A tale of two parks.

Relaxing by the pool is all very well, but after a weekend of doing very little, we decided that today we'd get out and have some fun!

No trip to Florida is complete without a visit to Gatorland so we set off early, calling into a pharmacy on the way for me to get some painkillers as my foot was hurting a wee bit. The 192 was extremely busy this morning so we literally crawled along until we came to the turn off for the Orange Blossom Trail.

There was a queue to get in (when is there not?) but it moved very quickly and we used a voucher to save some money on the entrance fee which is always a bonus! The woman who took our money obviously took a shine to my husband and the pair of them flirted outrageously which I found hilarious!

First up was a coffee for me, a Root Beer float for Mikey and a vivid blue slush for Sophie accompanied by a pretzel, which I've always wanted to try, but I'm not sure I'll ever have again! I prefer the little snacky crisps, rather than the bread! We strolled around in the sunshine having a good look at all the alligators and the birds and then went to see the Gator Wrestling show which was as good as ever.

Not sure what was going on here, but they all looked very friendly!

Blue slush and pretzel

Gator wrestling

After the show we went into the petting zoo and we bought some food so the children could feed the goats. As I was taking photos I could feel one of the goats nudging my bottom and thought nothing of it but when I turned around I realised he'd started to eat the ties on the back of my top! Naturally this caused a great deal of hilarity, especially as there were a group of people standing behind me who saw it all happen!

Sophie wanted to go into the budgie enclosure to feed the birds so off we went but I stayed outside with Keith. However, when I tried to take photos of them through the netting, I noticed they had birds all over them so I ventured in and within seconds had lovely little budgies on me as well! Sophie had bought some seed sticks and the birds would come down and peck away at them, often having little squabbles with each other in an effort to get to the sticks! It was great fun, but I did notice one of the little birds had pooped on me!

Two budgies on my hand...which one pooped on me?

We spent the rest of our visit walking around the breeding sanctuary and meandering along the Swamp Walk which I love, as I feel it's a little bit of the real Florida. Lunch was a corn dog for me (I resisted the gator nuggets), something I've always wanted to try but I won't ever be eating again! It was just a hotdog surrounded by a layer of what tasted like doughy cake...yuk!

By now it was very warm indeed with lots of clouds building up so we decided to call it a day and head back to the villa to relax for an hour or two before heading off to Universal this evening. It was bliss to get back to the villa and sit by the pool for a while in the peace and quiet. We are so lucky to have this haven to retreat to, especially after being in the parks!

On the way to Universal we called into Publix to stock up on drinks and breakfast cereal and then we drove off along the I-4, hoping that we wouldn't get stuck in any jams. Luckily it was all running smoothly so we were at the park just after 6pm. It was still very busy, though, and the wait times for some of the rides were very long...70 minutes for Spiderman, so we decided to leave that one for later!

Mikey wanted to go on the bilge rat barges but he was alone on this one as none of us wanted to get soaked and then walk around the park! He bravely went on on his own and came off with his jeans soaked through! We decided that no matter how long the wait, we were going to do The Forbidden Journey in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter so off we went and discovered that the wait time was 60 minutes...not ideal but there is a lot to look at on the way.

The ride was great, but it felt a lot rougher than we remembered. Sophie screamed the entire way through as it is quite scary, but I think she enjoyed it nonetheless! When we came out, day had turned into night and it was wonderful to see Hogwarts and Hogsmeade village all lit up. The children wanted some Butterbeer (I did too!) so we joined the queue for that and then wandered back over to the Spiderman ride which was now showing an acceptable 35 minute wait.

The time passes very quickly as the queues go through the newspaper offices of The Bugle and the story unfolds as you get nearer the loading bays. We all had to don 3D glasses, get into large cars and hold tightly onto the lap bars. The ride was great, with evil characters looming right into you, heat, water and a lot of being thrown about!

We staggered off the ride and headed to City Walk for dinner as it was now past 9pm. Our venue for the evening was The Latin Quarter and amazingly, there was no queue at all! It was bliss to sink into the seat and look at the menu and rest our very weary feet!

It soon became apparent why there was no waiting time! The service tonight was not brilliant and although the nachos we had for a starter were good, Keith and I did not enjoy our main course of chicken paella which was stodgy and lacked any flavour. We had to ask for cutlery and Sophie had a lot of difficulty getting the top off the pot which held her fajita wraps! I'm not sure Mikey enjoyed his dish of Arroz con Pollo either, so all in all, not a success! We finished with desserts of banana creme brulee and chocolate cake and the bill came to an expensive $120, which, considering the meal and service, was a bit disappointing.

Back at the villa, it was time to unwind and have a glass of wine before bed. It had been a long day, but a great one!