The Travel Diaries / Florida

Hi everyone! It's been absolutely ages since I last blogged but I've had a really busy November, I went to Florida right at the start of the month and when I got back it actually took me about a week to get back to normal because I had the worst jet lag I've ever had it was so horrible! I was wide awake until about 3am every night and I was waking up at 1 in the afternoon, but I finally beat it after a week of torture! I didn't really know whether to do this post or not as I wasn't too happy with the photos since I didn't take my big camera, plus it really bugs me when I don't have landscape photos for my post but in the end I decided just to go for it as I know I'll love looking back on this post one day. Also please ignore how much of a mess I am in these photos, Florida is very hot and sweaty even in November so I've definitely looked better!

We flew from Manchester on the 4th November with Virgin Atlantic, I actually didn't mind the flight at all on the way, it took about 9 hours but we just chilled and watched films plus the food was really nice (I'm one of those weird people that actually enjoys plane food). We had decided from the get go that it was going to be a villa holiday that we just organised ourselves so we did the whole car hire thing and booked privately with someone who owned a villa just because I felt like it was so much more freedom than staying in a hotel relying on public transport. It wasn't just me and Matty this holiday though, we went with his parents and his sister which is actually really different when you're so used to going away just the two of you. Our villa was in Davenport, it was so so nice but such a good price as well, I'll link the Facebook page of it if anyone is thinking about going to Florida, just click here.

We were doing the full on Disney/Universal holiday so we'd booked the 14 day unlimited consecutive ticket which I'd definitely recommend, it saves you so much money when you consider how much you are using it. The first couple of days we spent at Magic Kingdom and then Animal Kingdom, it was so much fun, I couldn't believe how amazing Magic Kingdom is in person, I feel like you can watch endless amounts of videos and look at so many photos but nothing compares to actually being there!

The first night after we had been to Magic Kingdom we went to this restaurant called Giordanos that serves Chicago style deep dish pizzas so me and Matty decided to share one, seriously think it was the best pizza I have eaten in my entire life it was amazing! If I ever go back that's the first place I'm going to eat, so sad we don't have one of them in the UK!

The first couple of days were so good but it really does tire you out! Magic Kingdom was so amazing though, and I really liked Animal Kingdom although it wasn't massively the type of park I'd usually love, mostly because of the lack of rides however I loved Expedition Everest so much! We had a bit of a nightmare as we got to the front of the queue and it broke down and they said they were closing it which is just what you need but they gave everyone a fast pass so we went back later when it reopened and it was so good! Possibly my favourite ride of the trip I think it was so fun, I also loved the Kali River Rapids however I got absolutely soaked, there was a woman sat across from me in a full on jeans and long sleeve top outfit and she actually got a mini tidal wave over her when we went down the drop I felt so sorry for her! Glad it didn't happen to me at the same time though... I also finally got to try a Mickey pretzel with the cheese sauce which was so nice, the meals at the disney parks were really expensive but I felt like the snacks weren't too bad, so we just ate snacks mostly in the parks and then out on the night. After Animal Kingdom we ate at a restaurant called Miller's Ale House which was amazing, Matty got a full rack of ribs which were absolutely massive and I had a prime rib sandwich which I've been craving since I got home and it's slightly torturing me.

The next few days we went to Universal Studios Islands Of Adventure which is Matty's favourite park, best ride there for me was maybe The Hulk or The Amazing Spiderman and then we had a couple of shopping days after that, you definitely need a break from the parks sometimes because they're so tiring, and the shopping there is absolutely amazing! We went to Mall at Milennia which was probably my favourite place, the Sephora there is unreal, I bought quite a few clothes as well which I wasn't planning on doing. We also got to try The Cheesecake Factory which was on my list to do before we went out there. 

By the way the Popeye ride at Universal, I will never ever go on that again! Never before have I been on a water ride where you get that soaked, I was drenched head to toe, don't get me wrong it was so fun, but we were hitting all the sun spots after that ride just so our clothes and hair could dry! On the Wednesday night we went to see Wishes at Magic Kingdom which was probably my highlight of the trip, I could watch that over and over again, so much better than I'd ever imagined! We had also been to Hollywood Studios at this point to see Fantasmic where we also went on the Tower of Terror, I love me clinging on to Matty in the photo while everyone else is just sat chilling, drop rides are by far the scariest!

We paid extra to go to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, it was definitely worth the money as you got to go on rides that were too busy to ride when the park was open to everyone, but I wish I had been there for the Halloween party instead, just because I prefer the look of that one. It was such a good night though and the parade and the fireworks were so good! I love the Festival Of Fantasy parade but I think the Christmas party one might just be a little better!

When we went to Universal Studios we did Harry Potter world as well, I'm not that into Harry Potter to be honest, but it was such an amazing area of the park they did such a good job with it, and Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey was definitely one of my favourite rides! I think I prefer the Hogsmeade area over Diagon Alley just because there's more to do but both parts were still really good. 

Anyone who has been to Olive Garden, you can definitely relate to how amazing the bread sticks are?! I'd seen people talk about them before but I just didn't get how a bread stick can be that good, but it lived up to expectations, that's another restaurant I will 100% go back to if I go to Florida again. 

I apologise for how unorganised and messy this post is, the whole trip was a bit of a blur to be honest because you're so tired but having so much fun at the same time and it's going so quick. My highlights were definitely Wishes, Harry Potter World, the animal actors show at Universal Studios which I could watch over and over, Magic Kingdom in general, plus just all the amazing food! I would absolutely love to go back, me and Matty are thinking about going again but not for another four years, because he will be 25 then and it won't cost him as much to drive since under 25s have to pay so much more so we would love to go just the two of us. I would definitely do all the Disney parks again and Universal, I loved them all! I'm already paid off next years holiday to Mexico because I'm such a holiday addict so I will start sorting out our excursions for that soon, let me know in the comments if you've ever been to Orlando and what you thought!