Day Two Discovery Cove...

What we took with us in our rucksack today: 

*Mobile phone charger.

*Waterproof case for phone.

* Change of clothes.

*Discovery cove cup.

When entering Discovery cove the walk is so peaceful and care free.

Booking is a must and I would recommend to anyone to go. 

The price of the ticket weather you pay to swim with the dolphins or not, includes 14 consecutive  day tickets to Seaworld and Aquatica (you can also pay to upgrade and include Busch Gardens) with free car parking. I fyou choose to go with out discovery ticket passes it costs $18 - $20 a day.

Meet and greet with Lucy the sloth.

 Again this morning we were up super early and got to Discovery Cove for 8.15am. 

There is a buffet that is through out the day providing various foods for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The food is served from 8.30am - 4.30pm every day.

Not only is there a buffet restaurant there are snack area's  throughout the park which serve snacks and drinks.

First to be in the pool.

We ate breakfast and headed to the locker area's to get sun creamed up and to place the important things in the lockers. These are also free of charge. The sun cream is animal friendly and very thick to put on but works a treat. 

Once the water was tested and we were allowed into the lazy river there was no stopping us.

Bird aviaries here we come. 

Although I loved just sitting and floating and just relaxing through out the day. TJ started to get bored. ( There's only so many times a 9 year old child can go round the lazy river by himself).

After the first attempt to get TJ to come in the ray lagoon with me, where he freaked out really badly and ended up hurting my arms. We gave it a miss till he'd calmed down.

 After another trip around the lazy river it was lunch time.
Now this I've been looking forward to for months as I love their cheesecake and strawberries!

After Lunch there was lots more time to relax and venture around the whole park including a slow walk / swim over the reef. 

 Such an amazing day was had at Discovery Cove and we cannot wait to go again but until then I have so many brilliant memories that I won't be forgetting in a hurry.

Thomas cook flight to Orlando MCO

Our check in with Thomas Cook didn't quite go as smoothly as I'd liked the food for the flight, extra clothes I'd packed for my son just in case and the book took us over the weight limit for his back pack. Despite saying the food would be eaten for breakfast the check in lady was having non of it. Asking me to remove it. I found it really distressing given the fact that on the sheet in front of her it also stated we had a disabled allowance. But it made no odds. After placing a few more items in to the suitcase and carrying the food in the carrier bag it was in we were allowed to go.

I know it's their job to ensure that the weights are correct but I think what annoyed me the most was the condescending tone. 

 During the 9 hour flight, we saw a lot of sea and beaches off of the coast of England and the US.

The food was served up around 2 hours into the flight and first round of free drinks within an hour and a half. The choices of drinks were tea, coffee, water or orange juice. There was the choice off buying an alcoholic drink which wasn't too expensive.

TJ's meal was served hot with hard bread roll, butter, a dark chocolate pudding.

I was surprised when he ate all the pasta.

After eating his pasta he then ate my sausages and mash potato. These were again served hot with the additional extras. I managed to try some of the sausages and they were very nice. Highly recommend to any flyers.

The movie choice for the basic package wasn't the best as there was a choice of 2 movies. and 4 television shows. Luckily I took my tablet with a few movies and other shows I wanted to watch on.

TJ read and colored in for an hour then re-watched the same movie he'd already watched again. Guess he must've liked Rio. 

View from the plane of Kennedy space centre was spectacular. 

The staff were lovely and couldn't help out any more with TJ then they did.

We sat the last row of the plane on the left hand side and found there was plenty of leg room. So much so TJ colored on the floor beneath the seat for a little while.

The onscreen map we found brilliant as it kept us up to date with time to land and all other flight details such as speed, temperature and distance travelled.

For the price of the flight I was extremely happy and glad I saved the extra pounds for spending on various other treats over the holiday.

The beginning of the holiday starts TODAY!!

After months of planning the holiday started and better yet the boy still doesn't know.

After finishing school and saying bye to everyone (not forgetting the dogs) for our one night away, we were off two suitcases, two backpacks and one teddy bear named Threadbear.

