This was our first real "Theme Park" trip, and to set up for those is much different than our regular edu-vacations. It wasn't so much about isolating the learning opportunities, but enabling the kids to have as much outright fun as possible. This is "way" out of the norm for us... with great travel experiences to Quebec, Washington, Toronto, Ottawa, New York City, Boston and Cuba filled with cultural exposure to the arts, architecture, religion, entertainment and education the functional piece/reason for the visit. This, indeed, was something different. We learned not to underestimate, as our kids in many ways took it as was meant... another travel experience that could be looked at critically and used as part of their experience and understanding of the world that surrounds them!

Planning: Most of the journey's itinerary was locked in before departure, with attraction tickets being purchased, accommodations booked and a myriad of websites/books browsed in regards to the three chosen Theme Parks. The major purchases we made while there were those pertaining to meals and transportation connections. We didn't have exact "loops" planned for the parks, but built ideas as to what seemed like the most entertaining snags (as far as rides), what might beat line-ups, and how to get there and back with the least amount of anxiety!!!

Citizenry: These parks, although Americana at it's purest, hosted a very multi-cultural conglomeration of visitors spanning language, race, and any age distinction. In other words, all shapes and sizes!!! Park employees were quite amazing, considering the sometimes blatant redundancy of their work, as they were in the majority helpful and obliging to all questions, more than willing to offer a helping hand, and knowledgeable / entertaining when required according to the description or script they were working from. We saw very little of real Orlando life, beyond the discussions we had with those like cabbies and/or shuttle drivers and our visit to the Magic/Heat NBA Game in the downtown. All we met were helpful, willing to answer questions, and make our stay as comfortable as possible.

Attractions (WDW, SeaWorld, Universal): Holy crowd control!!! The pre-holiday Christmas season is one of the busier times and there were a lot of people on the move with the sole focus of visiting these parks. I've gotta say I've never seen anything quite like how they are controlled. Moving people about (one might expand further to call it herding) is tuned to an art form. Although sometimes jammed in the streets and on rides, all seemed to keep moving. Big thumbs up for cleanliness at these parks... as garbage seemed to get swept away before it hit the ground and the facilities (ie washrooms) are as everything else, picture perfect. We knew we weren't back in Cuba... that's for sure!!! So, after chatting "post-visit", we noted that both the universal parks were very well suited for the ages Peter and Monica find themselves. They loved the rides, the music we passed through and the movies these attractions are linked with. I believe SeaWorld suited the adults quite nicely... Great shows and very laid back! It was a very welcome break when we scheduled it. Of note... everything we had purchased online for the above attractions did exactly what we expected and there were few surprises.

What's it speakin' for? It would be a good idea at this point to make a weather statement! We watched closely for any kind of out of character forecast but found six straight days of "Sunny with cloudy periods" and temperatures 24-26 daily. Simply gorgeous. I do see how Snow Birds could find the whole thing very appealing. In fact our whole trip could be described as a pleasant weather offering. Yet, from our discussion with one of our drivers, the notion that it's always like this is deceiving. His line was there are two temperatures;"Hot" and "Hotter". Indeed, summer months in Florida can be quite unbearable due to the heat.

Food: We ate a full complimentary breakfast everyday at the BVS, with eggs, fruit, bacon/sausage/ham each day. That has become important to us... providing a no work, but solid, start to our travel day. From there we toured the parks each day with a knapsack with a variety of snack including fruit, water, and some chips/mix for munching on. We usually ate one meal of some sort at the park, but what it was depended solely on if we could get through the doors and through a line-up in a reasonable amount of time. We sometimes were able to eat later or earlier than the throngs which did make a difference in access. This is one area I see where focus in regards to packaging and access in and around the attractions could be improved at WDW. Evenings turned out to be comfort food... pizza, snacks, and whatever we could forage without breaking the bank!!!

Transportation: Most of the larger places we have visited as a family have a core mass transit based around a subway/bus system that regularly manages the flow of visitors from major locations, point A to B. Orlando is different. It somehow seems "flung", maybe in someways like we felt when in Toronto. Things are spread out larger distances apart. This is in part due to Disney's more remote locale very much outside Orlando. The attractions, Universal/Seaworld and WDW, are some distance apart and not easily connected. Although we chose otherwise, car rentals seem the norm for those navigating this part of Florida. Routes are stogged with drivers not used to travelling on them. It all seems to have created a perfect chaos... with multiple bus lines, cabs, car rentals and regular commuters departing from transportation hubs in every direction. We used shuttles and cabs but would have much preferred an above / below ground train system that reached all these areas. I'd guess the millions of visitors per year would provide the traffic to warrrant this, but it seems (from a total visitor stand point) that the political will / corporate cooperation just isn't there to make this happen.