A step back in time

We had reached the end of the time here at the Disney resort. We packed up our 6 suitcases and headed to the driveway where we asked for help in getting a cab. We didn't need to checkout because there were no room keys to worry about and all charges billed to the credit card. Easy.

The cast member signalled for a van to come by because of the amount of luggage we had. We were headed to our next lot of accomodation which was Universals Cabana Bay Beach Resort. I'd chosen this hotel cause it just looked cool. The whole theme of the place takes you back to the 1950s beach era. 

The colour, shapes and furniture all depicting an era that none of us had experienced first hand. 

We are greeted by the driveway staff who were all super friendly. When we head up to check in we are told by the reception staff that we are going to be upgraded. This is great cause it will give us some more space. It's also on ground floor and close to one of the 2 pools here. The place is huge, and has its own bowling alley, waterslide and lazy pool. 

We explore a little and grab some food from the diner. It's kind of like a cafeteria and because it's still morning, breakfast is being served so we order and call it brunch. 

The next stop is to enjoy the pool. We put on our cossies and head over to the pool. The girls have a ball on the slide and I even have a swim too. There are a number of lifeguards around the pool including at the top of the slide. He jokes with all the kids that each time they go down they need to win a game of scissors-paper-rock. All the way from where I was I could see the girls smiling. Little things like that which enhance your experience. Nice work. 

I had a couple of calls to make so I decided to grab a cocktail and dry off. Not long after I sit down all the lifeguards blow their whistles, the slide water stops and everyone is ordered out of the pool. Apparently some kid had brought up their lunch in the pool and now needed to be cleaned. 

The girls were ready to hop out anyway because we'd heard there was some mini golf nearby. Because we're staying at a Universal resort there is a shuttle bus available to take us to Universal Studios and right in front is CityWalk which is kind of an entertainment quarter with shops and restaurants. 

City Walk is all a buzz.  We find the mini golf immediately and we are excited because there are 2 courses which both look like heaps of fun. They certainly didn't disappoint. We navigated our way through many surprising holes of golf. Including being water sprayed, and also tunnels. 

We finish our 2 rounds and get to chatting with the staff who love our 'accents '. One of them asks for us to say Dr Pepper. She loved it, I'm not sure why, but we were happy to oblige. They help us out with some directions to dinner and off we go. 

Hard Rock Cafe was where we'd have dinner tonight and it's such a cool atmosphere. They even snap your picture at the entrance to keep as a memory of being there so Boston takes control of the guitar and we pose. 

As we are shown to our table and we admire all the cool items on the walls including a full sized Cadillac convertible above the bar. 

Was happy to enjoy a cider with dinner and participate in cheering for birthday people and bopping along to the very cool music that's pumping. It's hilarious to hear the staff all of sudden join in the 'work sucks' line of the Blink 182 song at the top of their lungs. 

We head home with the crowds filing out of Universal and buses line up to get everyone home as quickly as possible. It's only about 5 mins away so its not long before we are back in our rooms and ready to crash. 

Tomorrow is a rest day. Thank goodness for that. 

Last day of Disney

Today was our final day of Disneyworld as we head out to Epcot. It's a combination of futuristic and international worlds. There was some apprehension as we'd heard mixed reviews but we'd also planned to meet the Princesses at breakfast in 'Norway'. For this reason we started our day with our tiaras again but later moved to our personalised Mickey ears.

Today I'd decided to take my electric scooter because I'd pretty much pushed myself (and my knee) pretty hard the last week and a half so I thought I'd give it a little rest. We'd checked into breakfast to be greeted by the very beautiful Belle (from Beauty and the Beast). 

One of the very cool things about Disneyworld is they're very proud of their cast members hometowns so each name tag has their city and country of origin. So of course in each of the country's sections also had cast members from those areas. We had Yoo-lian (Julian) from Norway. Funnily enough we were shown to our seat by Hanna and her partner in crime at the front door was Rebecca. Not the same spelling as my sister and I but was duly noted by Jamei. 

Breakfast was great. Not only the food but we were so fortunate to meet Mulan who wished me and my army safe travels, Cinderella who said we should take a portrait for our castle, Snow White who thought our tiaras might be the handy work of Dopey and last of all Sleeping Beauty who said it was ok for "The Queen" to get a picture of her own (that's me by the way). I love their characters they play and listening to all the different conversations they have at the tables around us. They have done some serious princess training. At the final moments of breakfast there was a Prince and Princess procession where all the littlies in line followed the Disney princesses around the restaurant. It was adorable with so many of them dressed up as their favourite Princess. 

