There are lots of different places to spend your direct holidays to America but there is only one Universal Orlando Resort. Totally separate from the rest of Orlando, the resort has two theme parks, three themed hotels; the Hard Rock Hotel, Loews Portofino Bay Hotel and Loews Royal

Universal Parks & Resorts

Pacific Resort, and the magnificent night-time entertainment complex, Universal Citywalk. The whole family will love being part of the entertainment here as they swing above the streets with Spiderman, soar high above Hogwarts with Harry Potter, help Agent J defeat the aliens and help Shrek in his fight to save Princess Fiona.

Mardi Gras Orlando

In the spring of 2012 the exciting Big Easy comes to Universal Orlando Resort for Mardi Gras 2012. This is a family-friendly version of the famous New Orleans street party which sees the Universal Studios transformed for the celebrations. The Mardi Gras celebrations include an amazing parade with performers dressed in colourful costumes, authentic New Orleans bands, live concerts by popular artists including Kelly Clarkson and the chance to try some delicious Cajun cuisine. To enjoy the Mardi Gras celebrations you will need to book your direct holidays to Orlando between February 11th and April 14th next year.

The Mardi Gras parade meanders down the street of Universal Studios where street performers and visitors join together to celebrate this amazing occasion, not forgetting to collect handfuls of beads on the way. The beautiful hand-made floats are built by Blaine Kern Artists, the same company that designs the floats for the Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

The parade eventually reaches Universal Studios French Quarter Courtyard, the heart of Mardis Gras, where guests are entertained by authentic New Orleans bands who perform blues, jazz and zydeco (folk) music. Here in the French Quarter you can sample some amazing Cajun cuisine like jambalaya (a spicy rice dish), gumbo (a type of stew or soup) and beignets (delicious deep fried dough, similar to doughnuts).

There are lots of travel deals to America available throughout the internet.

Pictures from universalorlando.com

When people think of Orlando they usually think of theme parks. Although Orlando is regarded as the undisputed theme park capital of the world there are lots of non-amusement park places to visit. Here are just a few.

Ripley’s Believe It or Not

The whole family will be mesmerized by the hundreds of outrageous interactive exhibits here. You will be fascinated by the dinosaur exhibit, Egyptian mummy, the real human shrunken head, part of the Berlin Wall, the amazing Rolls Royce car made from over a million match sticks and many more exhibits.

Orlando Science Centre

The Orlando Science Centre

Here you can explore the planet Mars, the Florida swamps, the human body and much more. There are several exhibition halls including Science City, 123 Math Avenue and Kids Town. The whole family will be excited by the 310 seat theatre called Dr Phillips CineDome. You will be amazed by the planetarium show and the the laser-light shows show at the CineDome. The science centre also has an observatory which is open to to visitors and is home to the states largest refractor telescope.

Gatorland

Gatorland is a park and wildlife preserve covering 110 acres. Families will be amazed by the thousands of crocodiles and alligators who inhabit the park. Apart from the wildlife the park offers a petting zoo, an aviary, nature walk and a breeding marsh with an observation tower. Watch the amazing reptilian shows including the Gator Wrestlin’ Show, the Up-close Encounters Show and the Gator Jumparoo.

Green Meadows Petting Farm

Green Meadows Petting Farm

Both adults and children will love a day out at the Green Meadows Petting Farm. Meet over 300 animals who live here including Elmer the Asian water buffalo, donkeys, pigs, ducks, chickens, geese and turkeys. After spending time petting the animals and milking a cow you enjoy a pony ride, a tractor-drawn hay ride and express train ride.

Boggy Creek Airboat Rides

Nestled in Central Florida is the wilderness of the Everglades. An airboat ride will take you through the natural environment of alligators, birds and many more creatures. Don’t forget to take an airboat ride on your holiday deals to Florida, an experience not to be missed.

Hawaiian Rumble

The Hawaiian Rumble Adventure Golf Course

If you like minature golf you will love a visit to the Hawaiian Rumble Adventure on your cheap package holidays to America. This fairly new attraction is designed to represent an Hawaiian Oasis with holes that put beginners and more advanced players through their paces. Holes have hills, logs, tunnels, waterfalls and even a fifty foot ‘active’ volcano which spouts fire and lava as obstacles. The whole family will enjoy wandering through the Hawaiian scenery, including waterfalls, streams and shady palms, whilst having fun and dancing to the calypso music playing throughout the course.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter opened its doors temporarily to visitors of Orlando International’s Pow Wow convention last week.

