Orlando trip summary August 2022

[Arsenal8]

Orlando August 2022
High and lows and summary

Part 1

Flew from Heathrow T3 with virgin, had booked the flight using airmiles.
45 minutes from arriving at the airport to clearing security. Longest wait was the check in at the machine as my two kids were on a separate booking ref (not sure why) and kept saying unaccompanied minor.

Number 1 Lounge T3
Good to have a quiet space as the main terminal was busy, drink service good. Food was average.

Flight
Virgin flying in economy
About a 30 min delay leaving, arrived on time in Orlando

Immigration
Big queue seemed that multiple flights landed at once. Took around an hour to get through. Bags were ready and waiting then managed to get all the bags up to the monorail without having to use the second bag drop, was able to use the lift which made things a little easier.

Car hire
Alamo via Andy at discount Florida Car Hire
Very easy at the desk, no attempt to upsell. Went to the full size line, picked a VW Passat with 13000 on the clock, lowest mileage they had and seemed to have a large boot big enough for 3 big cases.
Didn’t realise it had a chip at the bottom of the windscreen noticed 5 minutes into the journey.
Swapped the car part at MCO two days later. Swapped straight over. No charge or hassle. This time picked a Toyota Camry with 1400 miles on the clock. Boot not at big as the VW. Both cars were average to drive but did the job.

Hotel
SpringHill suites by Marriott at Seaworld
Fairly basic hotel but good for families and friendly staff. We picked this hotel for a few reasons. Firstly location to seaworld, Aquatica and Discovery Cove. All a few minutes away. Free breakfast, limited choice but meant no money spent on breakfast and my kids who are creatures of habit had cereal, fruit, yoghurt and then made their own waffles. We also liked it was only 2 minutes walk to several food options.

[Arsenal8]

Parks visited

Seaworld
The shows…. Very different to our last visit in 2018, they have completely changed them and I know they are moving away from animals performing, but I think they have gone to far. My eldest used to love the pets Ahoy Show the replacement show is very different.

The rides. My wife’s favourite rollercoaster in the world is still Mako. It’s even better when the longest wait throughout the whole trip was about 10 minutes. I really liked ice breaker and my 5 year old loved Infinity Falls. Again when we went to seaworld most of the rides had less than a 5 minute queue and you could ride multiple times

Aquatica
Really enjoy this water park. We always got there for opening and queue times for all the rides were pretty short for the first 90 minutes the park was open then started to build up. Was nice that there were two rides that all 4 of us could go on together as our youngest is now tall enough. Didn’t bother with the really expensive lockers. Left valuables in the hotel or car and put the car keys and a few dollars in a waterproof bumbag. Worked really well. Just left towels and flip flops on a sun bed.

Discovery Cove
A great day. We got a really good deal on the tickets bought pre Covid and they let us keep them open when everything happened. We paid £146 pp for dolphin swim tickets with the 14 day access to seaworld, aquatica and Busch gardens including parking. These were booked through Orlando Attractions. We had only paid the £10 deposit originally with the final amount due 6 weeks before. Originally booked 2/2/2020 to be used August 2021.
Enjoyed the lazy river. Food was good, snacks plentiful.

Busch Gardens
Enjoyed by all and similar to Seaworld very little wait times. We went first on a Tuesday and returned on a Sunday as the shows are only on at weekends from mid August. The shows were both really good and my kids loved the rides and seeing all the animals.

Mickeys not so scary Halloween party
When we parked in the magic kingdom car park the heavens opened and heavy rain fell for a couple of hours. So after a damp start to the night it was a really good night. Although the ‘candy’ given out seemed to be about 80% snickers of some variety. I was surprised that lots of the shops were closed from 6pm. Fireworks and parade were both great.

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Food
Prices have definitely increased but still some value to be had.
Favourite places
Gyu kaku. Japanese BBQ recommended in a despicable 3 vlog, good food and we felt great value. Kids loved it. We went on a Monday we’re it is happy hour all day.

Cheddars Scratch kitchen
Had two really good meals here, good food, great value

Buffalo Wild Wings
Can’t beat it. Especially on a Thursday when it is buy one get one on the boneless wings. Very tasty, do a good value lunch menu as well.

Blaze pizza. Good quick and tasty

Cheesecake Factory, went to the new one near the outlets for lunch. Seated straight away. Crazy amount of choice, good food and service. Went to collect take away cheesecake on a Saturday night… 2 hour plus wait at around 8:30pm for a table.

Two places that get raved about a lot on here did not really hit the spot. Panda Garden and chic fil a (in Busch Gardens) both were ok. But I was hoping maybe wishing for a little more.


Shopping
With the exchange rate being so rubbish. We didn’t do too much shopping, I think it’s the first time ever we haven’t come back with a suitcase full mostly from A&F, didn’t buy anything in there this trip, not a fan of the new shops. Miss the smell and experience although did sometimes come out with clothes in a different colour to what you thought.

My wife did manage to find a few bags to add to the collection in Michale Kors and Kate Spade. The Kate spade store at Disney springs had some really good offers. So I’m told 😂

Pin trading at Disney resorts.
This was something we got into after a two week solely Disney trip in 2019. Staying a POFQ.
To get a little more Disney into the trip we did a couple of afternoon’s pin trading. Pre Covid Disney springs was a good option. Now only only pin board in the pin shop and that is only out at very limited times. There used to be pin boards in every Disney shop and most cast members had lanyards. The would car at Disney springs and then hop around a few resorts, most of the deluxe hotels had around 3 pin boards. We got some good pins and allowed us to get some Disney snacks too.

Flight back
Virgin flight. Good flight although I had no IFE, I wasn’t too bothered as it was a night flight but without asking they gave me a few drinks and 12000 airmiles. I was also offered to change seats but there was only one spare seat and we wanted to stay together.

It was nice to be back in Orlando and was our first proper holiday (I don’t count the ones in the uk) since Covid. Already thinking about returning and would probably look to do universal on a future visit.

Any questions please ask

[Florida1972]

Great round up of what sounds like a fab trip. Agree that the $$ rate has definitely taken the shine of shopping a few bargains at the outlets when we went but nothing like it used to be. Glad you had a nice time 😊

[mick]

Sounds like you had a great holiday

Joan

[Arsenal8]

Originally Posted by mick

Sounds like you had a great holiday

Joan

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Thank you, it was a great trip. Wondering if to start planning a new one or if to try somewhere new

[Arsenal8]

Originally Posted by Florida1972

Great round up of what sounds like a fab trip. Agree that the $$ rate has definitely taken the shine of shopping a few bargains at the outlets when we went but nothing like it used to be. Glad you had a nice time 😊

See more...

Thank you. The kids are already saying ‘when we go back next year’! 😂