Monday 12 August 2013

Florida fun Part 1 - Introduction and Seaworld


Hello my 8 lovely readers! I'm finally back to the world of blogging after an amazing two weeks in Florida and a whole load of hectic/getting over jet-lag week and 4 days after that. I actually got back on the 31st July so it's given me plenty of time to prepare for the follow up post but truth be told, there can never be enough time for the thousands of photos I took, picking and choosing the best ones and being indecisive on how I was going to put my adventure onto my blog. With the amount I have to show everyone, it's been pretty difficult on deciding how I was going to do it but I've finally decided I'm going to do a post every day this week (sometimes maybe even two in one day) on each park we went to and an extra one for the general photos of my holiday. I didn't want to confuse people and I certainly don't want my posts to look all squashed and messy so I thought showing them separately would be much easier. We went to 7 parks so luckily, that's worked out just right.

Words can't describe how much I enjoyed myself despite the exhaustion we faced from day to day. We were up and out of the villa most days at 8am-9am ish which meant a full, fun packed day at each theme park/water park. Whenever I go on holiday with my family (which is all the time actually) there's always guaranteed to be so many hilarious moments and it definitely lived up to the usual except this time I brought my best friend, Chloe along with me and it was really splendid to share my time and our experience of it together, I loved every minute.

America has its pro's and con's and I'm not going to bother listing them all because frankly it would take too long and nobody would probably be interested anyway as my opinion isn't always going to be the same for everyone else etc etc. The main pro is the scenery and the houses and the shopping malls, wow. Disneyworld is possibly the most magical place on earth and everything is so clean and pretty around Florida. The villa we stayed in (which is pictured above) was just pure luxury, it had everything we could wish for and more. Such a quiet, peaceful location with wildlife around us and a huge lake filled with alligators (eek!). The third pro was the over-friendly, comical Americans. For some that might not be their cup of tea and sometimes even for me they could be a tiny bit OTT (and the staff at the theme parks were a bit in your face, repeatedly shouting their rules when you're trying to get round in time) but I found the way they did things compared to back in England so fascinating. Their ways, their actions and their lifestyle are completely different from what I've seen and I don't think people will understand what I mean until they go to America themselves. One of the things I was disappointed with was the food, I had this high expectation of it and it really didn't live up to its name apart from the meals we had on a night out at the restaurants. The second con is the storms, I expected them but every single day we had to face wasting a good half hour on rushing for shelter and waiting for rides/shows to reopen! Plus, that thunder and lightning can be quite scary at times. I'm not a lover. 

It was definitely a different type of holiday for me as I usually go to a European country every year packed with plenty of constant sunshine, sunbathing all day and then going out on a night but in no doubt of my mind would I think twice about doing it all over again. I created memories I will never ever forget and for that, my heart belongs to the USA!

The first park we went to was Seaworld which was one of my definite favourites. The few rides they did have were top class and the dolphin, whale and sea lion shows they put on were the most well planned out, fantastic shows I've seen to date. Every bit of sea life they have there are so clever and clearly well trained but it's the fact they interact with the workers just like humans do that makes it so enjoyable and watchable. Here's just a few pictures I picked out of the one hundred and something I took on that day...

The top left photo is me, Chloe, my Mum and my Grandma outside the Seaworld entrance. The top right photo is me and Chloe with some of the Seaworld performers who also played a huge part in putting on a great show. The bottom left photo is the pretty, colourful cave in the Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin although the scenery was much better than the actual ride itself which was pretty pointless. The bottom right is the Manta , which was an upside down rollercoaster whilst laid on your stomach. I have to say I've never dared go on rollercoasters, especially like this one but I told myself I was going to make the most of it whilst in Florida and I'm so glad I did as it was one of the best rides I went on during my time there!

The top left photo is the setting in the brand new Antarctica area of Seaworld. Although it was 90 degrees outside, just by looking at this part you'd think you were in an icy cold location and that's what I loved about it. The top right photo was actually an icy cold location and it hit us so forcefully at 0 degrees when we'd been in the humid heat all day but the cute penguins made up for that. The bottom left photo is a humongous Walrus at the Sea Lion and Otter show, I seriously wouldn't want to come across that on a dark night. And finally, the bottom right photo is a seal calling for its fish, we were laughing at how eager and in charge it was. Must have been hungry!

It really tickled me how snotty-nosed this Seal looked, must have been the father of the family.

Flamingo's were parading around the entrance as we walked in, half of them were standing on one leg and it was just this one who decided to show off with the normal way of strutting your stuff.

This was the Sea Lion show; Clyde and Seamore take Pirate Island. As you can see, it provided plenty of giggles for the audience. The seals did exactly as the performers said and were their partners in crime. The seals even had the ability to make the chosen members of the audience feel intimidated. Talent at its best!

The left photo is another snap shot of the attitude the seals have and the right was a picture I took of the stunning whale (Shamu) show whilst he was diving into mid air and splashing the entire crowd.




This has to be my favourite picture I took on the day, it was the most adorable thing I've ever witnessed. A young baby whale and its mother sharing a kiss. You can't put a price on love!


I have to be completely honest here and say my favourite show was the dolphin show, they're just so elegant and the way they all dive in sync is incredible. They're cheeky AND cute at the same time and I really wanted to take one home with me. 

Hope you enjoyed the first round of photos, be sure to keep a look out for the next lot which will be the second park we went to; Animal Kingdom!

Lots of love...

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