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.

Day One, Our first full at Disney World

We took in the rucksack today: 

*Poncho's - always carry these no matter what the weather!

* Two frozen water bottles - yes you can get it free in the parks but you have to queue.

*Snacks in pots -strawberries and raspberries.

*Plasters. 

*Sun Cream. 

*Two Autograph books - carried ours in a zip lock bag in case it rained.

* Two sharpies Pens different colors.

Also made a note of where we parked and took a photo from the rear of the car (for the plate and car make and model for if we got lost). Trust me it's horrible if you get lost at Disney World car park!

 I don't think we've ever been so excited to be anywhere as much as we were today. TJ and I were up and out of the hotel room by 7am, arriving on Disney Property before anyone else! I think there were about 15 cars in the parking lot which all belonged to security or cast members i'm assuming.

We got to the parking lot before the ticket booths had opened and very naughtily skipped paying the entrance fee. $20 saved to buy a special treat for TJ for the day. 

  We parked near to the preferred parking area in the row 204 which worked out as being less then 100 steps to the little under pass.

 We slowly walked to bag check at the entrance of the monorail and boat dock area at the ticket and transportation centre. 

The security officers were still setting up for the day ahead. we chatted to a family of 6 that were originally from Utah and discussed the 9 hour flight from Gatwick to MCO compared to their 2 hour flight. It was nice chatting to them and whenev er we saw them throughout the day we'd wave and say hello to each other.

Before the Grand Floridian of the Lake and Contemporary Resort. 

Once through bag check we headed to the docks to be told the boats weren't open for another hour so we hopped on the monorail that goes to all the hotels.

The views from the monorail were lovely. 

The Grand Floridian and wedding chapel.

By the time we'd gotten to the park entrance scanned our wrist bans and took a few photos before the park opened there were around 5 families waiting along side us.

TJ found a nice shady spot near the maps and we relaxed for 10 minutes before being told that we could walk down Main Street USA. 

TJ and I skipped down Main Street to take a few selfies with no one else in the way of the castle, it actually brought tears to my eyes that we were finally here!

At this point of the morning we both decided we were hungry so I checked the Disney App to see if there were any spaces for breakfast at Crystal palace. I love This restaurant not only because of the all you can eat buffet but for the character meet and greet. 

Again we were among the first families in the park, which was brilliant as we were the third in line to be sat down at the restaurant. 

When you arrive be sure to get your autograph books and pens out ready as the characters will sign and take photo's . 

TJ had a home made atougraph book with each characters picture and name on so all that needed to be done was find the page and take the photograph.

Tigger is still the best character to meet in Crystal palace as he always seems the most energetic and interacts with bouncing and playing whist he is greeting guests.

After  eating we ventured our way to Adventure land to get to Pirates Of The Carribean, Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain. I'd used the Disney App to book fast passes for Thunder Mountain, Speed way and Buzz Lightyears space blast rides. 

Managing to go on the busiest rides all before 11am is such an achievement in Magic Kingdom. So we were both really happy.

Taking time out from the hustle and bustle we queued for the transit authority ride which is so relaxing and noticed Buzz Lightyear signing autographs below - our next stop.

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.  

Knotts Berry Farm was deserted which worked out amazing for us..

When visiting somewhere for the first time you expect it to be daunting. Honestly because of the time of the year that we went it was quiet which made visiting Knott's Berry Farm Theme Park such an amazing choice.

The musical part of the park wasn't the best I've heard and the actors and actresses seemed a little bored of the act. Saying this the guy that was chosen from the audience did throw a few curve balls towards the actress which made the show a little more entertaining.

When walking around the park it was like a ghost town, being in a ghost town has it's advantages.

For example walking straight on to the roller coasters. I did three coasters within 15 minutes including walking from one coaster to the next.

The view from the front of the queue is always awesome when there's only you and at the most 100 other people in the park. 

The mine train was a little dated for the adults but for the children who were on the train they enjoyed being on it.

The park is the oldest theme park in the US which began as a farm in the 1920's. The Knotts family specialised in boysenberry's. Selling jams, drinks and pies a restaurant was born. 

With all the history that is involved in Knotts Berry Farm and an area that is dedicated to the Old West when the ghost town was built in the 1940's. The buildings are authentic. The mine and log ride were purchased and added to the numerous attractions in the 1960's.                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

My Dad posing with a few of the locals.

The coaster rides are amazing my favorite being the Xcelerator. Be prepared to sit in a hot rod seat that smashes 82 miles per hour in 2.3 seconds. Racing up 205 feet into the air before plummeting back down towards the ground at a 90 degree angle  this ride is a must for any thrill seeker. 

 There are so many amazing rides to choose from including the rides for the children at camp snoopy. The show for me was a little bit on the young side so we left it early. All the children were clapping and singing with the songs and joining in. 

An order from Bonusprint

Over the last few weeks I have compiled holiday photo's into a photograph album online from when I went to Las Vegas last year.

My parcel arrived 4 days later.

I ordered 3 different products polaroid style prints, large photo album which has writing on the front cover (extra cost) and a small photo album.

The 24 paged book that I have chosen is a small landscape album which measures 20 x 15cm with a spiral binding.

Each page can hold up to 7 pictures and a small amount of text on the page. I chose not to include text or a background as I wanted the pictures to look as natural as I could. 

The cover page is a transparent and shows the first picture in the photograph album.

First order 

The second album that I made was TJ's 8th birthday up to the last few weeks. 

In this album I added borders and writing on each page in the book. There are 24 pages in this album and I could've purchased more if I wanted to but did not feel the need to as I only used 13 pages. Which is plenty adequate for me as i can add more pictures to the book over the next month to fill it up. 

Full page photo

Light background 

Bright background 

My next package arrived in a few days, which I expected as I ordered on a Sunday evening.

 

These prints were a little naughty as I used prints from the Internet as I wanted to see how the pictures came out before I ordered lots. 

I received my photographs and the prints were perfect. I honestly thought they would come out all odd shaped or the color in them wouldn't be very bright. I was wrong and so glad that I ordered the select few that I had done as I now know that in 30 days when I travel to California and visit part of Route 66 I know the pictures will come out how I would like them.

Photographs to add to my Route 66 wall.