Thrills at Disney Parks

Disney’s Magic Kingdom with the infamous Cinderella’s castle I’d always thought was just for kids, but it really does offer something for everyone. "Tomorrowland" has thrilling rides like “Tron” where you board a lightcycle and shoot off at 60mph and “Space Mountain” a high speed rollercoaster in almost total darkness, plus “Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin” where you fire lasers in a shooting gallery. “Frontierland” has the brand NEW Tiana’s Bayou Adventure an entertaining water based ride and the well known “Big Thunder Mountain Railroad” where you board a runaway train through a gold mine. “Adventureland” has “Pirates of the Caribbean” a boat ride with pirate ship battles, and “Fantasyland” is great for younger children with “Peter Pan’s Flight” where you board a boat and go to Neverland and “It’s a Small World” where you visit iconic countries of the world, and for thrills, hop onboard the “Seven Dwarfs Mine Train” to race through a diamond mine. “Main Street” links areas and where you’ll find the “Town Square Theater” where you can meet Mickey and enjoy a whole range of shops and restaurants, while “Liberty Square” offers “The Haunted Mansion” a fun ride with ghostly projections, amongst other attractions. Do not miss the daily 3pm Character Parade and the world famous “Happily Ever After” night time show which is a jaw dropping firework, digital projection, laser and music spectacular that brings Disney stories to life ! Walking into EPCOT you can’t fail to miss the giant, beautifully crafted geosphere, Spaceship Earth which hosts an attraction narrated by Dame Judi Dench and covers human communications all the way back to the Stone Age! The World Showcase is an exciting zone of 11 pavilions featuring countries around the world, with replica buildings, traditional food and hosted by native speakers, and some fun rides like "Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure" where you sit in a giant rat and shoot around a 3D simulated kitchen and the enchanting "Frozen Ever After" where you board a Norwegian ship and explore Arendelle and meet all its infamous characters. If you love science, head to the World Discover zone and for thrill seekers, don't miss “Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind” rollercoaster in the dark with its reverse launch and 360 spins. “Soarin’ Around the World” in the World Nature zone is an 80 foot high IMAX digital projection lifts you up on a seated hang-glider and whizzes you off to well known sights across the world. Definitely don’t miss “Luminous – The Symphony of Us”, the evening dancing fountains, music and firework spectacular over the lagoon with a lovely inclusive message. Disney’s Hollywood Studios. To start with, don’t miss “Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge”. My jaw literally dropped with the life sized Millennium Falcon and Oga’s Catina which just looked so realistic, however “Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance”, where you get to be part of the Resistance and go head to head against the First Order and avoid stormtroopers galore – simply the BEST RIDE EVER!!! “Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run” was also brilliant as you’re actually in the cockpit heading to hyperspace. Finally don’t miss the stores here….from full outfits to handbuilt lightsabers! For buckets of cute, heads to “Toy Story Land” and have fun on the “Slinky Dog Dash” rollercoaster and my favourite “Toy Story Mania!” a 4D game where you get to laser shoot moving targets for points across different games. Other highlights were “Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway” where you take centre stage in an old skool cartoon, “Frozen Sing-Along Celebration” with some great tongue in cheek acting and blasts of snow into the audience and the “Twilight Zone Tower of Terror” too traumatized to speak about as my stomach is still in my throat. The evening show here is “Fantasmic!” held in a giant amphitheatre, Mickey himself battles all the evil Disney baddies with pyrotechnics, water jets, light displays to a heart thumping music score and which culminates with a celebration with all the Disney characters. Disney’s Animal Kingdom is the largest theme park in the world at 580 acres! The iconic 145ft high “Tree of Life” features more than 300 animal carvings and is located on “Discovery Island” which features highlights such as the 3D film “It’s Tough to Be Bug” and where you can meet Mickey and Minnie at the Adventurers Outpost. Pandora – The World of Avatar is the most recent addition to the park and was hands down my favourite area, with weird and wonderful plantlife, the “Na’vi River Journey” which was a gentle boat ride through the planet and best of all the “Avatar Flight of Passage” 3D ride where you actually get paired with an avatar and ride on the back of a banshee through the jungle and across the oceans! Africa was well created with life like markets and restaurants, the amazing “Festival of the Lion King” with its carnival like atmosphere and the really fun “Kilimanjaro Safari” where you get to hop a jeep and ride through the savannah to spot lions, rhinos and lots of other animals. Asia features a thrilling rollercoaster ride, “Expedition Everest – Legend of Forbidden Mountain” which speeds up and down the mountains to avoid the Yeti, while I enjoyed the soon to be replaced “Dinoland USA” with its fun “Dinosaur” ride where you go on a crazy, rickety mission in the dark back to prehistoric times to bring back a dinosaur to save it from extinction! Disney Springs is a huge on park shopping, dining and entertainment complex around 25 minutes via complimentary shuttle bus from the Grand Floridan Resort & Spa and the Polynesian Village Resort. With over 96 shops, there’s a great array from standard high street stores and pop ups selling jewellery, clothing, gifts and homeware to specialist shops. There are over 69 places to dine and drink and these include Disney Quick Service and Table Service restaurants, plus every type of food and beverage you can think of from food trucks, to bakeries and chocolate shops to coffee shops, wine bars and Irish pubs. Add to this 25 shows, attractions or events so you can watch live bands, see the latest movie, go bowling, meet artists etc and the star of the evening, is the 10 minute magical light show, “Disney Dreams That Soar”, where 800 drones take to the sky above Lake Buena Vista at 9pm and 10.45pm. If you're looking for a holiday to create happy memories for all the family then check out Disney as I guarantee you'll all be grinning from ear to ear