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Old 9 Oct 19, 01:35 PM  
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LLKJDisney
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An Ice Cream a Day is the Moreton Way! - Day 1 Animal Kingdom & Orlando City Football Match

Day 1 – Friday 24th May

As usual on the first morning Lee was awake first. He made it until 2.45am until he needed the toilet! Previous readers will know that Lee is a postman at home so is up at 5am every morning. Lee never got back to sleep, I managed to get to 4am before I was awake. We made a cup of tea and drank it by the pool. It was pitch black but we enjoyed the heat and listening to the Florida noises 😊. The first morning is always weird as you get up so early but the excitement takes over the jet lag and you just have to keep going. Lee told me he planned to sleep this afternoon between going to Animal Kingdom and the football match. I wasn’t so sure this would happen.

I caught up on Facebook and let everyone know we had arrived safely. I found out our favourite ‘You Tubers’ the ‘Despicable 3’ also travelled out yesterday, does anybody watch them, little Jimmy is ace. We always show him to Lucas to show him that 7-year olds can go on all the rides. The boys woke up at 4.30am and said they had slept well but they were both hungry. A mixture of fruit loops and frosted lucky charms helped them with their hunger. Jacob and I also had some scrambled eggs, while Lee had cereal and toast. We struggled to get the TV’s working they were all showing a fault code, they were working last night! Anyway, we didn’t have time to investigate so we emailed the management company to see if they could help.


It was always our plan to visit AK first as we wanted to get on FOP, last time we were in Orlando it opened on the day before we left and queues were up to 6 hours long. We had been unsuccessful in our attempts to obtain a fast pass so we knew we were going to have to arrive early and get in the queue. Amazingly we managed to leave the villa at 7am, AK opened at 8am. We travelled down the Sherberth Road and within 10 minutes we were paying our $25 to park. We were in Unicorn so not too far away from the gates, but we still caught the tram.




We joined the queue to get in and by 7.45am we were through the turnstiles. Our magic bands from 2 years ago worked first time which was a relief as I wasn’t sure if they were linked up correctly. Jacob grabbed a map and we followed the crowds towards Pandora. The standby was line was showing 60 mins already and it was only 7.55am the park had not even officially opened. The queue was amazing this was our first look at Pandora and we were all amazed.



Lee had recently watched Avatar so that he an idea of what to expect. We were constantly moving which was good, it was hot but not boiling and by 8.05am we were being de-contaminated. We were amazed how quick the queue had gone down. However, this is where Lucas began to have doubts and started asking lots of questions. He decided he didn’t want to go on but it was too late to go back. We all assured him he would be fine. We were secured in and Lee and I held on to his hand during the ride but despite this he still burst in to tears at the end. The rest of us loved and thought it was amazing although it did make Lee feel very queasy, the only other ride that has made him feel like this is the Forbidden Journey at IOA. Jacob was desperate to go on again but by now the standby queue was 135 minutes even though it was only 8.25am. I loved it but was concentrating a lot on Lucas so it took the edge off a little bit. We said we would try and ride it again later on in the trip if time allowed. I would definitely recommend getting to the park as early as you can as you save so much time, you could even ride twice if you are prepared to queue a bit longer the 2nd time.
After the ride we looked in the shop which had some very cool stuff but not very cool prices. We took a lot of pictures but my camera does not do the area justice, the detail is amazing.


We listened to the drum show which created a great atmosphere. I was already looking forward to coming back next week and looking round Pandora in the dark. We had a fastpass for the Navi River Journey but unfortunately it went down just before our entry time. We were informed we would receive another FP for any ride in the park apart from FOP. Our next FP was for Expedition Everest so we made our way over to that area of the park. On the way the boys signed up to become Wilderness Explorers, they always do this at AK.



