Another Florida Catch-Up | Buying too many floral dresses & More Universal Awesomeness!

I’m just going to stop apologising for not updating now.
Friday was a chilled day, so we headed to Lakeland Square Mall for a spot of shopping. We started off in Burlington Coat Factory where I was sure I could buy a winter coat from, but with no avail we headed into the main part of the mall. I haven’t seen a decent winter coat ANYWHERE in Florida so far. I mean, I understand that it’s hot all of the time here, but surely Floridians like to venture out of Florida?!

We headed to another couple of shops, and I bought my first (and probably favourite) floral dress. After that, me and Emma made a beeline for Hot Topic. My inner 14 year old was screaming to buy all the things, but I managed to resist buying a million My Chemical Romance shirts and a handful of band stickers, and left empty handed. Maybe on Friday when we visit the Florida Mall I’ll take home a Hot Topic souvenir. After an obligatory trip to Bath & Body Works to buy my weight in hand sanitisers, we met my parents and headed back. Lakeland Square Mall wasn’t that good, and I wouldn’t recommend the 45 minute drive to get there. Stick to Florida Mall, it’s better, bigger and has a better choice.

We decided to eat at Golden Corral, which was an all-you-can-eat type affair. It was AMAZING. My first plate consisted of caesar salad, bourbon chicken and other stuff. I then had pot roast with mashed potato and veg, with chocolate cake for dessert. Yum!

After Golden Corral, we went to Target. This was our first ever visit to Target and I loved it! I bought floral dress two here. Not as pretty as floral dress one, and I’ll have to lose the bulk of my holiday weight to look nice in it, but it’s lovely none-the-less, and for only $24 I can’t really complain!

Last Saturday saw Mum and Emma horse riding at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort. I almost had a little weep when we went through the Magic Kingdom arch to get there. I miss Disney. While they rode, me, Dad and Nanna ventured to find somewhere we could grab a coffee, but with no avail, we took to the shade of a big tree and I looked up how much it would cost to stay at a Disney hotel. I found that the cheapest was the All Stars Music Resort (aka hell) at £546 for 4 adults for a week. The most expensive was the Animal Kingdom Lodge (aka a milder hell) for £3423 a week for 4 adults. I honestly would HATE to stay on Disney itself. I’d quite like to stay in one of Universal’s hotels (have to save that for when I come without my parents as they’d rather die than stay in a hotel on holiday), but Disney would be an absolute no go for us.

When Mum & Emma got back we went back to the villa for a bit, before me, Mum and Nanna headed off down the 192 to a flea market. Where the next hour and a bit of my life was spent being harassed by sellers there who were desperate to sell their goods, including a couple of Russian women who absolutely reeked of alcohol trying to sell us some very pretty, overpriced, Russian dolls. Never again will I step foot in a flea market.

Sunday, my parents, myself and Emma headed to Universal again. We got there a bit later at 2pm this time to find it pretty quiet.

We bought our Halloween Horror Nights tickets for Friday (SO EXCITED), and headed to Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem first, then mum and I went on Rip Ride Rock It again, mum vowed never to do this ride again. There’s actually a roller coaster that I love that Mum hates! Me and Emma rode The Mummy, and then we all went on Disaster, which really lived up to its name. As when we were approaching the main ride, it broke down. Disappointed.

After a quick stop at Diagon Alley and a go on Escape From Gringotts, we went on the Hogwarts Express to Hogsmeade and went on the Forbidden Journey and Flight Of The Hippogriff. Thinking this was going to be our last trip to Universal apart from Halloween Horror Nights, I left sad and emotional.

Monday saw us at Sea World. I was in two minds about whether I wanted to go after watching Blackfish and hearing the horrible stories about the killer whales, but two of my favourite coasters are there so I gave in…

We rode Manta first, which is an amazing lying down coaster. But unfortunately got us stuck lying down when we got to the station, meaning we were face down for a good five minutes. Then I got stuck in my seat. Trust me.

We went to see the dolphins next, followed by the Blue Horizons show, which was pretty good, but sort of ruined by the most annoying Sea World employee ever who wouldn’t shut her beak, shouting how she loved this bit, and how “that’s normal” whatever the hell that means.

We rode Journey to Atlantis next, the parents told us that if we sat at the front, most of the splash would go over us. They lied. Me and Emma got off absolutely soaking wet! Me and Mum rode Kraken next, which is always fun. Then the new Empire of the Penguin attraction. The ride was crap, but it was worth it to see the penguins at the end. Their enclosure is much bigger now and they look happy enough!

After that, we went for some lunch by the lagoon. On the way, we got stopped by two Sea World employees who were giving away prizes, all we had to do was act like sea lions… It was fun and we got free fast passes for the family. Not bad considering they’re almost $50 each!

