Wishes Dessert Party Review

On my most recent trip to Disney world - back in March- I was lucky enough to experience the Wishes Dessert Party at Magic Kingdom.

What is the Wishes Dessert party I hear you ask? Well that's exactly what I asked when I was given the reservation as a gift by my parents last Christmas. I feel that the dessert parties are often not spoken about much  but that may be because I think they may be reasonably new. So the dessert party consists of a reserved section of the park which looks overs a great view of the fireworks along with a buffet of  desserts and endless drinks of sparkling cider and hot chocolate. The dessert parties only seat about 50 people each night and there's a variety of different parties you can do. There's one in Hollwood Studios, Epcot, Magic Kingdom and also a ferryboat dessert party that overlooks Wishes.

The Wishes dessert party is located at the tomorrow land terrace restaurant (pictured below). A great location for the dessert party,as it provided a sanctuary that secludes you from the crowds while still providing a fantastic view of the castle.

We arrived at the party at around 8:10pm as our reservation was 8:20pm, we thought that going a little earlier may give us a chance for the front seats. We were wrong. All the front seats were already taken but we managed to get the second row which still had a really good view.  Tip: if you want those front seats, arrive must before 8pm as they seat you first come first serve. There are only about three rows in total so either way you're going to get a  good seat!

As you take your seat, you are given a glass of sparkling cider( non alcoholic)it's basically fizzy apple juice and a wristband so the cast members know you're part of the party. All the tables have a lit lantern on the table and you are advised to help your self to the selection of desserts/ice cream and drinks.

As soon as we were shown to our seats we got straight back up to devour the buffet. We made sure that we didn't eat dinner to leave as much room as possible  for dessert. So by 8:30pm we were starving!

There are two stands with a variety of desserts ranging from chocolate covered strawberries, Disney themed cupcakes, panna cotta and oreo cheesecake.I made sure to fill up my plate and try one of everything!They even have cheese and crackers for those who don't have a sweet tooth!

The desserts were all really yummy, with my favourite being the oreo cheesecakes. I made quite a few trips and even made sure I was stocked up for when the fireworks began!There is also the ice cream station which offers vanilla ice cream with a selection of toppings and the drinks station which includes strawberry lemonade, coffee and the lushest hot chocolate I have tasted!

Feeling suitably full, we settled down to watch the celebrate the magic and the spectacular light display before the wishes fireworks began.  The view was amazing and it was great to be able to enjoy it from your table.  I was secretly hoping that everyone would stay seated so  there would be no having to elbow your way to the front.  Luckily everyone did stay seating and the view was perfect.

So Overall how did I rate the dessert party?
I really really enjoyed the dessert party and would definitely do it again in a heartbeat!The food is great and there's plenty of it !The view is spectacular and the whole experience just feels really exclusive and special.

I believe you have to book in advance to get into the dessert party and prices are $49 per adult and $29 for children. Make sure you go with an empty stomach!!

Magic Kingdom -First timers.

Magic kingdom ! The creme de la creme of Disney parks . Where do you begin ?

First off, let me warn you , the parks are very large , you will be doing alot of walking !

There are so many different aspects of magic kingdom to explore ,you have main street USA as you first walk in which is set out like a quaint street with shops like emporium and the most amazing confectionery store. 

Coming out of mainstream you will see Cinderella's castle and what a sight it is. Trust me you will spend a good 10 mins taking it in  and taking pictures stood in front of it. In each direction from the castle you will 5 different lands. Tomorrow land, fantasy land , liberty square, frontier land and adventure land.So where to begin?

There are so so many things to see and do at magic kingdom I thought I would outline 5 must sees.

1. Spacemountain - located in tomorrow land it's a fast paced indoor roller coaster and let's just say it's rather dark! Ifs your not keen on fast rides I'd maybe give this ride a.miss as drops and turns will unexpectedly come at you in the pitch black. The ride doesn't go upside down but there are plenty of thrills . I'd recommend either getting a fast pass for the ride or heading straight there in the morning. Queues will build in the day.

2. Pirates of the Caribbean - Found in adventureland, pirates of the carribbean is a boat ride adventure journeying to a time when pirates ruled the sea. This is a slow moving boat ride with a few small drops There's always a steady queue at this attraction but nothing like snow white and the seven dwarves so I wouldn't use up one of your three fast passes. A lovely boat ride and great for kids who will even get to see their favourite Jack Sparrow.


