Florida 2015 Archives - Journeys Are My Diary

Our Florida Villa

May 9, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

As you may have guessed, I’m really struggling to post about our Florida holiday. I’m not sure if its because I just want to leave it as a happy memory and not dwell on it, or if its because it already seems so long ago – but whatever it is, the posts aren’t coming easy, despite knowing I want to at least have something to look back on and remember.

The last post I made, was about the flights – both there any back. This one is about our Villa. Obviously when you go on holiday you always have so many choices when it comes to accommodation and this in part, is why I feel the villa was best for us.

Our villa was originally found on VR360FloridaVillas. I’m not completely sure how my mum came across this particular site or this particular property but I looked at the information on the site and agreed it looked nice.

And it was nice. It was okay. Potentially, it was amazing. But in reality it was just okay.

Chris and I had a double room, next door to the girls who had a twin room. Near to us was also a bathroom with a shower over the bath, toilet and sink. It was a good size family bathroom. Near to that was the kitchen, a small dining are and a large lounge – all open plan. There was then a further lounge or den area, with another more set aside dining room. Finally there was my mum’s room which was a large double with an en-suite bathroom – featuring both a seperate large bath and double shower. Outside there was a large pool area, safely enclosed and including patio furniture. On paper it all sounds great.

Sadly it wasn’t that great – it was old and it needed some love. The decor was quite outdated but I guess individual taste is hard to tailor to everyone. Certain features were very old and worn, spoiling what could have been an amazing property. The biggest disappointment of all though, was the air conditioning. When on holiday somewhere like Florida, the air conditioning from Aspen Air is absolutely essential. Ours was old and rubbish. It barely worked and it certainly didn’t make any difference. Even at 3am in the morning, the house was still boiling hot from all the heat it had retained in the day. This was the biggest issue in my few, but a tatty bath/shower area, completely mismatched plates, glasses and cutlery and old faded outdoor furniture, all added to a bad experience. Yes it was a fairly cheap properly (£900 for two weeks) but it really wasn’t good enough and in hindsight I would have rather spent more and had a nicer experience.

Not only was it not really acceptable, its also hard to pass comment or really warn anyone else. The property itself had a guest book but no one had written in it in a long time and this just made me wonder if everyone felt the way I did. When you pay not only your rental fee, but also a deposit, how do you go about saying “your property wasn’t up to standard” when you want to ensure you get your deposit returned. Not only that, but on the day of leaving we were expected to put out the bins, wash and dry all our bedding and towels – it was far from a hotel experience would have been.

That said, a villa was the right option for us. Sure I would have loved to stay in a Disney hotel – immerse myself completely in Disney, but it just wouldn’t have really worked for us. Not only did we want to do Disney, we also wanted to do Universal and Kennedy Space Center. We were always going to hire a car and so it made more sense that we were somewhere neutral and could just travel wherever we wanted. Not only that but we wanted to be able to cater for ourselves. We wanted to make a simple breakfast, pack a lunch, cook a simple dinner. We wanted to come and go as we pleased, make food whenever we wanted and have a place to store food, refrigerate milk and basically just live as we would at home.

For me, the villa was the right move but sadly not this one. The location was fine (Davenport), taking about 25 minutes to Disney and 40 to Universal. There wasn’t really anything nearby but there was a Publix within 5 minute drive and various places to eat were scattered all along the stretch to either Disney or Universal. The villa itself wasn’t even the problem either. It was a lovely size, beautifully spacious and having a pool was just amazing (and certainly the girls favourite thing). Sadly though, it was just the specific owner of this property and the lack of upkeep that had gone into it.

If you plan to do a hotel – room only, half board, all inclusive etc – Disney or otherwise – then this post won’t really help you at all. I’m sure you’ll love it, I hope it will be a lovely standard and in a way I’ll be a little envious. However if you plan to do a villa then please take this advice – check out what people actually think, what reviews have been made and what comments have been posted. Beware of the absolute cheapest villa you can find, no matter how nice the pictures are. If you can’t find comments or reviews, move along. Sometimes what people don’t say about a place, speaks for itself. A villa is definitely a fantastic idea, especially for a family like mine. However you are there for a week, a fortnight, maybe more. If the idea is for it to feel like home, you need to make sure you’ll be happy there.

Florida 2015 – Flying to Florida

May 1, 2015 by Bel 1 Comment

Since my daily diary of what happened in Florida, is covered in my Monday Round-up posts, I wanted to recap my holiday in a slightly different way. Instead of doing Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, etc. I wanted to approach the holiday by location or event. As someone who had never been to Florida (or Disney World before), there was a lot to learn and hopefully a lot I can pass on to other people in the same situation. If it wasn’t for my friend Amy’s knowledge beforehand, the guide books and even the internet, I’m sure it would have been a very steep learning curve when I got there.

In my first post about the holiday, I want to talk about the flights. A journey from London to Orlando, takes approximately 9 hours, on a non-stop flight. However direct flights are also the most expensive and so if you’re trying to budget, the likelihood is that you’ll maybe have a one-stop flight. This usually still includes one long flight (just not quite as long) and then a shorter one too. On our journey out to Orlando, we flew from London to Montreal (Canada), taking 7 hours and then from Montreal to Orlando – a further 3 and a half hours. However on the way back we flew from Orlando to Washington (Virginia) which took 2 hours and then Washington to London – which took a further 7 and a half hours. No matter which way you look at it, its a long haul and honestly it can be a bit daunting. That said, picking good flight times can make a big difference – as can entertaining the kids. A good idea is vacationing in Ormond Beach, FL.

I was massively over prepared for our flights. The girls each own an iPad anyway, so making sure they were charged up was an absolutely priority. In the run up to our holiday, we also looked at back up charging systems, knowing it would be hard to re-charge the iPads if they died. The girls took crayons, notepads, activity books, card games and magazines. I had my iPad also, as well as my book. HOWEVER, we barely needed any of it.

