Our Orlando This or That
When it comes to planning an Orlando holiday, there are so many different ways to do things and everyone seems to do it differently! This post is a (brief) summary of our preferences (which aren't necessarily the same). We could and probably will go into a lot more detail but we'll save that for future posts as thought this post would just be a good introduction and insight into us and how we do our Orlando holidays.
Spontaneous holiday or plan in advance?
Plan, plan, plan! When we last went to Orlando things were quite different as the Fastpass+ system was still in place so things have changed somewhat, but I think planning in advance is something we will always do for an Orlando holiday. We made a 2 weekly plan and filled each box with what we wanted to do on each day. We started with parks, then added in any dining reservations we wanted to do on certain days, pool days etc. This lets you work out how best to fit everything in that you want to prioritise but we also found this so much fun to do!
Onsite or offsite
This is something that will definitely need it's own post at some point as there is so much to consider when making this decision.
For us, we found the happy medium in the form of a Disney Partner Hotel. With these hotels, they're in the Disney Springs area meaning that they're walking distance to Disney Springs, offer shuttle transport to all of the Disney parks (as well as other perks), are a balance between being slightly themed (for example having a Disney shop in the lobby, offering Mickey waffles for breakfast etc) whilst still being away from the Disney-ness if you find all that a bit too overwhelming and they are a lot easier on the budget.
Favourite Park
Cathy Maybe a little bit controversial but I think mine actually might be Typhoon Lagoon! It's just the park where I've had the best times and I just absolutely love it. I love all of the other parks too (although one is definitely my least favourite) but Typhoon is probably my happiest place there.
Lou Islands of Adventure. Although this is a very hard question for me because I love them all but I spent a summer working in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter so it holds a special place in my heart. I also think that the rides here are the best.
Favourite Ride
Cathy Mine has got to be Expedition Everest. There's so many rides that I love but I think that's got to be my favourite. I also love Crush 'n' Gusher at Typhoon Lagoon. I know it probably doesn't count but I could spend all day going on that!
Lou Mine would be Forbidden Journey. That's the ride that I worked on when I was over there and I remember the first time I went on it, being completely blown away and phoning Mom to tell her all about it. However, I feel like Tower of Terror should also have a special mention here.
One thing we wouldn't leave our hotel without
Cathy Mine would be paracetamol and travel sickness tablets. The paracetamol could be avoided - I just get far too excited and forget to drink water and end up making myself ill. The sickness tablets though I couldn't be without. Just make sure you only take one a day - I once took two and ended up falling asleep standing up in the queue for Transformers.
Lou Water bottle! Simply because buying water in the parks is far too expensive and hydration is key. There are water fountains all over the parks to fill up your bottles (although the water doesn't taste the best so we also recommend bringing those little squeezy bottles of squash to make it taste better!).
So that's just a very small insight into how we plan our holidays. This obviously won't be the same for everyone and is just what works best for us because of our own preferences. We will be posting lots about the different types of accommodation and what might work best for you and your travel party, food and restaurant suggestions for a variety of budgets and preferences and some recommendations of a few little gems we've found along the way.
Thank you for reading!
Lou and Cathy xxx
Spontaneous holiday or plan in advance?
Plan, plan, plan! When we last went to Orlando things were quite different as the Fastpass+ system was still in place so things have changed somewhat, but I think planning in advance is something we will always do for an Orlando holiday. We made a 2 weekly plan and filled each box with what we wanted to do on each day. We started with parks, then added in any dining reservations we wanted to do on certain days, pool days etc. This lets you work out how best to fit everything in that you want to prioritise but we also found this so much fun to do!
Onsite or offsite
This is something that will definitely need it's own post at some point as there is so much to consider when making this decision.
For us, we found the happy medium in the form of a Disney Partner Hotel. With these hotels, they're in the Disney Springs area meaning that they're walking distance to Disney Springs, offer shuttle transport to all of the Disney parks (as well as other perks), are a balance between being slightly themed (for example having a Disney shop in the lobby, offering Mickey waffles for breakfast etc) whilst still being away from the Disney-ness if you find all that a bit too overwhelming and they are a lot easier on the budget.
Favourite Park
Cathy Maybe a little bit controversial but I think mine actually might be Typhoon Lagoon! It's just the park where I've had the best times and I just absolutely love it. I love all of the other parks too (although one is definitely my least favourite) but Typhoon is probably my happiest place there.
Lou Islands of Adventure. Although this is a very hard question for me because I love them all but I spent a summer working in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter so it holds a special place in my heart. I also think that the rides here are the best.
Favourite Ride
Cathy Mine has got to be Expedition Everest. There's so many rides that I love but I think that's got to be my favourite. I also love Crush 'n' Gusher at Typhoon Lagoon. I know it probably doesn't count but I could spend all day going on that!
Lou Mine would be Forbidden Journey. That's the ride that I worked on when I was over there and I remember the first time I went on it, being completely blown away and phoning Mom to tell her all about it. However, I feel like Tower of Terror should also have a special mention here.
One thing we wouldn't leave our hotel without
Cathy Mine would be paracetamol and travel sickness tablets. The paracetamol could be avoided - I just get far too excited and forget to drink water and end up making myself ill. The sickness tablets though I couldn't be without. Just make sure you only take one a day - I once took two and ended up falling asleep standing up in the queue for Transformers.
Lou Water bottle! Simply because buying water in the parks is far too expensive and hydration is key. There are water fountains all over the parks to fill up your bottles (although the water doesn't taste the best so we also recommend bringing those little squeezy bottles of squash to make it taste better!).
So that's just a very small insight into how we plan our holidays. This obviously won't be the same for everyone and is just what works best for us because of our own preferences. We will be posting lots about the different types of accommodation and what might work best for you and your travel party, food and restaurant suggestions for a variety of budgets and preferences and some recommendations of a few little gems we've found along the way.
Thank you for reading!
Lou and Cathy xxx