Jane, Craig and Daniel do Wet’nWild & Universal

For 2 of the 10 days that Daniel and Craig visited, we went to universal and it’s waterpark, Wet’nWild. Well, I say universal, we only actually went into Island of Adventure. Craig is a huge harry potter and marvel fan so they were our main hits. The first time there was abit of a disaster to be honest. It took us ages to get there and home as the I-ride is useless. We probably spent about 2 hours in the park as Craig wasn't feeling too well tackling forbidden journey, dragon challenge and food in the three broomsticks, before heading back. The second time there went much better. We spent the morning at Wet’n’Wild, which was alright but not overly amazing. Most of our time was used splashing around in the wave pool before heading to ihop for lunch. Hello pancakes!

Pancakes are probably one of my favourite things about America. Oh how i love them. Anyway, that evening in Island was so much better! It was practically empty so we walked onto lots of rides including Jurassic Park, Flight of the Hippogriff and Ripsaw falls (I don't think I've ever gotten so wet on a ride inn my life). I’m glad I got to see Craig's happy little face when we entered Hogsmeade but its such a pain to get to universal when staying on Disney property! I would recommend staying on I-Drive instead if you are planning on going there for a couple of days, or rent a car.

I did vlog the days a little so if your interested have a gander below.

xox

Walt Disney World’s Pop Century Resort

When Craig and Daniel came to visit me in Florida, we all stayed in Pop Century Resort, a budget Disney hotel themed around popular culture from the 60s to the 90s! We got 2 separate rooms in the 80s section, connected by a door at 50% off for Craig (as I was staying with him) and 40% off for Daniel with my cast member discount. The rooms were decent sized although a bit on the small side compared to Port Orleans Riverside (which was huge). What can you expect from budget though really? Beds were comfy, the room was clean and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay there. The only downside was that the resort was full of Brazilian Tour groups. Not pleasant when you want a quiet dip in the pool before bed and there's tonnes of Brazilian teenagers banging drums and singing loudly at 11pm.

The food court was quick service with several different counters for different “types” of food with three beverage stations. The food served was standard QS Disney food with some added extras that changed around depending on what time it was. My favourite thing to eat there was probably the breakfast. I love me some breakfast, so pancakes or waffles were on the table every morning without fail. One of their specialities is the Pop Waffle which was delicious and pretty huge. Omnomnom! I also really enjoyed the desserts (of course i did, its me!)

I reckon when we visit on holiday in the future we are going to go for a Moderate hotel, as having stayed in both brackets, there is certainly a difference in what you get. If you are on a budget though, this is a perfect place to stay, especially if you have kids! In fact I would highly recommended this if your visiting with kids. As its just us two, we would rather have somewhere more “grown up” in the future.

xox

3 Weeks Since I Returned to England

I have so much still to tell about my program! It’s been 3 weeks now since i arrived back in England and i miss it so much. I’ve been redecorating my bedroom and preparing to start my post-grad course so haven't had too much time to blog over here. I have been catching up with vlogs though so go and check them out! I made a little trailer for my channel that I wish to share with you today. I actually love it to be honest. Stay tuned here for more adventures, more advice, a haul post of all the goodies i bought and hopefully some exciting Disney news (fingers crossed),

xox

The Boyfriend and Best Friend Come to Visit

July 8th was a date I had been looking forward too for quite some time. It was the day my boyfriend and best friend were coming to visit! We had booked to stay at pop century resort (more on that in an up-coming post). I managed to get quite a few days off work, traded away shifts ect, so I got to basically have a little holiday in between my program (apart from working the odd days). On the first night after a little explore of the hotel, we popped to downtown Disney for a wander and a meal at the Rainforest Cafe! The food was alright, nothing too mind blowing but it came very quickly which was a nice surprise, as when I last dined at its sister restaurant The T-Rex Cafe, service was shockingly slow.

