Florida March 2019

As we have been to Orlando before we had a rough plan of what we wanted to do and that was to visit the attractions and parks that were new since we were last there and visit some old favourites.

We stayed at the Celebration Suites in Old Town Kissimmee, we really liked staying here as we were within walking distance of the Old Town with bars, restaurants and their Theme Park, which I have to say had some of the most extreme rides for a small area, we had a lot of fun here.

Celebration Suites was basic and we stayed in a large 2 bedroom apartment with full kitchen and lounge with a pool so it suited our needs. The location was excellent and close to all the Disney Parks, Universal, International Drive and right on the Freeway which gives you access to everywhere you want to go.

We visited Disney Springs which has Disney Shops, Rainforest Café, Cinema and lots and lots of shops, restaurants and bars. This was a great way to just ease ourselves into the holiday after a long first day travelling and spend the first day relaxing, the parking is free here.

As we had a 13 year old with us we didn’t do the Disney parks this time apart from Animal Kingdom as we wanted to experience the new Avatar Ride and I must say it was amazing but you have to get there early, we were queuing outside the park at 7.30am and ran to the ride when it opened so we didn’t have to wait at all but as soon as we finished the ride, there was a 3 hour wait time already. We also met with Mickey and Minnie Mouse – well you have to – don’t you!

As well as the theme parks, we went to a place called Wild Florida (45 min drive from Kissimmee) to do an Alligator Air boat ride and we spent a whole day there as they have lots of animals to see, we really enjoyed ourselves here with the Alligator shows as well.

The Universal parks are a favourite of ours so we spent a lot of time here, we used the fast pass system which really helps. Of course it comes at a cost ($139 for unlimited rides across both parks on one day) but we felt it was worth it.

In all of the parks you can take your own food and drink, the only park that were stricter on this was Aquatica, but we packed our food at the bottom of the bag as they didnt look too hard and when my friend was questioned, hers were gluten free so that was fine.

The best ride for us was Mako in SeaWorld, it is a hyper coaster so don’t miss this one if you go to SeaWorld! And if you do stay in Old Town Kissimmee you have to go on Mineblower - this was immense!

There is Free WIFI in all the parks, parking costs $25 per car for the day (unless you have a ticket that includes parking), you have to pay for lockers in each of the parks as they don’t allow any bags or loose articles on any of the attractions. It is worth researching this before you go, if you know where the lockers are and how much they cost, it can save you a lot of time and hassle on the day.

We also visited Cocoa Beach (1 hr 15 mins away) and we were lucky enough to see a rocket launch on our way back past the Kennedy Space Centre!

For our last 2 nights, we drove down to Miami (on a good day approx 4 -5 hours) and stayed at the Ocean reef Suites on Collins Avenue, South Beach. It really is the place to be as you are right in the heart of it and within walking distance to Lincoln Road. So a 5 min walk to the beach or the shops.

The four of us stayed in a one room Suite which was fine for 2 nights, they offered a complimentary continental breakfast, we had a kitchenette and the location was superb.

We took a tour around the islands of the homes of the rich and famous which is always interesting and great to get out on the water.

We were in Miami during Spring Break so it was really busy (we caught the tail end in the Universal parks in Orlando as well and the park was heaving, even with the fast pass ticket) so best to avoid mid to end of March to avoid the crowds).

South Beach is amazing though, white sand, large beach, our hotel room included a sun bed and towels on the beach which was handy.

Miami has definitely become more expensive and eating out can be expensive, especially on Ocean Drive itself.