Journeys Are My Diary

Life, Adventures, Entertainment and more - A little bit of everything blog!

Disney Confessions

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Amy posted her Disney Confessions Part One some time ago and I’ve been meaning to do mine ever since. I noticed that a few have appeared on my Twitter feed too so it’s reminded me to get it done. The idea is obviously to confess your feelings on popular (or unpopular) opinions when it comes to loves (and hates) of Disney. This is what I came up with.

  • I really hate all the animal Disney movies. I’m sure it’s partly because I’m just not an animal fan anyway, but I find them all that bit duller than the movies with people characters.
  • In connection to my above confession, I think Lion King is one of the most overrated Disney movies in existence. It’s a nice story but it’s definitely not worth the hype. That said the theatre/stage show is amazing. I also dislike Finding Nemo, though loved the show at Animal Kingdom.
  • Still connected, I really wasn’t fussed with Animal Kingdom when we visited Florida last year and to be honest I nearly skipped the park altogether. Watching the girls meet Pocahontas was really the only highlight of the day for me, though I enjoyed Expedition Everest and again as mentioned above, I did like the Finding Nemo show.

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  • Though I tried to put it to one side when we visited WDW, I really have an issue with face characters at the parks. Its pretty much impossible to look like the animated people but I hate that they don’t. At least with the costume characters, they do look like their on-screen counterpart. I almost wish all the Princes and Princesses had the weird heads like Jake, Sofia etc. but that would probably be creepy.
  • I have a slight issue with collecting, when it comes to anything Disney. On the whole, it doesn’t really matter what the product is, if Disney makes something you can collect – I want it. From Pandora/Chamilia charms, to Disney Traditions, to Pop Funkos, to Tsum Tsums. Sometimes its just safer for me not to start, otherwise I end up spending thousands. I think Megan and I worked out we’d spent almost £400 on Tsum Tsums to date!

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  • I hate that Disneyland Paris is half in English and half in French. I hope that doesn’t sound incredibly racist as I don’t mean it that way but English is such a universal language that I wish everything was in one language. It’s hard to understand some of the shows that have one line in English and then one in French.
  • I wish Disney would stop making live action re-makes, but I have to admit I really enjoyed Cinderella, Jungle Book looks good and I actually can’t wait for Beauty and the Beast either. While I wish Disney would come up with new animated movies (even if Frozen was overdone, it was great – as was Inside Out, Zootropolis etc.) I do enjoy pretty much anything Disney throws out. Cinderella was a really great movie and I even loved Maleficent.
  • I rarely watch Disney movies. To be honest, I rarely re-watch any movie so it’s really not that weird. However I tend to only reach for a Disney DVD, if one of the kids (usually Lily) suggests it, despite owning nearly all of them.
  • I would rather champion a villain than a princess or princess any day. While my favourite movies are definitely those with people in, majority of the time I prefer the villains to the good guys. With the exception of Belle and Megara (though I adore Gaston and Hades), I pretty much always prefer the villain of the movie. Ursula, Maleficent, Jafar, Hook, etc. I would also rather cosplay as a villain over a princess any day.

What are your Disney Confessions?

Week 15 & 16 – Monday Round-up

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Being a week behind on my Monday round-up, I know I’ve been procrastinating this post. I debated making Week 15’s and back-dating it, but instead this seems like a better solution – rolling them into one! Not only that, but I’m only going to be brief with my round up, as over the next few weeks I’ll be recapping my whole holiday in some form or another! **I’ve since procrastinated a further 4 days and now this is late for both weeks!!**

Picking up where I left off after Week 14’s round up, Monday (6th) was another day in Magic Kingdom. It started early with breakfast at Cinderella’s Castle (Cinderella’s Royal Table) which included an initial meet and greet with Cinderella herself and then also meets with Snow White, Aurora, Jasmine and Ariel while we were eating our breakfast. Amy and Olivia were there too, though we were booked separately, but this was the first time we’d seen them as they’d only arrived in Florida the day before. We spent majority of the day in Magic Kingdom, meeting Winnie the Pooh and Tigger, riding the Barnstormer, Peter Pan’s Flight and Haunted Mansion. However after lunch we headed back to the villa and had a relaxing afternoon, a little nap and then heading back to Magic Kingdom to see Celebrate the Magic, Wishes and then the Electric Parade.

