The Tree of Life is actually man-made. Photo / Supplied
The Tree of Life is actually man-made. Photo / Supplied
The Florida city of Orlando has more options than you'd think, writes Megan Singleton.
I'm on the Hogwarts Express in a replica English carriage as we depart from King's Cross Station. We clickety-clack away as the English countryside whizzes past the windows.
Owls fly over with mail and students on broomsticks swoop past, before, while our heads are turned to the view, the lurking shadow of a Dementor passes by our locked door on the other side. It's as tall as the ceiling, skinny and bent over. Another one joins it and they linger behind the frosted glass.
Of course, the Dementor isn't real, and we're not really in the English countryside. We're in Orlando, at Florida's Universal Studios theme park.
The girl opposite me giggles and shrieks at the same time. She is a huge Harry Potter fan, she gushes. She wears her hair in long black plaits. Big round Harry Potter glasses perch on her nose. She could be mistaken for one of the staff from Ollivanders wand shop - except for her hysterical fan-girl chatter.
After about 10 minutes, the train stops and we disembark on to the cobbled streets of Diagon Alley, an exact replica of the movie set. There's even butterbeer to drink as we make our way up to the imposing Hogwarts school to ride what turns out to be the scariest rollercoaster I've ever been on. Now, I'm no wuss when it comes to rides, but this one spins and turns in the dark as you hurtle through the air on your quidditch stick and giant spiders are close enough to touch while more Dementors lurk about. I shut my eyes and wait for it to end.
Potter-philes at Universal Studio. Photo / Supplied
Down the road is Disney World, which covers 6400ha. It's the size of San Francisco and is actually four parks. It's so big you could stay for a week and not see and do everything. Disneyland in California sits on 65ha by comparison.
The first park, Magic Kingdom, is the equivalent to Anaheim's Disneyland, with the same rides and a whole lot more, including access to two water parks and golf courses. Animal Kingdom is a full zoo with 1000 animals and a 45m tall, handmade "tree of life". The park larger than the whole of Disneyland and also includes rides. In fact the Everest Expedition rollercoaster is the most expensive ever made at around $150 million.
Disney's Hollywood Studios is the third park on this land, an area which is still only partly developed. Its inspiration comes from the 1930s and 40s Hollywood heyday, with street facades of old-time New York City and Sunset Boulevard.
Epcot Center was Walt Disney's vision of what it would be like living in the future, but he died before he saw his Florida dream realised. His brother dialled it back a little so it's still futuristic, but without the people living like the Jetsons. The next big thing is a new Star Wars theme park to be built in 2016.
Orlando has more to offer than just theme parks, although admittedly it's hard to see past them. Even Kennedy Space Center out on the coast has added a simulator ride where you can blast off and feel the g-forces before you wander around the rockets and shuttles and meet an astronaut for a photo.
The Kennedy Space Center. Photo / 123RF
But the food scene is what's on the lips of those who are over Mickey, Harry and thrills and spills. It seems Orlando is growing up and its restaurants are too.
Foodies are beginning to put down their forks in other cities and take notice of Orlando, from its gastro pubs to its high-end Asian cuisine, small plates and stylish barbecue joints.
Locavore dining is big here. Super-fresh local produce from gourmet farmers' markets is transformed by young chefs who put the art into artisan.
You'll find restaurants that cure their own meats and degustation menus by chefs who trained at the local Cordon Bleu school. Some restaurants have their own kitchen gardens elsewhere in the city and staff divide their time between waiting tables and tending vegetables.
And where there's a food scene, there's always a bar scene.
Non-descript doors open into upcycled lounges where cocktails are shaken together with house-made sodas and fresh herbs.
The craft beer parlours are winning awards across the country and offer tastings and classes for the astute beer palate, and you'll find wine bars with more than 70 labels offered by the glass.
So if the thought of crowds, lines and hair-raising rides makes your stomach churn, you'll find Orlando has something else to offer. You can put on your heels, leave the fan girls lining up for selfies at the theme parks, and head out for a taste of what the city has to offer the discerning traveller.