On the way out, our flight was 1pm our time, getting in at 2.30am our time (8.30pm local). I was dreading killing so much time, especially into the night, but I needn’t have worried. The girls watched a movie, then we got served dinner, then the girls watched another movie, then another, and then it was pretty much time to swap planes. The only problem we came across was Megan not feeling very well (and I worried it was a plane sickness) but of course that’s not something everyone will have to deal with. By the time we’d switched planes, had a quick break on the ground, boarding the next didn’t seem as worrying, since this was the short one coming up. It was still a further 3 and a half hours but both girls were tired and so they slept for majority of the time. Admittedly I had to make sure that both of them had a way to sleep – against me, on my lap, against the window etc. – but it certainly killed time on the second plane, as well as more movies, a drink and snack etc.

By the time we got off the second plane, the girls were tired (as would be expected at 2.30am on their body clocks) but having managed to nap they were doing okay. If we had been able to just drive off to the villa at that point, it would have been the perfect arrival. However the queue for the hire car was horrendous and that meant an hour long wait while mum sorted out the car. For anyone traveling into Orlando International Airport, be warned of booking through Budget Car Hire. I’m sure they are the cheapest – their queue was huge. However the service was incredibly slow and everyone and their uncle seemed to book with them, meaning you will wait ages for your car. Booking through Hertz, Alamo, National, Avis or Enterprise may well be a bit more expensive but you will be so glad when you can drive straight off, rather than have to wait!

On our flights home, we left Orlando at 7pm (though the flight was technically delayed). This meant that the girls were already getting towards tired and weren’t too interested in doing anything than watch a movie. Sadly the short plane – from Orlando to Washington – required you to pay for the TV services, so instead the kids resorted to their iPads (reluctantly). This was the first time they’d used the iPads on the flights and so worrying about portable chargers had been pointless. More ironically, the plane seats we were sitting at, actually had plug sockets under the seat so we could have charged up anyway. Without the TV option, the first (though short) flight, did seem to drag. The girls really could have done with movies or tv to mong out to, especially given the time of day. However this was to do with our Airline – which was United Airlines, leaving us feel they weren’t as good as Air Canada – who we’d flown out with.

The first plane was delayed, as I mentioned before, but luckily the second plane was also delayed otherwise we would have missed it. Because of that we had no real layover period and instead just rushed to the next plane. Even once onboard, the plane was delayed again, but this couldn’t be help and we all just settled in and got comfy. Local time was around 10-11pm at this point and the girls were tired. However knowing they were getting dinner on the plane meant there was no point encouraging them to sleep. Instead they both watched a movie until the plane finally departed and then dinner was served not long after. As soon as food was done, I encouraged both girls to sleep. By this time it was about midnight and I knew they weren’t going to get a full night’s sleep as it was. Again, as with the outbound flight, both girls needed an ability to sleep – laying on my lap, against the window etc. – and this at least meant they got a few hours. (Both planes provided pillows so this was good). Sadly for me I didn’t get much, largely because I was making sure they did. However it was more important to me that they managed to sleep, so I didn’t worry too much. With about an hour and a half of the flight left, both girls woke up. This was probably the hardest part of the journey because they both still wanted to sleep but they weren’t tired enough that they could sleep through the noise or sunlight outside. I probably should have encouraged them to watch another movie or something as the last hour and a bit really dragged.

It’s absolutely natural to want to be prepared (and panic a little) but try not to over prepare. We all had flight bags and we all had plenty of stuff to occupy us. However most long haul flights have built in screens for tv and movies and actually this is one of the best ways to occupy both adults and children. Headphones is a must though. Airlines usually give out free ones but they’re normally pretty crap. On the way out ours were earbuds (which the kids don’t like) and crackled like hell. On the way out they were headphones but the quality was just so poor. Take plenty to drink (buy it in the airport if you have to), sweets to suck for take-off (or just distract the kids with) and probably a back up source of entertainment if they kids get bored of the movies or if the plane wants to charge you. However ultimately I would say don’t worry about it too much. Yes it seems like a long time to be trapped in a small space for, but actually because it’s something new and different, most kids will probably take to it just fine. With plenty of choice in movies and TV, you shouldn’t have too much trouble occupying them or yourself.

I’m back from Disney World!!

April 18, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

So yesterday we flew back into the UK and then drove back home. It’s been an amazing two weeks but due to the travel and the jet lag I’m pretty exhausted!

Over at Twice the Mum, Nat was kind enough to cover my Friday post but here on my own blog I know it’s been a little quiet this week! I’m behind on my 52 Project, my Monday Round-up and of course I just didn’t schedule many posts this week either. However I am back now and as of tomorrow I hope to be catching up. I’ll of course do the posts I’m missing, along with this week’s 52 Project and Round-up. After that I’ll be sharing all my holiday details with you so stay tuned!!

No more weeks! Florida here we come!! (Disney Countdown – Days 9 to 1)

April 1, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

Yep, that’s right! No more days till holiday! In fact, we’re on holiday right now. Not technically in Florida, but away from home at least!

This morning we set off from home, just before 10am. We headed to my mum’s, where we would swap all of our stuff over to her car and then head off down to London. Since I was up till 2am last night, sewing Megan’s final dress, I was exhausted and actually managed to sleep for some of the journey. We stopped not long after midday though, for the toilet and to eat lunch. After that we headed to a car park where we’d parked once before (for LFCC) and headed into London on the tube. We made our way to Leicester Square where there was a “pop-up” Cinderella Exhibition, that I’d booked us tickets for.