3. Wishes- Wishes is the nightly firework display which really is a magical end to a perfect day. Wishes is a mixture of spectacular fireworks played in unison with some of the greatest disney voice overs and narrated by Jiminy Cricket. The show is for sure a must see and to get a good spot I would recommend finding a space facing the castle. People will reserve their spots up to an hour before so make sure if you want some of the best views to secure your place early. It's not a necessity to do this as there is plenty of room to walk up 5 mins prior to the start and get a decent view. You can get a fast pass for this too, where they'll be a small section reserved for you but again I would probably save these for the busiest rides.

4. Splash mountain- Situated in Frontierland Splash mountain is a log flume ride which plummets you down a 52foot drop. A great ride which is worth waiting for especially when you're boiling hot. The boat ride will take you through the familiar characters from the Disney film 'Song of the South' and tease you with smaller drops before the finale !I would recommend getting a fast pass for this ride especially in peak season for visitors and humidity as people will flock here for a quick cool down.

5. Haunted mansion-Located in liberty Square this is a spooky tour through an eerie haunted house following the story of an evil bride who continues to murder her husbands. The effects in this are amazing as you peer down on the dancing ghouls gliding through the ballroom, just watch out for  hitch-hiking ghosts! This always has a steady queue but the queue is part of the experience as you pass grave stones and interactive wall stones.

Now I realise I have only mentioned 5 out of so so so many good attractions,  I could easily waffle on for a good while about all the other rides. These are my must sees but yours may be different, my recommendation would be for you to write your top five and make these a priority!

Disneyworld first timers

So it's your first time to Disneyworld. 

You've already heard of so many things you want to see and so many people telling you to do things a certain way. Where do you start? 

It can be a daunting but also an exciting prospect. You start reading guide books, watching vlogs and planning a strict minute by minute itinerary . 

Yes there are certain aspects of Disney that are planned to military provision and it will help you a lot however, you also want to have a holiday and relax. You don't want to be panicking that you've been in the Peter Pan ride 8 mins longer that scheduled and now your 5 min toilet break has been cancelled so you can quickly run over to meet gaston. That doesn't sound fun (even though it's Disney) 

How do you get that healthy balance of fitting in everything but also taking in the day and relaxing.

Well the truth is you're going to have to come to terms with the fact that you won't be able to fit everything there is to see in Disney but the magical thing about Disney is that you can see something different ever time you go. 

I think the best advice to give a Disneyworld first timer is for each park write down your top 3 attractions/shows you would like to do. Everything else you can plan around your top choices (if you're lucky you may be able to get them all on fast pass.) 

Let's face it if it's your first time you're going to want to see the major four parks so I thought over the next few weeks I would outline 5 must see attractions and give you an overview of what you can expect in each park. . Obviously you've got to pick for yourself, remember it's your holiday and you may not like the same sort of rides as other people . These posts will be my personal opinion but hopefully it will shed some light on the differences between each park.

Picking only five for each park may be a challenge but hopefully it'll help you give a bit more of an idea of what each park will have in store for you, with out bombarding you with information! 

My next post and the first park we'll explore is magic kingdom! 

10 tips for driving in Orlando for the first time!

10 tips for driving in Orlando. 

In my most recent trip to Orlando it was my first ever time driving there and in fact driving in the US. I won't lie, it was quite a daunting prospect of driving in a different country on the other side of the road but as soon as I got out of Orlando international airport I felt at ease and I actually enjoyed the experience. For any Brits out there who drive, I am happy to say it is far more enjoyable driving there than it is in Britain. So here are my top 10 tips if you're feeling a little anxious about it. 

 

 

This was me after my first drive from the airport to the villa, I was so chuffed that I had made it!

 

1. Booking a car hire is farely  simple, just make sure you have insurance cover included and also make sure you're not swayed into renting a car that is far too big for you. Me and my partner went recently and went for an economy car which they threaten will not fit two suitcases in -it will, you just need to put one on the back seat. It was a Nissan Versa which is a fairly decent size car and the perfect size for just the two of us. They'll try and convince you that you'll need a bigger car but for 2 people it's the perfect size. 

2. Dont fall into the trap of adding extras when you get to the car hire counter at the airport. They will try and upsell you on everything- the size of the car, upgrading your insurance,buying a full tank of fuel in advance and also adding extras like satnavs. Unless you particularly need any of this ( you more than likely won't ) just tell them you'll take what your ordered because they will ask and try and convince you. As long as you already have some insurance cover included in the hire you shouldn't need to upgrade it. 

