CRP | Two days in...

We made it!  I'm writing this blog from sunny and very hot Orlando, Florida!  Since arriving it's been crazy busy and very tiring; although every now and then I have to pinch myself to believe that we're finally here!

We arrived after an pretty uneventful and average flight from Stansted and luckily breezed through immigration, baggage reclaim and customs.  We met our shuttle and went to the hotel for a couple of hours before heading straight down to Downtown Disney.  The first port of call was food and revisited one of our previous favourites House of Blues.  Downtown Disney is currently having a massive overhaul to become Disney Springs which means there are a lot of boards up around the place and can be a bit of a maze to navigate through.  It was super busy too so we weren't able to take it all in as we were meeting a few of the other guys from our arrival group.  

The following day was check-in day, where you find out your accommodation.  We headed over to the Vista Way Welcome Center and queued for a couple of hours before receiving our housing IDs, keys, and itinerary for this week.  As for housing, we got Chatham Square (which is good) with a 6 person 2 bedroom apartment (not so good)... This meant bunk beds.  It was a little disappointing because a triple occupancy room was last on our preference list.  However, our rent is super cheap and the apartment is nice so can't really complain too much.

After settling in to the apartment, we had to go to Walmart to buy bedding, towels, router etc.  IT WAS SO STRESSFUL.  The Walmart is massive and there were 1400 other arrivals that day... the majority of which had to go to Walmart to buy all the aforementioned items. It was such a relief when we were finally done and could relax!

Our second day, today, we headed straight to Universal Studios and picked up our Florida residents' annual pass and spent the day there on the rides and exploring Diagon Alley.  It was awesome and the Gringott's ride was incredible.  The theming and detail in the Harry Potter section was perfect and even rivalled Disney for its attention to detail.  You felt as if you were stepping into the film or the books.  This evening, we're heading back to Downtown Disney for a Ghiradelli's ice-cream and perhaps some souvenir shopping.  This is the life!

Hoping to vlog very soon so watch this space!  

Disney to-do.

If you know me, you will know that I have an upcoming trip to Walt Disney World and Universal Studios this month for my birthday. I have been scouring the many, many planning and information websites and to be honest, I have thoroughly enjoyed mapping out my days and where we are going to eat and when. I have had a 'serious' to do list on my wall for the past few months, full of all the less fun things like insurance, transfers etc (it's still kinda fun for a nerd like me...). Although I am no stranger to Disney parks, it will be the first time that I'm visiting WDW and Universal Studios so I have compiled my mini to do list to get me (even more) in the mood!

1. Dine with the Disney princesses in the Magic Kingdom Castle. 

I am super excited to say that this will definitely be happening! We managed to bag one of the hottest reservations in the Disney parks and on the 13th April (my unofficial birthday!), we will be having breakfast with Cinderella and the other princesses at Cinderella's Royal Table. They even do a healthy breakfast and are aware of my fat-free food situation so I know it will definitely be the best start ever to my unofficial 27th birthday! 

2. Visit Hogsmeade/Wizarding World of Harry Potter

If I wasn't fit to burst with just the Disney parks, the prospect of visiting Universal and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter will pretty much do it. Ever since the park opened a few years back, I have been itching to get there and try butterbeer in the sunshine (it was quite chilly when I visited the Warner Bros studio). Also, I have heard so many things about the Hogwarts ride... I will wait however long it takes to get me in there. The roller coaster geek in me cannot wait to get on the Dueling Dragons (Dragon Challenge now it's been Harry Potterified), I have read about that coaster for years. Oh yeah, and the wands, I really want to choose a wand ... (Or let the wand choose me). Can you tell I'm excited yet?

3. Dole whip 

It was only a matter of time before food appeared really, wasn't it? Oh dole whip, fat free delicious dole whip! I can't wait to have this Animal Kingdom pineappley goodness in my tummy. I haven't been able to eat ice cream since I was diagnosed with gallstones, and I love ice cream, so frankly, I will be in my own mini slice of food heaven when I take my first lick of almost ice cream in 6 months. Yummmm! 

4. Pin trading

Although I have visited Disneyland Paris several times and Disneyland Anaheim before, I have never traded pins! To be honest, I didn't really know much about what it involved up until recently but now I do, I can't wait to get started! You can trade pins with any cast member in the park and other guests too. To me, it's another way that Disney make their parks a truly interactive and never-ending-fun experience. Also, although I love all of the Disney souvenirs, literally all of them, I often find them quite expensive for my shoestring budget and I always have to ask myself if I would pay £25 for a t shirt at home, and the answer is no. I have a million mugs and pens and key rings so I often don't worry about buying anything except a fridge magnet. Pins are the perfect compromise! I love collectible things that trigger memories so I will buy a couple of pins and forever be reminded of "that time I was in Disney in whatever year". 

5. Big Thunder Mountain

It may not be the scariest or the most thrilling of roller coasters but it will always be one of my favourites. A good, old fashioned runaway train roller coaster, a few thrills and spills but more often than not, you will just find yourself laughing the whole way round the track, hands in the air and just enjoying the ride. This ride was closed when we visited Disneyland in January so I am extra looking forward to hopping aboard. 

Finally, it doesn't really count as a to-do but I'm so looking forward to taking lots of photos that will be with me forever. To me, photos are a memory that I can hold in my hands so I will probably go snap happy and take hundreds of photos. I haven't even been yet but am already planning my next trip in my mind!