Though we did have to queue for about 20 minutes, in almost rain, we got inside fairly easily and wandered around the exhibit. It was relatively simple but lovely nonetheless. We bought a souvenir programme and were given some Cinderella postcards for free. I took loads of pictures and it was so nice to see the props and costumes up close. The highlight was most definitely walking into the side of a pumpkin and coming out of a carriage! All in all, the Exhibition took about half an hour to go round but I’m really glad we took the extra time to do so.

After Cinderella, we took a walk to Covent Garden and the Disney Store but sadly it was closed due to an underground fire nearby. Instead we took a wander around nearby, doing some shopping using the money off vouchers we’d found at www.voucherbin.co.uk. When it got near to dinner time, we caught the tube to ASK Italian, where we enjoyed a lovely dinner, using up some ASK vouchers I’d gotten from Tesco ages ago.

Finally we headed back to the car and then drove to the Travelodge we were staying at. That’s where I’m typing this from, winding down and getting ready to call it a night. Tomorrow we head off to the airport and fly away to Florida – I can’t wait. My scheduled posts begin tomorrow too, but I’ll hopefully find time to check in now and again. I’ve left Saturday, Sunday and Monday free for impromptu posts!

Today is the last of my Countdown posts, all the way from 120 where we started to day 1 (yesterday). I skipped doing it on Sunday as there were only 2 more days left after that and instead have combined all 9 days into this post.

Monday (9) – March 23rd – Make or Draw Disney
Tuesday (8) – March 24th – Play a Disney game
Wednesday (8) – March 25th – Watch Hercules
Thursday (6) – March 26th – Read Disney
Friday (5) – March 27th – Dress Up Disney
Saturday (4) – March 28th – Watch a random Disney movie – Cinderella (motion picture)
Sunday (3) – March 29th – Make Disney food
Monday (2) – March 30th – Read Disney
Tuesday (1) – March 31th – Make or Draw Disney

On Monday the girls had a long day and didn’t have time to make or draw (they both had homework and a class to prepare). Instead I took over the task as I’d been making loads of Disney clothes anyway. I completed my favourite dress to date which is the Queen of Hearts one for Lily. On Tuesday it was play a disney game and both girls got this done but not with Tsum Tsum for a change. I think Megan played on Disney Infinity while Lily was on Frozen Theater. Wednesday was watch Hercules but we actually completely forgot because we were planning a class about Harry Potter for Lily to teach the following day. Instead we caught up on Thursday, watching Hercules AND reading chapters 7 & 8 of the Never Girls book. Friday was dress up Disney and Lily was feeling too ill to dress up so Megan just wore her dress that I’d completed that day. I was pretty pleased with her Ariel mermaid dress too. On Saturday we were set to watch a random movie and luckily I’d booked tickets for the new Cinderella at the cinema. We all thoroughly enjoyed it, as well as the Frozen Fever short. On Sunday the girls headed off to their dad’s and we just didn’t have time to make any Disney food – or the inclination to be honest. For the first time ever we just skipped it completely but I can assure you that none of us had a Disney shortage. On Monday it was read Disney and we finally finished off book 4 of the Never Girls. I’m looking forward to purchasing and reading some more when we get home. Tuesday was the last one and it was Make or Draw Disney. Megan persuaded me into making her another dress so we classed that as our task. We also watched Pocahontas though!

Florida 2015 (1 week to go!!) The Packing

March 25, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

OMG, it’s one week today until we leave the house and head off on holiday. Today I’m sharing with you the final process of our Florida planning – the packing stage. We’re not so organised that it’s all done already, but we are getting there bit by bit. The girls have stopped wearing the clothes they want to take and we have started to put clothes into the suitcases. We have check lists going and a bed dedicated to packing – so we’re definitely on our way to being ready.

Above is a picture of the girls suitcases. They have one each which I bought them for Christmas. Majority of the dresses they are taking with them were also bought for Christmas, as they really had no summer dresses to speak of so I picked up loads throughout the sales and saved them till Christmas. In my last post I talked about the shopping we had done for Florida and the majority of the suitcase (other than dresses) is filled with the extra bits and pieces we’ve picked up, including shoes, sunhat, cardigans etc. This is probably about half of the girls checklist ticked off.

As well as all the things they’ve already packed, we have several things unticked. These are largely dresses that I’ve made for them and fancy dress costumes. Ultimately the girls are hoping to get all the dresses they’d like (disney themed mostly) sewn and ready before we go. As such they are holding off on packing the fancy dress. If the “inspired” dresses get done, the dress up stays at home – if not, then I’m sure the costumes will get packed instead.

The girls also have their flight bags mostly packed, these are upstairs alongside the suitcases. At the moment the girls are both still going to school every day and although they break up on Friday, their dad is having them over the weekend. Unfortunately they won’t get home until Monday night so I imagine there will be a lot of last minute packing on Tuesday – or I’ll be doing it for them.

Mine and Chris’ packing isn’t quite as far along as the girls but it is at least started. I’ll be honest and say that majority of Chris’ packing was done by me, but I’m sure he’ll show an interest at the very last minute. He’s a “it takes 10 minutes to pack” type of person. While we both have the majority of our clothes packed (baring things we can’t do without in the meantime like underwear) but we are nowhere near with all the extras. Chris and I (and the girls) use our ipads, chargers etc on a daily basis so it just isn’t possible to pack those things. Also things like toiletries. makeup, hair stuff, will all be packed last minute too.

So it’s now one week till we leave. For the next few days I’m concentrating on sewing projects and making sure I get as much as I can finished before we leave. However once the girls go to their dad’s on Saturday I’m sure I’ll be dedicating a bit more time to making sure we have everything in order. Tuesday is the deadline for everything being ready as we leave first thing on Wednesday morning – to travel down to London, go to the Cinderella Exhibition and then stay over at a Travelodge. A week tomorrow we fly off to Florida and I can only hope we’re completely ready by then!

