Florida 2009

On September 29th we left Coventry on a National Express coach bound for Gatwick. After my poor experience with National Express when I went to Spain earlier this year, we decided to give them another shot. Unfortunately, once again, it wasn’t without its problems – two drivers tried to operate the lift, neither of whom had had training, although they got there eventually – it seems that the National Express has adapted its vehicles in order to comply with the DDA but has failed to train its staff. However two of the seats were removed making room for my chair on board, but that said the driver failed to securely clamp my chair down meaning it was sliding around for the entire journey. As I was sitting at the very front of the coach this was quite a risky position to be in!

We left the coach at the north terminal and booked into the Sofitel for two nights, which was lovely and our room was very spacious and well adapted. The next day (now one day before our flight) we took a bus over to the south terminal, which are all low-floor and accessible by ramp, and checked us and our bags in for our flight using twilight check in. We then went on to Frankie & Benny’s in the south terminal before taking a bus back to the north.

The next morning, after a fatty cooked breakfast (start as you mean to go on), we caught the bus to south terminal. I should say that usually a monorail takes people from north to south, but as maintenence work was taking place, shuttle busses ran instead. Once at the departure lounge we made our way to the Virgin V room, which is a new departure lounge exclusively for Virgin customers where refreshments are served and there’s internet connection, computer games and a kid’s play area – it’s a good place to chill out and keep kids entertained in before your flight.

When it was time (actually our flight was delayed by about two hours, but we stayed relaxed in the V room) we made our way to the gate and down the tunnel towards our plane. Once we were right outside the plane door, I was lifted into a more “skinny” aisle chair in which I was manoeuvred down the aisle of the plane to our seat in upper class, no less! I was then lifted from the aisle chair to my seat. Upper class was a completely new venture for me. It was a dream; seats that can be reclined and tilted at the touch of a button, gourmet-cooked meals served with silver-wear and on white table cloths (which I quickly got gravy all over), a footstall to put your feet up on and a large-screen television. When we arrived neither of us felt stiff, achy and exhausted like we always have done after such long flights (eight hours).

Once in Orlando we were transferred to our hotel by coach (which had a big lift at the back and a driver who knew how to use it!) and an hour later we were at our hotel, the magnificent Walt Disney World Swan. We dumped our bags in our room (which again was very spacious and wheelchair-friendly) and straightaway made our way to The Boardwalk which is about two minute walk from our hotel. Here there are restaurants, fast food outlets, shops, and a nice view of the Epcot globe. And we bought our first hotdogs and watched Epcot’s World of Illumination fireworks.

A big proportion of our holiday was spent in the Disney parks. Walt Disney World comprises of four theme parks: Magic Kingdom which is aimed at families and many of the rides there are based around Disney classics such as Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and Pirates of the Caribbean. We spent two days here – it’s a big one!

EPCOT is a little more “educational” I suppose (but still fun of course). It has two “lands” – Future World and World Showcase, and we spent a day in each. Future World has the globe in it (which looks like a massive golf ball basically). Around it there are many rides each exploring a different element of our lives; there’s Universe of Energy which takes you back to the time when dinosaurs ruled the world, The Seas with Nemo and Friends has some big aquariums in it – and we love Turtle Talk with Crush (how do they do that?), old favourites Journey into Imagination with Figment and Honey I Shrunk the Audience, and the unmissable Soarin’ in which you “soar” around the world, enjoying aerial views of waterfalls, snow-capped mountains and pieces of world-famous architecture.

The World Showcase has miniature representations of about a dozen different countries, and each representation is made as authentic as possible, right down to the finest detail. For instance everyone who works in France are actually French; you can find fragrance shops and shops selling fine French wine, eat French delicacies in the restaurant there and indulge yourself in the French patisserie. All this in on a little “French” street in front of a big-miniature Eiffel Tower. Other countries include Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Italy, Japan, USA, Morocco, UK and Canada.

MGM Studios (now called Hollywood Studios) celebrates Disney’s movie-making history. The Great Movie Ride takes you through scenes from Alien, Indiana Jones, Mary Poppins and Wizard of Oz while the Backlot Tour takes you behind the scenes. Lights, Motors, Action – Extreme Stunt Show is brilliant, showing you how the stunts in films like Gone in 60 Seconds are done. I liked the improvements to the Animation Tour and I indulged my soft spot for Voyage of the Little Mermaid. The new 3D Toy Story ride was well worth the 90 minutes we waited for it! We also spent two days here.