On the Tuesday we headed back to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. We’d had our “Harry Potter” day there and so this day was to do all the other stuff. We originally met up with Amy and stayed with her for a while in Hogsmeade, largely so she could get the use of her dining plan (we went to The Three Broomsticks). After we went our separate ways though, the four of us decided there wasn’t much we wanted to do in Islands of Adventure and instead caught the Hogwarts Express again, back to Universal Studios. There we went on Twister, Shrek 4D, E.T. Adventure, Terminator 2 3D and finally Minion Mayhem. We also had photos taken with Minions and Gru. It was fairly late by the time we left and the four of us grabbed McDonalds and Taco Bell on the way home.

Wednesday we were having a day away from the parks and we instead went to Kennedy Space Center. While it wasn’t really high up on anyone’s list, it was something we felt we should do when we had the opportunity. It was actually incredibly enjoyable and we all enjoyed our day – especially as it was much slower paced than other days. We enjoyed a coach tour as well as several museums/foot tours. The shuttle launch simulator was by far the best part of the day however and after a great day we all went back to the villa for dinner.

Thursday was an early morning again as we had breakfast at The Grand Floridian – 1900 Park Fare. This was another character breakfast and we saw Winnie the Pooh and Tigger again, along with Alice in Wonderland, the Mad Hatter and Mary Poppins. The breakfast was buffet style and it was really nice. After breakfast we headed to Magic Kingdom, this time we rode The Seven Dwarves Mine Train and The Voyage of the Little Mermaid, went on Enchanted Tales with Belle and met Cinderella and Rapunzel in Fairytale Hall. We also had a drink in Gaston’s Tavern and worked on our Sorcerer’s of the Magic Kingdom quest. When we were finished for the day, we headed to Downtown Disney for a little while, to look around and see what was there. Afterwards it was back to the villa and into the pool.

Friday was Animal Kingdom. I was in two minds as to whether or not to visit this park so we only scheduled one day. I enjoyed the park but it really did only need one day. We went on Kilimanjaro Safari, rode Expedition Everest and saw the Lion King show and also Nemo the musical. The girls also met with Pocahontas and Dug and Russel from UP. We finished the park around 4.30pm and made our way to Blizzard Beach which was a great way to cool off after a very warm day. For dinner we called in at a Denny’s on the way home and had a delicious meal there.

Saturday was Epcot, another one day scheduled for a park. I didn’t expect to like Epcot but actually I really did. We quite happily spent a whole day there but there was a lot of walking involved. The morning was spent in Future World, where we rode Mission: Space, The Seas with Nemo & Friends and Spaceship Earth. We also dropped into the Character Spot so the girls could meet Mickey, Minnie and Goofy and then saw Chip and Dale just outside there. At lunchtime we walked into World Showcase, to Norway and Akershus Royal Banquet Hall where we were meeting Amy for a princess filled lunch. We had a meet and greet with Belle on entry, then also saw Cinderella, Snow White, Ariel and Aurora once inside. After lunch we made it around World Showcase and it’s countries, meeting with various characters. We saw Donald Duck, Jasmine and Aladdin, Mulan, Belle (in her blue dress) and Duffy Bear. This took majority of the afternoon but then we headed back to Future World to ride Soarin’. Finally we got something to eat and drink, before settling in on a bench and saving a spot for the evening’s IllumiNations display. It was truly beautiful and one of my favourite memories of the whole holiday.