Florida 2015 (2 weeks to go) The Shopping

March 18, 2015 by Bel 2 Comments

Today is 2 weeks to go till our holiday and I seriously can’t believe it. This week in my Florida series I’m covering the shopping – which I believe falls into two categories; Clothes and “Stuff”. I’m sure the two categories speak for themselves, but I really couldn’t think of a better name than “stuff”. It’s basically just all the other things you need for a holiday, that aren’t clothes! Within those two categories, there are of course two more – things you need… and things you want.

Many weeks ago, the girls and I made lists of what we’d want to pack – regardless of what we actually had. We included all the clothes items we could think of – and then all the other STUFF! From that moment onwards, we began to shop. I’ve been picking up bits here and there, while the girls did one main shop in Meadowhall. We’ve picked up incidentals as we’ve gone along and now I think we have pretty much everything we need.

Megan’s Shopping

Above you can see the items that Megan got in her Meadowhall shopping haul. The hat is in replacement of a typical sun hat, there are of course sunglasses, shoes and a cardigan. All of these are really accessories and that’s basically because for Christmas I bought both girls 10 dresses and have since made them 2-3 more. One thing they definitely didn’t need was main clothes, so these were the extras. That said, I’ve bought them some pjs, swimming costumes, the odd t-shirt and skirt etc. On top of that she has had a Travel Diary, an autograph book, as well as some other things I can’t think of off the top of my head.

Lily’s Shopping

Again, above is Lily’s shopping haul from Meadowhall. A lot like Megan, she has just the extras, because she had all the dresses she needed as a Christmas present. Also I forgot to mention before, but they both also got their suitcases for Christmas, which meant they were pretty much all set. Other than the clothes she got from Meadowhall, we’ve also picked up a travel diary and autograph book for Lily. She’s also had a new rucksack to use as a flight bag. Of course there are a few other bits and pieces too, but again I can’t think of them off hand.

Chris’ Shopping

On Friday, it’s Chris’ birthday. He wasn’t really sure what he wanted for his birthday presents and so in the end I took him shopping for a few bits and pieces he needed. Anyone who knows Chris, will know he’s very much a black clothes type of person, meaning he doesn’t have an awful lot that’s suitable for a sunny holiday. He also wears a lot of jeans, combat trousers and long sleeved t-shirts. This obviously wouldn’t do! Though the picture above is terrible, I bought him some new swimming shorts and five new t-shirts. I also bought a whole heap of trainer socks. After that I ordered the odd thing here and there, including another t-shirt and some cut-off combat shorts. Finally I spotted a hat I thought he would like in Tesco and this has become his sun hat.

There are a few other bits that Chris has wanted, one of which was an iPad mini. He sold his full size iPad and bought a Mini instead – he’s really pleased with that decision. For his birthday I’ve also bought him a couple of other bits, like a new swimming towel and a bag to use on the flight. I don’t have a picture of these though as they’re hidden away, waiting for Friday.

My Shopping

My main shop was definitely a parcel that was long awaited from Hot Topic. I treated myself to a Harry Potter dress and five Disney dresses. That said, after trying them on, I decided to get rid of both the Princess Quotes dress and also the Harry Potter one, as they just didn’t suit me. However I’m really happy with my remaining four dresses, one of which you may have seen in my Disney Outfit of the Day post, on Sunday.

As well as the Hot Topic haul, I picked up a few other bits and pieces as I went along. There are the two dresses above, as well as a couple of other dresses from Ebay. I also got a few t-shirts, a pair of shorts and a cardigan. I also picked up a couple of pairs of shoes.

Most recently, I got a £70 Amazon voucher and I’ve put it towards “stuff” for the holiday. I bought a charger case for my phone, a backpack for my laptop and the parks, and finally some Disney fashion books for the girls (because they love the one Amy bought them on her last visit).

I’m sure there are a few other bits here and there that I’ve forgotten to mention, but these are the main things we’ve bought for our holiday. We’re almost ready to go. Next week I will be sharing our packing with you all, where you’re see the final stage of our holiday planning – with one week left to go!

Florida 2015 (3 weeks to go) The Planner

March 11, 2015 by Bel 2 Comments

Hey! So this post should really have gone live earlier today but unfortunately I didn’t get time to finish it (I spent the evening sewing a blue Cinderella inspired skirt). As such its a little late on this evening, but even if it had been tomorrow, its still technically 3 weeks to go, because we actually fly on the Thursday. If you’ve read my other posts, you’ll know that I’ve covered the preliminary planning (accommodation, flights and park tickets) and then pre-planning for the things you want to do (character dining, photo passes and fast passes). This week I want to share with you my actual physical planner, with our actual plans!

At first, my planner didn’t start off as an actual planner. Instead it started off as the odd print off here and there. However as my planning grew (especially with the fast passes booked) it seemed like a good idea to get some sort of organisation. As such I created this planner, with a folder I already had kicking around and a whole bunch of freebie stuff.

The first page is a calendar, but only really of the days we’re on holiday. I googled for an April 2015 calendar and then chopped it down until it only had the days I was interested in. I then printed it off and completed it – in pencil of course, in case there were any changes! After that came the maps. I’d found these a week or so earlier, but I’d printed them off and stapled them together in various forms. I had a map for each park – Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Universal Studios etc. and also ones for Downtown Disney and Universal’s CityWalk. Each one of those got a separate pocket in the folder so I could see them easily. Along with that map, I’d also downloaded some Character Meet maps from Kenny the Pirate. I slid these into the same pockets (Disney only), but back to back so I could see both sides.

After the map sections, come actual planner sections. These were free to me, because Amy sent them to me, but I know she originally bought them off Etsy. I personally wouldn’t have bothered buying something like this and probably would have just made a few pages in Word, but I have to admit they do look lovely and give a sort of uniformity to the planner. I printed one for each park and slid those into separate pockets too. The Ride Plan page is really the only one I’ve used for each park, but it contains space for Park Opening Times, Crowd Predictions, Fast Pass Reservations, Ride Wishlist and then Notes. This was really all I wanted.