Flight of the Hippogriff

Most of the park has been completed including the Hogsmeade Village, shops, restaurants, Hogwarts Castle and the Dragon Challenge and Flight of the Hippogriff roller coasters. Work is currently being completed on the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride inside the castle, which is a 360 degree experience.

The park is due to open on 18th June.

If you are looking for great summer holidays to Orlando and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, there are always plenty throughout the internet.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at The Islands of Adventure Theme Park, Orlando is scheduled to open on the 18th June 2010.

There will be three themed attractions within The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, including Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, Flight of the Hippogriff and Dragon Challenge.

Attractions will include Hogwarts Castle, complete with Dumbledore’s Office, The Gryffindor Common Room, The Defence Against the Dark Arts Classroom, The Room of Requirement and much much more.

There will also be a wand shop, Ollivanders, where visitors can re-enact a scene from the beginning of the Harry Potter story, in which the young

Ollivanders

wizard is ‘chosen’ by his wand.

Please refer to our previous post ‘Orlando,The Wizarding World of Harry Potter’ for more details.

If you are looking for great holidays to Orlando and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, there are always plenty throughout the internet.

This review has been supplied to us by our reader Lisa Smith

” A good hotel situated towards the bottom of International Drive, within walking distance of many bars, shops and restaurants. We found the hotel very clean and our room was very spacious.
This hotel is a 100% smoke-free environment which we liked.
Would recommend this hotel for couples looking for bargain holidays or anyone on business.  The location is great but I would certainly recommend hiring a car in Orlando so you can get to see all the attractions and it’s also easy to get to the Coast both being approx an hours drive away.”

Rosen Plaza

Rosen Plaza

Located on International Drive, next to the Orange County Convention Centre, the Rosen Plaza is just a 10 minute drive to Universal Orlando Resort, 20 minutes to Walt Disney World Resort and 5 minutes to SeaWorld Orlando.

Accommodation
The hotel has 800 rooms on 14 floors in 1 building with 6 lifts. All of the rooms have air conditioning, hairdryer, tv, tea/coffee maker, iron and board and safe.

Food and Drink
Jack’s Place (gourmet fare), Café Matisse, Lite Bite Deli (24-hour), Rossini’s Italian Pizza (until 1.00am), lobby bar, coffee bar in lobby (serving Starbucks Coffee).

Activities
Swimming pool, jacuzzi, electronic games room, fitness room.
Pirate’s Cove mini-golf is just a short walk from the hotel.

Extras
Room service, laundry facilities, high-speed internet access.

Orlando is a city built on theme parks, making it an excellent vacation choice for all the family. Cheap holidays to Orlando are available throughout the internet.

Disneys Magic Kingdom

Since opening the original Magic Kingdom in 1971, Disney has added three more theme parks, two water parks and a host of associated development, including hotels, shops and golf courses. SeaWorld has three theme parks and Universal has two theme parks, bringing in more than 60 million visitors a year between them. New attractions to these theme parks are being added all the time.

Away from the parks is another great tourist attraction, the nearby Kennedy Space Centre.

KEY FACTS

Location – Florida, southeast USA.
Time zone – GMT – 5 (GMT – 4 from second Sunday in March to first Sunday in November).
Average January temperatures – 22ºC (71ºF).
Average July temperatures – 33ºC (92ºF).
Currency – USD

ATTRACTIONS

Walt Disney World Resort
This huge resort combines four theme parks (including the Magic Kingdom), two water parks, a sports complex, a downtown district of shops, restaurants and nightlife, golf courses, water sports, tennis, spas and over 30 hotels on site, 20 of which are themed and owned by Disney. 

Universal Orlando

Universal Orlando Resort
Much smaller than the Disney resort but still has two theme parks, three resort hotels and their CityWalk nightlife and shopping district. Universal also owns the nearby Wet ‘n Wild water park and a Harry Potter-themed area which is due to open this year.

SeaWorld Orlando
Here you will find dolphin and whale shows, aquariums and other animal habitats, rides and other live entertainment.