We finished breakfast and head off to explore Epcot. We'd got a couple of tips from a couple about the fun parts of this park. I think I might have enjoyed meandering through the countries more than we did, but knew today would not be a big one. We would be covering the bare necessities and heading home.  

We enjoyed a couple of rides and before we knew it, it was lunch time which we'd booked earlier in the day. We had lunch in China. But had to ask for chopsticks. On the table was just a knife and fork. Being Asian food lovers we just couldn't bring ourselves to eat with anything other than chopsticks which our waitress obliged. Today's meals all inclusive in our dining plan. 

Because we had a late lunch the day was certainly getting away without us. So we head off to a ride called Mission:Space. It was the beginning of the end of our day. There were 2 options. Extreme or regular ride. Of course the girls wanted to do extreme. A decision they would come to regret. 

I love the way they have ways to step you through the ride and make it a real experience rather than a fabricated one. Needless to say the girls were feeling pretty green after the ride so they both sat down and sipped lemonade till the colour was back in their faces. 

It's at this point the girls and I called it quits and made comments about our enjoyment of our time in Disneyworld. Truly magical. 

We pretty much chilled out for the rest of the night and only left our room for dinner and the girls went for a quick dip. We don't have to be out till 11am tomorrow so not a mad rush. Once we're up we are headed for a hotel attached to Universal Studios for the rest of our time here in Orlando. 

Let the adventures continue!

Disney's Animal Kingdom - a wild time

There was no sleep in today because this park was open for shorter hours so off we go to be on one of the first buses again. The transport system here is really great when staying at Disney resorts. It's so simple and really quick as buses are coming all the time.

The sun is shining and we've booked in some fast passes so we can skip the lines on a few rides. So off we trot ( sorry for the animal pun - there might be more) and arrive for the obligatory security checkpoint. With photographers everywhere we make the most of our Memory Maker Photopass and stop our the front. We realise later that Simba, Timon and Pumba magically appeared in our picture out the front. 

We head back in time to Dinoland and enjoy a ride which had surprising twists and turns and an adventure ride where we trekked through a jungle of dinosaurs in a buggy which was so scary. As you will see by the picture. I'm not going to give too much away about the rides and shows because I'd hate to spoil the surprises should you find your way over here. 

We had so much fun meeting the characters today. Such a hoot. They really do play up to their characters personalities. From Jungle Book we met Baloo and King Louie who were constantly monkeying around. Even trying to take centre stage in a photo and block me out. . 

Of course Minnie and Mickey were the consummate professionals and gestured how much they loved our ears. 

When we went over to meet Goofy and Pluto, boy were they cheeky. Jamei's ears had a bit of a veil on it so Pluto pushed it forward over her eyes, took her by the arm and did the steps like he was walking her down the aisle. The character's keepers are great because they kind of help communicate and interact with you and the characters too. They said to Pluto "you need to buy a ring before you can marry her!". Once Jamei had finished it was Bostons turn and immediately Pluto noticed she had rings on so he pretends to take it off so he can use it to marry Jamei. All the while the girls are grinning from ear to ear. 

We saw a couple of shoes today too. One was Finding Nemo - the musical- and it was like something you'd see at the theatre. It was also pretty cool to hear an Aussie accent introduce the show and give the required 'no flash photography' explanation. 

We also saw Its Tough To Be a Bug where Flik from a 'Bugs Life' introduced a whole host of bugs to us in 3D. This was an incredible show. I wish I could tell you what happens but I don't want to spoil the magic. 

Our favourite ride today was Mount Everest, so much so we went on it twice!! I love roller coasters, so do the girls, and this one did not disappoint. 

To finish off our day we went of safari and managed to see a number of the animals considering the time of day because the animals are getting ready to snooze. 

By the time the safari is finished the park is closed so we make our way home. But not before one last pic in front of Rafikis tree. 

Exhausted from yet another successful day we regroup by having some dinner. It was pretty cool to watch the cleaner wash tables next to us as they used the disinfectant spray to draw the face of Mickey Mouse. It's hard to see in this pic but I hope you get the idea. 

Ahhhhhhhhh back to the room and we all head to bed ready to meet some princesses tomorrow at our scheduled character breakfast.

Disney World - a crazy feeling

There is actually too much to tell about today. So I'm hopefully not going to ramble on too much. The plan was to be up and on the first shuttle bus to Magic Kingdom. Staying at a Walt Disney World resort entitles you to this awesome service. Off we go equipped with tiaras that we had bought at home and brought with us. Nothing says Disney like being a princess for a day.