Sunday we were back in Magic Kingdom. We had breakfast at Be Our Guest booked, then I insisted on going to meet Gaston. Again, this was one of my favourite moments from the whole trip. After that we took on a mission to get as many meet and greets as we could, using the day to get the majority of the ones we were missing. We got the Fairy Godmother, Lady Tremaine (the sisters were on time out), Merida, Buzz Lightyear and Stitch. After all that we needed a rest so we did both Monster’s Inc. Laugh Floor and Stitch’s Great Escape. We also rode Space Mountain. We then took a wander, rode the Dumbo ride and did some shopping where the girls bought themselves hats with ears and got their names stitched on them. We then went into Peter’s Silly Sideshow and met Minnie and Daisy, followed by Donald and Goofy. When we got hungry, we ate at Pinocchio Village Haus, then did more of our Sorcerer’s of the Magic Kingdom quest. In the afternoon, the girls met with Tiana, Ariel and then Anna and Elsa, all before we went back to Be Our Guest for dinner. After dinner we met with the Beast and this was another highlight of my trip. Since the park was pretty quiet we got in a few more rides, this time the People Mover and Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. We then headed out and back to the villa.

This was the end of Week 15, so onto Week 16!

Monday (13th) was a day at Hollywood Studios. We had only scheduled one day and to be honest this was probably enough. That said, we had to make sure we scheduled carefully throughout the day to ensure we saw all the shows we wanted. We began the morning with meeting Baymax and Hiro. This was a must for the day so we needed to get in the queue early. After this we went off to ride The Hollywood Tower of Terror, then over to Star Tours for Chris and Amy to ride. We then went to see the Indiana Jones Stunt Show, followed by a wander and Muppets Vision 3D. After that the girls had their pictures taken with Lightning McQueen and Mater (though it was pretty pointless), saw the Cinderella carriage and then met with Mike and Sulley from Monsters Inc. After that we met with a Green Army man (from Toy Story) on our way to see Beauty and the Beast live (which was awesome). Next we rode Toy Story Midway Mania (which was so good) and then queued to see Buzz and Woody. Afterwards we went to meet up with Amy and some of her friends, to wait for Character Palooza. However it got rained off and so we ended up going our separate ways. Next we saw Voyage of the Little Mermaid and got some dinner. Finally we headed to Fantasmic where we waited quite some time to see the show but it was definitely worth it.

Tuesday was our final day in Magic Kingdom (though we didn’t necessarily know it at the time). We rode Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain and saw Mickey’s Philharmagic show. We also had lunch at Be Our Guest, met with talking Mickey Mouse, and Jessie & Woody. Finally we did some more on our Sorcerer’s of the Magic Kingdom quest, but on asking realised there was 9 quests and we’d only done 5 so we weren’t going to get it finished. When we left the park, we headed to Typhoon Lagoon to end the day and cool off. Unfortunately it closed at 5pm (not 6 like we’d thought) and so we weren’t able to do that as it was almost 5 anyway. Instead we headed to Downtown Disney briefly as Megan was searching for a dress she wanted and instead we found Tsum Tsum’s and she bought loads of those. We headed back to the villa for dinner.

Wednesday was our last full day on holiday. We spent the morning back at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure, letting the girls use their wands on all the “hotspots” around the park. This took us till just after lunch but we headed to Florida Mall and ate there – the girls having Taco Bell while Chris and I had Five Guys. We then wandered the Mall, going to Hot Topic and the Disney Store mainly. A friend I’ve known for 14 years, came to meet us at the Mall (we haven’t seen each other for 7 years) and it was lovely to catch up and wander around. At 6pm we headed to the villa to get my mum – the girls drove with Tim and so Chris and I just rode together for the first time all holiday. When we got to the villa, Tim suggested somewhere for dinner and we all headed out together. The place we ate was called The Cracker Barrel and it was lovely. The food was amazing and we were all stuffed. Afterwards we shopped a little in the store attached and then said a very sad farewell to Tim. We all headed home to the villa and the packing began. A few tears were shed and then we all headed to bed.

