Blogs from Disney World, Orlando, Florida, United States, North America - page 12

As I start this blog we are getting ready to leave for the Amtrak station in Kissimmee, it's about a 50 minute bus ride from where we are staying - the Hampton Inn near Florida Mall. I don't get too far with it as we want to get to the train station ahead of schedule, that will give us plenty of time to check in our bags and look around Kissimmee. I finish it in Fort Lauderdale where we are now. I had a relaxing last day in New Jersey, after I updated the Travelblog and transferred some video onto a USB stick I went for a long walk around the neighborhood of River Edge, I walked to the train station and back passing a few schools, churches and shops, it was a nice day for ... read more

Started the day at an Outlet Mall..the first one we went to on our arrival in Orlando and the one we have not been able to get near since due to the most amazing queues of traffic. Incredible backlogs and traffic jams as people sought to get that extra special pair of Nike running shoes... Regardless of all that, today it was oh so quiet, no queues of traffic and fine for a leisurely stroll the standard husbands 3 paces behind the good wife, carrying the purchases. Gentlemen, the shopping husbands club is universal..you take a seat next to the other 6 guys, bags from previous adventures piled around their feet and with the odd child concealed amongst them. The standard 'I feel your pain brother' eye contact and nod as you sit quietly and wait. ... read more

As stated in the title it was a quiet day at Disney Studios today...no it wasn't it..it was just quieter - but that ain't hard. All in all it was still a lot better and only some parts of the park were manic as opposed to every square inch.. Weather was superb today but quite humid and a little muggy..especially when in close proximity to others in queues. We were in the park at 11 am this morning and frankly it did not make a skerrit of difference..this is the busy time of the year. Having said that it was still a good day and we stayed until around 4 pm but made a conscious decision to leave so as to better ensure the kids got an earlier night. It took the longest to get in ... read more

Very, very cold is the only way to describe it. There was no wind today and the skies were clear and bright blue....but regardless of the picture postcard appearance, it was bitterly cold. The photos will give testament to that. Today around midday we got to Disney's Animal Kingdom...this was the one that Sandy was dreading taking me to as she expected complaints and comparisons to Africa. Well, was she surprised - and to be honest so was I. Where Epcot attempted to emulate the real thing and failed, the safari drive here in the Animal Kingdom was really pretty good. Yes, its completely artificial and there were antelope mixing that never could geographically in Africa, but it was a damn good copy and very well done. Fantastic enclosures...huge multi acre blocks, and while captivity is ... read more

So we arrived in Orlando and our first park was Universal Studios Island of Adventure as we were keen to experience the new Harry Potter extravaganza prior to the Thanksgiving crowds descending on the place. We duly arrived at the park at 9am sharp and immediately raced to Hogsmeade. We were instantly awestruck! It felt like we had indeed somehow been magically transported into the wonderful wizarding world of Harry Potter. Hogwarts Castle had been completely reproduced and cut a dominating sight at the top of the mountain. Hogsmeade Village was as quaint as in the films and establishments included the Three Broomsticks Inn, Zonko's Joke Shop, Ollivanders Wand Shop and my personal favourite Honeydukes Sweet Shop. The rides too were spectacular. On one of them we actually joined Harry, Hermione and Ron on their broomsticks ... read more