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I don’t do Disney, but Tinkerbell is different

Mouse Bride Disney World Orlando

I don’t normally do Disney, but Tinkerbell is different  You can’t do Florida without doing Disney. How many times had people told me that? So, despite my conviction that Disney wasn’t for me, I agreed to spend a day in one of world’s most popular theme  parks to see if might  experience the magic… “No [...]

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Antarctica Empire of the Penguin SeaWorld Preview

SeaWorld Orlando Antarctica Experience

Antarctica Empire of the Penguin SeaWorld Preview Antartica is about to get much more accessible. The biggest ever extension to Florida’s SeaWorld is due to open May 2013 and will introduce visitors to The Empire of the Penguin. While in Orlando recently SeaWorld gave us ten minutes behind the scenes with one of the stars of the [...]

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Behind the scenes with Legoland Master Builders

Master Builder Legoland Florida

Behind the scenes with Legoland Master Builders Who do you imagine builds Legoland? Kids in third world sweatshops working to blueprints drawn up in the Billund headquarters? Nope. Bespectacled professors of plastic? Wrong again. It isn’t a line of people in a grim northern factory, robotically slotting heads onto Ewoks while counting the minutes till [...]

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I went to Gatorland Orlando – so bite me

White Alligator Gatorland Orlando Florida

Orlando’s Gatorland doesn’t have cute furry animals or spectacular rides. It doesn’t have ‘cast members’ or ‘model citizens’ to wish you a good day. Its signs look homemade and frankly, they’re a bit un-P.C. It brings you up close to some of the kings of the wild, and then serves you deep friend chunks of [...]

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I really can fly.. iFly Orlando Indoor Skydiving

iFly Orlando

I spent most of my visit to Orlando either upside down or flying backwards. I might not have been able to get to the Kennedy Space Centre but I did fly around Hogwarts, above a Miniature USA, over an alligator swamp and had slime flying at me. However, no ride, zip wire or even broomstick [...]

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Surviving the sliming at the Nick Hotel Orlando

Slime Time Nick Hotel

Do you love or hate theme hotels?  I’m on the fence, so wasn’t sure how I’d feel about Orlando’s Nickelodeon Hotel. As colorful as a graffiti artist’s palette, and with a guest list of larger than life cartoon characters, spending a night there is a bit like stepping into the TV channel itself. It wouldn’t [...]

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Start spreading the news.. we’re leaving today

From:      KirstieDate:       4th August 2005Subject:   Start spreading the news, we’re leaving todayPlace:      New York City, USA The man in uniform took the kids’ ice creams before they even had time to pull the wrappers off. He placed them in a plastic tray on a short conveyor belt. Matthew [...]

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Mission improbable

From: Stuart Date: 1st August 2005 Subject: Mission improbable Place: West Coast to East Coast USA The boys sat happily devouring their fish and chips, tomato sauce smeared around their faces like bloodied warriors. Kirstie looked up from behind her newspaper, glanced around to check we were alone, then leant across the table. “Your mission, [...]

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On the trail of freedom and a big red dog

From: KirstieDate: 31st July 2005Subject: On the trail of freedom and a big red dog “What we meant in going for those red-coats was this: We had always governed ourselves, and we always meant to. They didn’t mean we should.” -Levi Preston -member of Boston’s Danvers Militia. An unassuming red line lay ahead of us [...]

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The West Wing

Washington DC

From:      Kirstie Date:      29th July 2005 Subject:  The West Wing Place:     Washington DC, USA The West Wing Washington was a stuffed shirt. An expensive grey suit with a silk burgundy tie and a boring briefcase; in short possibly the dullest capital city I’d ever visited. It was all so different [...]

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Lake District Tobogganing in Bivvi Bag Style

Toboganning in a survival bag

Lake District Tobogganing in Bivvi Bag Style Unable to get away during Easter, and tired of the kids niggling each [...]

Adventure Ideas 7: Go Further for Less

Money and Piggy Bank

Adventure Ideas 7: Go Further for Less Budget Travel Tips: Make your Holiday Money go Further It’s nearly that time [...]

Adventure Ideas 4: Go deep, high, eco or mad

Diving lesson kids

Adventure Ideas 4: Go deep, high, eco or mad Do you remember when ‘family friendly’ meant a kids’ club and [...]

Why not pop in somewhere different?

Pop up Bike Shop Manchester

It’s so easy to go to the same old places, do you know what I mean? When desperate for a [...]

Can comic heros save us from death by detergent?

How do you save an iconic lake from death by detergent? It’s a job for superheroes and needs community involvement, [...]

Living with lava – family life under a volcano

Eyafjallajokull Visitor Centre

Family life in the shadow of Eyjafjallajökull How do you feel about volcanoes? Would you give your right arm to [...]

I believe in the creature from the deep

Ice Monster

Sorting out what Icelandic people really believe in is a time consuming business. But, having spent a week in Reykjavik [...]

Lake District Via Ferrata at Honister

Via Ferrata at Honister, Lake District Want to test your family’s head for heights on a low risk, high thrill [...]

Adventure! on the timetable at Adventure Schools

 Adventure! on the timetable at Adventure Schools If you live in the UK’s Capital of Adventure, why would you want [...]

Does a happiness revolution sound like this?

Is this the sound of a happiness revolution? After making music with carrots, I figure I should be able to [...]

8 things that make Iceland sooo creative

What makes Icelanders so creative? It’s perhaps an understatement to say that Icelanders are a quirky nation. But what makes [...]

Culture & happiness at Reykjavik Festival of Children & Culture

When we set out to visit the Reykjavik Children’s Cultural Festival we knew relatively little about Iceland, Icelandic culture or [...]

An unexpected cultural education: Vaisakhi Southall

An unexpected cultural education: Vaisakhi Southall Driving back from our Twin Theme Park Adventure we stopped at some traffic lights [...]

Magic behind the Magic: Harry Potter Studio Tour

Magic behind magic: Harry Potter Studio Tour Never before has a children’s story managed to combine real life and magic [...]

Feeling the Lego force at Star Wars Miniland

If you’re a Star Wars fan or live with one, either human or droid, you’ve probably already come across Star [...]

A Blue Sky Go Green Go Lake District Travel Plan!

10 Ideas for cleaner, greener Lake District travel As a family of cyclists the idea of holidaying without a car [...]

You can go to the moon… making dreams happen

The moon, dreams and making them happen The moon is the muse for a group of six artists exhibiting at [...]

Geocache City: Touring Krakow by Geocache

Market Square Krakow

Geocache City – Touring Krakow by Geocache We are in front of a shrine to Mary, in the centre of [...]