We arrive with plenty of time and after a security checkpoint, getting fingerprinted for our bands, we wait outside for the clock to strike 9am. With moments to go they announce that there will be a welcome show to start the day. 

As the show starts so do the waterworks. I am moved and can't contain the  tears as they streamed down my face. We cheer as the countdown to the park is done and off we go. 

We head over to Tomorrowland. The weather is overcast but no rain, so we make the most of our time and the short lines. It's great that the staff are always in character and at Disney they are called cast members. We enjoy all the rides and my favourite was Space Mountain, an indoor in the dark roller coaster. It was in Tomorrowland that I had a fall getting onto a ride but fortunately I wasn't hurt. A reminder to be careful with my knee. 

Jamei got to part of the show in the Monsters Inc laugh floor. Our tiaras got us noticed saying "there seems to be some royalty in the house" and the comedy show they did was hilarious. The monster doing the jokes claimed to know everything about every country and asked Jamei where she was from.  We giggled as they described Australia as the Antarctica. 

Before we came I'd researched an add on to our tickets called memory maker. This meant that any ride or character photos would be accessible to download almost immediately as they would 'magically appear' in our photo pass. Accessed online or through the Disneyworld app. The technology was incredible. We would walk away from a ride or character and it would take less than 5 minutes. And we were surprised to see even a video of one of our rides - but how did they know it was us? Magic! The other great thing about our dining plan was that our food was included at the parks as well. 

I think my favourite part about today was watching the girls faces. It is a long day and while most of the lines were short they could have easily dropped their bundles but as we got closer to the characters or rides their faces lit up. 

We went through Haunted Mansions, on Speedways, in rocket ships, rode Dumbo. We met lots of special ladies including Minnie and Cinderella. While waiting to see Cinderella a cast member came in and asked another "has tea been served" as a way of checking if they'd stopped for their break. Love it. 

The day was massive and we made our way through as much as we could. The rain was tough at times but we preservered anyways. The souvenir shops were a great way to have a break from the rain and each one is different. You were right Anne. 

As the day was drawing to a close we thought it'd be a great way to rest our legs by sitting down in a restaurant so I jump back onto the app and book dinner at a buffet style restaurant down near where the parade will be. Glad we did because there was quite a wait if you just rocked up. We also had characters visit our tables. It was good to eat some Veges and sit down properly to eat. Our waitress was attentive and we didn't even need to ask for drinks they just arrived the moment the other looked nearly empty. 

We catch some of the Electrical Parade down Main Street and once it does we head to the Pandora shop we'd spotted earlier that day. All getting a charm to mark our first visit to Disney. 

After this it was all over other than the castle being used as a projection screen and we sing along to all the familiar tunes. Then headed out while watching the final fireworks. It was hilarious to see everyone bolt out of the park the minute it was over. 

Wow! What a day. And we do it all again tomorrow. 

Where the magic happens

I love it when a plan comes together. I'd planned a nearly lunchtime flight so there was no mad rush or early morning to contend with. We had accumulated a lot of extra stuff from Boston so we finally pulled out our smaller suitcases that were able to be carry on to spread out our shopping. The smaller suitcases kind of reminded me of unpacking a babushka doll.

I'd popped downstairs to grab a cuppa while the girls surfaced and before long we were ready to go - ahead of schedule.

We checked out and fortunately there was a taxi with a large boot and a strong helpful driver. Exactly what we needed. The airport was only about 15 mins away and we were headed to Terminal E. 5 terminals!!!!!! All I can say is Delta Airlines were very impressive. We went to check in and the staff member realised Bostons name and just thought that was very cool. This was picked up again at the security checkpoint so Boston smiles politely as they ask her what was her favourite thing in Boston. She thought for a second then answered "Shopping!". Hahaha. 

I was wheeled through as before which saved even more time so I sent the girls off to check out any final Boston souvenirs and some breakfast. They return with a bagel for me and a couple of Boston souvenirs. Jamei and I comment on how many tall men there are in Boston. We noticed this in the hotel, around Boston and at the airport. 

At gate staff were friendly and we board first getting settled in before the masses. The plane is spacious as is the seating. The girls start to snooze and I watch some tv to pass the time. It's only a three and a half hours till we touch down, which was great because there were a couple of very rocky moments due to some poor weather approaching Orlando. It's glanced over to the girls to find they were snuggled up together holding hands. This is pretty cute. As much as they fight and carry on I know they not only love each other but are great mates. 

