After our first visit to Epcot, we set a goal to dine in each and every one of the extraordinary sit-down restaurants in the World Showcase.   Last year, we finally accomplished this – what a thrill!  Now the World Showcase restaurants are extremely popular as you can well imagine.   A good thing to know is that when it comes to eating anywhere in that section of Epcot, you had better plan ahead.  Think about where you would like to dine and the first stop on entering the park (if you haven’t called ahead!) should be to guest relations to make your reservations for lunch and/or dinner.

The first stop for us was Morocco.  Why? Well, we had been to French restaurants, and Italian restaurants and Japanese restaurants and Mexican restaurants and so on, but  NEVER had we eaten at a Moroccon restaurant!  I’ll admit that I was a bit skeptical when we entered Restaurant Marrakesh, but what a pleasant surprise!!  The food was unbelievable and the live music and belly dancers created a most unusual ambience. My personal favorite was the Beef Brewat roll.   Everything on the menu was new to me so it was hard to decide what to order.  I ordered one of the combination dinners (Taste of Morocco) – I highly recommend this as you get to sample several specialties. 

The Biergarten was a favorite of my husband’s.   We had lunch there on one of our several visits to Epcot and the buffet consisted of mostly cold German specialties at the time.  I’m not a big fan of German food so this was challenging for me, but I have to say that the selection was large and even I left satisfied!

At Chefs de France we had a dining experience that I will not soon forget.  If you’re looking for romance and luxury, this is the place.  We had a lovely evening (kids stayed with grandma and grandpa!) – I had the Filet and my husband had the sole.   This restaurant gets an A+ for amazing preparation and presentation as well as flavor. 

A favorite of the kids is La Cellier Steakhouse in Canada.  Two things come to mind when I remember our experience there – first, the amazing assortment of breads (yum!) and second, how wonderful the server was with the children!   They will never forget the meal they had there because the waitress made it so special for them.   She conversed with them down on her knees at their level, brought them treats and told them stories of her native country, Canada.  Sadly, I don’t even remember what we ordered but the kids can’t wait to return!

Another good one for the kids was L’Originale Alfredo di Roma Ristorante in Italy.   In the lobby was a viewing area where the kids could watch pasta being made while we waited for our table.  This was Italian food at it’s best!

The San Angel Inn in Mexico is one we have returned to already!  I enjoyed the Plato Mexicano as it offers you the opportunity to try several specialities.  My favorite is the chicken enchilada – very flavorful!

In the mood for some awesome fish and chips?  The Rose and Crown Pub is the place to go if you are!  I have to say that I haven’t had better than the Harry Ramsden’s fish and chips.   I won’t have anything else when I return, but my husband says that the Cottage Pie was to die for!  For all of you UK visitors, this may be commonplace but for us, this was a real treat!

Our family enjoyed Teppanyaki in Japan.  If you’ve ever been to a Japanese Steakhouse, then you know what to expect.  You are seated around a hibachi grill and entertained by the chef as he prepares your meal.   Even though the food was good and the chef was very talented, I would probably not return as this is an experience that I can have elsewhere!  We felt the same way about Nine Dragons in China.  Don’t get me wrong – these are great restaurants, but personally, I much prefer to take advantage of the other wonderful and unique dining opportunities when visiting the World Showcase!

The big favourite at Sea world Orlando is “Shamu” the giant killer whale. I have seen the killer whale show “Believe” now five times in three years, and I must say I have enjoyed everyone. My children are love this show and always want to go back.

But last year in August 2006 I found a show that even beat the daytime Believe Shamu show. I must say the “Shamu Rocks” show is was the highlight of our Florida holiday. Once you have bought your tickets for   two weeks, you can go as many times as you like. I would advise getting there early; it will be completely full at the Shamu Stadium. It starts at about 8p.m. and it is very dark. This only adds to the spectacular show that you are about to see.

There is a new state of the art lighting system in conjunction with high energy quality music and many L.E.D giant screens brings this to you in a unique way.  The quality is exceptional and the results are just stunning. The screens video images take Shamu past the white cliffs of Dover, trek through the jungles of Africa and dive into the coral reefs off the coast of Australia.

The music makes this really sing a long rock n roll show, and audience participation is fantastic. Simple the best show I have seen!

here is a mass exit from the Shamu stadium at the end of the show, and a lot of people at night can be a little nervy, especially with young children. We stayed and watched the firework display on the lake. This was no great shakes but a lot of people stayed to watch it. I was glad when we followed the large crowds out of the park and found our car.

Another excellent day in Florida

I went there in August 2006. This holiday was special for me and my son Jack, because we went for three weeks, and had two weeks on our own. His Mum and brother arrived in the third week of our holiday and stayed on for an extra week. This is why the majority of our outings were done together.