The next 10 days were definitely some of the best of my summer. Getting to spend time with Craig and Daniel in one of my favourite places on earth made it even more Magical! The first full day we spent in Hollywood Studios and Epcot, riding rides, exploring and meeting a few characters. The second day was Universal Island of Adventures time, day three I was in work then day four Wet’n’Wild and more Island of Adventures (separate post about that). Finally on Saturday we ventured to one of my favourite parks, Animal Kingdom! The Festival of the Lion King, Nemo the Musical, Kilimanjaro Safari and Everest were the main hits with some other bits thrown in before the normal 4pm Florida Thunder Storm hit (although the first of their visit so far!)

At this point Magic Kingdom was blocked out for guests so unfortunately wasn't on the agenda, something we were all pretty bummed about. But, luck struck! It was announced on the Friday that the block was being lifted on Saturday 13th! Initially we didn't plan to go there until Monday as I was working a 9:30am – 22:5pm on the Sunday (ouch). Though my lovely managers, after I told them my boyfriend was in town, let me go at 4pm! Score! After nipping back to the hotel to refresh myself/change, off we went to Magic Kingdom!

The feeling of jubilation, walking through that tunnel into main street with Craig and Daniel nearly rivalled that of when I first entered Magic Kingdom a month before (not quite though!) That evening we watched Celebrate the Magic and Wishes after doing some rides and me basically giving them a tour of my home park haha! Even more lucky, Sunday meant extra magic hours! The park was open until 1am so we did some Tomorrowland rides and ate at Tomorrowland Terrace (the food there actually making all three of us a little nauseous to be honest).

I think we entered Magic Kingdom every single day after that until their departure on Thursday 18th July. Alot of character hunting entailed (a separate post on that will be coming) after that, mostly in Epcot and Magic Kingdom. Daniel was way too excited to fill up his autograph book ahha!

xox

The Four Park Challenge

Something we had planned to do since arriving in America was the four park challenge! So, on a joint day off we rose bright and early to begin our task. We didn't really have a set rules to be honest. The general idea was ride some rides, get an icon photo and get a fast pass. The plan was Animal Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood studios then Magic Kingdom.

They see me vloggin’…
Anyway, i think the challenge was quite a success overall. We ended the evening with dinner at the Plaza Restaurant and watching the 4th July fireworks (by the end of that week long show I couldn't wait for wishes to return!) I gotta admit, the day was exhausting. We were all well and truly dead by the time the fireworks rolled around.
Of course I vlogged most of the day which you can see below!

xox

Be Our Guest Restaurant

One of the things on my bucket list for the summer was to eat dinner at Be Our Guest Restaurant! The only problem, it gets completely booked up for months in advance. Luckily there are often stand by slots available if you head there at 4pm (possibly some later!) so I’ve actually had the pleasure of eating there 3 times in all three dining rooms (they have now opened up the rose dining room for dinner). The prices are decent but the menu isn’t that extensive. There is only one vegetarian main, ratatouille, which I did get on my first time there. In following visits I got a soup starter as my main.

The decor is beautiful! My favourite room is the ballroom, with it stunning chandeliers to the snowfall scene out of the windows. Be Our Guest also just so happens to be the only place where you can also meet the Beast or “master” as the Cast Members like to say!

I would 100% recommend this restaurant, more so for the atmosphere and theming (although I am left dreaming about the amazing deserts). If your celebrating a special occasion you may also be permitted to try “The Grey Stuff”, it really is delicious.

xox

1900 Park Fare - Character Breakfast at the Grand Floridian

A character breakfast was something I wanted to do while being here, so what could be more appropriate than a British themed affair. The Grand Floridian breakfast plays host to classic characters such as Mary Poppins, Pooh, Tigger, Alice and the Mad Hatter. They work their way around the room taking pictures, signing autographs and playfully interacting with guests.

The breakfast isn’t cheap at $25 a head (plus tip) but the food is actually delicious! It’s a buffet style with many choices for all dietary requirements. We also got tea! English breakfast tea! Major bonus points there.

I would 100% recommend doing a character breakfast in Disney, if only for the experience. I’d love to do another one before I leave next week (boo!) but time off and everyone having money is a thing. Ah well. Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day so this was perfection.

xox