lolly along the way and bumping into Chipmunks and Mickey and Minnie Mouse where we were able to pose for photos with our favourite characters. What excitement we all had😊 Our final trip was to go on the ‘Aerosmith’ ride where a group of us climbed aboard the Rock ‘n’ Roller coaster, racing though the freeways of Los Angeles to the brilliant tunes of Aerosmith. An exhilarating ride with photos bought to show family and friends when we get home. We left the park happy and drove back to the villa for a swim in the pool before dinner with a movie to end the perfect day.

Monday 28th March

We all got up at our leisure today and spent time relaxing by sunbathing, swimming, and playing basketball in the pool. After lunch we took a trip to the shops to stock up on our favourite things. We returned to the villa for another swim before dinner. Our special pudding is Mickey Mouse shaped waffles. After dinner we all watch a movie in the cinema before getting a good night’s sleep before our trip out tomorrow.

Tuesday 29th March

We were all looking forward to our trip to Magic Kingdom today and we had lots of chatter and questions about shows at breakfast. We arrived and used the monorail from the car park to the entrance of Magic Kingdom. As we entered we were greeted by Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Daisy where we took our precious photos. We then headed off to ‘Tomorrow Land’ where we entered ‘Buzz Lightyear Space Rangers’ and competed to win points and defeat the Eul Emperor Zurg as we journeyed through a galactic space battle. Our next visit was to the speedway where we all got to choose if we wanted to drive the cars around the racetrack. It was an exciting experience. From there we headed of for a quick lunch at Cosmic Rays Starlight Café before we went in different directions. Those of us looking for the faster rides headed of to ‘Space Mountain’ where we blasted off on a high-speed journey into the darkest reaches of outer space on a roller coaster ride. The rest of us moved onto watch Mickeys Philarmagic show, a lovely 3D movie where the characters come into the crowd to see us. We then made our way to the many adventures of ‘Winnie the Pooh’ where the rest of the group re-joined us travelling through 100-acre wood with tales of Winnie the Pooh and his friends. The day had been exciting, but extremely hot so we decided to shop for ice-lollies and cold drinks at Pecos Bill Tall Tale Inn and Café before our last adventures. Some of us chose to travel on the riverboat down the rivers of America showing us the wild west. The rest of us chose Splash Mountain a log flume ride where we got wet as we rode through the mountains. It was exciting and pictures where again we bought photos as proof for family and friends back home. From there we met at ‘Ye Olde Christmas Shop’ to make our way back to the bus but not before we bought stamps to send postcards home to loved ones telling them about our adventures. A wonderful day out.

Wednesday 30th March

Today we visit Epcot and head for ‘Club Cool’ where we try different flavours of Coca Cola from around the world. Our next visit, for some of us, was to ‘Soarin around the World’ where we were able to soar high in the sky and feel the wind across our faces during a hang-gliding flight across the globe. The rest of us walked around various stalls from around the world visiting shops and arts from the various countries on show. On the way around we met Donald Duck and were able to take our precious photos to take home with us. Our next stop was lunch in the American Regal Eagle Smoke House before we all walk through the rest of the countries meeting Goofy, Pluto and Mary Poppins. We stop for welcome cold drinks and ice-lollies before our final few rides which were: -

·         Spaceship Earth where we explored the history of innovations from the stone age to the digital age

·         Living With the Land where we travelled through the greenhouses of the land to see the tasty side of science showing us new foods and ways to grow it. Finally

·         Mission Space where we could experience NASA style training with a simulation space launch.

We then all travelled back to the villa for a cooling swim, while some of us listened to music before dinner is prepared.

Thursday 31st March

Today we had a lie in and a late breakfast before heading off to the shops to buy gifts for our loved ones and souvenirs for ourselves. We then went back home to the villa to relax. Some of us watched movies, some of us swam in the pool, some of us played chess in the garden and some of us hunted down various wildlife that appeared in the garden. After dinner we watched a movie while having some popcorn to round the day off.