We make our way through the Terminal and there's a hotel right outside the gates, literally on site with the airport. We have to catch a monorail to the baggage claim area. Now I am pretty excited. Our very recognisable bags come out at baggage claim and we head to the Magic Express! We join the queue to board the bus. Runs like a well oiled machine and our bus driver Tom gets us to practice saying "Hi Mickey" in preparation for passing through the Walt Disney World gates. 

We watch some info on the tvs on the bus and in less than half an hour we have arrived at our hotel Art of Animation. You can tell we are all thrilled to pieces. As we walk into the lobby of the hotel I really have to hold it together as I find myself welling up with emotion that we are here. 

From the kerbside to the counter we are well taken care of. 

We get our personalised Magic bands ( we'd chosen our own colours weeks ago), a map and a badge saying 1st Visit and head off to our Little Mermaid room. We decide to walk the grounds and take some pics because we are surrounded by character statues of so many animated movies.

 It made me giggle as we came up to the Lion King and Hakuna Matata came on and the three of us sing along spontaneously. We are so ready for this experience. 

We have included a full package of food, accomodation, tickets and photo passes so everything is included for our stay. We decide to check out the shop and are tempted by much of the Disney stuff. Including ponchos (forecast says rain) and accessories for our Magic Bands which was pretty cool. 

We head to the eatery and try out some tasty dinner realising it's time for my scooter to arrive. I thought I'd have this ready to go just in case my knee gave me trouble. There was nothing that was going to prevent me from maximising our fun here. The girls laugh at me and enjoy walking at a more reasonable pace.

The girls decided to go for a swim while I do some washing in the self serve laundry. I was surprised to see you can even check the availability of the machines and if you have a load on how much longer to go. Pretty cool. 

We settle in for the night and are ready to be on the first bus to Magic Kingdom, our first park, tomorrow morning. 

OMG we are really here!!!!!! Our Little Mermaid decor will certainly give us magical dreams. 

Nothing says Australia Day like shopping......

At 3.30am I woke up today. The girls had also woken up but managed to get back to sleep. I couldn't get back to sleep so I layed in bed researching the day ahead. That's one thing that the girls hadn't realised. Each day is meticulously planned. Checking map locations to make sure each day's time is used to the max.

By the time it got to 7am I thought I'd get up and have a shower and pop downstairs to grab a coffee to help me get through the day. 

I coax the girls out of bed with promises that Victoria's Secret will be the first stop today. We heard from our friend Nat that it's one of the biggest and she wasn't wrong. An hour an a half (and lots of money) later we drop our shopping back to the hotel because we were staying in walking distance to the shopping mall it was in. The mall was all the upmarket brands Luis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Armani & Jimmy Choo just to name a few. 

It was time to do just a bit of Boston sightseeing so we head down to Boston Common (a beautiful park in the city) where there is still snow covering the grass from the snowfall while NYC was having a blizzard, Boston got just a light covering. It's a beautiful spot. 

We then walk down to City Hall which is the government house that has the mayor. We took some pics with Boston out the front. It's so weird to see her name on everything. 

During my research I'd discovered a mall full of outlets which also had an Outback Steakhouse- an Auzzie themed restaurant- so given it was Australia Day I thought that this was a good stop. 

Our waitress was lovely and we wished her a Happy Australia Day. While there wasn't an Auzzie in sight it was nice to look around and see pictures and maps from back home. We told Remmie our waitress we had a gift of an Australian flag for her so she called over the manager who told us we could have free appetisers and dessert. How cool. 

Now refuelled we hit a couple of outlets. I'm sure if the dollar exchange was better we'd have come home with more but still a few bargains to be had. 

We head toward home and swing by the Fire Station which was just so cool. We knocked on the door and explained that we'd love to take pictures because of my Boston being in Boston and noticed the fire truck had her name all over it. He was so cool and even offered her his helmet and jacket to wear. But sadly she declined this offer but posed for all the obligatory pictures. There was still a fire pole in use and he had a very cool Boston accent too. 

We thank him and head back to the hotel for a dip in the heated pool and spa. Only for a short time as tonight is the ice hockey. 

We jump in a cab out to TD Garden to watch the Boston Bruins take on Anaheim Ducks. We had a very chatty cab driver who regailed us of stories about his brush with immigration, custody battles and living internationally in Japan and the USA and his trip to Australia soon to visit his nephew in Darwin. 

