Jenni goes stateside: Rock and rollercoasters (part 1)

Me again already! Okay so my original plan was to split my blog posts in the same way that my holiday is split; sanibel island, orlando and then miami. But actually, I'm halfway through Orlando and I feel like I've already done so much (and taken so many photos) that it needs splitting into two blog posts. 

We kicked things off on Monday at Universal studios and I swear I have never been sweatier in my whole life. Seriously, Florida is ridiculously humid I have no idea how people could want to live here! It's alright when you're by the pool doing nothing but trying to walk round and stand in queues with loads of other sweaty strangers is not so nice.

Actually speaking of queues, there really wasn't many! It's not school holidays anymore in Florida so there's barely anyone around - I think the longest queue we waited in was about 20 minutes long. And it's so satisfying walking past all the queuing space that would normally be filled. Obviously the rides are amazing (Universal studios excels at the 3D/4D cinema rides) but actually my favourite thing was all the scenery. Every area is themed (Hollywood, Simpsons land, Diagon Alley) and the attention to detail is insane. The Harry Potter bit especially was really impressive and now I totally want to to go and watch all the films again. 

On to Tuesday and we had the most amazing day at Busch gardens. Not only does Busch gardens have the most amazing rollercoasters (bigger and better than the ones at Universal studios) but they also have a safari park and loads of animal reserves. I'm totally against Seaworld because of its cruelty and I'm very split with zoos/safari parks. While most of the animals seemed really happy and seemed to have plenty of room, there were a few (a couple of the birds) that seemed really caged up so I wasn't a fan of those parts. It's been so long since I've been to a zoo or anything though so it was really amazing (and a really good mix with the rides) and I now want a wallaby. You could stroke them (and the kangaroos) and feed them and they were so cute! I think I made a friend. The crocodiles and alligators however? Not so friendly.

Yesterday was my favourite day so far. For a start, I am obsessed with this swim suit. It's from ASOS and the marble print is an absolutely dream; plus I love the fact that it's multi way so you can wear the straps normally or crossed over. I started with it normal then thought better of it once I was going on fast rides and so I crossed it over for some extra security. I've always preferred waterparks to theme parks so I was really excited about Aquatica and it was raining first thing in the morning (even though it stopped by the time we got there) so it was virtually empty and we got on all the rides with no waiting. We're true Brits - we don't get scared off by the rain! Plus it's a waterpark so you're getting wet either way. I'm a big believer in the saying 'you should do something every day that scares you' which is kind of hard sometimes because I'm not scared of a lot (I think I just think logically over emotionally in most ways anyway). But one of these slides seriously scared me. It was about 10 flights of stairs up to get to the slide and then you stand in a glass cubicle and then the floor drops from under you and you go down a complete vertical slide before it starts to twist and curve round! I'm glad I did it though because it was amazing. And on a less-scary-but-very-cute note, one of the slides went through a dolphin tank!

I also loved the wave pool and in between the waves, we made the most of having a really good waterproof camera and took some photos underwater. Think it turned out well?

Well for the one really good photo we got, we had about 200 bad ones. Mum had to retake the photo so many times! And if you think I'm a poser then you ain't seen nothing yet; my brother is the funniest person in photos - even underwater!

After drying off and making ourselves look a bit more presentable (only a little bit though; my hair is not taking well to this humidity), we headed out for dinner at the hard rock cafe. I loved it when I went to one in Amsterdam and it didn't disappoint this time either. Then we went next door at Universal studios to see the Blue man group show (hence why I thought it was a good night to wear my blue dress). I hadn't really heard anything about it and didn't know what to expect and I have to say it was the weirdest thing I've ever watched. It was 3 guys painted blue (obviously) and they didn't speak or anything during the show but they just did like comedy sketches. I think at it's core it was a comment on modern society; they did a sketch about modern art, about technology, about music. It was all a little weird but the music was really good and they got people out from the audience which was really funny. Plus at the end, they dropped these giant light up balloons and shot loads of toilet paper into the crowds so it was a really good atmosphere.

Then today we went and did the other half of the Universal park; Islands of Adventure, which has quite a few more rides and roller coasters than the studios half. The parks seem to be getting quieter by the day; probably to do with us being under threat of hurricane but clearly that's not going to stop us. Each day it switches between sunny and absolutely bucketing it down with rain but the weather was actually alright today! We got on all the rides in record time - we had done everything by 2pm! The hulk rollercoaster was the best one we've been on so far and the second half of Harry Potter land was even more impressive than the first half. This one was Hogsmeade themed and they've built a full sized Hogwarts! We've done the Warner bros studio tour in London and the Hogwarts actually filmed for the movies is a small model that they pan round so the one out here is actually more impressive than the actual one that appears in the films! Again, all the scenery was really impressive and it didn't make a difference that it didn't rain today; I got absolutely soaked on 2 water rides anyway. On the rapids ride, I was literally getting bucket loads of water on my head and in my lap. I probably would've been drier after a 20 minute shower. And you know how I said you should do something every day that scares you? Well that was taken out of my hands today because while waiting for the King Kong ride in almost-complete darkness, there was a ride worker hiding in the wall who reached out and absolutely scared the shit out of me. Then once he realised I was a screamer and gave a good reaction, he got me 3 more times at various other points along the wall! At least I kept the queue entertained; I aim to please. 

Want to keep up with my American adventure between now and my next blog post? Be sure to follow me on instagram @jenni_aimee and add me on snapchat jenniaimee to see what I get up to!