Orlando and Miami 2017🏰🎢🌞

Following a three year absence, we were visiting Florida together for an amazing seventh time and we were really excited to be spending our first day at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom Park. Beginning with Pirates of The Caribbean, we also went on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, Space Mountain, Monsters Inc Laugh Floor, Jungle Cruise, Philharmagic, Barnstormer and Voyage of the Little Mermaid as well as watching the stunning Happily Ever After fireworks show...what an amazing day! It is so great to be back in Florida and we love feeling that special Disney magic!

It was very hot and sunny when we arrived at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park and headed straight over to Pandora where we waited in line for 90 minutes for Avatar Flight of Passage...but it was well worth it! We were all blown away as it was like nothing that we had experienced before and is definitely the best ride we’ve ever been on...wow! During the rest of the day we also enjoyed Expedition Everest, Kali River Rapids and Kilimanjaro Safaris before making it to the (indoor) Dinosaur ride just as a rainstorm hit. Thankfully it was a short one and afterwards we we went on the Gorilla Falls Trek and Na’vi River Journey before enjoying a delicious meal at the Satuli Canteen. Animal Kingdom’s opening hours have been extended since Pandora has opened so we were able to take another breathtaking Flight of Passage (still stunning despite an even longer wait) before experiencing the interactive bioluminescent ‘World of Avatar’ after dark...such a great day!

It was hot and sunny when we arrived at Typhoon Lagoon so we decided to find a spot on the beach to sunbathe for a while. We love the Caribbean look and feel of this Disney water park...a great place to relax, unwind and have fun. It wasn’t long before we headed into what we think is possibly Typhoon Lagoon’s best attraction...the surf pool. We swam out into the warm water, listening for the thunderous ‘sonic boom’ which is always followed by screams of joy as a cresting waves barrels towards us. Enjoying an epic body surf ride as the ‘big kahuna’ propels us towards shore is a fantastic experience...which we excitedly repeated over and over again! Afterwards, we went on a couple of the water slides and were about to ride Castaway Creek ‘lazy river’ when a nearby storm caused the rides to be temporarily so we decided to head back to our hotel to get ready for the evening.

We decided to launch into our day at Hollywood Studios with a ride on Aerosmith’s Rockin’ Rollercoaster...it’s fast, very fast! We slowed things down afterwards with the Beauty & The Beast stage show then the Star Wars ‘A Galaxy Far, Far Away’ centre-stage production. After a treat to eat (and a short thunderstorm) we had great fun in Toy Story Mania interactive midway-style shooting gallery...our first pre-booked fast pass ride of the day. Heading back outside we saw the boarded-off area where Star Wars Land is being constructed before watching the rousing ‘March of the First Order’. Next was Muppet Vision 3D followed by Star Tours...which took us racing alongside the Millennium Falcon on Scarif then through a ‘dogfight‘ in space! After wandering around the park for a little while we went on the frighteningly exciting Twilight Zone Tower of Terror free fall ride then watched the Pixar Live show. It started to rain while we had our evening meal so we headed back to Toy Story Mania before going on the nostalgic (but slightly dated) Great Movie Ride. We ended an enjoyable day by watching the entertaining Star Wars ‘Galactic Spectacular’ fireworks show...in the rain!

Universal’s Islands of Adventure probably has the most ‘white-knuckle’ rides of all the theme parks. After arriving at 10 o’clock we decided to head over to the newest of these rides...Skull Island Reign of Kong. It was the right decision because the wait time (which would be much longer later in the day) was only 10 minutes. The 4D action adventure wasn’t as breathtaking as Animal Kingdom’s Flight of Passage but was very exciting and really enjoyable. Afterwards, we were quickly on the Jurassic Park ride then Harry Potter & The Forbidden Journey and Dragon Challenge in Hogsmeade. Back on Marvel Island we went on The Amazing Aventures of Spider-Man which we all really enjoy and is one of our ‘old favourites’. After enjoying delicious treats from the Croissant Moon Bakery we went on the very intense Incredible Hulk and Dr Doom’s Fearfall rides before catching the Hogwarts Express over to Universal Studios.

For the middle week of our holiday, we would be leaving Disney and Universal behind and heading down to Miami and The Keys! Before setting off on our journey down Florida’s Turnpike, we decided to treat ourselves to breakfast at Denny’s on International Drive. Arriving just before 9 o’clock we were seated in a booth and served fresh, hot coffee and a delicious breakfast!

