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I was very lucky recently to travel to Orlando with 50 other travel agents on a jam packed trip – probably a two week holiday crammed into six days! The whole experience was amazing and as I had not been there in 20 years and it made me realise that there is something for everyone, but you don’t need to do everything as there will be more suitable parks depending on the make-up of your family.

The first four nights were spent in the Universal Resort, staying at the Loews Portofino Bay Hotel. From here you can walk or take a boat to the two theme parks Island of Adventures and Universal Studios and also have Citywalk close by for bars and restaurants. The benefit of staying at an onsite hotel is early access to the parks and fast passes onto the rides. We spent a day at each of these two parks.

Island of Adventures is home to the new Harry Potter attraction, which fantastically creates the world of Harry from the books and films. There are three great roller coaster rides together with many shops to wander through and buy your wands, butterbeer and all things Hogwarts! A must do for all Harry fans. There is also Jurassic Park which has some great water rides – be prepared to get very wet. The Comic Strip area has all the great cartoons and rides including The Hulk and Spiderman.

Universal Studios is fantastic for film buffs, it’s a working set and there are some great attractions including Jaws, Shrek 4D and The Simpsons. After Universal Studios we spent a couple of hours at Wet ‘n’ Wild which is a waterpark on International Drive, a great place to chill and enjoy some sunshine not to mention the waterslides!

We were very lucky to be able to take in the Blue Man Group show, which is now a worldwide show and is very unusual and entertaining. My best day was probably at Discovery Cove where we were able to have a personal encounter with a dolphin (amazing) and also new this year you can snorkel in the coral reefs and come face to face with sharks (behind a glass wall of course!)

We also visited Busch Gardens, another theme park in Tampa and about an hour’s drive from Orlando which has great rollercoasters but also combines animal experiences too. Here you can feed giraffes, kangaroos and see many other animals.

Our next visit was to Seaworld and Aquatica where the highlight is the “Shamu” whale show. Here we were also able to feed sea lions and sting rays as well as many other attractions. Aquatica is a water park with fantastic beach areas, wave pool, waterslides and lazy rivers. It’s a great way to chill out and enjoy the Florida sunshine if you fancy a day off from the theme parks.

We were so lucky to be staying at Disney Yacht Club which is a deluxe hotel on site at Disney World; again with the benefit of having early entrance to the Parks. Something new for me was our visit to Animal Kingdom; an amazing safari experience amongst lions, hippos and giraffes. We also enjoyed the sights and space inventions of Epcot; meeting the characters in and around Disney and of course the rides at Magic Kingdom as well as experiencing the Magic of Cinderella’s Castle. If movies are more your thing, you will enjoy Hollywood Studios which also has great rides and you are able to see how a movie is made.

We also managed to see the world famous Cirque du Soleil show which is an amazing show in Downtown Disney.

Still no trip to Orlando is finished without a trip to at least one shopping mall and there are plenty to choose from here - Premium Outlets is where there are bargains to be had with clothing particularly at great prices. And the classic US stores at the Florida Mall, where there are more upmarket shops within a centre including Saks, Macys and M&M World.

I did so much I actually needed a holiday when I got back! It does help if you can plan your trip in advance and choose a location that will suit the needs of your party, so I look forward to helping you plan your next Orlando trip!