Dave and I visit Florida every year, because we have family there. We always have a nice time in Florida, but we were looking forward to spending some time on the beach as well. It is August, the warmest month of the year, which means that water in the ocean is incredibly warm at this time and the beaches are just beautiful there.
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Dave and I just came back to DC from Florida. There is not as much snow left after the storm and it was a surprisingly warm day. We shoveled the rest of the snow from our driveway and the balcony in about 20 minutes. The roads were clean, but there was still piles of snow on the sides. Here is a view of the Potomac River from the plane.
The last day of our stay in Orlando, Dave and I spent at Islands of Adventure. We visited this amusement park a few years ago, but decided to re-visit it. We went through the attractions that we missed last time and enjoyed our favorite rides again. We started our journey with the most popular The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Island, which was already crowded.
Second day of our Orlando stay we spent in SeaWorld, which is very different from Magic Kingdom. We were not disappointed in this park. SeaWorld has Marine life shows, thrill rides, aquariums and up-close encounters with dolphins, penguins and more.
When combined with its neighbor Discovery Cove and Aquatica, it forms SeaWorld Parks Orlando. As of Summer 2014, SeaWorld Orlando has been separated into 8 themed areas, that encompass the Port of Entry and seven “seas”, which are the Sea of Shallows, Sea of Legends, Sea of Ice, Sea of Delight, Sea of Mystery, Sea of Fun, and the Sea of Power.
Every time Dave and I go to see our family in Florida we try to visit some interesting places there. Among them are Disney World and Universal Studios theme parks in Orlando. This time we spent 3 days in Orlando and visited Magic Kingdom, Sea World and Islands of Adventure. Magic Kingdom is a beautiful park and a heaven for kids, but it is not as exciting for the adults.
Magic Kingdom was the only theme park of the 4 Disney World parks in Orlando that I haven’t seen yet, therefore we decided to dedicate one day to experience it. The other 3 Disney World theme parks are Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom. Epcot is our favorite Disney park, which we visited numerous times and I would visit it again. This one is the most suitable for the adults. Animal Kingdom is good for visiting equally by adults and kids, although we enjoyed the Virginia Safari park much more. It was awesome! Hollywood Studios is more for kids as well.
The popularity of the Magic Kingdom park is impressive. Here is an excerpt from 25 Most Visited Theme Parks In The World. “Magic Kingdom was the first built of the four theme parks at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, and is the most-visited theme park in the world. In 2013, the park hosted 18.5 million visitors, making it the most-visited theme park for the fifth consecutive year.” Cinderella Castle, the icon of Magic Kingdom is in the picture below.
Key West is an island at the end of the chain of the Florida Keys. It is connected to the mainland by US Highway 1 which uses a series of bridges to link the islands of the chain. This is a popular vacation destination which gives visitors the feeling of the Caribbean without having to leave the country.
Key West has so many wonderful things to see and do. It offers museums and historic homes and nature attractions with sea life and butterflies. The clear blue sea surrounding it offers snorkeling, diving, sailing, parasailing and fishing.
Dave and I decided to see the Best of Key West on an open-air Conch Tour Train first and then to explore the places most interesting to us. Henry Flagler’s railroad arrived in Key West in September of 1912 and the Island City was changed forever. The Conch Tour Train is the legacy of Flagler’s engineering miracle.
Being in Key West, it is impossible to miss the famous Duval Street, running north and south from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean. From shore to shore, the street is just over a mile in length. It is named for William Pope Duval, the first territorial governor of Florida according to wikipedia.
Universal Islands of Adventure is one of two theme parks in the Universal area of Orlando in Florida and it is the better of the two in my opinion. My husband and I visited Halloween Horror Nights at Universal one day and the next day we spent enjoying Islands of Adventure. There are 7 different islands in the theme park and they are all completely different, which makes exploring them a whole lot of fun. Islands of Adventure and it’s sister theme park Universal Studios are both part of Universal Orlando, along with the CityWalk shopping/entertainment area and their resorts. The 7 islands are: Port of Entry, Jurassic Park, Toon Lagoon, Seuss Landing, Marvel Super Hero Island, The Lost Continent and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
1. Point of Entry Island is the actual park’s main entrance and is home to many shops and services. The featured attraction of the island is the lighthouse, which is seen by the visitors as they are approaching the island. The lighthouse icon towering 130 feet over the main entrance is inspired by the Pharos Lighthouse of Alexandria, Egypt, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, that was constructed in 350 B.C. and fell during an earthquake in the 14th century. Each night, this real, functioning lighthouse sends out a bright beam to lead visitors to and from the park’s gates (source: wikipedia).
Marvel Super Hero Island is my second favorite island after Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando’s Islands of Adventures theme park. It seemed like we were stepping through the pages of popular comic books with their Super Heroes and Villains. Here we found amazing theme sets of Spider-Man, X-Men and Captain America among others, as well as some great rides.
Category: Adventure, Entertainment, Travel
Tags: Florida, Islands of Adnenture, Orlando, Universal Studio, vacation Comments off
Our visit to Universal’s Islands of Adventures in Orlando started at the most exciting and crowded place there – The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, one of seven themed areas within the park. We spotted the lighthouse tower indicating that we are approaching the Islands of Adventures (IOA) from Universal’s City Walk.
Category: Adventure, Entertainment
Tags: Florida, Harry Potter, Orlando, Universal Studio Comments off