Founder’s Note
Hi, my name is Neil Doherty, founder of Rowallan Travel, a new ATOL-protected UK-based travel consultancy operating as part of Independent Travel Experts Ltd.
After a successful 20‑year career in social care, I’m now starting a completely new chapter, and I’m genuinely excited to enter the travel industry. Rowallan Travel will aim to specialise in two areas we know deeply: Orlando holidays for UK travellers, and football trips worldwide. That said, we are happy to help with any type of holiday!
Feel free to get in touch via Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or WhatsApp, and subscribe to our email list for free travel guides, starting with our 5,000 word free eBook: UK Family Guide to Planning Orlando: How To Avoid Common Mistakes.
About us
Universal Studios, Orlando, Nov 2025
Rowallan Travel is a husband and wife travel consultancy, built on the principles of trust, communication, and careful planning.
We have both worked in social care for 20+ years, supporting vulnerable people in complex situations, and we firmly believe everyone deserves to be treated with respect and honesty. Since 2018 (pandemic years aside), we’ve returned to Florida’s sunshine state again and again, learning what actually works for UK travellers. I am also a lifelong football traveller, and I have watched matches in some of the world’s greatest football stadiums. Combining my passion for football and writing, I have published two books: World Cup 1998: Scotland’s Story (independent, 2021) and We’re Going To Wembley: Scotland’s Euro ‘96 Journey (Pitch Publishing, 2024), so I am well placed to create meaningful football packages and overseas away-day experiences.
We want to bring our professional experience and calm approach to the way you plan your holidays.
We understand how important your time away is, and how much hard work goes into saving for it.
“Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer.”
UK Family Guide to Planning Orlando: How to Avoid Common Mistakes
Our first trip to Orlando was our honeymoon in 2018, which had included four nights in New York beforehand.
This was my first time in Orlando (my wife had been once before in 2006). So, did I love Orlando instantly on arrival? Strangely my answer to this question would be no. I experienced a culture-shock after arriving from New York and found the heat and the scale of International Drive and the surrounding area slightly overwhelming.
I discuss coping with holiday stress in my free eBook UK Family Guide to Planning Orlando: How to Avoid Common Mistakes.
“Therefore this is my first word of caution. If you haven’t been to Orlando before, beware of becoming a bit overwhelmed in the same way I was. Whether you are planning Disney or Universal or both, you may be planning to travel in a group with other families, or have kids of different ages who have different needs. The other adults you are traveling with may not want the same things you do from park days, so what then? You may be desperate to ride the attractions or on the other hand you may be terrified to allow your kids, your most precious cargo, free rein to ride some of the fastest rollercoasters in the world. Build into the equation the relentless heat, which is incomparable to anything we experience in the UK, and the necessity to stay hydrated and ensure nobody is getting hungry or sunburnt, and you can become acquainted with stress pretty quickly on the holiday you have poured your heart and soul into planning (and paying for).”
You Can’t Do It All (over-planning)
“You simply can’t do it all in one or two weeks in Orlando, and trying to do so could jeopardise your overall enjoyment and memories of the trip.
Disney World is absolutely enormous, spanning 43 square miles, which is approximately the same size as large UK cities such as Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Newcastle, Bristol and Edinburgh. To break it down, Disney World Resort comprises of four theme parks: Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Epcot; and two water parks: Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach. Other destinations include Disney Springs, which is a large free-to-enter shopping, dining, and entertainment experience; Disney’s Boardwalk, which is a quarter-mile promenade; and the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, which hosts events and entertainment within large indoor and outdoor arena space. Add to this the list of 32 Disney different choices on the Disney Resorts Collection list, and you begin to get a feel for the size and scale of Disney World Florida.
And I haven’t even discussed Universal Orlando Resort yet, which adds another three theme parks, one water park, eleven onsite hotels, and CityWalk, Universal’s free-to-enter shopping, dining, and entertainment space!
So where does this leave you as a visitor who understandably wants to cram in as much as possible?”
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