What else to do?

Along with the excitement of meeting the characters and visiting the theme parks, there are plenty of other things to do in Florida.

Beaches

There are a few beaches in Florida that I have visited: Cocoa Beach which is in the East Coast and Clearwater which is in the West. My favourite would have to be Clearwater as the sea is warmer, the beach is cleaner and the sand is whiter.

The Everglades

One thing I have always enjoyed is going to see the live alligator's at the Everglades, I can always remember when I was younger I was so excited to go and see the yellow alligator called blondey! Yes a YELLOW alligator! 

Florida is fame for having alligators, the Everglades have 200,000 alligators alone. There is a large population of the native Floridians that live at the edge of the Everglades, it would seem that time has stood still for them as the houses are no more than shacks at the side of the swamps. There is also a jail at the edge of the Everglades, which houses more than 600 grade 1 prisoners. Due to the swamp land and wild life the prison was specifically built there to avoid them escaping easily. There are different companies that offer a narrated airboat tour that takes you round to see different attractions at The Everglades.

Kennedy Space Centre

 It takes about an hour to get to Kennedy Space Centre from Orlando on either Highway 528 or the 408. The must see exhibit is the Saturn V rocket, to get to this you will need to go on the courtesy bus which is outside the main complex. There are of course other exhibits to see for example:

 

Space Shuttle Atlantis

Honour Our Hero's

The IMAX theatre

 There are a number of different Kennedy Space Centre tickets to buy in the UK before you go to America:

Ticket for 2 hours - £37

Tickets and roundtrip from Orlando: £73

Tickets, roundtrip transportation and lunch with an astronaut: £94

Tickets, transportation, lunch with an astronaut and Up close Explore bus tour: £119

Tickets with airboat ride and roundtrip transportation from Orlando: £91

Tickets, lunch with an astronaut and Up-close Explore bus tour: £79

Round transportation only: £41

Kennedy Space Centre is an outdoor park which involves a lot of walking so be sure to wear appropriate shoes and clothing according to the weather!

Shopping

Last but not least is shopping of course! Shopping is one of my favourite things to do while visiting Florida! There are various different shopping centres that you will shop till you drop. The most popular for the tourists and also the locals are the Florida Mall and The Mall at Millenia. The Mall at Millenia is more suited to high end shopper.

My favourite is the Orlando Premium outlets. There is a good mixture of brands for all ages and gender for example Watch Station, UGG, Armani, Yankee Candle, Osh Kosh, Levi, Calvin Klein Woman and Men, Converse, Hugo Boss, Ralph Lauren, Penguin, Nike Outlet, Adidas, Diesel, DKNY, Michael Kors, Forever 21 and The North Face.

Anybody reading this that is in the UK would be pleasantly surprised at how good the deals are compared to home. You can sometimes get a deal that would work out half the price back home! You could easily spend a full day here getting amazing deals! The only problem I have is making sure I don't buy too much that I cant fit it all in my case!

Thanks for reading all my blogs on Orlando Florida! Hope you all enjoyed them!

Discovery Cove

Discovery Cove is part of the Sea World group, it is situated in the same area as the Sea World theme park.

Swimming with the dolphins at Discovery Cove is an experience that I would highly recommend! Although it seems expensive, the price includes the full experience and all food and drink through out the day. Alcoholic drinks are also included in the price for anyone 21 and over. One appeal about Discover Cove is that its not over crowded, there is no queues when getting any of the food or drink and you have your own time slot when swimming with the dolphins. Another benefit of purchasing a Discovery Cove ticket is it allows you to have unlimited entry to Sea World and the water park Aquatica.

They offer several package to choose from, for example:

All inclusive dolphin swim package
Day resort package
Two and under package

All tickets can be purchased at: https://discoverycove.com/en/packages-and-pricing/, prices vary depending on time of booking, prices increase if you book closer to the date.

As well as swimming with dolphins, you can also snorkel with rays and tropical fish or if you don't want to be in the water with the animals you can always just relax on the lovely white sand beach. The snorkel equipment is included in the package along with wet suits or vests.

The day starts off with the welcoming staff telling you what your day is going to consist of. They then take you through and get a family photograph together. Passes to the park are given to each member in the party to allow access. Animal friendly sun cream is also given out to everyone to use before going in the water. My family arrived early to allow us to get the full use of the facilities, so we went for breakfast and then went straight to the wind-away river, a video of the river is shown below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zmMIdkpOFs

After that we then went for lunch and waited for our time slot to swim with the dolphins, swimming with the dolphins last around 45 minutes, which doesn't seem long but it is long enough as each member in the group can swim with the dolphin while photographs are taken. These are some of the photographs that were taken by my family that weren't swimming with them.

My next blog will be on what else to do while in Florida.