I opted for a BBQ chicken burger, which was nice, we watched the dancing fountains for a bit before going on the Sky Tower. Emma felt really ill by this point (probably burger poisoning), so we decided to call it a day.

 

After the longest nap ever, we (minus Dad, he was fishing) went to the Orlando Premium Outlets where I bought the ASPCA cat Vans & bag, which I’ve wanted for ages.

 

We went in to the Disney Store too, where I spent way too long deciding which pillow pet to buy. I opted for Dumbo.

 

And also dragged everyone to Forever 21 where I bought floral dress three and four. I saw these in the other Forever 21, but they didn’t have my size. $150 down, we headed home. Not before stopping at Pizza Hut for carry out!

Yesterday me and Emma decided that we needed to fuel our Universal addiction some more. So at 1pm, Mum & Dad dropped us off and we went in alone! It felt so weird without any form of parental guidance.

 

Universal first! We went straight to The Transformers ride, which we hadn’t been on yet! We both really enjoyed it! Like Spiderman but more fun in my opinion, though not being a Transformers fan, I had no idea who was who and what was going on.

 

After taking some photos of “New York” and “San Francisco”, and also some of the HHN props (the big candle with creepy faces in and the VW Beetle), we went into Diagon Alley and waited for Escape From Gringotts. We were seated with people who screamed at absolutely everything, which was hilarious! We had a wander round the shops there, before going on The Simpson’s ride, and then back to “London” for the Hogwarts Express.

Over at Islands of Adventure, we went to Burger Digs for lunch, and then back to Hogsmeade to ride the Forbidden Journey. After a look around Hogsmeade we headed for the pick up point.

After a dip in the pool back home, we had steak for tea and went to sleep!

Today we’re going back to Sea World to see the things we missed, and going to Bahama Breeze! So excited for Bahama Breeze, I’ve been waiting all holiday for their amazing cocktails!

 

 

Florida Catch-Up | Shopping, Aquatica & Islands of Adventure!

Firstly, I’d like to apologise for a few days of missing posts. I’ve either been too busy or too tired to update, so I’ll do a quick run-down of the past few days, and then focus on yesterdays!

On Tuesday we chilled by the pool for most of the morning. The weather was glorious, and we were definitely in for a warm one!

Obligatory pool and legs photo!

In the afternoon, we headed over to Orlando Premium Outlets on I-Drive, it’s bigger than the one we usually go to on Vineland but definitely not as good. Had a walk round the Vans outlet but didn’t buy anything. Then went in Forever 21, which is sort of like a cheap Topshop and is AMAZING. I spent way too long in there and only ended up buying a few things. Some amazing jeans, a pretty floral top, a cute rabbit jewellery stand and a hairbrush.

When we got back to the villa, I had a horrendous headache so went for a lie down. We then headed out to Downtown Disney later – bad idea! It was peeing down the whole way round and we all (me mostly) ended up looking like drowned rats. Never again! Especially due to the renovations of Pleasure Island, the whole thing is upside down and just not a very enjoyable experience. We had a look round World of Disney, which is probably the biggest Disney store in the world! And also got our free Ghirardelli chocolate then went home and went to bed.
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Wednesday was a lovely day spent at our favourite water park – Aquatica. We got there nice and early to see if we could hire a private cabana for the day. We managed to get one overlooking Roa’s Rapids which cost $121, but it was definitely well spent. It included towels, a locker, a fridge with 14 bottles of water, and a concierge serving you food and drink if you wish. We also got a Banana Beach Buffet wristband, which was all you can eat and drink all day. Some of the choices were pulled pork, pizza, chicken legs, salad, pasta, mac & cheese, chocolate pudding and cake.

This is the only photo I took of the day. Mum and Dad at our cabana.

We started off the day on Roa’s Rapids, which is sort of like a fast lazy river. Then went on the family slides, in the wave pool, on the lazy river. Towards the end of the day, Emma and I went in the wave pool which was fun. All in all it was a lovely day. I love Aquatica!

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Yesterday was one of my favourite parks – Islands of Adventure!

As soon as we got in we headed over to The Hulk and rode that first! I LOVE this coaster. It’s just so fun and I forgot how awesome it was!
We then got some breakfast. Mum, Dad and Nanna had Cinnabon and me and Em went to Starbucks, where I opted for a caramel frappucino and some banana walnut bread, lovely!

For some reason I chickened out of doing Doctor Doom’s Fearfall, despite the fact I’ve rode it tonnes of times. I just really wasn’t feeling it, and it is genuinely terrifying!

The Spiderman ride was up next! We took Nanna on this one and she loved it! Me and Emma went round again and had another go as it was just a walk on.