We think it is very educational and it breaks up the day but be warned to complete the book in 1 day is a mission and it would actually take all day. As we were close by and it had no wait, we went into ITTBAB. It was a good bit of fun the boys liked it but said they wouldn’t see it again. There were lots of other children crying during the dark bit. After the show we some huge cockroaches as part of the Wilderness Explorer task. The park was still quiet (9.15am) and the temperature was nice but you could tell it was going to be a hot day. Lee and Lucas then went on the Kali River Rapids as it was walk on. Jacob and I didn’t fancy getting wet. We were disappointed that the monkeys were not there, it appears their habitat is being refurbed. Lucas loved the KRR especially as other people in the boat got a lot more wet than him 😊.

We made our way over to EE as our fastpass time was now active, we stopped at a couple of Wilderness Explorer spots on the way. Lucas decided he wasn’t keen so I went on with Jacob while Lee waited with Lucas. Jacob and Lee could then go on straight after using Lucas’s fastpass. Lucas was quite happy tucking into the snacks we brought with us. Jacob and I were on and off within 10 minutes, we both loved it and sat towards the back in Row 16. Jacob loved the fact that he could go on again with his Dad. They got row 15. Lee said it was great but still felt queasy and he said he was worried he was getting too old for rides.


A couple more wilderness explorer stops before we made it into Dinoland. The boys went on Triceratops Spin together, it was nice to see them go off and queue together, we could see them at all times. They only waited 10 minutes and seemed happy enough when they came off. We spotted Goofy and Donald out meeting people but the lines for them were longer than the queues for the rides. The boys were desperate to go on prime evil whirl, now I don’t do spinning rides and Lee was still feeling a bit iffy. However, Lee eventually gave in and joined the queue with the boys. They were not gone too long. Lucas loved it, Lee not so much! Lucas found a phone in the ride vehicle half way round, Lee handed it in when the ride was over. It was now very very hot, so we popped in the shop for some air con. We also used our cooling towels for the first time. We got them from eBay before we went, they were useful and I would highly recommend them.


Time had now ticked over for our Dinosaur fastpass, we had not done this ride for a while as we always seem to miss Dinoland out when visiting AK. We convinced Lucas he would be fine and we were soon boarding our ride vehicle. It was very bumpy and very dark but great fun. Lucas said he kept his eyes shut so he wouldn’t be frightened 😊. We stopped at the wilderness explorer spot just outside Dinosaur, where the boys were joined by a very keen American boy who knew everything about dinosaurs. Lucas even said ‘is he a scientist?’

It was now time for an ice cream, you will find that we eat a lot of ice cream, we find it keeps us going until dinner time. Unfortunately, we were not near an ice cream store so we settle for 4 mickey cookie sandwiches ($24).


Just after we finished them, we spotted Launch Pad McQuack, we had never had a photo with him so we joined the queue. Lee had said before the holiday that he wanted to have a picture with as many new characters as possible and Launch Pad was one of those

Scrooge McDuck was also out but his queue was huge so we gave him a miss. The boys wanted to play in the boneyard. However, after 10 minutes they both said it was to hot and some of the slides were to hot to use. We were now starting to feel the heat and the early start; we decided to ride Navi River Journey and then call it a day. On the way across we spotted Kevin from Up walking around. Lucas was complaining his legs were hurting, he doesn’t do a lot of walking at home so all this walking was a shock to his system.

Navi’s standby wait was 80 minutes but we just scanned our magic bands and we were on with in 10 minutes. The theming was marvellous but it is definitely not worth an 80-minute wait unless you are an Avatar super fan. One more wilderness explorer stops before we headed to the exit, the park was now packed and we were glad to be on our way out. We caught the tram back to Unicorn and we were back in the Villa by 1.30pm. We had achieved a lot in our 5 hours at AK and we were very happy we made it on FOP.

The tv’s in the villa were now working and the maintenance man had left us a little diagram to show us how to work them 😊 great service. Despite being tired the boys hit the pool, Lee went for a lie down as he didn’t feel great and wanted to be ok for the football tonight. I made myself a cup of tea (maybe 3) and relaxed. The boys had great fun in the pool, invented lots of silly games and bombing into the pool.



