Florida & Orlando Family Holiday

This was the first time we had taken our daughters (aged 6 & 8) on a long haul flight so we wanted it to be special, so we decided that we would take them to Florida as it also combined with a conference my husband had to attend at the same time. We stayed in the "Walt Disney Dolphin & Swan Hotel" a 5 * hotel which provided easy access to the parks. We had a lovely room which had two large Queen sized beds and a seating area with an additional sofa bed.

The hotel itself was lovely with friendly people and more importantly plenty for the girls to do.

Outside it had 5 swimming pools (one of which had a water slide and waterfalls) and there was also a beautiful white sandy beach area with a lake where we hired swan pedalos.

The parks were really easy to reach and we found we could get to Epcot & Disney-Hollywood Studios by either complimentary shuttle bus or by a shuttle boat. The other parks were also really accessible by the shuttle bus. This was perfect and economical with two young children who wanted to be in the centre of action all the time.

The food at the hotel was nice and we especially enjoyed the Disney characters joining us every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Our daughters loved this and it really made their time in Florida special.

There is so much you can do in Orlando, you don't have to do just the parks, amazing as they are, there is also great shopping opportunities.

A highlight for us was Manatee safari where we got up close and swam with them. This was just fantastic!

Nothing compares to Florida and we really enjoyed every minute of our time here. I cannot recommend it enough.