On Thursday morning the decision had been made to spend the last few hours of holiday in Hollywood Studios and then Magic Kingdom. However the girls were up late and I didn’t wake them as I decided it was better they slept. The three of us headed out to Hollywood Studios as the Animation Academy was the one thing Megan had really wanted to do and didn’t get chance. When we got there it was about 10am but the first class wasn’t till 10.30pm, we waited and while we did so, we played on the “which disney character are you?” machines. Lily got Tinker Bell, Megan got Ariel and I got Lady Tremaine (I did say I wanted to eat nice people for lunch…). We then did the Animation class and got to draw Baymax. Megan also got given the artist’s drawing to take home with her. After this we decided it wasn’t really worth going to Magic Kingdom as it would take too long to catch the tram to the car, then drive to Magic Kingdom, then get the tram to the park etc. all before we needed to head back. Instead we waited to see Mr Incredible and Frozone, before riding The Great Movie Ride which was the one thing I’d wanted to do and hadn’t fitted in. Finally we said a sad farewell to the park and to Disney generally as we got onto the tram and rode back to the car.

We then drove back to the villa where Mum and Chris were waiting, pretty much ready to leave. We packed everything into the car and then headed back to Florida Mall. There we got lunch – this time the girls got Subway, I got pizza and Chris and mum got Five Guys. We went to Hot Topic to spend our Hot Cash, then Lily and I ran to the Disney Store to spend the last of her dollars while everyone headed back to the car. We drove to the airport, dragged all our bags in and checked in. Without a blow by blow of everything then, we obviously boarded the plane and this took us to Washington. The plane was delayed but luckily the connection was too. We then boarded the second plane and this took us home.

It was 11am on Friday morning when we arrived home and got off the plane. It obviously took us some time to get our bags, go through security etc. By the time we got to the car it was gone 12pm and mum drove us to a place in Northamptonshire where she was spending the weekend. Once mum was gone, we headed home, stopping at the first services we got to. There we had KFC for lunch and Starbucks to keep us all awake. We drove back to mum’s where I’d left my car and then swapped all our stuff over. We had to call in to see the kids’ dad at work but then we headed home, stopping only for bread and milk on the way. It was about 6pm when we got back and all of us just collapsed for a while. Despite the girls being tired I let them stay up a while so it felt like they had some time at home but then they headed to bed. Chris and I ordered takeaway and spent the evening watching TV. However we only made it till about 10pm before going to bed ourselves.

Saturday and Sunday were really just days to relax. I didn’t get dressed at all on Saturday, just managing with the few bits we had in the house to eat. Nat came around in the evening and it was so nice to catch up. Sunday we had to take Chris to work so it meant getting dressed and on the way home we did the weekly shopping. However the rest of the day was spent lazy, trying to recover and get ready for the girls going back to school. So this ends my round up and also our holiday. I hope to get on top of blogging soon and update you all on the trip properly, as well as share my favourite moments, top tips and tons of photos!

I’m back from Disney World!!

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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!!

Guest Post – Why Disney World makes an awesome Honeymoon Destination

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Samantha writes for Coco Butter Blog about fashion, beauty, lifestyle and everything else in between.
If she’s done something, you’ll read about it on the blog later!

When my husband and I decided to get married, one of the biggest decisions we had to make was about where we wanted to go on honeymoon. Being a bona fide sun worshipper for me, the choice was simple – an all-inclusive hotel somewhere super exotic where the only things to do are swimming, watersports and sipping cocktails at the swim up bar.

However, my then-fiancé is not so keen on sunbathing. He resembles a lobster after a couple of hours of laying in the sun and he gets bored within ten minutes of sitting down. So we needed a holiday that would keep both of us happy. My mum was the one that suggested a twin centre holiday – one week in Orlando, Florida at the theme parks and one week in a resort in the Bahamas to keep us both happy. After all, marriage is all about compromise so we should definitely start as we mean to go one. It is wise to follow the Latest News Bahamas beforehand as we plan a trip to the islands.

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I can’t lie, I possibly might have been even more excited about the honeymoon than the wedding! I had been to Florida once before but about ten years ago and so it was definitely about time for a return visit and we were about to find out why Disney World really does make an awesome honeymoon destination.