We decided on Perkins for tea. We went to the one down by the big orange on the 192. It was nice and quiet and the service was great but most importantly the food was delicious. Lucas went for pancakes / bacon and fries, only in America would he have a dinner like this. Lee went for the turkey dinner and was now feeling much better after his nap. Jacob ordered off the adult menu and went for the southern fried chicken breakfast which was huge but he finished it. I had the chef’s salad which was amazing and far too big for me to finish, I also had a strawberry lemonade to make a change from coke but it was far to sweet for me. We had a voucher so the bill was only $40 plus tip. We have always loved Perkins its perfect for us and we have always had good service there.

We began the drive up the I4 to the football stadium, it was very stop start as there were a lot of road works. This confused the sat nav as it was trying to get us to leave the I4 at exits that were closed! We eventually navigated our way to the stadium and tried to find some where to park. There are loads of people in the street with signs trying to get you to park. We decided on one that was $15 it was basically a parking area from a disused shop but there were lots of other cars in there so we took our chances.

It was about a 10-minute walk to the stadium as unfortunately our entrance was at the opposite end. It was nice to walk down the street with the other fans, there were lots of police and security about and we felt completely safe. Thanks to the Dibb, we knew that we were not allowed to take bags into the stadium so we basically just took our wallets and phones in. Everyone is searched before they enter and most fans (if not all) were sent through body scanners.

The stadium is superb and there are lots of staff to help you get to your seat. We had great seats behind the goal.

One end is all standing and that end is where all the singers and drums go, they created a great atmosphere all night. Not sure Lucas would have stood up for another 90 minutes! Jacob was delighted with his birthday present and kept saying thank you. He did say he wished Zlatan Ibrahimović was playing though. It was also Lucas’s first ever football match and he seemed very happy, he is not keen on football but I think this experience has changed his mind slightly. The game itself was ok there was more excitement in the 1st half than there was in the 2nd. Unfortunately, LA Galaxy won 1-0. We did see Nani miss a penalty for Orlando we were right behind the goal ready to celebrate but the keeper saved it.


At half time Lee and Jacob went off to the toilet and get some slush puppy drinks they were gone for age! They got back and Lee said the queues were huge but that was the only negative from our football experience.


When the game finished, as expected it was vert busy getting out of the stadium. We were all shattered.



The car was fine and we were soon on the I4, we made it back into the Villa by 10.15pm which was not bad considering the game kicked off at 7pm. Both the boys fell asleep in the car on the way home.


Overall, we had an amazing first day and although it was full on, we were definitely glad we went to the football and would definitely go again.

Thanks for reading, I promise not all days are as long as this. Tomorrow we are off to Magic Kingdom
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Old 30 Oct 19, 10:12 PM  
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walt4it
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Delighted you had a great night out at Orlando City - it is such a family friendly place and a great place to experience something different in Florida.
I think many of us have suffered the pain of a home defeat in the past two seasons!
Great photos of Animal Kingdom and hope you manage to get Lucas on Flight of Passage again!
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Old 7 Nov 19, 12:23 PM  
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Originally Posted by walt4it View Post
Delighted you had a great night out at Orlando City - it is such a family friendly place and a great place to experience something different in Florida.
I think many of us have suffered the pain of a home defeat in the past two seasons!
Great photos of Animal Kingdom and hope you manage to get Lucas on Flight of Passage again!
Thanks Walt4it - unfortunately we didnt get Lucas back on it, oh well will just have to go back!
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Old 8 Nov 19, 06:15 AM  
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Full first day! What a great start to ur hol
We haven’t done Orlando City on our previous trips but next time...
Thanks for sharing
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Old 13 Nov 19, 03:23 PM  
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Originally Posted by flo-tinka View Post
Full first day! What a great start to ur hol
We haven’t done Orlando City on our previous trips but next time...
Thanks for sharing
Oh i would definitely recommend it, it was a great experience!
Thanks for reading
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Old 13 Nov 19, 11:39 PM  
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Fantastic day but wow you must have been shattered.

We’ve been to a couple of Orlando city games and always enjoyed it.
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