As I began to fill them in, I realised that it would perhaps be better to have a few more for Magic Kingdom, as its the one park we have plans to be in for more than one day. After completing my planner page for Epcot, Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, I printed out a further three copies of the Magic Kingdom one (four in total) and completed these too. It seemed natural to place them in date order and so almost unintentionally I was making a day by day guide.

Because of this, I decided I would like a similar thing for my days in Universal and also at Kennedy Space Center. I went searching the internet for Universal Orlando planners, but basically drew a blank. There was something on Etsy which I did actually buy (it was less than £2) but to be honest it was rubbish and not worth the money. However it gave me a basis and a place to start, so instead I chopped it around myself and edited it, making it be what I wanted it to be. I made one page of solely Harry Potter rides and attractions -in both Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure – and two pages of all the other rides and attractions – one for Universal Studios and the other for Islands of Adventure. I then printed these off and gave them their own pocket, marking out the days in my planner that would be designated to them.

After that I researched into the Kennedy Space Center. We already have our tickets and although they’re not for a definite day, we do have one in mind for visiting. I looked up how far away it is from where we’re staying and also some directions to follow. I printed off a complex map too so at least we have a rough idea of what there is to do and how long it might take us to look around.

Finally that just left the things like dinner reservations, flight info and accommodation. Although I already have the information written down elsewhere, I figured I may as well complete it, just so that it makes one whole complete planner – and perhaps a souvenir of our trip afterwards. So now I had a page for almost every day that we’re away, not including the day we fly, the two days after we arrive and the two before we leave. I realised it was likely that we’d probably spend another day in Magic Kingdom at some point, so I made a blank page and listed all the other rides and activities I wanted to cover, that weren’t already FastPass’d on other days. I figured this would give me a good place to start for what was left to do and what we wanted to do. With every day we spent in Magic Kingdom I could mark off anything we’d managed to do, so by the end of the holiday I could see what was left.

The whole thing was really simple and easy to do and since doing it I feel a lot more organised and ready to go. Whenever I think about something I need to do or want to make a note of, I just go to my planner and add it there. Since making it I have gone through it several times and even sat and gone through it with my mum. I’m pretty proud of all the work it contains and fingers crossed it will give me all the information I need when we’re away on holiday!

Next week I’ll be updating on the shopping we’ve done for holiday – the girls shopping trip to Meadowhall and Chris’ birthday present clothes. It will include the dresses I’ve most recently bought from Hot Topic and also the clothes I’ve made for us to take with us! Please come back next Wednesday to see what else I have to share with you!!

Florida 2015 (4 weeks to go) The Planning: Part 2 – Booking in Advance

March 4, 2015 by Bel 4 Comments

As I mentioned last week, in my initial post Florida 2015 – The Planning, I do love to plan. However I also mentioned that when it comes to a holiday, I like to leave room for flexibility. I’m not one for itineraries and agendas, I don’t want every day planned out. That’s exactly how I’ve had every holiday in my adult life… until now.

If you’re heading to Orlando and you’re wanting to make the most of your holiday, there are definitely some aspects I recommend you plan in advance. That’s what this post will focus on – the things to do when you’re there, that you should plan in advance!

Of course, like I mentioned last time, you need to make sure your passport is up to date (renewal costs around £46 for kids and £72.50 for adults, so it’s an expense you should take into account too). Usually it’s recommended that you do this several months in advance but in my experience, a passport is usually returned to you within a week or so, especially off peak. You also need to apply for your visa, under the ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorisation). This costs $14 per person – a charge of $10 for the visa and then $4 for admin fees, which works out around £9-£10 total. Don’t leave it too late, just in case you have any unexpected problems! Finally, another essential is of course travel insurance. My mum has an annual policy but I just used Travel Supermarket to compare the prices for a family of four. I’ll be honest and admit I just picked the cheapest but they all seemed to offer very reasonable amounts of cover so I wasn’t cutting corners. This cost around £32 (I also checked Compare the Market and Confused but generally Travel Supermarket came out a pound or two cheaper than the other sites, for the same quotes).

Not all of those things needs to be done immediately when you first book your holiday, but you do need to write them on your “to do list”. However, once you’ve got all the essentials spoken for, you need to consider what else you’re wanting to do. My first tip would definitely be to buy a book specifically for Florida, or even better Orlando. Even if you’re going specifically for Disney World or even the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, its great to get a general book to begin with as it will cover the basics of everything there is to do and therefore help you narrow down where your interests lie.

Guide Books – I personally started off with Brit Guide Orlando 2014 (Brit Guides), a book which came with a 4.5 rating on Amazon. It was a great read and very thorough – including some great tips. It included everything from villas and hotels, to each park with map and break down of attractions, to everything else there is to do in Orlando, including eating out and shopping. However as I bought it early in 2014 (published October 2013) and my trip is April 2015, I soon realised a lot of the information – especially with regards to Universal Parks and Walt Disney Parks – was out of date. Nonetheless it was a great starting book and nearer the time (i.e. February 2015) I paid out for two newer books, one for Universal and one for Disney. These also included information on booking hotels, but obviously at that stage I wasn’t interested in those things. To be honest, I don’t think you really need a book to help you book accommodation – just some common sense and probably Google.

After reading a guide book, you’ll hopefully have a better idea of what you’re looking to do. If Walt Disney World is part of your trip, then I highly recommend downloading the My Disney Experience App to your phone or tablet, or signing up for the Disney website and using the My Disney Experience options there.

