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.

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. 

The play area in the garden..

Cutting the grass in my house is always left to me and lately it seems to be the only place I can get peace and quiet.

The Grass grows very quickly in my garden which it seems like we've been putting miracle grow on as yesterdays length was ridiculous and up to my knees in two weeks.

Once the grass was cut and tidied up the next task was to move TJ's play equipment so it could hidden by this amazing camouflage net.

TJ requested for the slide to be facing the fort, instead we had to face it in the opposite direction towards the back fence.

We then attached the rope with steps to the middle of the climbing frame so TJ could climb up and down the middle as well as swing around the inside of the frame.

From the side of the climbing frame TJ can climb on to the front deck of the fort without touching the floor. 

The next step in preparing his area in the garden is to add a basket ball post and a few paving slabs possibly 3x3 and a fence to keep the dogs out of his area.
As this happens I will post up and review but as I've been such a busy bee lately I'm sure it will be step by step.

Little Passports - Japan

This month TJ received a letter from Japan with his Little Passports subscription. 

This month the parcel included:

A letter 
Postcard 
Sushi eraser 
Origami paper and instruction
Activities booklet 
Japan sticker for the passport
 Luggage tag 

Once opened TJ was raring to stick his stickers on his suitcase, filling in the activities sheet and practicing his origami skills.

Whilst TJ read the letter and postcard out loud I tried to make something with the origami, lets just say I made a massive mess with the paper and ended up making a small ball similar to the size of a ping pong ball. 

Blokpod - For all the Lego lovers

This week between the bugs and germs that have spread about my house' I was lucky enough to receive an awesome new product that's gone on the market called the 'Blokpod'. The product is available on Amazon currently at £44.99.

TJ is a big fan of Lego so this was a perfect gift for him to help sort out his many thousands of bricks out without having to do it by hand.

The main part of is made up of 4 round plastic chambers, 3 various sized grates and a lid.
the idea of this device is to empty a large amount of Lego into the top chamber with the largest grate, place the lid on and give it a little shake. The smaller pieces of Lego will fall  through the holes and go to the next level down, where once again when you shake it will fall through to the next level and if it's small enough to fit through to the base chamber.

Tj loved every second of this from the dismantling and looking at each piece to putting it back together bit by colored bit. We both liked the shape and found it was easy to maneuver with the handles being in built in to the lid. We've stored it under his desk with Lego pieces still inside and when he feels like he needs to have a little shake whilst doing his homework, well why not after all it was designed to be shaken and not stirred.

Disclaimer: I received a Blokpod in exchange for an honest review on the product. All opinions are my own.


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