Orlando Uncovered - Destination Special
The Travel Diaries
Holly Rubenstein
4.6 • 758 Ratings
🗓️ 5 November 2024
⏱️ 56 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Today we’re uncovering one of the most awe-inspiring destinations on the planet - Orlando, Florida. Orlando is the most visited destination in the USA, and after listening to this episode, you’ll understand why.
It’s the theme park capital of the world, home to seven of the world’s top theme parks. From Magic Kingdom to Universal Studios, there's something for everyone.
And there’s a brand new theme park opening in May 2025, Universal’s Epic Universe. It’s set to feature over 50 attractions, entirely new lands, including the much-anticipated Super Nintendo World, where guests can step into the world of Mario Kart and Yoshi’s Adventure.
My first guest today knows a thing or two about these parks - Katie Ellison is a content creator who has visited Orlando countless times with her three children. She’ll take us on a whirlwind through her top picks of Disney’s parks. She’ll also share her favourite places to chill after a busy day at the parks - because as you’ll hear, Orlando isn’t just about the theme parks. It’s got beautiful green spaces, cute neighbourhoods, a really burgeoning food scene…and that’s where our next guests come in - travel content creators Ryan and Jade from Live the Dash. They recently took a trip to Orlando where they skipped the theme parks entirely, and focussed on everything else the city has to offer.
They’ll show us just how diverse Orlando is as a destination, whether it’s zooming across the headwaters on an airboat ride or kayaking down crystal clear rivers, they tell us how they fell in love with Orlando’s natural beauty.
So, whether you're planning a theme park-packed family trip or looking to discover the hidden gems of Orlando, this episode will shine a light on everything you need to know.
Katie’s Destination Recap:
- Magic Kingdom Park
- Disney’s Hollywood Studios
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom
- Disney’s Boardwalk
- Disney Springs
- Disney’s Contemporary Resort
- Universal Islands of Adventure
- Universal Studios Florida
- Universal CityWalk
- Universal Volcano Bay
- Winter Park
- Celebration
- WonderWorks
Ryan & Jade’s:
- Walt Disney World Swan Reserve
- Courtyard Orlando Lake Buena Vista at Marriott Village
- Dezerland Park
- Lakeridge Winery & Vineyards
- Boggy Creek Airboat Rides
- Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex
- Orlando Eye at ICON Park
- The Ravenous Pig, Winter Park
- The Greenery Creamery
If you’re inspired to explore more, head over to VisitOrlando.com where you’ll find all the travel tips, deals, and information you need to plan the perfect Orlando holiday. You can also make an appointment with an Orlando Vacation Planner for free, personalised holiday planning suggestions, via phone, email or Whatsapp.
And if you’d like to hear even more about Orlando, tune in to my Fantastic Florida Destination Special from a couple of seasons back, where Orlando is a big focus too.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to the Travel Diaries podcast. |
| 0:09.8 | I'm your host Holly Rubinstein and on today's destination special, we're uncovering one of the most awe-inspiring destinations on the planet, Orlando, Florida. |
| 0:22.2 | Orlando is in the centre of the state and a direct flight from the UK will get you there in about nine hours. |
| 0:28.4 | It's the most visitor destination in the USA so it's no wonder a lot of you are asking for a destination special about this one. |
| 0:37.0 | And what really inspired me to |
| 0:38.2 | get working on it was actually speaking to TV presenter Phil Rosenthal on his episode a couple of |
| 0:44.8 | seasons back, where he was chatting about how Orlando had one of the most exciting food scenes |
| 0:49.8 | that he had experienced. And he's not the first person who mentioned that to me, so I was really |
| 0:54.3 | interested to try and discover another world outside of the parks that is rising in popularity, |
| 1:00.4 | as well as, of course, bringing to life the magic of the world-class theme parks that Orlando |
| 1:06.6 | has to offer to. You'll find Disney's Magic Kingdom with its iconic Cinderella Castle, Universal Studios, |
| 1:14.3 | where the Wizarding World of Harry Potter brings J.K. Rowling's universe to life. And there's a brand |
| 1:19.1 | new theme park opening in May 2025 called Universal's Epic Universe. It's set to feature over 50 |
| 1:26.5 | attractions, entirely new lands, including the |
| 1:29.3 | much anticipated Super Nintendo World, where guests can step into the world of Mario Kart and Yoshi's |
| 1:36.2 | adventure. My first guest today knows a thing or two about these parks. Katie Ellison is a content |
| 1:43.2 | creator who's visited Orlando countless times |
| 1:45.8 | with her three children and she'll take us on a whirlwind tour through her top picks of Disney's |
| 1:50.9 | Park's Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom and Epcot, as well as sharing her insider tips |
| 1:56.4 | for navigating Universal Orlando and Volcano Bay, Universal's Water Theme Park. |
| 2:01.8 | She'll also share her favourite places to chill after a busy day at the parks because, as you'll hear, Orlando isn't just about the theme parks. |
| 2:09.5 | It's got beautiful green spaces, cute neighborhoods and a really burgeoning food scene, like I mentioned. |
... |
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