Orlando, Florida Adventure: Disney’s Magical Kingdom and Hard Rock Hotel

Journey at Lone Cabbage Fish Camp

Please welcome my 10 year-old niece Journey (yes—that’s her real name!) as a guest blogger this week. She recently traveled with me to Orlando for a series of firsts. Since she wants to be a writer, I thought I’d give her the assignment of detailing her impressions of her first trip to Orlando, Florida with her Aunt Nana (that’s me!).  Read on for my amazing niece Journey’s travel impressions of the first days in Orlando, Disney's Magic Kingdom and Hard Rock Hotel. I did take the liberty of adding my comments in [brackets]:


Guest blog by Journey
Have you ever been scared and excited at the same time? Well I have! Before I got on the airplane I was so scared to leave my mom, but I was so excited to be able to go to Orlando, Florida. The airport was so crowded. I could barely get through to our seats. When the plane started to go, I got that funny feeling where you feel like you’re going to throw-up. A few minutes later, it started to get boring [I know what you mean, Journey!]. I couldn’t find anything to do so I just went to sleep. When I woke up we were at the airport.

Journey's first gator sighting

Once I got out of the Orlando airport, I went to a little restaurant with airboats [Lone Cabbage Fish Camp with two of my aunt’s friends]. After Aunt Nana had a beer [Hey, I wasn’t driving!], we went on the airboat. A few minutes later, we saw alligators right in front of us. Later we saw an alligator right in front of us on land. When we got closer, the alligator hissed at us and I jumped back. We also saw another alligator on land and we got really close to it. That alligator didn’t hiss, but he did come after us so I ran back to my seat. I was so scared that we had gotten lost on our way back to the restaurant. When I saw the bridge, I was so excited we had made it back! When we got out of the boat, we headed to the ocean.

Journey & Aunt Nana at Cocoa Beach

When we got to Cocoa Beach, I saw a HUGE restaurant. As I got closer, I took off my shoes and ran towards the water. It was so fun because I went half way out until two huge waves came. When the waves got to me, my shorts and part of my shirt got soaked! I had so much fun at the beach that I started to get hungry.

We went to the [beachfront] restaurant and started to go in until the people who worked there stopped us and asked us for our ticket. Apparently, a ticket was needed to eat at that restaurant. I was so mad I couldn’t eat there. Then we found another restaurant, but you had to be twenty-one to go in there. Aunt Nana said to show them my fake ID [I know, Aunt Nana is funny!], but it was too late for that because we already left. When we got back to the car, I had to change my shorts because they were wet and rubbing against my legs. Then we started to head back to the hotel.

Journey's 1st hotel: Hard Rock Orlando

When we got to the Hard Rock Hotel, I was so shocked by how it looked. It was HUGE! The hotel had a fountain with guitars. Then came the hotel room. I stepped in the door and it was beautiful. It had a huge TV, a big bathroom, and food on a tray. I loved the hotel from first sight. Outside there was this HUGE pool with a big slide. The dinner was delicious [Kitchen Restaurant, on-site a the Hard Rock Hotel]. I had homemade macaroni and cheese. I also had hot tea and water. After dinner I went to bed. The bed was so comfortable, and I slept like a baby.

Journey's visit to Disney's Magic Kingdom

The next morning I woke up and I got dressed. Then I made my bed and went downstairs to the lobby. When the car arrived to go to Disney World [courtesy of Aunt Nana’s friend Rick!] I was so excited. When we got to Magic Kingdom, I was so amazed with what I saw. Cinderella’s castle was so big. I finally got to see the castle in person.

Aunt Nana and I had gone on a few rides like Aladdin’s Magic Carpet and a little roller coaster called Thunder Mountain twice. I also went on a few other rides that I don’t remember. Then we took the monorail to Disney’s Polynesian Resort [Aunt Nana wanted to see a Disney resort] because we got so tired of walking.

From there we took a taxi back to Hard Rock Hotel [about 30 minutes], where I took a short nap.After I woke up I had to get in the shower. Then I got ready for dinner again at the restaurant at The Kitchen with thirteen or fourteen other people. [We met up with the Universal Studio folks and other arriving media.] It was so tiring to walk. Dinner was delicious, but I was very, very tired. After dinner I went straight to bed.

