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.