On our first day on the parks we visited the Magic Kingdom, perhaps the most famous of all the Disney parks and the happiest place on earth. We bought matching his n hers wedding mouse ears – mine were white with a veil while his were black with a miniature top hat and tails. We were also given huge badges with Happily Ever After on them – like a real fairytale!

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With our mouse ears on, every single member of staff congratulated us on our marriage, asked us about the day or offered to take a picture for us and we felt really special for the entire day. We also met another couple who were also wearing wedding mouse ears which made for even more added novelty! Even strangers congratulated us in queues and while we were walking around which was amazing – as soon as you get married you want to tell the whole wide world and this was doing exactly that.

Disney World is a place where so many amazing memories are made whether it’s the thrill of the enormous rides, the colour of the daily parades or just spending oodles of time together. There’s a wonderful magic about the whole place for all ages, whether you’re five or 55 and it is the perfect place for celebrating your marriage.

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And then there are the fireworks displays. They are amazing and totally emotional – my favourite ones were the Frozen ones at Disney Studios. Set to the soundtrack of the biggest Disney film ever, they were extravagant and beautiful, lighting up the entire sky and filling me with emotion.  Standing there watching them with my new husband’s arms around me felt absolutely amazing and it’s something I’ll never ever forget.

If you want a relaxing holiday after the stresses of planning a wedding, then I wouldn’t suggest this is the way to go. But if you want to make some amazing memories with your other half that will last you all your lifetime then I would definitely recommend a honeymoon at Disney World. Even better – combine a week here with a week in the Bahamas like we did and you can have the best of both worlds.

unnamedThanks so much to Samantha for sharing her Disney experiences on my blog, while I’m away on holiday.
Please take a minute to pop over and say hi on her blog – Coco Butter Blog

Florida 2015 (3 weeks to go) The Planner

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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 (5 weeks to go) The Planning

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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”.

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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.

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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!

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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. I’m certain I’ll visit Disney Springs because it has some of the best restaurants and shopping in all of Central Florida.

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!

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Week 6 – Monday Round-up

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It’s been a good week, yay! Most weeks are good weeks at the moment and that’s honestly such a nice change. Monday to Friday were work and school for Chris and the girls. Chris has started on shifts now and so the days of 9-5 are a thing of the past. Monday and Tuesday he was working 8am till 4.30pm and in order to get to work on time, he had to catch a train at 6.30am – meaning he was leaving the house around 6.15am. Luckily I managed to go back to sleep once he climbed out of bed but it was then a struggle to wake up again at 7.30am. However I managed and it was off to school as usual, followed by the weekly shopping. After that, the majority of the day was spent online, catching up with blogging and getting organised for the week. Finally I headed out to get the girls again from school and we came home, had dinner and then the girls had a bath. I spent the evening with Chris, watching TV and relaxing before we got an early night. Same thing happened Tuesday morning as Chris was off early. After taking the girls to school I decided to head into Lincoln for a wander around. At lunch time I went to Sainbury’s and wandered around there too, before finally heading to my mum’s and spending the afternoon with her. Since it was close to the time Chris finished work, I headed back to Lincoln and picked him up. We grabbed Burger King for dinner before heading home and then not long after the girls arrived home from an evening with their dad. My brother called around for a coffee and chat but then after that I spent the evening watching TV and on my computer.

Next day was Wednesday and after taking the girls to school, I came home to Chris who didn’t have to be at work until midday. We hung out for about half an hour and then unfortunately he had to catch an earlyish train to be at work on time. When he was gone, I started working on my t-shirt project for the week, blogging and also a little exercise. Finally I took a bath and wrapped myself in a soft Håndklær to feel warm and relaxed, then chilled out until Nat arrived in the evening, catching up and having a girly gossip. Chris arrived home at almost 10pm so he sat with Nat and I for a while before we all called it a night. The next day Chris and I got a bit of a lay-in, but Chris had to get up for a driving lesson and so we were awake around 9pm. I stayed in bed a little and had a lazy morning, while Chris was out on his lesson. When he came back we went to Morrison’s for breakfast and then I drove him to work.

