I am back in London now and missing Florida. Last week was very different from many holidays I have taken before because it was so packed with things to do. I tend to prefer the kind of holiday that lets you relax rather than fill the days with more effort than you would usually put in at the office. Orlando, however, was very different. Although the days were filled, it was thoroughly enjoyable and felt like no effort whatsoever. I’ve really found a new love of roller coasters, and it’s awoken a childlike interest in theme parks. I think the enjoyment of the theme parks was the element I was most surprised by. Perhaps all these years of believing I wouldn’t enjoy them meant I found them all the more entertaining. Of course, there was the added fun of six people to holiday with. It’s a time that I won’t forget easily.

What also struck me was that the ‘have a nice day’ mentality/philosophy, which I often find saccharine and insincere in other American cities, was so right in Florida that it made me readdress my thoughts on that whole approach to life. It adds to the whole experience and really proves that just being nice to others can help make somebody else’s day all the brighter.

So, please, have a nice day, and any suggestions of alternative American locations for a holiday would be most welcome.

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Today is our last day in Florida. On Saturday, PY and I left the villa for the Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Studios, Florida.

I thought Epcot and Busch were good, but this has been fantastic. Jaws, Earthquake and Back to the Future at Universal Studios were fantastic (Terminator and Men in Black not so great). In particular, I have to say how much I enjoyed the Jaws ride, which is entirely made by the actors who are the guides on your boat tour, and they really do make it fantastic.

Islands of Adventure has also been wonderful. Given my newfound love of roller coasters, I have ridden the Hulk and Duelling Dragons several times, and I can heartedly recommend them. The most amazing ride, however, isn’t an actual roller coaster. The Spider-Man ride is an indoor ride with projected 3D imagery, offering the most superb ride I have been on while here in Florida. I am thankful we were staying at a Universal hotel, because the hotel keycard works as a Fastpass as many times as you want, so we’ve done Spider-Man a number of times. If you go to Universal’s Islands of Adventure, don’t miss it under any circumstances.

And we managed to see the Black Eyed Peas at Universal Studios Mardi Gras on Saturday, which was a fun bonus to the whole adventure.

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It’s Friday when I am writing this, but I am not sure when I will get around to publishing these entries from Florida. I am on the verge of applying for a green card so that I can stay here in the sunshine and ride roller coasters all day.

Wednesday was Epcot day. It was the first Florida theme park that I have ever been to, and it was amazing. Last Tuesday evening, we went to Downtown Disney to eat. As we drove past the large Disney World signs, PY was grinning uncontrollably. He has been here several times before and was excited to be back. After twelve years together, I have to admit that I have never seen him like that – it was a fantastic experience. Oddly, by the time we drove under the same sign on Wednesday morning on our way to Epcot, I was – similarly – grinning. We made our way to Test Track and got our Fastpass before seeing Ellen’s piece on energy (which is a little simplistic and to be seen in the context of being sponsored by an oil company). We then went round several of the other experiences, which I won’t list here as there are many good guides to them. 

Eventually, it was our time for Test Track, but it kept breaking down, and we waited an hour to ride (the non-Fastpass queue was three hours by this point). This is where I admit I have never been any good at rides, roller coasters and fairgrounds. I get nervous, so I tend to stay away. Anyway, after all the waiting, I was very apprehensive about riding Test Track, only to be a little disappointed. The screams that you hear as people hurtle around the side of the building do lead you to think you are going on the ultimate thrill, but it’s really just an amusing diversion.

Then I went to ride Mission Space (which PY wouldn’t ride because it, apparently, spins you round to generate the weightless experience, and he isn’t any good at those kinds of rides). The build-up to this ride is incredible (all the warnings about motion sickness managed to put two of our crew members off at the very last minute, leaving only two of us in the pod). It was great, but it wasn’t fantastic, and it was over very quickly. And that’s when I realised where the fear comes from. It’s the clever build-ups and staging. The rides themselves seem quite tame to me.

Now, don’t get me wrong, the Epcot rides were great. World Showcase is fun; a lot of imagination has gone into the park, and the fireworks are impressive. It’s a great day out, and it’s the place where I overcame my fear of these rides.

So by yesterday, when we went to Busch Gardens, I was happier to ride the roller coasters. And I did – even the one where your feet hang down. And I would ride them again and again. I’ve discovered that I am thoroughly enjoying the rush of riding. It’s not something I had expected to get out of this trip, but I have now uncovered a whole new world, and I fear I’ll become addicted.

Go now and ride them all.

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Well, PY and I arrived in Florida yesterday afternoon. Security at Orlando International Airport was quite strict: they re-scan your baggage on the way into the country, and you must walk through the metal detectors again. I find this really odd (it happened to me in Raleigh last December), and it’s so time-consuming. Don’t the American border guards trust the security measures at Gatwick? It took nearly two hours to get through the airport, and I don’t want to mention the bizarre situation where you pick your bags up and then place them on another conveyor belt to appear elsewhere in the airport sometime later.

One of the things that had been concerning me was the drive. I have never driven in the US, and I have never driven an automatic car. And with less than 24 hours since I picked up the car, I am a convert to the automatic, but not to this side of the road. Don’t you people know that the left is the only decent side to drive on? We didn’t pick up a fancy car (because I wanted something small, but the Avis guy’s idea of small and mine are very different – this is a big car), but it seems to drive well (the ABS may be a little over the top), and I like this whole one-foot approach. We got a little lost (by which I know we took the wrong road, but – somehow – that meant we missed the toll roads, so it worked out well). But it poured down with rain. It was torrential. I was quite shocked by the power of the rain, and it might have put me off the drive, but it was OK because everybody drives so slowly here (even though they’re all breaking the speed limit). I have been quite amazed by that little fact. Six wide lanes and everybody popping along at sixty miles an hour. Of course, I shouldn’t complain because it’s safer, but what must American drivers think of the M6 (when it’s running)?

So far, we’ve been pretty lazy: shopping, the pool, and eating. Tomorrow, I will visit my first Disney theme park in the US. We’re off to Epcot, and I am quite excited. One thing has become very obvious, though – Gym Buddy isn’t going to be happy with me. There’s so much cheap food here (a great deal of it fried), and I want to eat most of it. Oh dear.

My first impressions of Florida – warm and wet with long security queues, big cars and slower drivers than at home. And lots and lots of food.

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