From Aunt Nana, aka Diana, TravelingInHeels.com:  Journey learned really quickly that it's exhausting being a writer, but she's ready to do it again.  She'll also agree that wearing comfortable shoes is important!
Journey's journey continues tomorrow with her visit to Universal Orlando, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

Read more about our Orlando, FL adventure:

• Magical Kingdom of Disney
• Firsts in Orlando
• The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando

Until next time! Diana (aka Aunt Nana)
All Photos Copyright Diana Rowe 2010

Magical Kingdom of Disney

As far back as I can remember, my niece always wanted to go to "Disney." She didn't want the exotic, passport-requiring destinations like when her sister visited Panama's Gamboa Resort.

When we drove into the Disney kingdoms, it was all worth it to see my niece Journey's big smile, a smile that never ended that day. We stepped into the Magic Kingdom, with the fairy tale castle in the distance, and our adventure began. This was Journey's first theme park, and it couldn't have been more magical.

We arrived in time for the Main Street parade -- what a way to kick off the day. When we walked toward the castle, we noted a crowd gathering and voila!

Our timing was on for a stage show with all the princesses in front of the castle. She stood spellbound watching the show, Snow White & her prince, Cinderella & her prince, Mickey & Minnie...twirling and dancing.

Journey was even pulled out of the crowd in the Frontierland to be a part of the show. She rode her first roller coaster, Thunder Mountain, TWICE!  Our visit was a Sunday, so there were some lines, but our wait times weren't more than 10 minutes.

By the time we left the park, we were exhausted but the stop at Disney was a must! And just seeing Journey's smile, which kept getting bigger and bigger, was worth it all.
Until next time, Diana

Firsts in Orlando

From my last post, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studio, you might recall that my niece Journey is traveling with me. This Orlando trip is a series of firsts for my 10-year-old niece. 

Share her "journey" in the following pictures:

Our local friends picked us up at the airport and we stopped off at Lone Cabbage Fish Camp. It's about 30 minutes from the Orlando airport, a slice of cheesy tourist, but great fun. From catfish to gator, it's a greasy spoon with a swamp twist. The fun part, of course, is riding the airboat, for a tour of the swamp. We knew it would be good because as we waited several gators lurked in the waters below us. Journey's upclose look at gator is pictured left, and this alligator was none to happy with us interrupting his sleep. He even hissed at us before submerging in the waters.

After our gator sightings, how could we refuse Journey's need to see the ocean for the first time? Our fine escorts (thanks Bob & Rick) drove us another 30 minutes to Cocoa Beach for her first wade into the ocean. It was a busy Saturday night with a beach filled with college kids partying, a la tent-gating, but that didn't halt my niece's first ocean experience.

Sunday, we visited Disney's Magic Kingdom, another first for Journey, but more on that flip-flop adventure later.

Until next time,
Diana

Business travel round up: Orlando, Florida

When Mickey Mouse isn't on the agenda and I'm wearing my professional shoes (pumps or heels), I always recommend asking a local where to stay for business travel in Orlando, Florida

I hunkered down with Norman's, a popular restaurant for power business dinners featuring the memorable cuisine of celebrity Chef Norman Van Aken, Florida’s most ‘James Beard’ awarded chef, to get their suggestions on where to stay and what to do when traveling on business in Orlando.

Here's the excerpt from my International Business Travel Examiner column:

"Known to vacationers as “the happiest place on earth,” Orlando, Florida is also one of the top conference and convention destinations in the United States with more than 6.0 million attendees flowing in and out of Orlando’s hotels. There’s much more to this city than theme parks and Mickey Mouse. Sure, Orlando was built on imagination, innovation, and creativity and the destination thrives on excitement and energy. Perhaps that's why it only makes sense that its meetings, business conferences, and conventions also draw from this dynamic, engaging environment....
(Pictured: Photo: JW Marriott Orlando Grande Lakes)


Read the rest of the story here: http://bit.ly/86IkhR

Happy travels...and for my U.S. friends, Happy Thanksgiving!
Diana Rowe