The Magic of Disney - Welcome to the Kingdom!

So, we arrived, villa was lovely and after spending a chill out day by the pool our first port of call was then to be Disney's Magic Kingdom.  This was mostly down to my choice but in my eyes we couldn't possibly think of starting our Disney's vacation anywhere else!  I think on the day we headed out I was more excited than the kids!

"Cinderella's Castle from Main Street"

Everyone who's been to Disney tells you about the magic and in particular Magic Kingdom but nothing can prepare you for the tingle you feel that first time you walk down Main Street and see Cinderella's Castle standing majestically in front of you.  Even as a child I can remember wondering if I'd ever get to see the castle for myself one day and then standing there........I couldn't quite believe it was finally real!  Main Street itself is just lovely with authentic looking buildings adorning each side of the street, flowers, hanging baskets, immaculately kept lawns and music coming from all directions.  Even the litter bins, fences and lamposts are inkeeping with the theme of the particular section of the park you're in.  Mickey Mouse is just everywhere from fence railings to the tread on the tyres of parade vehicles, in fact it's quite fun to look out for 'hidden' mickey's whilst on your travels.

"Splash Mountain"

We knew before we headed to Florida that 'S', 'A' and myself were not big 'ride' people but we were determined to try as much as we could stomach!  Our first stop off at Magic Kingdom was Splash Mountain where 'A' nearly backed out at the last minute.  After some persuasion we all boarded the little boat, twisting and turning with a couple of little drops before the final 52ft drop and huge splash.  I think I actually left my stomach behind somewhere on the way down and also discovered that I have the ability to scream quite loudly when frightened poo-less (regardless of the fact my eyes were shut tight) ! :)

"Mickey's Move It Shake It Street Party"

We visited far too many rides at Magic Kingdom to tell you about all of them but some of our favourites were Haunted Mansion, It's a Small World, Monters Inc Laughter Floor (where guess who's very surprised face was first to appear on the huge screen for all to see?!), Buzz Lightyears Space Ranger Spin, Tom Sawyers Island and Mickey's Philarmagic.  The time flies by so quickly while you're in the park but along with the many rides, we also queued for autographs, took many many photo's, watched shows and generally absorbed the beautiful surroundings.  We reserved ourselves little spots throughout the day to watch the various parades which were always wonderful, superbly organised and full of smiles and energy.  Cast members are extremely friendly and helpful just as you'd expect and nothing is too much trouble.

'A' meeting Mary Poppins"

On our first visit we stayed for 'The Magic, The Memories and You' a light projection show where pictures, colours and animations are projected onto the castle itself and also the parks 'Wishes' fireworks display narrated by none other than Jiminy Cricket himself! On our second visit we were lucky enough to have 'accidently' planned a day when the parks 'Main Street Electrical Parade' was scheduled.  This was just spellbinding with many different floats and characters adorned in thousands of coloured lights.  Our pictures and video just don't do it justice.



Exiting the park each night was an experience in itself but on our second visit we decided to leave via the ferry that travels from Magic Kingdom, across Bay Lake and back to the Transportation and Ticket Centre.  We found this to be a much less crowded and relaxing trip rather than the monorail we'd travelled by on our first visit plus the view of Cinderella's Castle across the lake at night was just to die for!

All in all Magic Kingdom was by far the favourite park of us all, just for it's sheer wow factor.

We have returned.........

Well here we are, back in 'not so sunny' old England after our lovely 3 week holiday in Florida - what a contrast!  We've gone from temperatures in the mid 70's - mid 80's to temperatures closer to 50f and even snow up in the North! I mean, come on, it is March now after all, I did expect to come home to at least a little warmth!

So, the holiday of a lifetime, where do I start?!   It's hard to believe now that we were there for 3 weeks as the time just seemed to fly by. During our stay we visited all four of the Disney parks - Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot and Hollywood Studios, Universal Parks - Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios, Kennedy Space Centre, Discovery Cove plus Downtown Disney and Universal Citywalk.  After such an action packed vacation I think I'll have to break my 'report' into separate blogs or I'll never get it all in! :)

So here goes............blog number 1..............

The Villa!

We chose to stay at a villa located on 'Tuscan Ridge', Davenport which we found online through a google search.  We'd looked at so many villas that it was hard to choose but we liked the fact that 'The Elm' had a great website packed with information and pics and the absolute selling point was the fact that it had both a pool and jacuzzi that were South facing.  We contacted Gary & Anne the owners and right from the start the communication we received from them was first class.  We were offered a discount due to our long stay and even received a Christmas card from them which we thought was a lovely personal touch.  Prior to the holiday itself Gary sent through super detailed directions to take us from the airport to the villa which included photographs of signs and junctions to really make things clear.