Discovery Cove

Discovery Cove
Situated next to SeaWorld, this is an exclusive swim-with-dolphins park. On offer here are realistic marine environments and other animal encounters. 

Kennedy Space Centre
Just a 50-minute drive east of Orlando is the Kennedy Space Centre, the home of NASA. The centre offers bus tours of the space centre, static and hands-on exhibits, astronaut encounters and giant-screen film shows. The Shuttle Launch Experience here simulates the sights, sounds and sensations of a launch.

Fantasy of Flight

Fantasy of Flight
Located just south of Kissimmee, this is an aviation-themed museum with a difference. Here you will find flight simulators, an extensive vintage aircraft collection and fascinating behind-the-scenes tours. Dining is available at the museums Compass Rose 1930s vintage diner.

Boggy Creek Airboats
Here at Boggy Creek you take an airboat ride around one of the local lakes, taking in the alligators and other animal life of the area.

DINING OUT
 
With over 5,000 restaurants to chose there is something here for everyone. There are breakfast buffets, all-day diners, steakhouses and five-star gourmet restaurants. Every theme park has it’s own restaurants and eating establishments.
There are a few establishments that offer vegeterian food, including Sweet Tomatoes and Cafe Tu-Tu Tango, but on the whole vegeterians are not well catered for.

NIGHTLIFE
Orlando offers a vibrant night-time scene. There are three main venues, Downtown Disney’s Pleasure Island, Universal’s CityWalk and Downtown Orlando.
At Pleasure Island there is the Adventurers Club for diverse live comedy and Mannequins for dancing.
At CityWalk there is Bob Marley’s for live music.
At Downtown Orlando there are lots of bars, including Sky 60, Eye Spy and Wall Street Cantina, and great nightclubs like The Social, with live music (blues, rock and jazz) and resident DJs, and the Monkey Bar which serves suave cocktails.
There is also the duelling pianos of Jellyrolls at Disney’s Boardwalk Resort and House of Blues at Downtown Disney.

Location
On site at Universal Orlando Resort.
Transfer time from airport – 20 minutes.

Hard Rock Hotel

Imagine living like a rock star, well you can at the fantastic Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Orlando Resort. From the sweeping California mission-style facades to the legendary Palm Restaurant to a palm-lined swimming pool it is the coolest hotel in the world.
This fabulous hotel has 650 rooms spread over 7 floors. It is decorated with Rock ‘n’ Roll memorabilia throughout. There is a complimentary shuttle bus service to Sea World and Wet ‘n’ Wild as well as a free water shuttle to the Universal parks.
The rooms are decorated with a Rock ‘n’ Roll theme and all have an en suite bathroom with a hairdryer, direct dial telephone, satellite/ cable TV, radio, internet connection, minibar, hire safe, ironing equipment, coffee machine and a double/ king-sized bed and individually controllable air conditioning and heating.

Restaurant

Dining
Guests can choose from a number of restaurants ranging from the hotel’s Kitchen restaurant to the Palm restaurant, renowned for its succulent Nova Scotia lobsters.

Hotel Facilities
Restaurant(s), swimming Pool, concierge, childrens entertainment, currency exchange, games room, laundrette/laundry service, café/bar, conference facilities, fitness centre/gym, air conditioning (reception), car parking, sauna, whirlpool.

Fun and Games
Pool with water slide and white sand beach, play area for kids, 2 jacuzzis, table tennis, giant chess, fitness centre, volleyball court, Camp Lil’ Rock children’s supervised activity centre, games room, preferred tee times at local golf courses and off-site Mandara Spa.

My Review
We stayed at The Hard Rock in August 2009 and thought the hotel rooms and grounds very impressive. We had 14 day passes for the theme parks which meant we could go in and out whenever we wanted and by ‘flashing’ our room key we got to the front of every queue!
All being well we hope to return for our 2011 summer holidays

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Warner Bros. has teamed up with Universal Studios in order to create a Harry Potter “Theme Park within a Theme Park”.

Scheduled to open in the spring 2010,  The Harry Potter theme park will open around the same time as the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows movie.

This 20 acre theme park located in Orlando, Florida will enable visitors to experience scenes from the books and movies.

Inspired by J.K. Rowling’s compelling stories and characters, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universals Islands of Adventure will provide visitors with a one-of-a-kind experience, complete with multiple attractions, shops and a signature restaurant.