Orlando, Florida - Holiday Highlights

As I mentioned in previous posts, such as in my packing list and my 'what's in my bag?' post, in August I went off on my holidays to Orlando, Florida. It was truly the holiday of a lifetime and was a trip I will never ever forget. We spent two weeks in one of our friend's villas in Kissimmee and had a very jammed-packed two weeks!

I thought I'd share with you all an insight into my holiday and what I enjoyed most about being away.

 

Although the flight was long, I seriously love the feeling of flying and the views from the window are just breath-taking. It is an unforgettable thing seeing the world from above.

 

 

The day we arrived, we headed straight to Magic Kingdom so that we could watch Disney's 'electrical parade' and squeeze in our first ride of the holiday. The parade was sweet, with characters like Peter Pan and Mickey Mouse going along main street. The lights are what make the show though, they dim the lights in the rest of the park so you get the full effect and it's really quite amazing!

 

 

We also returned to magic kingdom later on in the holiday so we could spend the whole day there are it was so fun! Seeing Cinderella's castle is every little girls dream and boy is it magical.

 

 

That day, we also ate at the 'beauty and the beast' restaurant where you get to dine in the Beast's castle and honestly, it was the best food we ate all holiday! It was very expensive but it was just like 5* dining. The food was incredible! And the service equally so. If you are going to Magic Kingdom, this is the place to eat! I promise you won't regret it!

 

The rides there was equally as fun, although it turns out posing isn't as easy as it looks! (Example A: my step brother screaming instead of posing!)

Another day we did was Gatorland but unfortunately the weather became unbearable that day! The gators there are amazing though and the show they put on (the gators jump to eat food hung on a wire!) was very entertaining!

 

Another one of my favourite days on the holiday was Hollywood Studios where they had more thrilling rides, the best being Terror Towers and the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. (Excuse the cheesy poses!)

 

 

The weather was always scorching in Florida but we also had a thunder storm nearly every day! Because we had so much to fit in, we only had one day set aside for relaxing by the pool and shopping, but I must say it was very much needed!

 

 

Okay, onto my favourite days of the holiday: Universal Studios! Featuring Optimus Prime because he's a bad a*s robot!

 

Okay at this point I'm fangirling again while writing this because thinking about harry potter world makes me so happy... did you hear that? I went to Harry Potter World! Everything about it was completely magical - from this (real, fire-breathing,) dragon on top of Gringotts bank to the ride that's in the bank itself.

 

Okay this moment was a highlight - I spoke to the shrunken head on the knight bus! And it said "it's gonna be a bumpy ride"!

I know what you're thinking... that's a fab outfit! Only joking, you're of course thinking: 'Oh my golly gosh it's diagon alley!" and yes. It's as fantastic as you'd picture it to be. In all seriousness though, it is a truly incredible place, all of the shops are so accurate and magical inside, there are so many hidden quirks and references and it just made me so happy. One of the greatest places from the greatest franchise came to life and I was walking there! It was honestly so special!

 

Another place that you can visit is Hogsmeade and of course it was equally as amazing. This was also the home to my favourite ride of the holiday where you go into the Hogwarts castle and fly around the world of Harry Potter thanks to one of Hermione's charms. It's a 5D experience and it's like you're actually there, going through the forbidden forest, playing quiddich, avoiding getting hit by the whomping willow, dodging an unchained dragon and getting your soul sucked by a dementor. It was truly magical and I actually went on it three times because I loved it that much!

 

 

We also spent a day at discovery cove and I was lucky enough to be able to swim with the dolphins they had there. You really gain a respect and love for these animals when you get to experience their beauty and intellect up close. I have never experienced anything like it and I am so lucky to say that I got so up close and personal with these amazing animals.

 

 

One highlight for me was going on a helicopter ride! It's always been one of the things on my bucket list and I am so happy to have finally done it! It's crazy looking over everything from above, especially when you can pick out things that you recognise! We actually also flew close to some of the Disney parks which was so fun!

 

Finally, we also went to SeaWorld where we saw the orca show. I know that SeaWorld has had a lot of bad publicity and I know a lot of people don't agree with what they do there but seeing all of the animals they have there up close actually gave me a real respect for the animals and the environment in which they live. I truly believe that since being there, I was educated about the animals and their environment which is one of the objectives of SeaWorld and feel as though I am more conscious and aware of the issues surrounding their wellbeing.

 

 

These few photos don't do any justice to the amount we did while away on our holiday. It was so packed full and busy, that I couldn't decide which photos I wanted to post so had to whittle it down to a few.

 

Some of the other things I loved about Florida included:

• Turkey Legs (I have no clue why they don't sell them in England!)
• The roller coasters - especially the ones at universal - I love the thrill of them!
• The water parks - another thing I wish they had more of in England!
• The giant breakfasts at iHop which could easily fill you up until dinner time!
• The rides at SeaWorld which were insane! By far the greatest thrill rides of the holiday - especially manta where you're laying down on the ride!
• The fireworks at magic kingdom were beautiful and particularly amazing when one of your favourite things happen to be fireworks!
• Just everything.

So now you've had a huge insight into my summer holiday to Orlando Florida. I am so lucky to have gone there and to have experienced everything I did. I will never ever forget it.

 

What would you like to do if you went to Florida?

 

I hope you have a good day and if it's your birthday, happy birthday!