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After dropping Chris at work, I went around to Nat’s house and picked her up. We had been meaning to go into town and go shopping but since the weather was so awful we decided to go for a coffee at Asda Living and then wander around the shops there. During our time together we found out it was #WorldNutellaDay and this meant we were on the search for Nutella. Nat bought a jar and some marshmallows and as I dropped her off at her house again, she was planning on making Hot Chocolate and maybe pancakes too. I went to pick the girls up from school and once I had we went around to the newsagents and bought some “Nutella and Go” pots. Afterwards we came home and had dinner, before trying out some of my new teas (post to follow!). My mum lost her house key too and so in the end she called around to get my spare key. The girls and I started on the new Never Girls book (no. 3)  and then since Chris was out again for the evening I spent the time watching TV and on my computer. When he came home I could barely manage to stay awake much longer and so we ended up watching only a little TV before heading to bed.

In the morning, the girls had Share at school, basically a half hour in the morning where you can stay and see what they’re doing in class. Mum met us at school and she went into Megan’s class, while I went into Lily’s. Our task for the morning was to build a bridge that was strong enough for Shrek to cross (they’ve been doing about Fairytales, but it was also partly a test to make something strong enough to take a weight). It was quite fun and our bridge succeeded. Afterwards I headed home and spent some time with Chris before he needed to leave for work. My new books that I’d ordered for Florida arrived and I was excited to get reading them. However I had lots to do and knew I wouldn’t be able to until later that day. I went out to get the girls from school and when we arrived home we were feeling so lazy that we ordered take away. I’d had a good weigh-in day and so I figured we should just treat ourselves. The girls got changed into Disney fancy dress as that was their task for the day and then we all chilled out until they went to bed. Finally I spent the whole evening reading my new Disney World book and texting Amy, partly because she was booking our Fast Passes for WDW at 5am the next morning! When Chris got home from work I was still reading and planning. I found myself very excited and feeling like some plans were coming together.

Chris and I headed to bed and I told Amy to text me once she’d got the fast passes booked. This meant when I woke at 8am, even though I wanted to sleep more, I was itching to check my phone. In the end at 8.30am, when I was sure I wasn’t going to be able to get back to sleep, I caved and checked my phone. At that point I became super excited as Amy had got everything booked and I could see it all on My Disney Experience app. I was determined to have a constructive weekend and so after having a cup of tea, I set to work on some clothes I would make for the girls. Megan helped me sketch out and cut out some patterns in the morning, meaning that after lunch we popped into town for a few bits we needed. Lily suggested we walked and so we did, it was nice to get some exercise. When we got back I continued cutting out material until everything was ready to make their outfits.

In the afternoon I watched Sharknado 2 and started to sew. Since I’m always a bit distracted when watching TV, it was a very slow process. We stopped for dinner with the girls and then afterwards when they’d gone to bed, Chris and I watched the new The 100 series, while I continued to sew. It got to about midnight and I’d run out of everything I could do (I needed elastic) so eventually Chris and I went to bed. In the morning I didn’t manage much of a lie-in again so I got up and got ready, waiting for the shops to open at 10am. However Chris wanted to go see his Nan and so in the end I said I would drop him off there at 11am and go shopping, before picking him up at 12.30pm. The girls and I headed to Boyes, then walked to Tesco and finally walked around Marshall’s Yard. Our biggest spend of the day was £9 in Poundland! We picked Chris up and then came home for lunch. After that I spent the afternoon and evening sewing. I did stop briefly for a few hours over dinner as we had a movie night (with pizza and popcorn) to watch Bolt. By the end of the night I’d managed to get both of the girls dresses done and I was really pleased with myself. Chris and I got way further through The 100 episodes too, so it was a great weekend.

Like I said before, all in all a good week. Of course there have been some negatives but overall the week is good and I’ve felt positive and motivated all week. Long may it continue!