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Be a movie star for a day at Universal Orlando

Have you been watching movies for so long that you feel like you could make one yourself? If you're longing to release your inner thespian, Universal Orlando could be the holiday spot for you. Often combined with a visit to Florida’s best known tourist attraction – the Walt Disney theme parks –  Universal Orlando is a movie-lovers heaven.

A visit to Universal could take days of your time – there is so much to see and do. But many families who travel to Orlando for the theme park experience like to savour as many of the theme parks as possible, and so book a long break, perhaps staying at a villa or all-inclusive resort close by. Apart from thrill rides, another speciality of Orange County's theme parks is marine and aquatic displays. Orlando has some of the best water theme parks in the world, the most famous of which is probably SeaWorld Orlando.

The Universal Studios resort is divided into two parts: Universal Studios Orlando and Universal’s Islands of Adventure. Heading inside the studios compound, guests are invited to travel around between the studios seven themed areas: Hollywood, Production Central, New York, San Francisco, World Expo, Entertainment and Woody Woodpecker's Kidzone. Universal Studios delights both children and adults who can both find a movie theme or backdrop to enact their actor fantasies against. You'll also get insight into how the movies are made, and get a sense of how elaborate and complex movie locations really are.

But Universal Studios is not just a theme park. Inside Universal’s Islands of Adventure, a group of six distinct islands themed to a different adventure, guests will find some of the most daring and exciting rides in the world. In fact, the slogan urges visitors to ‘Be Courageous, Be Outrageous’. The different islands include Marvel Super Hero Island, Toon Lagoon, Jurassic Park, and the extremely popular Wizarding World of Harry Potter, based on the JK Rowling story series.

SeaWorld Orlando is one of the most visited theme parks in Florida and it’s not hard to see why. With its rollercoaster thrill rides and killer whale shows, both children and adults adore this marine-life based zoological park. Among its most popular attractions is the One Ocean All New Shamu Show, a sensory celebration of life underneath the sea. Shamu is the park's killer whale mascot and, as the name suggests, the All New Shamu Show features a magnificent display of the powers and beauty of killer whales. Don't worry: you won't have to swim with them. The whales are carefully instructed by a team of experts who have studied their behaviour for years and who have formed strong relationships with these beautiful mammals.

Other attractions include Key West at SeaWorld, an area designed to look like Key West, southern Florida, with architecture and landscaping reminiscent of the area, and Shamu's Happy Harbor, a children's area hosted by Shamu, the park's killer whale mascot. The area is located beside Shamu Stadium and features six family rides, a net climbing structure and a water play area.