Elaine was keen to take her family back to Florida last summer to celebrate her son's 40th birthday. With school-aged grandchildren, they were restricted to travel in the school holidays, during one of the busiest and hottest months. It was also going to be extra busy this year, with families having been denied the theme parks for a couple of years.
With a preference to not drive, transfers were needed to the theme parks, so I knew that Sonesta Es Suites on International Drive would work well for them as it offers shuttles to both Disney and Universal and is also in a great location with restaurants, shops and attractions all within walking distance...
Having last visited in 2017, we were keen to celebrate our son’s 40th birthday on a family holiday with his wife and our grandchildren - now 12 and 6 - back to Orlando.
Our party of six stayed in two rooms at the ideally situated Sonesta ES Suites on International Drive, rated a 3* but to be honest I would certainly award it a 4*.
The hotel is located opposite ICON Park with shops and restaurants in both directions, but it was clear that Covid has had a big impact with many places sadly closed since we were last there.
There is a stop for the I Ride trolley bus, that goes up and down International Drive, right outside the hotel and this was also where the shuttle pick-up point was for the theme parks.
The hotel itself was lovely - spotless everywhere - and the staff were very friendly and helpful.
The rooms were pleasant and clean with a decent-sized kitchen area. I would suggest that the apartment would benefit from a full oven, but it had everything else needed for self-catering.
Housekeeping is on the eighth day, but should fresh towels be required, you just had to ask, and it was seen to straight away. The pool was cleaned every morning and was spotless with plenty of complimentary sun beds and towels.
Even though we were aware that everything had risen in price and the pound had fallen against the dollar, Orlando had become far more expensive than we had anticipated for basic supplies. And the recommended service charge on a restaurant bill now ranges from 18% up to 35%!
We visited all the main theme parks starting with Disney’s Magic Kingdom, which was very busy, and with ride wait times of around 60 to 90 minutes, it was at times uncomfortable in the heat.
Sadly, the refillable cups are now only provided if you are staying in a Disney Resort and although you can use the water fountains scattered around the park, the water was warm with a metallic taste, so we felt obliged to purchase bottled water at $5.
Unfortunately, there were very few shaded seating areas within the park to get any respite from the heat, which was disappointing. The kids still enjoyed themselves, though.
Several attractions at Busch Gardens were sadly still closed which was a shame but fortunes turned upward the following day with my son having been gifted family tickets to Universal Studios for his 40th birthday.
They spent the whole day there and all loved it, saying it was the best theme park out of them all.
Although busy, people were not bumping into each other and unlike Disney, there was an option for anyone to buy a cup that you can then refill with free soft drink/ water throughout the park.
There were also shaded areas to provide rest from the heat and attraction wait times ranged from just five minutes to 45 minutes maximum.
SeaWorld had a couple of areas closed off but that didn’t impact our enjoyment. We enjoyed a fabulous day there with the grandchildren loving their dolphin encounter.
The weather throughout was very hot and we had a few big thunderstorms, but they mainly happened in the evening so didn't spoil anything for us.
Our return flight with Tui was frustratingly delayed by four hours 😕, and Melbourne Orlando airport is only small with limited facilities though expansion work is in progress. I hope they install some screens with flight information as it wasn’t easy to hear the announcer.
The staff there deserve great credit for their support for travellers with a hidden disability like our 12-year-old granddaughter, Olivia. She had her “Sunflower” lanyard on, and they were extremely helpful in getting us through security and baggage reclaim quickly and easily.
I have since discovered that both Melbourne and Orlando Sanford International Airport participate in the Sunflower Scheme and that if contacted in advance then someone will be on hand to provide airport assistance. Manchester Airport could learn a lot from them - only one person acknowledged the lanyard, and it is insulting for them to claim to participate in the scheme.
All in all, we enjoyed our holiday, and I would like to thank Amanda for her hard work in arranging our trip, but we are unlikely to return as we felt that Orlando has lost some of its previous charms.
