House of fun: have a parent vacation in Orlando with your kids

If you want to fit parent fun into a Florida vacation Natalie Paris advises bringing lots of friends to Orlando and booking one of the new vacation mansions in Kissimmee.

Greta and Natalie meet the locals, Gatorland, Kissimmee

We only had a few seconds to take our places on the huge motorbikes. Wisely, my seven-year-old chose to ride in a sidecar, leaving me to straddle the bike’s chassis. I leant into the handlebars, flashed a reassuring smile, then screamed as we hurtled towards a ruined church.

Shooting through its window, we roared past animatronic beasts, careered into the sky, then dropped through the floor of a cave. As far as mother-daughter experiences go, riding Hagrid’s motorbike at Universal Studios Orlando is something we’ll talk about for years to come.

My daughter Greta loves rollercoasters and we’d come to Orlando for the first time as an early Mother’s Day treat. We based ourselves in Kissimmee, a short drive from the major theme parks and where you want to be if you’re looking for vacation rentals. And because we were travelling as a group that combined moms and kids, the new Kissimmee vacation mansions seemed a perfect fit.

Jeeves rental mansion, Kissimmee

Just ask Jeeves for the keys to your Kissimmee mansion

Our rental company, Jeeves, offers a brilliant selection of Florida properties and none of us could believe our eyes when we explored Morlando: a brand new mansion sleeping up to 20.

As well as a vast kitchen, living space, individually designed bedrooms and outdoor pool, there was also a games “wing” (to call it a “room” doesn’t do it justice). And if that wasn’t enough, a double-height room houses a neon-painted rocket play area, complete with meteors linked by aerial crawl nets and laser guns.

An airboat ride fulfils a childhood dream for this mom

The highlight of our week was likely to be Universal Studios but it wasn’t all so high-octane. At Boggy Creek, Florida’s birdlife provided the entertainment. I had wanted to ride an airboat since I was Greta’s age, so I was pleased to find she was excited too.

Though noisy, our airboat skimmed the water gracefully, as the guide introduced us to life on the freshwater lake. Feeling the wind in our hair and drawing close to storks and egrets was its own gentle thrill. Then something beside the boat blinked. “Alligator” shouted Greta, and her friends swarmed to the railings for a closer look. They were well camouflaged, but our expert guide managed to spot a few gnarled snouts lurking on the lake’s surface.

Daring ziplining, Gatorland, Kissimmee

The most sensational ziplines in Kissimmee, and alligators too

There were more alligators to spot, and feed, at Gatorland, but the children were more excited by the thought of ziplining here.

Afterwards, emboldened by their heroics, they donned gloves to pick up a raw chicken leg and sling it towards a motley crew of ‘gators, who’d crawled in from the lake for a free lunch.

Cirque du Soleil, Disney Springs, Kissimmee

Cirque du Soleil brings the enchantment at Disney Springs

Perhaps because we had children with us, we ate a lot of fried poultry in Kissimmee, especially at the Medieval Times dinner show where we were given turkey legs to gnaw.

More my style was the show at Cirque du Soleil in Disney Springs, where big-hearted acrobats brought animation to life.

The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium, Orlando

A VIP visit to Universal Studios cures my rollercoaster nerves

Our VIP visit to Universal Studios took the trip to another level though. A guide assigned to your VIP group sneaks you in through back doors so you magically appear at the front of queues. Which was fun in itself, and it turned out VIP access also banished my fear of rollercoasters: when you walk straight on, there’s less time to build up dread.

We spent a glorious day meeting Minions, then chasing Harry and Hermione around The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. And mums were even allowed some nostalgia, so I saw ET reunited with his cooing family of aliens.

St. Somewhere Spa, Margaritaville Resort, Kissimmee

And at the end of the day…time for some grown up fun

After a fun-packed day, plus an afternoon spent doing some cleverly thought-out, high-tech crafting at the Crayola Experience, the adults were due some grown-up time. So we booked babysitters at our Jeeves home and checked in for massages and facials at Margaritaville Resort. Bliss.

I used to think that taking the kids to Kissimmee would mean sacrificing my fun for theirs – now I’m rounding up friends for our next trip.