Character/Themed Dining – I do know that Universal Orlando has some character and themed dining options, but I want to be honest and say that I’m not at all interested in that so I’ve made no bookings and have no experience of what to do when it comes to booking for Universal Studios or Islands of Adventures. I do however have several reservations for Disney, so that’s really what I’m focusing on. Dining at Disney World (parks and resorts) can be booked 180 days (6 months) in advance. Some of the dining is VERY VERY in demand and unless you’re lucky, there’s a high chance you’ll miss out unless you get in there at the earliest moment. If you’re staying in a Disney Hotel you can actually book ALL your dining, at 180 days from your first day (you have to ring up though), meaning you’ll get in before a lot of other people, especially for the harder to get dining.

I was lucky because my best friend Amy is visiting Florida at the same time as us and staying in a Disney Hotel, where we’re staying off-site in a villa. Because of her we have all the dining we wanted, even the most sought after. While a little tricky, Cinderella’s Royal Table for breakfast was possible, just using the regular 180 days. However Be Our Guest for dinner proved to be virtually impossible. It was only because she rang to enquire and realised she could book slightly further in advance, that we were able to secure this booking, literally a few days before we go home. Also, at the time we originally booked all our dining, Be Our Guest was only available as a dinner reservation. This system has now been changed and you are able to book lunch reservations too – though this is quick service and not table service dining. We’re now booked in for lunch there too. As well as the three bookings I’ve already mentioned, we also have breakfast booked at 1900 Park Fare, which is located in the Grand Floridian Resort and has Alice in Wonderland characters in attendance, along with lunch at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall in Epcot which has Princesses Storybook Dining on offer, this was probably the best part of the evening since the Event Banquet Room was lovely and packed with food for family that walked in. The only other thing to note really is that all of these reservations require a credit or debit card to secure the booking – however only Cinderella’s Royal Table requires (full) payment in advance.

FastPass+ – While Character Dining is obviously an optional extra to your holiday, if you’re planning to do anything in any of the Disney Parks, FastPass+ really isn’t that optional. Yes you can try without it and yes its still possible to get on all the rides you want to, but honestly if you’re hoping to avoid as much queuing as possible, plus fit in as much as possible, FastPass is really the best way to go. For people staying in a Disney Hotel, FastPass is available at the 60 day mark. For those staying off-site and purchasing their tickets separately, FastPass booking starts at the 30 day mark. Again, thanks to Amy, we were able to book the majority of our FastPasses at the 60 day mark, due to the fact she’s staying in a Disney Hotel. However the only problem with that is she could only book us all the same FastPasses as her, rather than pick and choose for smaller numbers within our party. As such we have a few bookings that need altering when it gets to our 30 day mark, but I’d rather have that than not have them at all. The best thing about FastPass is that it’s completely free and just included with your ticket – so need to worry about high costs, just to cut queues.

For all four of the parks, each person can only hold three FastPasses at a time. In Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom, you can book any three attractions or rides (providing they have FP options), however in Epcot and Hollywood Studios, there is a Tier system, where you can only book one from the A group and two from the B group. It’s a bit complicated but if you some searching you’ll find lists of what rides and attractions fall into each group and hopefully figure out what suits your family/group best. The three FastPasses you are able to book in advance, all need to be within the same park. However once you’ve “spent” all three passes, if you move on to another park (say later that day/afternoon) you will then be able to book further passes in another park. This applies even if you’re not moving to another park, that you can book extra FastPasses. Just visit a FP kiosk and see what’s available to book.

It is worth noting that some FastPasses are better to have than others, depending on what you’re hoping to achieve. Most shows are available on FP for example, but if you’re not too fussed about “the best” seats, then its probably not something to worry about. Likewise if you’re not too worried about meeting characters, these FP options can be skipped as well. If you’re happy to choose according to has the shortest queue at the time, then you’ll not need a FP. However if you’re dead set on meeting Anna and Elsa – by all accounts, FP is a must. That said, they also fly out as fast as they become available, so be prepared to book early and maybe even take a reserve list option! It’s worth researching which rides gets the busiest and which rides generally don’t. This will help you decide which three options you should “spend” your FP on!

Express Pass – Again, while I have no experience of booking this (or even wanting it), its worth mentioning that Universal has their own version of FastPass, called Express Pass. As with Disney, not all rides have the Express Pass option, but a large amount of them do. However unlike Disney, the Express Pass is NOT free. Prices start at around $60 for both parks, or $50 individually. Since the website states “starting at”, I can only imagine that these prices are for whatever the basic version and the more you pay, the better your Express Pass options are. If you stay on-site with Universal, then Express Pass IS included in your tickets. From what I’ve read, this is the most cost effective way to purchase the Express Pass, by actually just booking a day or two at an actual Universal Hotel.

I do think its important to note though, that not many of the Harry Potter rides are included in the Express Pass. Exempt from the Express Pass is; Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, the Hogwarts Express and also Ollivanders (technically a shop but since it has a sort of pre-show, I figured it was worth mentioning). This means the only Harry Potter ride you can use the Express Pass on is Flight of the Hippogriff. That said, there are loads of other great rides that will definitely benefit from you having Express Pass.

PhotoPass – Disney World offers a complimentary service called PhotoPass to all their park guests. Photographers are located around the parks and after having your first picture taken you will receive a PhotoPass card that you can then use each time you have a picture taken, placing all your photos together in the same place. After your holiday you just go online and make an account, using the PhotoPass to retrieve your photos. If for whatever reason you’ve acquired more than one card, its not a problem as you can just combine all of the cards into one online account. You can then view the photos and make edits, whenever you want. Now of course, with it being a free service, that does lead to some disadvantages. While you can view and edit photos as much as you like, you can’t download digital copies – or at least, not without paying. You can pay to download prints (approx $15 per photo), you can pay to have printed copies made, you can pay to get your photos put onto certain objects (like a t-shirt or mug). However every little thing you want to do, will cost you money. Also because all photos expire at some point, it does mean that if you don’t download them and you haven’t bought prints, then you will lose the pictures eventually. Of course there are options such as a photo CD or photo book, but all of these will cost you extra money.