We went round to the comic book store where Emma bought a Deadpool t-shirt, and then headed over to Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge Rat Barges. NEVER AGAIN! I’ve rode this before, but I never got as soaked as this before! I was literally drenched through and it took me ages to dry. We went in the “human dryers” which seemed to make little difference, and moved on. We decided not to ride Dudley Do Right’s Ripsaw Falls because we didn’t want to get wet again. Through to Jurassic Park now where we went on Jurassic Park River Adventure, which was great as usual. For some reason I really screamed going down the drop and the photo is both hilarious and horrible at the same time.

Lunch time now, we went to Burger Digs, which is our usual IoA restaurant of choice. I opted for a grilled chicken sandwich, fries and salad.

After lunch, it was time for Hogsmeade!

 

We took Nanna on the “Hogwarts tour” (or Hogswash as she called it). And then rode Forbidden Journey. This ride is great. It’s a simulator “robo-coaster” ride, where you’re stuck on the end of a robotic arm and swung all over the place. It’s fun though! After that we rode Flight of the Hippogriff (me and Em went on twice), and then Dragon Challege, which is ace. I actually kept my eyes open during it this time too (last time I shut my eyes the entire way round). We also met a lady from Boston who sat on our row, she thought it was amazing how we were from England and “sounded just like in the movie”.

Then finally, it was time to ride the Hogwarts Express!

It was absolutely amazing and everything I thought it would be! Needless to say, by the time we got to “London”, I was well and truly feeling like a wizard. So much so, that I headed straight for Ollivanders and bought a wand!

Almost $40 and Voldy’s wand acquired, I felt so powerful! We were going to ride Gringotts again but the wait time was 30 minutes (which is good, but we didn’t want to leave Nanna outside for that long). Back to Kings Cross now for the return trip to Hogsmeade!

HULL TRAINS! 😀

Nanna and Mum going through the wall at Platform 9 and 3/4.

Excuse my face, but wand and Hogwarts Express selfie.

Emma on the Hogwarts Express.

We arrived back in Hogsmeade where I bought a $13 Butterbeer, just for the souvenir cup. Worth it though. I drank half of it before deciding I didn’t like it, so chucked at least $8 worth of Butterbeer in the bin.

We wandered through to Seuss Landing where we went on the Cara-Seuss-El, One Fish Two Fish and the Cat in the Hat ride, then headed out. It was at this point that we seriously started to get tired, and we took the long, arduous trip through City Walk to the car.

On the way home we stopped at Walmart for some stuff for tea, got home, went in the pool, ate, went to sleep.

Hopefully today we’re going shopping, so I’m gonna do some serious spending! Catch you soon!

 

 

Day 3 | 90 Degree Heat, Escaping From Gringotts and LOTS of photos!

So I thought I’d at least be a little bit over the jet lag now but apparently not. It’s 5:30am and I’m awake. It is the perfect time to do my blog posts though so we’ll focus on the up sides. Yesterday was AMAZING. I can’t even get over how brilliant Diagon Alley is, but I’ll start from the very beginning even though I just want to talk about that.

Woke up around 5:30am and ran myself a bath. Decided I could get away with a fringe wash so just did that to save time (if you don’t know what a fringe wash is, it’s where you just wash your fringe. If you’re plagued with greasy hair after just one day of washing it, fringe washing is great if you don’t like to wash your hair every day!). After I was all ready I had fruit, yoghurt and boiled eggs to set me up for the day. And I was ready!

Ignore my stupid face and just focus on the fact I’m wearing a Ravenclaw shirt please.

We set off just after 8 and got to Universal Orlando at around 8:35 which was the earliest we’ve ever been I think. But we thought if we got there early, went straight to Diagon Alley, we wouldn’t have to queue very long for Escape From Gringotts.

Family moving walkway selfie (minus Nanna, she’s not allowed on the moving walkway in her mobility scooter).

I honestly couldn’t stop smiling. Although I love Disney, I just love Universal that little bit more. Up until I found my roller coaster feet, Universal Studios was my favourite park where it came to rides too (now overtaken by Busch Gardens as it’s full of awesome coasters!). Universal Studios still is my favourite park in terms of the buildings and surroundings.

After getting our Special Assistance pass for Nanna (which we didn’t use once), we headed in and by this time I was absolutely buzzing with excitement. The first ride was Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem, which used to be Jimmy Neutron’s Nicktoon Blast. This was our first walk-on of the day. We were waiting 5 minutes, if that. But the woman who worked at the entrance for some reason blocked off the queue at a certain section, so we were just stood there stuck not knowing what to do…

This ride is fun, and is a good update from Jimmy Neutron which was a bit outdated. It’s a 3D simulator ride where riders sit in rows of four (poor Dad was sat alone) where you go through the process of “becoming a minion”. You’re jumping about all over the place and it’s just really fun! Plus the minions are super cute too! Nanna found it hilarious, although it jolted her back a little. Even Dad was smiling so it must have been good!