Two hours and 18 minutes we were pulling in the valet parking at Gatwick airport which is a breeze to find and even easier to find a place to park. 

Once parked we emptied the car of any food and bags and headed to the desk to leave the keys and sign the forms. Unknown to me until this point I could've had my car cleaned inside and out for when we returned at a small extra cost. This would've been perfect if I hadn't had it clean the day before we left Poole. 

The check in to the valet took less then five minutes with minimum paperwork to fill in as it had previously been booked.

When staying at the Bloc hotel, and booking valet parking make sure you ask as you can get 10% off the total.

The Bloc Hotel.

 After Walking across the road and the terminal building we were on a roll with two bags each to manage. Finding the hotel entrance was really easy although the signage was a little confusing to begin with as TJ read it as go straight and not up the escalator.

Once at the top of the escalator the Bloc Hotel is on your left.

 The small reception that looked like a small cosy box to two very nice staff, who were very helpful and polite. Whilst one distracted TJ I found the paperwork to check in, and was directed towards the elevators and room. The elevators will only work with the room keys when trying to access different floors which we didn't realise for a few moments. 

Along the corridor and to the end we walked and accessed our room which had a fantastic view of the runways. 

The room was lovely and clean with a double bed fitted in an alcove area, a television built in to the wall at the foot at head height. One of the ceiling lights is along the far wall of the bed which I found to be bright even though it was a purple color.

The bathroom was a wet room which I didn't realise had two different showers. The showers are controlled by the same tap and whilst investigating the taps I managed to get soaked in the process. 

The tablet that is on the wall by the bed controls the lights all around the room and the thermostat.

 

Checking out of the hotel was as easy as ABC gather your things, head down the elevator and drop your key in the box by reception. 

This was a lot less stressful then any other hotel I've stayed in the night before. Next time I go away I'm definitely booking to stay again.  

Researching the best offers in Orlando Fl.

Only a few people know that I am planning my trip to Orlando in the near future. When I don't exactly know but with the rate of the pound to the dollar at the moment I am struggling with my budget.
I started this week by looking into companies that offer sign up sheets and discounts for eateries and shortlisted a few around the 192 area as this is where I'm intending on staying.  These are what I've come up with so far although if anyone else reading this blog can think of any more then please by all means let me know as I'm sure others would be interested. As a tip only sign up the week before you visit as the vouchers don't last more then two weeks.

Food

Blackangus.com - steak house

Ponderosaorlando.com - buffet steakhouse

Perkinsrestaurants.com - all day food and pie!

Restaurants.Ihop.com - pancakes and more.

Goldencorral.com - buffet

Cicis.com - buffet , Italian

Outback.com - seafood and steak house

Tgifridays.com - American style food

Locations.crackerbarrel.com - old country comfort food

Olivegarden.com - Italian

Flipperspizzeria.com - Pizza restaurant

fuddruckers.com - American style food

tonyromas.com/location/international-drive/ - ribs seafood steak

sweettomatoes.com -( im not entirely sure but have been told its nice food)

longhornsteakhouse.com/…/o…/orlando-international-drive/5502 - steakhouse

millersalehouse.com - American style food

brunos192.com - Italian

Shops

Walmart.com/store/5299/coupons - supermarket

mallatmillenia.com - millenia mall

Activities

Bonanzagolf.com - mini golf

Gatorland.com/public/specials-and-promotions/coupon/index.cfm  - gatorland $2.50 off admission 

wildfloridairboats.com/deals-for-humans/ - airboat rides discounts for all

Not forgetting Groupon Orlando which has some fantastic deals throughout the year.

If your visiting on hoiday ensure to sign up to for additional information on orlando area.

Ideas and guidance 

http://www.experiencekissimmee.com/

http://www.osc.org/

https://www.orlandoattractiontickets.co.uk/ 

Apps 

visitorlando.com

disney exprience 

Landry's

kids eat free

Seaworld 

kissimmee travel guide

There are probablly 100's more that I have not added so please feel free to share in the comments box.

when signing up instead of having the different marketing come through to your normal email account perhaps look into opening up another account just for your holiday?