We were due to fly to Orlando on Monday of the half term holidays and having spent the weekend prior to our holiday worrying about Wilma due to the hype on the television - would we be able to travel? Would the villa be okay? Would we have electricity? Would Wilma hit before we arrived? We needed have bothered!!!
On checking in at Manchester Airport we enquired about the hurricane and were told there was absolutely nothing to worry about and we would definitely be able to arrive at MCO at our expected time. Relief descended as we were so looking forward to this extra week at our villa and didn’t want it to be cancelled at the last minute. However, at the point, we were still a little concerned as to what we might be flying too.
As we arrived into Atlanta we were told that a number of airports in Florida were closed due to Wilma but MCO was operating as normal. I wasn’t really looking forward to the flight from Atlanta to Orlando as I was expecting quite a bumpy ride – but to my amazement we experienced a very smooth flight.
We arrived into MCO during the evening. Wilma had expected to make landfall sometime during that day but at that point we had no idea if she had arrived or not. On landing, the runway was dry, and there was very little evidence of any debris that scenes on television show a hurricane can cause. Walking through the airport showed the first signs of the effects of Wilma – a few buckets dotted here and there, half filled with water – it had obviously rained quite hard.
We called at Walmart on the 192 in Kissimmee to pick up our usual supplies and asked about the hurricane. Wilma had made landfall early that morning and it had taken her 3 hours to cross over the southern half of Florida. Heavy rain had been the main consequence of Wilma in Orlando. We had been fortunate to miss this.
The day after (i.e. Tuesday) was wall to wall sunshine which we experienced until the following Sunday when we just had rather alot of cloud, but no rain. We even managed to soak up the sun for half a day on the Monday before returning home. The weather for the whole week was beautiful, ideal for visiting the parks and just lazing by the pool. We managed to eat breakfast outside every day - what bliss!!!
During the week we managed to visit Seaworld, Epcot, MGM, Universal and Islands of Adventure along with shopping and Old Town Kissimmee for the Saturday night classic car drive through.
I have to admit the parks were busier than I expected but we managed to see all the shows we had planned, and go on all the rides.
Would I go again in October? The answer is definitely YES!!!
I would highly recommend going at this time of year. We have only visited at Easter and New Year but would definitely return in October if we ever have the opportunity. Unfortunately I have taken a booking for next year so this will not be an option for us in 2006. What a shame!!!!!!! Maybe in 2007!!
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