A few months ago, we launched a fantastic competition to win a holiday to Orlando.

Our lucky winner was Gill Gaffney who took her family to Orlando last month. Here’s what she had to say about her trip (including some amazing photos):

For a family holiday, there is nowhere better on this earth than Florida. It offers so many different experiences that it is impossible to fit it all into one holiday – but we did try our best.

Universal Studios

I would recommend spending at least two days at Universal Studios and the Islands of Adventures to get the most out of it. We managed to get a great deal on park tickets and got unlimited Universal tickets included in a bundle along with Sea World, Busch Gardens and Aquatica for around £900.

As we have a few Harry Potter geeks in the family (myself included!), our first stop was Hogsmede Village where you can visit Hogwarts to experience a broomstick flight on “Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey”. We were also able to kit ourselves out for wizard school and even buy chocolate frogs!

Over in Universal Studios, the kids were especially excited to visit Springfield.  Universal Studios have recreated many of the famous landmarks from The Simpsons alongside their Simpsons 3D ride.  Visitors can have a drink in Moe’s Tavern (where they serve Duff Beer and Flamin’ Moes), grab an enormous Donut at Lard Lad’s and get their pictures taken with the stars of the show.

simpsons

Legoland Florida

Next on our list was Legoland Florida. It’s a bit further out than the other theme parks (around 30 mins from Orlando) but is well worth the journey. The park has loads of attractions for kids from Lego boats and cars to rollercoasters and of course, lots of Lego shops for the kids to spend their holiday money in! There are also shows throughout the day including a very impressive water-ski pirate show which you shouldn’t miss.

legoland

Busch Gardens

This park was another delightful discovery on the trip. Again, it’s a bit of a trek to get there (50 minutes) but it’s a must-see.  It’s a cross between a safari park and a theme park and is home to a huge range of animals. There are lots of opportunities to feed different animals and this was a real hit with my daughter who just fell in love with the kangaroos!

As you would expect in Florida, there is no shortage of thrill rides. My personal favourite was Cheetah Run which is one of the longest rollercoasters in the world and subjects you to more G-Force than astronauts experience at lift-off!

orlando3

Food and Drink

One of the things I look forward to the most when visiting the States is the amazing food and drink on offer and the good old U S of A did not let me down this time.  From Margaritas at Chilis to the amazing seafood at Red Lobster, we all made the most of our trip!

eating

We had an amazing time in Florida this year and are already looking into booking our next holiday.  Our thanks to Holiday Discount Centre for the voucher which enabled us to get there sooner than we had hoped – and for their wonderful service getting us all booked up!

If you’d love to enjoy a holiday like the one Gill and her family have just had, take a look at our latest deals on holidays to Orlando here.