The girls quietly giggled as he rambled pretty much the whole trip. 

We arrive at the ice hockey. We go through the mandatory security screening and follow the crowd inside. I love the way they do food at sport over here. The food and drink trays and options available. It's pretty cool. 

We find our seats and love the atmosphere. I think this is a sport we could get into. TD Garden appears to be a great venue with no bad seats. There was a massive punch up and crashing each other into the walls. So entertaining. 

We finally get back to the hotel and now it is time to pack for leaving tomorrow. That's a task in itself. Given our stop at Victoria's Secret. 

Disney here we come!! Flying down to Orlando in the morning!

Hello Boston - and not my child but the City of Boston

Everyday of my life I get to say hello to Boston but today is different. It's that day where Boston goes to Boston. It does mean a very early rise and I'm not sure why but I've actually been up since 3.45am and can't for the life of me get back to sleep. So I lay in bed until the alarm goes off at 5am.

Last night I'd made sure the girls were fully packed with minimal items to put away in the morning. That way they could sleep longer so it's only a 15 minute turnaround before we are headed out the door and into a cab. Our luggage had to 4WD it over some snow and mush to get into the station from where our cab dropped us. 

I had decided that a train was a good option to travel to Boston which allowed us a different way to see the countryside but also easier than getting back to the airport and quicker door to door. 

We arrive at Penn Station in just the right amount of time to grab some water and have a short sit down. They don't announce the platform till it's ready to board so there's this mad dash of passengers when its announced only 15 minutes before your train is due to depart. 

We chucked our suitcases in the luggage bays and went on the hunt for a seat. We were so fortunate to find a 4 seater together. There's free wifi, electricity to charge and fold out tables they call 'conference' style. This route is regularly used by commuters. 

The landscape is like nothing I've seen. The towns and houses are just so different to Australia and already feeling miles away from the hustle and bustle of NYC. The towns are just so quaint. And the houses huge. Not a clue where we passed through but my face is glued to the window like kids looking out for Christmas lights. 

We eventually arrive at Boston and the girls have nearly slept the whole way. One of the good things about getting a USA SIM card is the ability to make calls when needed. Not long before we arrived I'd contacted our hotel to see whether we could check in early. This would give us a chance to regroup. 

We make our way out of the train station and although the hotel isn't far away it's too far to cart our suitcases. So we head for the taxi rank. The first one wouldn't take us cause we had 3 suitcases. He'd suggested I'd be best to call in a van. Then a second cab pulled up beeped at us and called us over. He said he'd be happy to take us and just chucked one of the cases in the front seat. 

So off we go. The buildings in Boston are absolutely gorgeous and I immediately feel safe here. We arrive at the Hilton to be greeted by Troy who kindly checks us in early and the girls eyes light up when they hear there's a heated pool and spa. 

We get ourselves sorted and before we head out check out the facilities at our hotel. We decided to head straight to the aquarium here but have a bit of a wander up the street in the hunt for some snacks. To say it was surreal to see Bostons name on everything was an understatement. We just wanted to buy everything. 

The aquarium allowed the girls to touch stingrays and sharks (the nice ones). There was this incredible tank right in the middle which was home to hundreds of different types of fish and sea animals. 

There were gorgeous penguins and cute seals. But most impressive was the sea turtle who was massive. It came over to pose for a photo and say hi to the girls. 

The gift shop enticed us and we picked up some Boston tagged cards and a fun pic we'd posed for at the start. Magically a cute fairy penguin is in each of our hands. As we walk around I notice how clean the city is and how nice it is not to have to layer up. 

We head back to the hotel and order room service for lunch......why? .....why not? Then the girls decided to go for a dip. I'd dosed off during lunch after only having a few hours sleep last night. But was woken to head down to the pool. I didn't get any pics of this cause I'd fallen asleep in the lounge chair and was awoken by the girls to head back to the room. 

While I was resting an email had come through from the coach of the Boston University's women's college team. Sadly she'd been called away for recruiting trip and we were no longer able to attend their training as originally planned. So disappointing cause this was definitely something we were all looking forward to. 

Back at the room the girls showered and I rested with plans to go out to dinner somewhere. Perhaps head out to Victoria's Secret beforehand but ultimately what happened was that after the girls showered we all fell asleep.

I've just woken up at 9.30pm and the girls are also crashed out. We only have one more day here at Boston so tomorrow we will need to squeeze a lot in. We also have tickets to the ice hockey tomorrow night too. Should be a good day.