Friday 1st April

We’re off to Animal Kingdom today, as we started our walk through, we see Spoonbills and Anteaters and we pose for pictures at the famous Tree of Life which has all types of animals carved into it. Before we moved onto different activities, some of us went to see ‘It’s Tough to be a Bug’, a 3D movie where creepie crawlies from a bugs life come into the audience and visit us. The rest of us visit the Kali River Rapids where we got to travel through turbulent rivers of the jungle on a wet raft ride. We got soaked but we loved it. Our next adventure is the Avatar Flight of Passage, where we flew on the back of a mountain banshee on a 3D ride above the moon. While the other group took a walk around the park and saw Gorillas climbing up high wires and watched the Disney Kite tails where there was a celebration with live performers, to music and coloured kites of all shapes and sizes. A great start to our day but we were hungry and moved onto lunch at the Flame Tree Barbecue. After lunch we stopped at the Discovery Trading Company where we listened to music and did some impromptu dancing before moving onto the Kilimanjaro Safari in an open-air vehicle spotting animals roaming free. Some of the animals we saw were Crocodiles, Zebra, African Painted Dogs, Giraffes, Lions, Spring Bok, Elephants and many more. We left the safari excited and headed off to buy ice cream before we moved on to our final visit of the day, a Celebration of Festival for The Lion King where we experienced the music, songs and pageantry of the Lion King show. A great performance enjoyed by all.

Saturday 2nd April

Today was a day of total relaxation, to do whatever we wanted around the villa. We watched movies, swam in the pool, challenged each other to games of snooker and chess as well as pool basketball. We also wrote our postcards to loved ones and friends at home.

Sunday 3rd April

Today we visited the shops for our last purchases of essentials we needed before heading back to the villa pool. It was lovely and sunny, so we wanted to spend time outside. Tonight, we headed out for a meal and got to see a Pirate show, with Acrobats and Swashbuckling tricks. A great evening where, after, we were able to get photos and purchase souvenirs before heading home to bed.

Monday 4th April

Today we took a trip to NASA, Kennedy Space Centre. When we arrived, we headed straight for the Rocket Gardens where we saw many rockets such as Pathfinder Space Shuttle, Mercury Redstone, and the actual real Delta ll all in a beautiful setting. We all then got the bus to the Apollo/Saturn Centre where we got to stand under the gigantic Saturn V spaceship which was the largest spaceship ever built. We also got to see the Mission control room reliving the launch of the first crewed NASA mission to Orbit the moon in 1968. We wandered around the various exhibits that showed all the technology and spacesuits that kept the astronauts safe. We got to take photos on the moonscape with the American flag which showed us where Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong planted the flag on the moon and got to leave our footprints on the moon and touch a piece of the moon with more photos to show our families. We went into the lunar Theatre where we were able to watch the Apollo ll Moon landing mission. We loved it, there were billions of stars, it felt like we were travelling in space. We were able to experience various exhibits by getting into the rockets and some of us got to try the Astronaut Training simulators. Finally, we met a real Astronaut called Dr. John-David Bartoe who went to the moon July 29th, 1985. He went as part of the Spacelab 2 mission. We got his autograph and photos to show our loved ones back home. It was an enjoyable day. On our way home we stopped for food at the Cracker Barrel before heading home to bed.

Tuesday 5th April

We all had a lie in today with a leisurely breakfast before we headed off to the shops to buy the last of our souvenirs. We then returned home for lunch and our last swim in the pool before we start our packing for our trip home tomorrow. We have had a lovely time and swapped emails with others that we have become friends with from the holiday, we shall all miss each other.

Wednesday 6th April

It is our last day today, some of us head to the pool for our last swim. We all do the last of our packing before lunch and the return trip to the airport. We returned our bus and headed to the check in desk where we dropped of all our cases and headed to the departure gate where we settled and waited for our flight, not before some of us spend the last of our money on more souvenirs though. Once on the flight we settled down choosing movies, games, and music from the onboard entertainment before most of us fall asleep. At last, we landed and we made our way through the airport security to collect our bags and then on to meet up with our loved ones whom have come to collect us for our onward trip home, we all say goodbye to each other and make our way home with time to tell family all about our wonderful trip to Orlando and the Kennedy Space Centre.