Animal Kingdom is Disney’s newest park. Here you can see the animals up-close on Kilimanjaro Safaris and Flights of Wonder or go on Kali River Rapids. We really enjoy Finding Nemo the Musical and It’s Tough to be a Bug 3D. However wild animals don’t really do much for us so we only spent one day here. Moreover the unevenness of the walkways makes the park VERY wheelchair unfriendly.

WDW at night is an awesome thing. Magic Kingdom has Spectromagic which is a parade featuring 46 characters from Disney films, Spectromen, butterflies and dragon flies adorned in one million points of light. The park’s fireworks display, Wishes, is amazing as is Epcot’s firework display called Illuminations. Unfortunately we didn’t get to see MGM’s Fantasmic this time around, but I can tell you it’s worth seeing – taking place in a big amphitheatre, it’s a dramatic show featuring lots of lasers and pyrotechnics.

Walt Disney World also has two water parks and some award-winning gold courses, but I can’t swim and neither am I all that great at golf. To relax we spent a few days out and about in Downtown Disney where we ate at the themed restaurant, T-Rex (very nice indeed) and enjoyed ice-creams at Ghirardelli (the Cadbury of the USA). Later in the holiday we saw Cirque du Soleil, of which I’m a HUGE fan. I would recommend a ride on the massive air balloon here. AMC 24 Theatre Complex was also somewhere we went on a few of our “easy days”.

We also spent time around our hotel, which is so perfect we wouldn’t stay anywhere else. It was the first time we’d been to WDW in October (we usually go in December/January) and the weather was as lovely as we’d hoped (in the 90s for most of the three week’s we were there). So it was perfect sun-soaking-by-the-pool weather. A few times we wondered over to Beaches and Cream at Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club (you could walk here from our hotel) where we ate some of the nicest deserts I have even eaten in my whole life. Our room rate included wireless Internet access so I took my laptop along so I could keep up with Open University work, talk to friends and family on Facebook and upload my photos. I also downloaded Skype with which I could make calls and send texts at bargain prices and used Sky’s Remote Record.

Getting about WDW was easy – this is one of the main advantages to staying onsite. Free WDW busses took us to the Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom and Downtown Disney. These ran about every ten minutes and all busses are now wheelchair accessible. Because of their close proximity to our hotel, busses didn’t run to Epcot or MGM; instead they were both accessible by water taxi (boat!) or on foot. We didn’t take a water taxi at all – both parks are only about twenty minutes away on foot and it’s such a good way to start the day. We used Mears Cabs to take us further afield, who have wheelchair accessible vehicles available on request.

Further afield” comprised of Universal and Sea World; my two favourite parks. We spent two days in each.

Sea world is the only park to offer a discount (100%) to carer, and whilst we were there they offered the second day free. We saw all the shows – they are all good here (apart from the slightly naff Blue Horizons and A’Lure, The Call of The Ocean). We love Pets Ahoy! which features dogs, cats, birds, rats, pigs and skunks doing loads of tricks – very cute and fun. The Clyde and Seamore show is an old favourite of ours where we’re entertained by two super-talented sea lions! And there’s the awesome Shamu of course. In the exhibits you can get up-close to dolphins, killer whales, sting rays, sharks and manatees. We also had a good wonder around the Clydesdale gardens, Cypress Bakery, the shops in Key West and Shamu’s sweetshop!

Universal is my ultimate favourite park; the rides and shows seem to be constantly renewed and updated. Before you even get to the park, the City Walk that leads up to it is an attraction in itself – shops, brand names, a cinema, restaurants such as Hard Rock Cafe – all very cool. Once in the park, Terminator 3D remains a favourite of ours and the Horror Make Up show is so funny! We had lunch at our favourite Mel’s Dine-in, an American diner featuring music from the 50s and 60s. We went on to Adventure of ET, Jaws, Disaster, Beetlejuice’s Graveyard Revue and the awesome Twister which simulates a real tornado and Shrek 4D.

We had a wonder around the new Univesal park, Islands of Adventure, but this features a lot of thrill rides – the sort of rides I avoid as I have back problems and a mild heart condition, and my mum has neck problems! Even with having to stay off the bigger thrill rides there still loads and loads to do in all of the parks...

Until next time (this was our eighth visit to WDW)...