Fred Mawer reports on The Land of Make-Believe
Verzonden op
12.04.07
On my latest visit to Orlando, I took a train ride through the Himalayas in search of the yeti and I saw a cartoon character on a film screen chat with children sitting in front of me in the audience.
Welcome to the world’s capital of make-believe. There are seven theme parks in Orlando - four at Disney World, two at Universal Orlando plus SeaWorld’s marine park. Together they indisputably deliver the greatest concentration of creative family entertainment you’ll find anywhere on the planet.
It's not just the state-of-the-art roller coasters and space rides or the performing killer whales and perfectly choreographed fireworks displays which are likely to bowl you over. At Walt Disney World in particular, I guarantee you’ll be knocked out by the slickness of the vast operation, and by the friendliness and helpfulness of every Disney ‘cast member’.
Yet the land where the theme parks grow, as Orlando has been dubbed, won't suit everyone. Forty million holidaymakers visit the city/resort each year, so expect big queues for the best attractions. When I rode on Soarin' – an amazing, simulated flight over California in which you experience something of what it must feel like to be a bird gliding over mountains and orange groves - the wait was 75 minutes, and that was on a quiet day in November.
And the holiday won’t be relaxing. The best way to beat the queues is to dispense with lie ins and be at the parks' gates before their scheduled opening times (they often let you in a little early).
Then there is the cost. On top of the normal holiday bill, a family of two adults and two primary-school aged children would have to stump up over £1,000 for tickets to cover admission to all the main parks.
Lastly, you may baulk at the fakery of it all. You might well justifiably ask: why not go to the real Himalayas or the real California, rather than theme-park versions?
If you do decide to give Orlando a go, you can at least combine the fantasy world of the theme parks with a dose of the ‘real’ Florida.
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