Memory Maker – If you’re interested in using the PhotoPass option but don’t want to get caught out with the prices afterwards, there is another option. It’s quite expensive but overall could work out cheaper. It also gives you more benefits such as ride photos and dining photos too. Disney’s Memory Maker is basically an advanced version of the PhotoPass, which you buy in advance (either months in advance or at the beginning of your vacation). It costs $169 if you book online or $199 if you wait till the day you need it. Having the Memory Maker allows you to not only collect all the PhotoPass photo options, but also have Ride/Attractions photos (and sometimes videos too), along with Dining photos as well. Afterwards you can go online in just the same way as with the PhotoPass and view/edit all of your photos. However with this option, downloading all your photos are free. Of course you can still pay to have a photo CD or place a print on a mug, but at least you know you can download and keep all your photos, without having any hidden costs (especially if you’ve had 1000’s photos taken).

Photo Connect – As with most things, Universal have a similar (usually lesser) version of everything Disney has. Instead of Disney’s PhotoPass, Universal offers Photo Connect. It’s basically exactly the same thing, whereby if you get your picture taken in the park or on a ride, you receive a Photo Connect card and you can redeem it later online or within the park to receive a print (paid for, obviously). The Photo Connect card itself is free, but getting a print will cost you money. Also, major downside – if you don’t retrieve your photo that day, in some way, shape or form, then the photo is gone by the end of the day.

Star Card – Either in advance, or at the time of getting your first Photo Connect card, you can choose to get a Photo Connect Star Card. This basically upgrades your Photo Connect card, to something worth having for a longer term. Star Cards are available in a range of options, including 1 Day, 3 Day and 14 Day periods. There is also an annual pass too. The standard option in the park is a 3 Day Star Card, with 1 Day and 14 Day only being available to order online. Also, the 3 Day Star Card is $69.95 in the park, whereas it’s $59.95 if booked in advance. Apparently it is possible to extend your Star Card, with options of 1 Day and 3 Day extensions. There is plenty of information available online about this so I would recommend you look into it thoroughly.

The main advantage to having the Star Card, is that your photos become available online. Not only that but instead of expiring at the end of the day, they are available for some period of time afterwards, meaning you can get home and download them all safely, without any further cost. Not just that, but also by buying the Star Card, you are able to get certain other advantages. One of these for example is the option to buy prints at a cheaper price. Where a print of a Photo Connect print may cost you $10 each, with the Star Card you can purchase prints for as little as $2. You also get access to a smartphone app, a lovely lanyard to keep your card safe and if my information is correct, a couple of free prints too. A 1 Day Star Card costs $39.95, while a 3 Day one costs $59.95 (when booked online in advance). While you can book these passes on the Universal website, I would strongly recommend going directly through the Photo Connect site. Booking with Universal will cost you $39.95/$59.95 etc plus tax, where as booking through the Photo Connect site will simply cost you the face value price (no tax). Check out all your options before making a decision, especially Shutterbuttons if that’s on your list, as there is a Star Card to include that video too.

If you’ve made it this far through my post, then well done! I never expected it to get this long but once you start writing about Florida, it’s sometimes hard to stop! So far I’ve covered booking your dining options in advance (especially Disney’s Character and Themed Dining) along with Disney’s FastPass+. I’ve also discussed the various photography options available. There are loads and loads of other add-ons to consider, Universal’s which can be found here and Disney’s which can be found here.

Both Disney and Universal have a variety of Dining Plan options, again with plenty of information available online about them. While we haven’t gone for a Dining Plan with Disney – just booked the specific meals we want to do – I have booked a Dining Plan option with Universal. I’ve bought in advance, though I don’t think that was money saving particularly, though the plan itself is. I paid $19.99 (plus tax, which is approximately $24) per adult and $12.99 (plus tax, which is approximately $15.50) per child, which gives us 1 main course and 1 non-alcoholic drink, in any quick service restaurant (there are a couple of exclusions), 1 snack (from various carts and shops around the park) and 1 non-alcoholic drink (again from carts and shops around the park). This works out at approximately £15 per adult (or £10 per child) for a meal, two drinks and a snack – hopefully enough to last us through the day. To tell the truth, I actually upgraded the kids to the Universal Dining Plan plus Coca-Cola Freestyle. The Coca-Cola Freestyle option is basically a souvenir cup which you can refill during the day, at various locations in the park. Stand-alone price for this is $11.99 each but when bought with a Dining Plan it’s only $6 extra. I know the kids will love trying out the various Coca-Cola flavours and since they’re free refills, I’m sure the adults might benefit from the odd sip here and there too!

This concludes my second post in the Florida 2015 series, but I will be back next week with post number 3. From now on I’ll be focusing more on our personal preparations – The Shopping, The Packing and probably the Panicking! Please pop back next week to see what I have to share with you.

Florida 2015 (5 weeks to go) The Planning

February 25, 2015 by Bel 6 Comments

Last week I mentioned that I was going to start a mini-series, documenting the before and after of our trip to Florida this year. Today is my first post of the series and I decided I’d start with “The Planning”.

I love to plan! All of my friends will tell you how much. Whether its planning the next holiday to look forward to, picking the next Murder Mystery we might get together for, or organising someone’s birthday plans – I’m the person for the job. Not only do I like to plan what and when, I also love to plan EVERYTHING to do with the event. I’m a bit of a perfectionist to be honest. And probably a control freak too. But no one in my social group seems to mind, so it’s all good. However, as much as I love to plan a good holiday – I’m not keen on OVER PLANNING. I don’t want to make itineraries or schedules, I don’t want to know what I’m doing every single day and I most certainly don’t like inflexibility in holiday plans. I’m a sort of “fly by the seat of your pants” kinda gal when it comes to the actual holiday itself. All of this has proved very interesting while trying to plan this Florida trip… but I’ll get to more of that later.

