Smart Traveller

The Walt Disney World Resort is probably the most famous attraction in Orlando, in Florida, and attracts millions of visitors each year. In this, the first of a series of posts about the resort, we will give you a brief overview of the attractions there and some tips to help you to plan your holiday.

The Walt Disney World Resort covers a huge area and consists of four theme parks, two water parks and a number of other attractions. It’s located in Lake Buena Vista, which is about 30 minutes’ drive from Orlando International Airport and about an hour’s drive from Orlando Sanford International Airport.

The resort’s theme parks are as follows:

• The Magic Kingdom - the home of the iconic Cinderella Castle, this park offers many attractions for young children, including rides such as Peter Pan’s Flight and the Mad Tea Party.
• Epcot - this theme park is set around a large lake and can be divided into two sections: the science-based area, which includes rides such as Mission: Space, and the pavillions, where you can get a taste of different parts of the world.
• Disney’s Hollywood Studios - this theme park is packed with attractions based on the silver screen and world of television. It has thrill rides, such as the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, and live shows, such as the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular.
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom Park - part zoo, part theme park, Disney’s Animal Kingdom includes attractions such as the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail and the Expedition Everest thrill ride.

The Walt Disney World Resort’s water parks are as follows:

• Disney’s Blizzard Beach - this water park has a ski resort theme and rides include the Summit Plummet freefall body slide, the Runoff Rapids and a chairlift.
• Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon - attractions in this water park include the Mayday Falls, Castaway Creek and the Crush ‘n’ Gusher water coaster.

The resort also includes two shopping and entertainment areas:

• Downtown Disney - this section of the resort contains a wide range of shops and restaurants, as well as being home to entertainment venues such as the House of Blues and Cirque du Soleil’s Orlando show.
• Disney’s BoardWalk -this waterside shopping and entertainment area is the perfect place for a stroll during the day or evening, and there are also a number of restaurants here.

Other attractions within the Walt Disney World Resort include Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex and a number of golf courses. There are also many hotels within the resort.

A number of airlines operate flights between the U.K. and Orlando. Once in Orlando, car hire is a must. Although many of the hotels provide free shuttle bus services to the parks, these can be extremely busy and usually travel by a relatively indirect route, so the journey can be frustrating after a long day in the parks.

Luckily, many car hire operators, including easyCar, provide cheap Orlando car hire deals, and you can book your hire car online before you fly and pick it up at the airport.

It’s also a good idea to buy your Disney theme park tickets in advance. You can often get good deals online and buy tickets which are valid for a set number of days and allow you to visit all of the parks as and when you choose. This means that you can visit more than one park in a day or choose to spend an extra day in a particular park if you don’t manage to see everything that you want to in one day.

In future posts in this series, we’ll be looking at each of the parks and shopping areas in more detail, providing you with information about some of the hotels within the Walt Disney World Resort, and providing you with some hints and tips to help you to make the most of your trip to Orlando.

Image: The GreatGlobetrotter

If you’re planning your next holiday and want to stay in the U.K., whether to save money or to avoid flying due to concerns about the contribution that carbon emissions are believed to make to climate change, a walking holiday is a great option.

The South West Coast Path is the longest of the U.K’s National Trails, stretching for 630 miles and passing through four counties. The path begins at the town of Minehead, in Somerset, and continues along the North Devon coast, the North Cornwall coast, the South Cornwall coast, the South Devon coast, the East Devon coast and the Dorset coast, finishing at Poole Harbour.

Highlights along the trail include Land’s End, Tintagel Castle, the car-free village of Clovelly, the Minack Theatre, the Lizard Peninsula and Lulworth Cove. There are beautiful views from the coastal path and the South West is also the perfect place to visit if you enjoy wildlife. You may be able to spot peregrine falcons or seabirds, such as guillemots and kittiwakes, and if you’re lucky, you may catch a glimpse of dolphins, seals or basking sharks in the sea.

It would take about seven or eight weeks to walk the entire South West Coast Path, but if you want a shorter walking holiday, you can choose to walk a section of it, as its easily accessible from many towns and cities along the way. The South West Coast Path website has detailed guides to the trail and divides it into 53 separate sections that you could walk in a day, so you can design your own itinerary for your walking holiday.

For example, you could simply spend a day walking the first section of the trail, from Minehead to Porlock Weir and then catch a bus back to your starting point. Alternatively, you could spend several days walking from the popular Cornish seaside resort of Newquay to the town of St. Ives, where you’ll find the Tate St. Ives art gallery.

The South West Coast Path website is an essential resource for anyone wanting to explore the trail, as it features information about things to see along the way, accommodation near to the coast path and safety tips. It also provides details of shorter walks in the South West which are perfect for days out with the family.

Image: Herbythyme

In this post, the next in our series about things to do in Abu Dhabi, we’re taking a look at Yas Island. Yas Island lies just off the coast of Abu Dhabi, about 10 minutes’ drive from Abu Dhabi International Airport. The island is in the process of being developed into a major tourist destination.

One of the main attractions on Yas Island is the Yas Marina Circuit, which was completed this year and played host to the first F1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in November. More than 50,000 people can watch the action at this stunning new circuit, the only motorsports venue in the world at which all the grandstands are covered.

The next Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is due to take place on the 29 - 31 October 2010, but the Yas Marina Circuit will be open all year round and will eventually include a Driving School Building, a Karting Centre, a Drag Racing Centre and a Business Park.

Two theme parks and a water park are also being constructed on Yas Island. The first of these theme parks, Ferrari World, is due to open during 2010 and will be the largest indoor theme park in the world.

There will be more than 20 rides and attractions inside Ferrari World, including the world’s fastest rollercoaster, which will reach speeds of more than 200km per hour. The park’s designers are also planning a “G-Force Experience” ride, which will take you up through the roof of the park. Other attractions at Ferrari World will include a range of restaurants and cafes serving Italian cuisine, and Ferrari World souvenir shops.

The other theme park on Yas Island will be the Middle East’s first Warner Bros. Theme Park.

Other Yas Island attractions will include Yas Mall, where you’ll find more than 500 stores, and several golf courses and marinas. There are also a number of hotels on the island and we’ll be looking at some of these in the next post in this series.

You can find out more about Abu Dhabi in previous posts in this series:

• Exploring Abu Dhabi - Abu Dhabi Shopping: read about some of Abu Dhabi’s malls and souks.
• Exploring Abu Dhabi - Sheikh Zayed Mosque: in this post, we take a look at Abu Dhabi’s largest mosque.
• Exploring Abu Dhabi - Abu Dhabi Corniche Hotels
  - find some great places to stay near the Corniche.
• Exploring Abu Dhabi - The Corniche: find out about Abu Dhabi’s famous seaside promenade.
• Exploring Abu Dhabi - Emirates Heritage Village: find out about this popular tourist attraction.
• Exploring Abu Dhabi - Abu Dhabi Overview: learn about Abu Dhabi and the other United Arab Emirates.
• Airport Guides - Abu Dhabi International Airport: information  for anyone booking flights to Abu Dhabi.

Image: Nepenthes