The villa itself was just lovely and exceeded all our expectations.  It had 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, living room with dining area, family room, large kitchen / dining room, games room, laundry room plus of course the most important part.............the pool and spa.  The villa had a wonderful light and airy feel and felt like a real home from home.  There were TV's in pretty much every room along with a Playstation 3 in the family room and Playstation 2 in the smaller bedroom.  The family room sideboard was stacked with family board games and 'A' was chuffed to bits to find a basket full of Jacqueline Wilson books in her bedroom.  The villa was so spacious that we found ourselves only using the family room and kitchen area during our stay with the living room / dining area being as untouched when we left as when we'd arrived!  Each bedroom had plenty of storage space and the master bedroom had a walk-in wardrobe that put 'A's bedroom back home to shame!

The kitchen was well stocked with plates, cups, glasses and so on and the appliances were just fab especially the washing machine and tumble dryer which I used on numerous occasions.  For the first time ever I returned home with almost no dirty laundry which was just wonderful!  The games room housed a very good pool and football table.  We found this was great for the kids to play on especially 'S'  who tended to play whilst we were getting ready to leave for the parks each day or after returning in the evening.

Due to the length of our stay we were lucky enough to be able to have quite a few leisurely days by the pool.  We'd heard many people say how tiring the parks can be but we didn't quite believe just HOW tired we were!  It was lovely to have a 'day off' every few days where we'd sit in the sun, swim in the pool then head off shopping or for a meal later in the day.  There was a great selection of outside furniture and even a box of inflatables to use in the pool (which we made great use of!).  The pool truly was South facing which meant that we got the sun from early on a morning until it set around 6.30 each night. 'A' made great progress with her swimming while we were there and is now able to swim quite confidently under the water.  Even I made progress with my fear of water as by the last day I'd managed to submerge myself and swim and whole length with my face in the water!  This may not seem like much, but will come as a great surprise to those of you who know me well!

I tried to think of some negative points to make about 'The Elm' to make this a really unbiased review but I honestly can't think of any! We loved every minute we spent there and it just felt so comfortable returning each day after a hard day of disney-ing.  I would recommend 'The Elm' to anyone who's looking for a good value, luxurious villa whilst visiting Florida and I just hope that we can return again in the not too distant future.

For further information on 'The Elm' please visit http://www.tuscan-ridge.com/ where lots more photos and information are available.  You can also email info@tuscan-ridge.com and I'm sure Gary or Anne will be very pleased to help you.

Please mention that you read great things on Tales from a Mother, Musician and Multi-tasker!

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Holiday Countdown

It is now 2 weeks until we set off to sunny Florida for a holiday of a lifetime and I can't begin to tell you how excited I am!  It's not just our imminent Disney encounter but for me it's the whole experience.  This will be the first time we've experienced a long-haul holiday as the furthest we've travelled before is Tenerife or Majorca.  Although I'm a little nervous at the whole 7 - 9 hour flight thing, I think 3 weeks in the sunshine state (and a few glasses of vino before the flight) will make up for any anxiousness.

We've hired a villa in the city of Davenport and we're flying over with Virgin atlantic.  We have 14 day ultimate tickets to Disney and Universal with extra tickets to Sea World and the Kennedy Space Centre.  I think though, the absolute pinnacle for us will be the visit we have planned to Discovery Cove on 4th March where we have booked to swim with dolphins.  'A's favourite creature is the stingray so she is over the moon at the prospect of being able to experience these lovely fish while we're there.

As we're visiting for 3 weeks we're hoping to also slot in a visit to one of the beautiful beaches and will maybe combine this with our trip over to Kenndy.  Our Sea World and Kennedy passes also include a free return visit so hopefully we'll get to visit more than once.

I can't believe it's now only 2 weeks till we go as I feel like we've been planning this holiday forever!  I feel like my life currently consists of list upon list, checking and double checking that we've done, bought and thought of everything we need to.  We're actually off to P's brother and sister-in-laws tomorrow night for a full on disney 'heads up' as they've done the trip twice before.

There are so many things I'm looking forward to, one of which will be the new Harry Potter world at Universal Islands of Adventure.  I have to say, I've never been a good 'rides' person but believe me, I will be making sure I experience everything there is to offer while we're there, with or without sick bag!