After that we walked up to Hollywood Rip Ride Rock It, which we just walked onto as well.. I was so excited to ride this because last time we came it was closed  because of teething problems. This was also Emma’s first “big” roller coaster, so she was really nervous! When we got on we picked our songs (I did one of the hidden songs which was Tom Petty – Runnin’ Down A Dream).

This roller coaster lifts you at a 90 degree angle. And when you watch it you think “Ah it won’t be that bad”. But jesus christ, it’s so intense! It was really fun though but probably more intense than any coaster I’ve been on. We consoled Emma in the fact that it’s more intense than The Hulk (if Emma goes on The Hulk she’ll get $40, $30 from Mum and $10 from me, she’s buzzed herself up about it for ages watching videos and I really hope she goes on it!).

Next up was Revenge Of The Mummy. I can’t even explain the lack of queue times. We didn’t even have to queue for this one either. Because of Nanna too we had to use the disabled entrance. We realised afterwards that this ride was too much for Nanna. She felt sick afterwards and me and Emma found ourselves constantly asking if she was okay. Including an instance where she started coughing and I really started to panic! Needless to say, she didn’t go on another ride all day.

Took some photos of “New York” when we got off The Mummy, including being photobombed by Dad! Also the Transformers ride wasn’t there last time we were here, and it upsets me how it ruins the look of New York (far left photo). Also see the props for Halloween Horror Night (VW beetle in the far right photo). It’s part of The Purge scare zone. I really hope we go! Emma’s said she doesn’t think she’ll be scared at HHN. So we have a $5 bet on. By the end of the night I’ll be $5 richer no doubt.

Diagon Alley was up next. Now I’ve watched endless videos of Diagon Alley, and looked at countless photos. But nothing can compare to being there and seeing it with your own eyes. Even “London” was amazing.

Walking through the wall to Diagon Alley was the most excited I’ve been in a long time! I literally could not stop smiling. It’s just so perfect, and the detail is absolutely amazing!

The only downside was the fact I was so warm by this point. It was 90 degrees and I felt so uncomfortable. I just hope that when we visit next week, I’m not too hot and can enjoy it properly! I also need to get a photo next to The Daily Prophet building – my future place of work of course!

Escape From Gringotts was the main attraction here so we headed towards that. Nanna waited outside in the shade with our bags and we headed in. The detail inside Gringotts bank is amazing too. Theme parks in Florida really do knock UK theme parks into the dust. Just the queuing area for one ride is better than a whole ride in the UK.

We were expecting a long wait for this one, but we were only waiting about 20 minutes, if that! All I have to say on this one is WOW. It is amazing. It has the coaster element of The Mummy, with the visuals of the Spiderman ride at Islands of Adventure, but no ride technology could ever match up! It’s so clever the way it switches from roller coaster to simulator.

After EFG, we had a look around Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley. Emma bought an interactive wand (Ginny’s I think) and did some of the spells. Dad probably has photos of her doing spells in her cape. She’s a real wizard now!

I melted a bit more until we went to cool off in Knockturn Alley, which is equally as amazing! We had a look round Borgin and Burke’s where I got excited over Tom Riddle’s diary which they sold, only to find it was bloody $42! No way I’d pay £25 for a notebook, no matter how amazing it is.

After Diagon Alley, we headed over to the Springfield area. Now I don’t like The Simpsons, but this place is really impressive. Last time we were here, the only thing that was there was The Simpsons Ride, but they’ve extended it to be a full area. Complete with Moes Tavern, Kang & Kodo’s Twirl & Hurl (which me and Emma rode later on), a Duff Brewery bar and the Kwik-E-Mart.

Strangely, I don’t have many photos from Springfield. Only these two.

We headed into Moe’s Tavern to eat and cool down. I opted for a turkey wrap (in which the wrap part was green…not sure) and caesar salad. I needed cold food.

 

After eating, we headed over to Men In Black, which is a family favourite! And then back to Springfield. By this point we were all seriously flagging, so cooled down with what was probably the nicest ice cream I’ve ever eaten. We made the decision to call it a day and head back early, but we’d come back next week to ride the rides we’d missed and have another look round!

All in all, it was a successful day! When we got back I slept, ate, went in the pool and slept some more! Today we have a chill day. That’s the upsides of not doing Disney, we have time to chill and just take it easy. I think we’re going to Orlando Premium Outlets later, which means more shopping! YAY!

I’ll update again tomorrow, although I doubt it will be very interesting! Thanks for reading 🙂