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Matt N’s Musings

A blog by Matt N in General

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Entries in this blog

Matt N’s Frolic in Florida 10th-24th June 2023

Matt N’s Frolic in Florida 10th-24th June 2023 (12th June 2023: Islands of Adventure)

12th June 2023 (Islands of Adventure) Today was a very exciting day; our first theme park day of the trip! As we had booked 14-day Universal Orlando tickets, we decided to start with one of those parks, and our choice was Islands of Adventure! We were really excited to get on both VelociCoaster and Hagrid’s, so we thought we may as well start in IOA!   We left our villa in Haines City at about 8am, and the drive took about 1h 15m, so we arrived at about 9:15am. I must say that it
Matt N’s Frolic in Florida 10th-24th June 2023

Matt N’s Frolic in Florida 10th-24th June 2023 (24th June 2023: Islands of Adventure/Universal Studios Florida)

24th June 2023 (Islands of Adventure/Universal Studios Florida) Today was the last day of our trip and the day of our flight home, so we decided to head to Universal Orlando for one last visit. If I’m being honest, today’s report will probably be short and quite dull, as we only spent around 4 hours in the parks themselves and it was one of those days where few things seemed to go right. Let me start from the very beginning.   As we didn’t have to check out of our house until 10am
Matt N’s Frolic in Florida 10th-24th June 2023

Matt N’s Frolic in Florida 10th-24th June 2023 (13th June 2023: Universal Studios Florida)

13th June 2023 (Universal Studios Florida) Today, we did the other park at Universal Orlando that we didn’t do yesterday; Universal Studios Florida! My grandparents didn’t join us today, but those of us who did go were excited to get back into the park and ride a combination of previous classics like Revenge of the Mummy and new attractions like Fast & Furious: Supercharged!   As with yesterday, we left our villa at just gone 8am and arrived at Universal Orlando at around 9:15
Matt N’s Frolic in Florida 10th-24th June 2023

Matt N’s Frolic in Florida 10th-24th June 2023 (17th June 2023: Islands of Adventure/Universal Studios Florida)

17th June 2023 (Islands of Adventure/Universal Studios Florida) After a little detour away from Universal yesterday, my parents and I headed back to the Universal Orlando Resort today! It had been 5 days since we went to Islands of Adventure and 4 days since we went to Universal Studios Florida, so we were excited to get back to the two parks and reride some of our favourites, as well as go on a few attractions that we didn’t try the other day! Our original plan was to just visit Islands of
Matt N’s Frolic in Florida 10th-24th June 2023

Matt N’s Frolic in Florida 10th-24th June 2023 (19th June 2023: Universal’s Volcano Bay)

19th June 2023 (Universal’s Volcano Bay) Today, we decided to break up the theme parking with another waterpark visit; we returned to Universal’s Volcano Bay! Today was an interesting one, because until very little time before our arrival, we had no idea that the Juneteenth federal holiday fell during our trip, and as that day was today, we thought that a waterpark might be a better, more relaxing place to go than any of the theme parks. Federal holidays notwithstanding, we also really enjo
Matt N’s Frolic in Florida 10th-24th June 2023

Matt N’s Frolic in Florida 10th-24th June 2023 (22nd June 2023: Busch Gardens Tampa)

22nd June 2023 (Busch Gardens Tampa) Today was a hotly anticipated day for me; today was our trip to Busch Gardens Tampa! I was really excited to get on Iron Gwazi, my first ever RMC, as well as to get on a couple of other new rides and get back on some of the other rides at the park!   Me, my mum and my dad set off for the park today (my grandparents and sister did not accompany us today, as my grandparents don’t like intense rides and my sister wasn’t fancying Busch) at just gon
Matt N’s Frolic in Florida 10th-24th June 2023

Matt N’s Frolic in Florida 10th-24th June 2023 (14th June 2023: Universal’s Volcano Bay)

14th June 2023 (Universal’s Volcano Bay) We went for something slightly different today… unlike the last two days, we went to a waterpark! And it wasn’t just any waterpark, it was one that none of us had ever visited before… Universal’s Volcano Bay! The last time we drove down the Universal end of the I-4 in 2016, this park was under construction, so we were interested to see what the park was like now it was open.   Before I get started, I should apologise in advance for the fact
Matt N’s Frolic in Florida 10th-24th June 2023

Matt N’s Frolic in Florida 10th-24th June 2023 (21st June 2023: Islands of Adventure/Universal Studios Florida)

21st June 2023 (Islands of Adventure/Universal Studios Florida) After an empty day yesterday, we headed back to Universal Orlando today! I was excited to head back to the park and hopefully try to get back on some favourite attractions I’d ridden earlier in the trip, and it was also my nan’s first time at Universal Studios Florida of the trip!   We left a little later today due to heavy rain, with us leaving at just gone 8:30am, so we did not arrive at Universal until after 10am:
Matt N’s Frolic in Florida 10th-24th June 2023

Matt N's Frolic in Florida 10th-24th June 2023 (Trip Summary)

Trip Summary All right, then! Now I’m back in the UK after a 7.5 hour flight from Orlando to London Heathrow, I think it’s about time I posted the trip summary I promised at the end of the last report!   To cut to the chase; this was an absolutely fantastic trip! I loved getting back to Universal, SeaWorld and Busch Gardens after 7 years, and I loved getting on some of the brilliant new rides that have been installed since my last trip! As well as that, Volcano Bay was also a real
Matt N’s Frolic in Florida 10th-24th June 2023

Matt N’s Frolic in Florida 10th-24th June 2023 (10th June 2023: Travel)

10th June 2023 (Travel) Hi guys. Today was a very exciting day; the start of my 2023 Florida trip! This trip is my first time heading to Florida in 4 years, and my first time heading to the parks we’re visiting this time (Universal Orlando, SeaWorld and Busch Gardens) in 7 years, as well as the first time my grandparents have joined my family and I in Florida since 2014. There are so many new rides I’m excited to get on; VelociCoaster, Iron Gwazi, Hagrid’s, Pipeline… the list goes on! We’re
Matt N’s Frolic in Florida 10th-24th June 2023

Matt N’s Frolic in Florida 10th-24th June 2023 (16th June 2023: SeaWorld Orlando)

16th June 2023 (SeaWorld Orlando) We went for our first day at a non-Universal park; we went to SeaWorld Orlando! I was excited to go back to this park to ride Mako, my current number 1 coaster, as well as take a ride on new rides like Ice Breaker, Pipeline and Infinity Falls!   As per usual with our park days, we left our house at just gone 8am, and with a stop for petrol (or should I say gas seeing as we’re in America?) on the way there, we arrived at around 9:15am. When we arri

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