Accommodation

There are many lovely locations to stay while visiting Florida. Orlando has enough accommodation options that suits all in terms of size, budget and location. Depending on whether you are going in a large crowd, a villa works out the cheapest. We have stayed in various different villas through out the years, but our favourite villa resort is Highland Reserve. The location isn't situated the best as it is further out than others, but the 20 minute drive is worth it for the quality of the villas and the surrounding golf course. The bigger villas can sleep up to 14 people. It is a gated complex with communal tennis and swimming pools as well as each villa having its own private pool. You might get lucky like we did and rent the house next door to a famous footballer!


If you are looking to stay in a Disney resort, the highest rated is Grand Floridian. I haven't quite got there yet - maybe one day!! Although I'm told that spec on the bedrooms is a bit of a let down, I would love to go simply for the fairy tale experience.

I have stayed in the Disney Caribbean Beach Resort. I LOVED IT! Every morning we would get up early, go to the breakfast bar for my favourite large cookie and glass of Coca Cola (healthy I know!). We would then get on the Disney bus that was right outside the resort, which would take us to whatever Disney park we wanted. Disney residents are allowed entry to the park before the crowds, this allows you to avoid the queues before the park opens. There is also plenty to do within the grounds of the resort, there are several large communal pools, you can sunbathe on the hammocks on the beach while watching the snapping turtles, can hire bikes, speedboats and jet skis. Over all I would highly recommend a stay at the Disney Caribbean Beach Resort.

There are also various apartments to choose from, one that I have heard a lot of reviews on is Lake Buena Vista Resort. There a different sizes of rooms that range between 2 and 4 bedrooms.  Within the resort there are various facilities to keep you entertained if your having a 'pool day' there is a pool on site, a bar, kids club and nightly entertainment. The only disadvantage of staying in an apartment is that you don't have your own freedom and private pool.

My next blog will be about a complete day spent at Discovery Cove.

Food Glorious Food!

Eating out is a very hard choice in Florida. Every meal is double the size to what you are expecting and there is lots of choices to choose from. At first glance it looks like Orlando is full of your usual chain restaurants like McDonalds, TGIS and Pizza Hut but if you are hiring a car then you will be able to explore different restaurants.

Both my family and my boyfriend’s family favourite place is Texas Roadhouse. (If you have been you will understand why). This year alone we ate their three times, and for how amazing the food in Florida is, that’s a lot! One thing for sure is to book before you go! We made that mistake by not booking the first time and had to wait 40 minutes. The picture down below is a picture of my family “looking” happy before we got seated the first time. We soon forgave the long wait after we had taken the first bite of the amazing double stacked cheese and bacon burger.

If you are an easily embarrassed person DO NOT LET THEM KNOW IT IS YOUR BIRTHDAY! The video on the link below shows why

If like me, you like Italian food, you will love Olive Garden. Don't know anyone who does not love the garlic bread roles and alfredo sauce. This is given free while you wait for your other ordered dishes to arrive. The bread roles are so good you have to make sure you don't stuff your self before your main meal arrives!

There are lots more restaurants that are worth a visit:

• Logan's Roadhouse
• Chilli's
• Longhorn Steakhouse
• Macaroni Grill
• Golden Coral
• Buffalo Wings

If you have a day planned at a theme park, no worries there are plenty of facilities for you to either have your packed lunch or enjoy the (overpriced) food. The cheapest place to get all your packed lunches would be Walmart. Walmart is the equivalent to Asda in the UK. It has everything from food to a clothing department and also housing essentials. You get more value for money taking a packed lunch instead of buying it from inside the park. The only downside is having to either carry the box around or you can rent a locker to store it away until needed.

You never go hungry in Florida - there's something for all tastes!

My next blog will be about the different accommodations in Florida.

Florida at Christmas time HO HO HO

Hello again! As I said in my previous blog I AM GOING BACK TO FLORIDA THIS CHRISTMAS!! I am soooo excited! This is the first time I have ever been out with the summer period. I have searched the theme parks and the shopping malls, their Christmas decorations are beautiful! Look how amazing the Magic Kingdom Parade looks!!

We are planning on continuing to enjoy the theme parks, shopping malls, seeing the characters and eating at several restaurants. However, through research we have found that the town Celebration is a must see at Christmas. It is only a few minutes drive away from Disney. The street is blocked off and an ice rink is put in place for skating. I have also read that Celebration has amazing decorations and fireworks to see.

Preparation starts now! I have my saving head on and will be putting every penny I can away. I can’t wait to be doing my Christmas shopping in the sun! This year for sure I will be taking an extra suit case along. Every month is warm enough still to take full advantage of the theme parks, beaches and water parks, but without the humidity that the summer is notorious for. Lets hope the queues aren't as long in the winter!!! I'm looking forward to getting away for two weeks from Scotland's wintery weather! Last year 2015 was the warmest winter ever recorded in Florida , however in 2014 Florida surprisingly got snow.