After getting ourselves ready for the evening we made our way around to Miami Beach’s famous Lincoln Road Mall...a pedestrianised avenue lined with shops and restaurants. We enjoyed a lovely Italian meal at Rosinella before spending the rest of a balmy south Florida evening wandering along Lincoln Road and looking in some of its high street stores. We soaked up the lively atmosphere as we excitedly contemplated the next part of our holiday...in Miami Beach! The last time we had been here was for a family wedding in 2008 and it was so exciting to be back.

After an early morning storm there was plenty of blue sky around after breakfast so we decided to take advantage of the sunshine and headed over to the beach. We relaxed on the powdery sand and bathed in the warm sea before making our way along Beach Walk down to the iconic Ocean Drive.

We were up and out before 6:30 again to head over to the beach for sunrise. We were met by similar conditions to yesterday but shortly after dawn the sun burst through the clouds so we were happy! After a while we made our way over to nearby Rosetta Italian Bakery where we enjoyed a lovely coffee before heading back to the Pestana hotel.

After a spot of shopping in Dolphin Mall we went for a delicious meal at one of our favourite restaurants... The Cheesecake Factory! We chose to sit in a booth outside where we enjoyed our pasta, shakes and smoothies in the early evening warmth...a really enjoyable treat at the end of another great day!

We were up early and headed over to the beach just before dawn again. Although there was cloud around it was probably the best sunrise that we had seen this week and we are really enjoying the experience. Afterwards, we made our way over to Rosetta Bakery on Collins Avenue where we had coffee and planned the rest of our day.

Leaving Miami behind us for the next couple of days, we made our way down through the Keys on Highway 1, stopping for refreshments at Starbucks on Islamorada. After enjoying our drinks we wandered through to the idyllic beach for a little while before continuing our journey down to Key West.

It was late afternoon when we arrived in Key West and checked into The Gates Hotel in the north of the island. Our rooms were gorgeous...the beach house style decor was perfect and we were all so impressed. First impressions was that it was our favourite hotel that we had ever stayed in! At 6:30 we took the free shuttle from outside our hotel down to Mallory Square.

After experiencing a stunning sunset from Mallory Square we wandered along the pier before making our way through to the popular Duval Street, where we found Hard Rock Cafe housed in a colonial style wooden building. We treated ourselves to some souvenirs from the Rock Shop before enjoying (non-alcoholic) cocktails sat outside in the evening heat.

After exploring Fort Zachary Park we wandered through the leafy streets of Key West to the Southernmost Point of Continental USA. After queuing patiently for a short while in the stifling heat and humidity we had our photographs taken at the famous landmark location under clear blue sky and in bright sunshine...a picture perfect scene!

We headed back to The Gates Hotel in the early evening where we spent a little while relaxing by the pool before driving back to Duval Street...and seeing another stunning sunset on the way.

It was our last day in Key West and after watching the sunrise from the Esplanade on Roosevelt Street, we enjoyed breakfast at the Sunshine Grill then headed back to the poolside at The Gates Hotel to take advantage of the hot and sunny weather before our drive back to Miami Beach.

After driving back from Bayside we decided to have a late night coffee sat on the veranda of the Riu Hotel overlooking the poolside. It was a typically warm Miami evening so after finishing our drinks we wandered over to the beach and down to the waterfront before heading back up to our room.

After spending a stormy day in Little Havana, Coconut Grove and then Aventura Mall, we enjoyed an evening meal at Carraba’s Italian Grill (where we had previously eaten during our holiday in 2008) before deciding to head over to the popular Bayside marketplace again, later in the evening.

After checking out of the Riu Plaza Hotel we drove the short distance to Miami’s Wynwood Walls art district. All of the buildings in the area were decorated with street art and the Walls and Garden were lined with stunningly colourful and creative murals and artwork. We were really impressed with the aesthetics and atmosphere of Wynwood Walls and thought that it was such a great place to visit.

After driving from Miami to Orlando (via the Hard Rock Cafe at the Seminole Hotel in Hollywood), we checked into the Rosen Inn at Pointe Orlando. From there, it was just a short walk across International Drive to Johnny Rockets at the Pointe Orlando shopping, dining and entertainment centre...a restaurant that we have enjoyed a meal at during every one of our family holidays to Florida. Tonight was no exception as we treated ourselves to delicious milkshakes and shared their signature Chilli Cheese Fries while we reminisced about our previous visits and the special memories that they evoked.

