K&S go back to FL - Pre Trippie April 2022

[Wizzyanne]

I’ve always wanted to do a trip report as I’ve read so many over the years, so here goes!

So, who are we?

Me, 38, chief planner and holiday booker, obsessed with travel!

Sophie, 37, my wife.
Also travel obsessed but usually leaves most of the planning to me. She’s happy to travel anywhere in the world (and has surprised me this time around by being involved with the planning too!)

We don’t have any children, just two gorgeous dogs which will be staying at Sophie’s parents for the duration of our trip 😊

We have been together since we were 19 years old and have been lucky enough to do plenty of travelling, including to Canada, Japan, Hong Kong, Mexico, the Caribbean, countless European countries and about 12 US states, (including Florida 10+ times)
We last visited Florida in 2018 and went down to the Keys for the first time which we absolutely loved.

This time we will be sticking to Orlando and surrounding areas.

Like many of you, this trip has been postponed and rearranged more than once. At one point we swapped it to go to Singapore but changed our minds a few months ago and decided we really wanted to feel that pre-pandemic nostalgia of the theme parks and all our favourite food 🥰
So a bit of shuffling around and Florida was booked again!

We’ll be flying from Birmingham with TUI to MLB, in premium both ways, staying at Dockside inn (Endless Summer) for 11 nights.

This is the first time in over 10 years that we haven’t rented a car.
We figured since Uber and Lyft and so easily available we would make the most of enjoying the cocktails this time around! 😎

Parks:
We have tickets to Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, Volcano Bay, Discovery Cove, Seaworld and Aquatica.
No Disney for us this time.

We’re both thrill seekers (big kids!) and will ride as many of the coasters as possible!
The only thing I don’t like to do is simulator rides as they make me feel ill!
Also not a fan of going underwater on rides at water parks.
Other than that, we’ll give it a go!😎

We have made a bunch of reservations and have pencilled in other “walk in” restaurants.

So far we plan to eat at:

Cheddars Scratch Kitchen
Red Lobster
IHOP
Cowfish
Bend The Bao
Longhorn Steakhouse
The Cheesecake Factory
First Watch
The Chocolate Emporium
Joe’s Crab Shack
The Boathouse (Disney Springs)
Polite Pig (Disney Springs)
Seaworld Seven Seas Food Festival
Olive Garden
Bubba Gumps
Bar 17 @ Aventura Hotel

We also have tickets to watch Orlando Pride play NY Gotham FC (both womens football (soccer) fans!) which we’re really looking forward to.

Discovery cove was literally booked yesterday, we’ve done it once before and loved it.
Such a relaxing day filled with food and beautiful surroundings, a no brainer really!

We also can’t wait to ride the Seaworld coasters again, we haven’t been there for about 6 years!

So, all that’s left to do now if pass those bloody LFT’s next Wednesday.
We both finish work at noon on Weds and have the tests booked for 4pm.

Sophie works from home (Graphic Design) and I’m quite secluded at work in my own studio so fingers crossed.
We made the decision to “isolate” as much a possible for the last few weeks leading up to the trip.

All shopping has been done online recently and a couple of plans cancelled in the lead up to this, the only thing we’re doing alongside work is walking the dogs 3 times a day 😂😂 Luckily our friends and family understand and are rooting for us to finally get back to the USA.

Let’s hope we are on that plane next week! We cannot wait!

Thanks for reading.

[Excitedx4]

Some great plans there! Looking forward to reading the trippie 😊

[Photogirl62]

Looking forward to reading along!

[candycat75]

Sounds like a great trip!