Orlando and the Theme Parks

Sea World

Orlando - Day 10

After leaving the car, we take the flight to Orlando (via Phoenix, where we barely miss the only connecting flight of the day to Orlando). Once we arrive, we take a taxi to the Radisson Parkway, in the Kissimmee area. A good hotel, the rooms are spread out in cottage-style buildings, right in the tropical garden. A nice pool with small waterfalls, well equipped. Also, a few hundred meters from the hotel there's an organized commercial area with numerous restaurants, where at moderate prices you can eat anything. Because of the time difference we lose the whole day and arrive late in the evening.

The first park we'll visit will be SeaWorld; a recommendation, don't buy the park tickets directly from Italy, maybe through tour operators, because they charge you at least double, including the private transfer, which is totally useless because most hotels have a private shuttle at set times for the major parks. The entrance price is about $45 per park.

Orlando, SeaWorld - Day 11

The first thing that strikes you in Orlando is the incredible humidity: in the morning all the hotel windows were completely wet, the sky gray with mist, the sun only came out around nine. We take our shuttle that in 15 minutes takes us to the entrance of SeaWorld. We get the tickets and…off we go, to discover the first park. In my opinion it's the park that deserves the most among those we'll visit: you can see practically almost all marine creatures, from seals, to dolphins that with a bit of luck you can even touch, to the predators of the sea, to the very rare manatees, crocodiles, etc., but what strikes you most of all are the environments where the animals live, built perfectly as if it were their true natural habitat.

For example, when we go to see the penguins, it really feels like being at the South Pole, you walk among walls of ice (with shorts on it's not exactly the best), and in the various pools white whales swim. The seals have at their disposal an immense tropical aquarium with islets and pools, and an underwater tunnel leads to see the sharks… it almost feels like touching them. The shows with the seals and the whales are beautiful, but the highlight of the day is the show with the killer whales, gigantic animals perfectly tame that do unthinkable things. There are also diving and water skiing shows. An unforgettable day.

Epcot Center

The usual humidity, the usual mist and the usual shuttle, and here we are at Epcot. We take the super modern Sky Train with automatic pilot that takes us to the entrance. The park is dominated by the famous sphere, where with a little train, which takes you inside it, the whole evolution of humanity is explained through a journey through time. Also nice is the journey into prehistory with the dinosaurs and our ancestors, except for the 15-minute introductory film in English where we understood very little. Then we dive into the discovery of the coral reef through a kind of submarine. After some rather banal attractions, lots of sweating from the heat and some lines, we go to see the virtual cinema, complete with 3D glasses: very fun, it feels like being the protagonist of the film and everything you see seems incredibly real (A MUST TRY).

To finish we go around the world in the WORLD SHOWCASE, where practically all the main nations of the world are recreated with their monuments: from Italy to Germany, from Mexico to China, from Morocco to Canada. There's a lot of walking but by now exhaustion prevails.!!!

Magic Kingdom

The last park we'll visit is the famous Magic Kingdom, every child's dream. Luckily we arrive early, right at opening time, because only in the first hour can you get around the park without incredible lines. In fact we manage to do more in the first hour than in the rest of the day. The attractions are similar to those you find at Gardaland, like the canoe ride in Africa (except here it's done with real boats, where the crazy pilots of the park start screaming like madmen every time you see some fake animal). Nice instead is the main avenue of the park, where a turn-of-the-century town is recreated, which ends right in front of the gigantic Cinderella's Castle. The roller coasters are impressive, there are several and of all heights. The park is divided into 5 areas, from the world of fantasy and fairy tales to that of the future.

The best attractions are: The Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (a runaway train on rails), Space Mountain (roller coaster), Pirates of the Caribbean (very similar to the one at Gardaland), Carousel of Progress (a representation of progress in our homes) and almost all those found in "Tomorrowland". Around three in the afternoon the grand parade of all the Disney characters begins, one of the most anticipated moments of the day. Watch out for the great heat, which is very tiring.