These are the people coming to Florida – Megan, Chris, Me, Lily and my Mum

I’ve mentioned several times before, but I feel I should really mention it again, that this trip would not be possible without my mum. Back in January 2014, she announced that she would be taking us as a family (and my brother was offered too but he declined) to Florida in Easter 2015. The girls and I had been saving up pocket money for a short while, with the view to going in several years from then, but never in our wildest dreams did we expect to go so soon or to have someone else pay for the majority of the trip. My mum is the best mum in the world and I love her dearly.

As with most holidays abroad, one of the first things to plan is your flights. Not only that though, but also your accommodation. For us the two pretty much needed organising simultaneously because we wanted to book flights out (and back) while knowing we definitely had accommodation that could accommodate us for the full time. Luckily this wasn’t too difficult as there are LOADS of villa options in Orlando and while mum did all the research on that, I did the research for the flights. In the end we got it all booked back in June of last year.

Flights – Both our flights out and our flights back are in two parts, with short layovers between. Of course there were hundreds of flight options but these suited us best due to length of journeys, time of day etc. We leave the UK on a Thursday lunch time and arrive in Florida later on that evening. Returning home we leave Florida just after dinner and arrive back in the UK in the morning. Both flights are a really reasonable amount of time – the first only 12 and a half hours total, the second less than 10 and a half total. Outbound we’re flying Air Canada and return is United Airlines. I’ve never flown with either before, so I’m quite excited!

The Villa – Our villa is situated in a place called Davenport and it looks beautiful (though very like every other one I looked at from the outside!). It’s 3 bedroom and 2 bathroom. When we were originally looking for villas, my mum asked what my criteria for accommodation was and at first I said I didn’t really mind. However in the end I gave her only two. 1) The villas MUST have wifi and 2) the villa preferably had to have a pool. This place has both, as well as lots of other things so honestly I couldn’t be happier. It is apparently 15 minutes from Disney and 30 minutes from the airport. Sounds all good to me!

After booking both the flights and accommodation, two out of three big holiday costs were taken care of. The flights were a total of £3,239.05 for three adults and two children and the villa was £900 for two weeks. I only mention it really in case anyone has stumbled across this blog post and is looking for approximate costs. Anyway, that left Theme Park tickets as the main outlay that was left.

Park Tickets – After doing A LOT of research, I found that American Attractions was the cheapest option for both our Disney Park tickets and also our Universal tickets too. These we booked in September 2014. We opted for Disney & Universal Combo tickets that would last the full 14 days of our trip. They worked out at £392 per adult and £369 per child (these prices have actually gone up since). With regards to the Disney Parks, this gives us access to all 6 parks (Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach) as well as access to Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex, DisneyQuest, Disney’s Oak Trail Golf Course and a round of mini golf each day at either Disney’s Fantasia Gardens Mini Golf Course or Disney’s Winter Summerland Mini Golf Course. With regards to Universal, we get access to Universal Studios, Universal’s Islands of Adventure and Universal CityWalk.

After booking all three of these things, the bulk payments for the holiday were made. Mum organised a rental car too from limo tampa fl though I have no information about that, but I believe that was probably the next highest amount to pay. After all this was done, there were still other things to organise of course. Even today I’ve booked something else to add to our holiday package. There has been Lily’s passport to renew, holiday insurance to find, ESTA visas to organise, character meals to book, photo passes to decide on and all sorts of other incidentals. While I’m sure no one is interested in passport renewal, visas or holiday insurance, I will be talking a little about character meals and photo passes in my next post! I will also be discussing what we’re most looking forward to doing on holiday, the attractions that most appeal in the parks (and out of the parks) as well as Disney’s FastPass system – or at least what I understand of it. The next post will be next Wednesday (4th March) and will represent our 4 week countdown mark. Though to some extent the content will still fall under the heading of “planning”, I’ll be calling it something like “when we get there”. I hope you’ll all pop back then to see what I have to say!

40 Days to Florida… and (definitely) counting!

February 20, 2015 by Bel Leave a Comment

If you have only just stumbled across my blog in this moment, then you may be forgiven for not knowing that I’m going to Florida soon. However if you’ve followed me for sometime and you didn’t know – well then you must have been hiding under a rock, especially for the last 80 days.

In January 2014, my mum informed us that she would be taking us to Florida in April 2015. To say I was excited is somewhat of an understatement, but compared to how I feel now – it doesn’t even compare! Ever since finding out, we have been gradually saving and planning, counting down the months and eventually the days. At the four month mark (120 days) we started a Disney Countdown, which I update about on my blog weekly. The basic concept is a Disney themed task every day, till the day we go on holiday. The kids love it and while sometimes it can be a chore, it was a great idea to get us enthused and an even better way to keep track of how many days there are left. Today marks Day 40 on the countdown and as such I wanted to start some sort of official Florida planning series on my blog, which hopefully I will be making weekly till we go.

While I haven’t fully planned what my posts will cover yet, they will include the dresses I have made for the girls, the shopping we have done, the packing we will be doing and any specific plans we have made. With only just over 5 weeks left to go, it won’t be a big series but hopefully it will document some of planning and preparations. I’m sure when we get back I’ll have nothing but Florida posts to make, so it will be great to have some before and after posts.

As you may have seen, April will be Disney month on my blog and I am looking for people to write guest posts for while I’m away. I have no restrictions on what you can and can’t write (though family friendly of course) but the theme must be Disney! Whether you want to write about your favourite movies, your last trip to a Disney resort or your perfect dream Disney wedding – anything goes. If you’re interested, please send an email to belinda.jane.smith@gmail.com and let me know! Until then, keep an eye out for my Florida series starting next week!