Enjoy creature comforts and close encounters with the animal kingdom on a family trip to the Florida says NATASHA JONES

COMING face to jaw with a shark, flying through the air on a roller-coaster and meeting Sesame Street characters...

If that’s your idea of fun, you’d better pack your case and head for Florida.

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With the sun reflecting on everyone’s faces, landing in Orlando gives you a tinge of childlike excitement. You just know this is going to be fun.

We stayed at the Renaissance SeaWorld – just across the road from SeaWorld, five minutes’ drive from Discovery Cove and an hour-and-a-half away from Busch Gardens.

The rooms are incredibly spacious and we couldn’t stop raving about the pillows – so plump and soft.

There are two swimming pools, a gym and a spa if you fancy pampering yourself, plus a Starbucks on site for the much-needed morning coffee.

Our first port of call was Discovery Cove, where we spent a day chilling in our private cabana that had a fridge stocked with beers, juices and snacks.

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Among the amazing creatures there was Akai, my bottlenose dolphin for half an hour – a handsome alpha male, who even gave me a kiss.

Holding on to his fi n and under his belly, I was whisked through the water. I gave him a fi sh to say thank you.

Then it was off to mingle with the manta rays that swam around my ankles, before I fl oated down the Lazy River and snorkelled over the coral reef.

Colourful fish and huge stingrays glided by.

Included in the entrance price is your wetsuit, snorkelling gear, lockers and all your meals and drinks, so there’s no need to lug your stuff around.

We also wandered through the aviary, where you can get a pot of food and the birds land on your arm for a feed.

The next day we headed to SeaWorld, the  marine mammal adventure park. There you can “fly” face down in giant manta ray carriages at speeds approaching 60mph and at heights of up to 140ft. Then we mingled with Stephen the penguin and friends, met some fl amingos, fed sea lions, watched a polar bear playing with barrels and gawped at the “Believe” Shamu killer whale show.

But the highlight of my day was diving with sharks. A 90-minute experience gives you a rare, close-as-you-dare encounter with these big fish.

I wore a special helmet that allows you to breathe and talk  underwater without the need for scuba gear – and felt very safe in my steel cage.

There were sand tiger sharks, nurse sharks, sawfish and more than a thousand schooling fish.

The sharks are only aggressive when provoked, so don’t put your fingers through the cage. Your ticket also gets you into Busch Gardens. Younger kids will love it, especially at the Sesame Street  Safari Of Fun with kid-size rides, water games, shows and adventures that celebrate the spirit of Africa.

Oscar’s Swamp Stomp is a splash water play area and Bert & Ernie’s Watering Hole is a fun water adventure fi lled with bubblers, geysers, jets, dumping buckets and more. So there’s a lot to keep the little ones grinning.

There are plenty of amazing animals to see too. The park is home to more than 2,000 of them, including endangered white Bengal tigers living in an enclosure with waterfalls.

You can see animal trainers interacting with polar bears and orangutans on a 45-minute walking tour of Jungala. A portion of the proceeds goes to the Conservation Fund.

If you fancy it, you can even be an elephant keeper for the day (or 90 minutes at least). Place food around their enclosure and watch the stampede as they try to fi nd them. Skittles seemed to be their favourite snack.

Snack
For human dining, Sharks Underwater Grill at SeaWorld restaurant is great – you sit alongside the huge shark tanks while feeding on their delicious cousins such as seared snapper and blackened sea scallops.

Another great place to eat is Cuba Libre on International Drive. The delicious mango daiquiris and camarones con cana – barbecued shrimps in sugarcane and mango – were out of this world.

From the beautiful food to the big fish, Orlando is definitely my idea of fun.

FACT FILE:
■ SEVEN nights in Orlando with Virgin Holidays, including flights from London Gatwick, accommodation at the five-V Renaissance Orlando Resort at SeaWorld on a room-only basis and car hire start at £805pp, based on two adults sharing a standard room. Price includes all applicable taxes and fuel surcharges.

■Start your holiday before you’ve even taken off in the V room at Gatwick airport, which costs £17 for adults and £10 for kids. Call 0844 557 3859, see virginholidays.co.uk or, or visit one of its 40 stores located in Debenhams and House of Fraser shops nationwide.

■The Discovery Cove Ultimate Adventure Package includes one-dayadmission to Discovery Cove and a further 14 days’ admission to SeaWorld Orlando, Busch Gardens and Aquatica. Available from Virgin Holidays from £189pp.

Book by December 15 and you can buy a Three-Park Ticket – which includes unlimited admission to SeaWorld, Aquatica and Busch Gardens for 14 consecutive days – for the price of a Two-Park Ticket.

That works out at £69 per adult, £64 for children aged between three and nine. Under-threes go free.

■Tours and experiences available from as little as £32pp for the Penguin Spotlight Tour. See seaworld parks.co.uk for details.