3. If you're not used to an automatic car , research how to drive them or practise in someone's automatic car in an empty car park as  I think most cars there will be automatic. 

Driving in manual and automatic aren't worlds apart in fact automatic is far similar and smooth. But things like having your foot on the break so you can put the car into drive are key. You'll find yourself trying to find the gear stick at times, it just takes getting used to but in my opinion, automatic is far easier than manual. 

4. A simple  but vital one. Drive on the correct side of the road, again this is a daunting prospect, going completely against your instinct. A little trick my dad taught me was to always keep your passenger in the gutter, if your passenger isn't nearest the gutter you know you need to panic. You'll get used to this pretty soon as well, just don't let your mind wander into autopilot. 

5. Have some dollars ready for the tolls, if you're driving from orlando airport to the general Disney area you'll pass 3 tolls totalling I think about $4 to$5 dollars . They can provide change at them but you can prepare by having a few $1 bills ready. 

6. You can filter on right turns. Yes you can turn right at a red light as long as there isn't a sign to say otherwise and it's clear to go. Obviously you can turn on the green light but it's also allowed to check both ways and turn on red just be wary on the fast roads. 

7. 4 way junctions. In some locations you have a 4 way junction which is essentially traffic coming from 4 different directions with no traffic lights. In the uk you'd probably see a roundabout ( there are virtually no roundabouts in Orlando !) . At these what you are meant to do is each junction takes it in turns to go , so you wait till your turn and then take the direction you want from your junction. It sounds complicated and sometimes its tricky to figure out whose go it is but just ease out with caution. 

8. Before you leave the car hire centre, make sure you find out where everything is in the car such as lights, wind screen wipers, air con (a Florida necessity ) and also the controls for the window. Also make note of any scratches or dents that are on your chosen car make sure you report to someone as you leave the centre so you are not blamed for the them when you return the car. 

9. At Disney make note of the area and number of the car parking space. All parks have their own sections of the car parks which are named by characters and have a corresponding number for the  lane such as mickey 17 . Make a note of this or take a picture as trust me, the car parks are massive and not a place you want to wander around for long. Even if you forget this , I can suggest pressing the lock/unlock ,bottom on your keys, the cars in America will beep when you press these buttons so worst case scenario just listen for the beep and follow the sound. 

10. Take your time and relax. Remember you're on holiday and driving shouldn't be stressful, essentially it doesn't matter if you are late for the park or breakfast just take your time and remain calm. It really is so much more enjoyable to drive in the Orlando, the roads are wider and in a better condition, automatic cars are a dream to drive and parking spaces are massive. Enjoy it and relax, it'll be fine ! 

 

Please let me know if you have any other Questions and I'll try my  best to help!

A new approach!

Hello all, it's been a while,about 4 months to be exact and I've finally conjured up some motivation to start blogging again. I think my problem was not knowing what to write about or what direction to take my blog in and finally after a lovely 2 week holiday I've decided to focus on travel , Disney world to be exact. A place I love and consider myself to know a fair bit about. 

 

So I've now decided to dedicate this blog to all things Disney world , tips on tickets, park rides, merchandise, food and anything that we can shed a little bit of pixie dust on. 

So before we start exploring the happiest place on earth I thought I would tell you a little bit of information on my Disney story. 

Once upon a time,....... I'm only joking we'll leave the fairy tales for Disney. 

So my first experience of Disney world was when I was about 18 months old . My mum and dad took me and my older sister and they were obviously brave enough to go on a 9 hour flight with me being that young! Now being that young I obviously don't have much memory of this first trip but as my dad did film a lot I do know that I was not the biggest fan of the character breakfasts!

 

 

After that trip we took many other holidays in Orlando staying at Disney hotels such as all stars resorts and the Caribbean beach. 

It wasn't until the year 2000 when my parents decided to buy a villa in the Kissimmee/Davenport  area about a 10/15 miles way from Disneyworld . They spent a quick 3 day fly in visit and brought what we now call our second home. 

This is what really enlightened our love affair for Disney and Orlando in general. It became our own haven where we would visit in the school holidays, take our friends/family to and of course visit Disney world 

Having the villa provided a perfect holiday destination and I am very lucky to say that I have stacked up countless trips to Orlando, so hopefully I'll be able to provide you with some tips and guides on how to really make the most of your perfect holiday !