After leaving Disney’s Old Key West Resort we drove over to Disney’s Hollywood Studios...which we still refer to as ‘MGM’! It was very warm but cloudy as we made our way around to Sunset Boulevard to catch the 12 noon showing of Beauty & The Beast...a really enjoyable 30 minute ‘Broadway style’ live show based on Disney’s animated classic.

After a cloudy start to the morning the sun as starting to break through as we headed through the organised chaos of the security checks on our way into Universal’s Islands of Adventure. We took the decision to head straight for Skull Island : Reign of Kong...a ride that was likely to have longer wait times later in the day. It was really enjoyable and had we not been spoilt by Animal Kingdom’s ‘Flight of Passage’ we may have been more blown away by its originality and intensity...a great way to start our adventure!

We made our way around the Islands of Adventure to the colourful comic book land of Marvel’s Super Hero Island where we had great fun on the Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man...always one of our favourites! After re-energising with delicious treats from the nearby Croissant Moon Bakery we were hoping to take on The Incredible Hulk, but the nearby inclement weather caused the ride to close temporarily just as we reached the front of the queue! We waited for nearly an hour but the ride didn’t re-open so we decided to leave Islands of Adventure and take the short walk over to Universal Studios.

Our visit to Denny’s for breakfast was as enjoyable as always...but slightly more memorable thanks to our server (Cynthia) who was very engaging...joking with us all, giving feedback on our order, confiscating our phones, taking photographs of us in front of the Denny’s logo! Our breakfast of eggs, pancakes, veggie skillet, toast and coffee were delicious and Cynthia was great fun...she certainly earned her healthy tip!

After missing out on Universal’s Volcano Bay yesterday, we out early to arrive at Universal Orlando Resort for 8:15 so that we could be at the water park before it reached capacity. Taking the shuttle bus over to Volcano Bay we were issued with our Tapu Tapu bands and then when the park opened there was an almighty rush as the crowds raced on to the beach and scrambled for sun beds...but there were plenty for everyone! We grabbed some breakfast from the Kahului Cafe then explored the park, discovering that our Tapu Tapu bands were used to issue us with a wait time for a ride of our choice...Turtle & Whale ride, 120 minutes! In the meantime, we could enjoy the wave pool, lazy river or only one other ride (Tanihwa Tubes) so we did that. It was a flawed system in that the wait times needed to be shorter and/or you should be able to obtain wait times for more than one ride at a time. When our ride time eventually came around we really enjoyed it, a really fun water slide with great views across the park. We left Volcano Bay just before 2 o’clock, very impressed with how it looked but a little underwhelmed by its organisation.

We were missing our sunrise walks from earlier in the holiday so we had decided to get up at 6 o’clock and drive over to Disney’s Boardwalk. After getting coffee from the Boardwalk Bakery we wandered all the way around Crescent Lake, passing the Disney’s Yacht & Beach Club Resorts as the sun rose. It was such a lovely way to start our day and we were back at the Rosen Inn before 8 o’clock so we will definitely do it again tomorrow.

We started the last full day of our holiday with another sunrise at Disney’s Boardwalk then breakfast at IHOP before heading for the Magic Kingdom. It was hot and sunny as we soaked up the atmosphere on Main Street and the iconic views of Cinderella’s Castle on our way to blasting off in Space Mountain. We rode the WDW Railroad all the way around the park before speeding things up on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad...the wildest ride in the wilderness! When we stopped for lunch we watched the Festival of Fantasy Parade before heading over to Philharmagic...one of our favourite attractions. A thunderstorm hit during the afternoon, causing some of the rides to be temporarily closed so we went on the ever popular Pirates of the Caribbean and then Splash Mountain after the storm had passed.

It was the last morning of our amazing holiday and after watching the sunrise at Disney’s Boardwalk then treating ourselves to breakfast at Denny’s we checked out of the Rosen Inn before driving to the nearby i360 on International Drive. We took a ride on the Orlando Eye observation wheel which gave us great panoramic views across the Orlando area and out towards the iconic landmarks of Disney’s theme parks.

On the plane home at the end of another unforgettable holiday in Florida!