Universal Orlando

Ok, so I have to put my hands up and say that this was a trip that I was dreading as I am not someone who is great when it comes to crowds and have never been a great fan of rides and theme parks. But I have to be honest and say that I actually enjoyed myself. I guess part of this came from staying in the delightful Loews Portofino Bay Hotel which is one of the onsite hotels at Universal. The property is a recreation of the town of Portofino in northern Italy and a lot of attention has been paid to the little details, even down to the paint used on the external walls. The villa room I shared with my colleague Shirley Smith was a great size with a wonderfully comfortable bed and a lovely view of the adult only pool and the beautiful gardens.

There is a free water taxi to Universal City walk (the entertainment and restaurant area of the complex where hotel guests get priority restaurant seating when they show their key card) and from there on to Universal Islands of Adventure. This is divided into different themes including the Wizarding World of Harry Potter which will soon be linked to a second area (Diagon Alley) in Universal Studios - the first time the two parks have been joined.

I decided to enter into the spirit of things and joined a VIP tour of the two parks. The tour enabled us to bypass all the queues (even the Xpress Pass queues which hotel guests receive on a complimentary basis and reduce queues to just 15 minutes). The guide who escorted us tailored it to our likes and dislikes and gave us a lot of insight into the parks. We started with Despicable Me - a simulator - before tackling the scariest rollercoaster I have ever been on or am likely to go on called The Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit. I decided that as I am celebrating a significant birthday this year that I should step out of my comfort zone and join in the "fun". Hmmm enough said!

Other experiences included Transformers, The Simpsons, ET, Jurassic Park, The Hulk, Duelling Dragons and Harry Potter. I had to sit most of these out but my colleagues had great fun. There are plenty of places to eat and drink and various food and beverage packages are available to help with financial budgeting.

Other daytime activities on offer to us included a trip to Wet 'n' Wild water park, air boat rides, hot air balloon rides, golf (there are 147 golf courses in the Orlando area), free time for shopping with some amazing bargains to be had in the regular shopping malls and the outlet malls where the goods are hugely reduced in price. Along with a little shopping I chose a day trip to Kennedy Space Centre which is around an hour from Orlando and the launch site for many NASA space missions and the final resting place of the Space Shuttle Atlantis. I had a fabulous day that included meeting Terry White, one of the engineers on the Space Shuttle, lunch with astronaut Bruce Melnick, not quite as intimate as I had hoped as there were around 200 of us but still interesting and I got to shake his hand, and getting up close to Atlantis and Saturn V. We were hoping to see a rocket launch but weather conditions delayed this so it was postponed.

Evening activities included the Blue Man Group which I thoroughly enjoyed followed by Duelling Pianos at Pat O’Brien’s in City Walk, drinks at the Hard Rock Cafe which included time in the John Lennon VIP Room and joining the crowds for the Mardi Gras and a concert by The Wanted on Saturday night.

Whilst I don't think I will be rushing back immediately I would not rule out going again and that has to be a start! Thank you to our hosts and sponsors including Universal and Dosomethingdifferent.