We are staying at Storey Lake, this is a new complex that is being built right now and will be finished at the tail end of the year just in time for us arriving. For the first time we are staying in a town house instead of a villa which will again add to the excitement as its something new! In terms of location you can't ask for any better as its only 4 miles from Disney and much the same from International Drive as well as many more prime attractions.

In my next blog I will be talking about the amazing food in Florida.

Characters

You can’t go all the way to Florida and not be excited to meet your favourite character. Male, female, children or adults if we were all to be truthful we all have our favourite! No matter if I had already met Minnie Mouse that day, if I saw her again an hour later I would be standing impatiently to see her again (much to my mum and dads delight). On our first visit to Florida, we waited one and a half hours just to see Minnie Mouse. Other characters tend not to be in such high demand therefore waiting time isn't as long. Waiting to meet either Minnie or Mickey takes a long time but if you do not want to wait in the long queues you can book breakfast, lunch or dinner with the characters at various venues for example the place we visited was Disney Beach Club Resort. It is a very popular way of meeting the characters so to avoid disappointment book well in advance. They generally come round table to table, stopping to interact with each party. The food at the venue is fantastic too!

Disney offer character dinning at the following venues:

• Disney Beach Club Resort
• Cinderella's Royal Table
• Fantasmic Dinner package
• Chef Mickey's
• The Crystal Palace

If you would prefer just to see the characters and not too bothered about meeting them, Fantasmic is the perfect place to do this. Fantasmic is a show that takes place at Hollywood studios every night, weather permitting. This year we had to attend three separate nights due to the weather. In my opinion, it is worth the wait! The link below shows a small video of the show Fantasmic.

To add to the excitement of the show a lot of people book the Fantasmic dinner package in advance, this includes a meal and VIP seating to watch the show. There are two different locations that you can choose from, a standard dinner package would be:

• The Hollywood Brown Derby: $62.99 for adults; $21.99 for children
• Mama Melrose’s Ristorante Italiano: $44.99 for adults; $17.99 for children

Heading down Main Street in Magic Kingdom you can't miss the Cinderella Castle that is regularly the backdrop for the parade, shows and fireworks that feature many of the beloved Disney characters.

The magic kingdom parade is another way of seeing the characters instead of waiting in the queues. There are different parades that are specific for the time of year, for example:

• Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade
• Easter Pre-Parade
• Main Street Electrical Parade
• Mickeys Boo To You
• Mickeys Once Upon a Christmastime Parade
  
  

YAYYYY during this blog we decided to book Florida again for THIS DECEMBER! So I will be telling you all about what we are planning to do while visiting Florida this year! As always I am SOOO excited!

Florida Theme Parks

Hello again! Today I will be talking about the theme parks in Orlando Florida. So as I have already said in my previous blog, Orlando Florida is known as theme park capital of the world. All of the theme parks offer something for everyone but there are some that are better suited to a certain age. Magic Kingdom is suited for more younger age groups with lots of characters floating around, smaller attractions and the must see Magic Kingdom Parade.

Bush Garden in my opinion is more suited for adults as there are very few attractions that kids are able to go on due to the height restrictions for example Cheetah Hunt, Montu, Kumba, Sheikra and Falcons Fury. This picture was taken last year on our very first time on Falcons Fury. (we weren't smiling half way up!)

If you think that is high click on the link below to see what is in process in Florida at the moment!!! (My stomach dropped just watching it)


https://www.facebook.com/themeparkreview/videos/vb.194340658565/10154051740348566/?type=2&theater

There are of course lots more theme parks for example, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Universal Studios, Universal Island of adventure and the amazing water parks: Blizzard Beach, Tyfhoon Lagoon and Aquatica. No matter what park you go to, buying the pictures that are taken during the rides are always expensive. Can you tell we taken the cheaper approach?

When I was younger my all time favourite theme park was MGM, which is now known as Hollywood Studios. Hollywood studios has two main rides: Hollywood Tower of Terror and Rock n Roller. If your wanting to experience these big attractions, arrive early so you don't have to wait in the queues as there is no fastpass+ available! Along with the two big attractions there are a few mini rides for children. Disney's Hollywood Studios has a lot of shows that are worth going to see. For example, the Frozen sing along, Muppet Vision 3D, Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular and my all time favourite Fantasmic, which I will be blogging about separately.

I was wrong about animal kingdom, the first couple of times I had been to Florida, Animal Kingdom was my least favourite park and I would moan to my mum and dad not to go. I would have much rather have gone and enjoyed meeting the characters and going on the roller coasters . However, as I got older I began to appreciate the small details through out the park. (Still isn't my favourite but its worth a visit) If you’re an animal lover, Animal Kingdom is a breath taking place to visit.  You can’t go with the expectations of lots of exciting roller coasters, there is only one: Everest. The Video below shows a Video I had taken of two elephants playing together on our safari tour.

My next blog will be about the Characters in Disneyland Florida!