As with most parks the best time to go is early, rather than later in the day. This is just what we did. I took a pair of rubber shoes so my feet did not get sore with all the walking I knew we were going to get through this day. I was not wrong, and would recommend anyone visiting this park to do the same.

The rides are split up into different categories, Thrill rides, Multi-person rides, Take it easy rides and Just for kid’s rides. We attempted to have a go at the majority of them, but failed to do this due to sheer exhaustion! There are two of the thrill rides next to each other and I must say they are not for the faint hearted. ”Bomb Bay and “ Der Stuka”.With Bomb Bay you’ve guessed it you are the bomb. Dropping 76feet vertically was not my idea of fun, but for Jack it was! At 48 and a half  inch tall he just made it. I thought I did well dropping down a 250 feet slide. The hard part was climbing up the steps to the top, because once up there you had to get down much quicker than you went up. Yes! Jack did two rides to my one.

My favourite ride on the Multi-person ride was Black Hole. They tell you there is 1000 gallons a minute dropping through 500feet of twisting and turning pipes, which may not sound too much but remember someone forgot to turn the lights on, which made this a scary but thrilling ride.

The Take it easy ride was at the end of our very long and enjoyable day. I loved the Lazy River which went through waterfalls and an old boat dock, just the way to finish the day.

I feel I could write much more about our day at this theme park, but please judge it for yourselves

I looked at the woodland on my first real visit, and thought that no way was it suitable to walk through. It was just too dense to contemplate a walk. It was not until several months later that I had a friend who stayed with me, that he told me that he had looked up my address on “Google Earth” and was amazed to see what appeared to be several lakes running between the two highways and the woods. The highways being, highway 27, and highway 545.

We decided to do a bit of Manley exploring and found an entrance to the woods at the rear of the small fishing lake situated to the right of the property. We followed this for about five minutes; low and behold a footpath took us through the woods and between two large lakes, one on either side on the footpath. We saw several people fishing both lakes and this was a real find. The woods continued passed the lakes and so did the well trodden path. At this time we did not pursue the woodland path.

It was November 2006 that I went out again with my wife, and it was a holiday without children, just a week out of season. I explained to her about the previous visit and it was then that we decided to purchase two mountain bikes, with a view of exploring the woods.

We did just that, and set out and followed the path through the woods. It was a great and interesting cycle ride lasting about forty minutes. We headed to the right of the first lake and kept on going along the path, it eventually brought us at the side track at the rear of the Wal-Mart store and then back on Highway 27 home.

You too can share this experience if you book in at Pebble Creek Court. It was then we decided the name for the web address had to be, Mickeyswoodlandretreat.co.uk, hope to see you real soon!

Of course, this luxury comes at a price. As at June 2006, the price for one day at Discovery Cove was $279. That does include not only the dolphin interaction, but also the chance to snorkel the tropical reef, wade with the rays, hand feed the tropical birds, and all you can eat & drink breakfast, lunch and snacks, equipment hire (snorkel gear, wetsuits etc), plus 14 days entrance to Sea World …But, still, that price may make you swallow hard and think about it again.

* A couple of things to note are that children aged under 5 are not allowed to enjoy the dolphin interaction, but can opt for the “non-dolphin” package at $179 - as can any non-swimming adults - and that the water can feel VERY chilly as dolphins prefer an optimum temperature of 72 degrees Fahrenheit!

Assuming none of this has dampened your determination, what can you expect at Discovery Cove:

Dolphin Swim

Easily the highlight of a wonderful day. Take turns to hug, kiss and play with a dolphin and even to communicate with simple hand signals. The one-on-one swimming is over far too quickly and it is incredibly tempting to sneak to the back of the group and try it all over again…This memory will stay with you…

Coral Reef

Calming and relaxing. The thousands of tropical fish and rays beneath you make you feel that all your cares have floated away and that all you are left with is the sun above, the water below and the tranquil ebb and flow of the ocean…Shark and barracuda lurk on the horizon - but safely behind glass. Explore the reef, the shipwreck and the underwater grottoes…

Tropical River Swim

Makes me smile just thinking about this. Drifting along in the warm water, the gentle current leads you to sandy beaches, enchanting rainforests - complete with waterfall! - and even an underwater cave. This will relax you if nothing else can…

Ray Lagoon

There is something disquieting about the alien flapping of one ray, let alone several dozens of them all around you. If you can adjust to the unusual movement and the strangely velvety touch then you will love this experience. You just won’t know until you try it!

Aviary

This is more to my taste. Watching the birds wheel above you or listening to them squawk from the branches is another surreal experience as your mind tells you that you are in Orlando but your senses tell you are in the rainforest of Central America…

Resort Pool

Aahhh, and finally….One last dip in this extraordinary pool as the late afternoon sunlight trickles down through the spreading leaves. All around you the trees whisper to each other and the waterfall murmurs its happiness…It has been a day to remember…

David Evans