My first American holiday!
On March 11, 2017, I boarded my first flight from Dublin Airport to Orlando International (MCO). Stopping along the way in Washington DC the adrenaline and excitement began to set in. With the trip being not only my first trip to America but also my first time away from home, as well as my longest flight to date because I have never been on an aeroplane for more than 4 hours max.
Upon arriving in Washington DC, I was greeted with an enormous American flag that of course had to be my first photograph of the trip! With an intense 5 hours delay I was raring to get the final 2 hour flight to Orlando, eventually arriving at our resort Westgate Lakes shortly after midnight. After a long day of travelling it only meant one thing and that was to get some sleep ready for the two week adventure that lay ahead.
Waking up nice and early, I was ready to go and see what Orlando had to offer, I always longed to see International Drive, Universal Studios and Seaworld from I was young and to experience these locations with my partner, Chris was perfect. Initially, our first day was getting settled into the time zone and getting our bearings with the area, even though Chris had been to Orlando plenty of times before.
We started on International Drive, being the tourist that I am I was taking in all the scenery, the upside down house, the wax works, unbelievable looking diners, a huge McDonalds that had a pizza counter, a dessert counter and an arcade! I was blown away at how different the way of life is in America. However, the traffic flow, I have no idea how the locals drive there it is hectic, cars come from all directions.
As the adventure went along I visited Seaworld at least five times, Mako being my first ever rollercoaster and one of my top 5 favourites. Visiting Universal four times, twice in both Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios, with the Hulk rollercoaster being fantastic until about the 10th time the rollercoaster decided to stop on the last section, meaning we were stuck on the ride for at least 30 minutes in the blazing hot sun causing us to be burnt to a crisp, however it was a story to tell when we got home. In Universal Studios, the Despicable Me ride had to be my favourite as who doesn’t love the Minions?
As the days went on we visited Busch Gardens in Tampa Bay and what a theme park it is, I honestly didn’t want to leave between feeding the kangaroos and giraffes, to fearing for my life on the Sheikra rollercoaster, even though when I came off the ride I wanted to queue for another hour to do it all over again! To near losing my teeth on the Cheetah Hunt because I was smiling that much and being upside down on Montu. Busch Gardens is definitely the theme park I loved the most, I can’t wait to get back!
Alongside all the theme parks, we did a lot off walking and cycling around our resort Westgate Lakes, as well as some shopping in the Premium Outlets. Little did I know the two weeks had flown in so fast and it was time to fly back home to Northern Ireland. However, I can’t wait to get back to Orlando in the upcoming years as there is so much more I want to do and see!
