At the tender age of 30 years old I decided to go on holiday to Florida with my parents. I had done the Disney World thing as a child and had fond memories of rides on Space Mountain, wearing my plastic Disney mac in the pouring rain and meeting Goofy at the ‘Disney Breakfast Meet.’ I was hoping this trip might be a little different…I draw the line at wearing Mickey Mouse ears and sporting a Simpsons bum bag for 2 weeks! I was hoping for some Florida sunshine and relaxation. I couldn’t stand the weather at home any longer! So how was the journey over to the States going to be 20 years on…
We flew out of Manchester Airport on 19th January, just as the country was thrown into a state of chaos due to heavy snowfall. Luckily flights out of Manchester were pretty much unaffected unless you were going via Heathrow which was now to all effects closed for business. We flew with Virgin Atlantic and we had made the decision to upgrade to ‘Premium Economy’ as the flight is a fairly lengthy 9 ½ hours.
Premium Economy is worth the extra cost. You get wide leather chairs, loads of leg room, foot rests, a choice of menu, complimentary drinks (fizz before take-off is always nice) and an ‘on demand’ entertainment system with all the latest films, TV programmes and games. I watched 2 films (‘The Campaign’ with Will Ferrell and ‘Ted’ with Mark Wahlberg if you want to know) and a few episodes of ‘Modern Family’ in between reading trashy magazines and the time flew by. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday afternoon really!
The flight went smoothly and we landed on time at Orlando International Airport. Now the fun begins. I’ve been through US immigration enough times to know that this is never a quick process. But wait! We were the first off the plane due to our seats being right next to the exit, we stormed through passport control after being finger printed and questioned on our reasons for being here (to escape the terrible English weather and eat huge burgers). Our bags were off within 15 minutes and we were on our way!
We had decided to pick up a hire car from an office in Kissimmee, just a few minutes from our holiday home on Veranda Palms. This saves getting in the big queues at the airport as you can just hop into a cab and get on your way. Within an hour and a half of landing we were in residence.
Our villa was immaculate and well equipped and we were just a 5 minute drive from a huge ‘Super Target’ supermarket and a multitude of diners. We headed down to Applebees , a sports bar and diner and enjoyed our first cold beer of the holiday along with a huge steak and fries. The holiday had really begun…
