‘I don’t want to adult today!’ there’s a true and deep desire for the wish behind that statement and few places in the world where you can actually escape the reality of responsibility but thanks Mr Walt Disney, there’s a magical place where you’re able do just that, it’s called Disneyland.
Last weekend I spent an amazing few festive days in Orlando with the team at Shop Simon, discovering some alternative and amazing things to do in the city of Orlando. Whilst in town however we made a beeline for the two most famous theme parks in Florida, Universal Studios and Disneyland Florida.
Universal studios is super fun, the rides are really thrilling and the atmosphere is great. We ran from ride to ride with the biggest smile on our faces and especially enjoyed the Hulk and the Transformers rides. The attractions are great for those seeking a true adrenaline rush and you can easily spend all day galloping your way through them!
If however your time is more limited in the state, my advice for the number one theme park to visit in Florida would be Disneyland. I may be a little biased in my recommendations having grown up worshiping all things Disney but I truly believe that there really is no place like it in the world.
From the moment you enter the park the double digits of your age melt back into a single and as cliche as it may sound, your troubles seem to magnetize their way onto the park entrance, allowing us adults, with all our usual stresses and woes to enjoy a rare carefree day. Whilst there may be a perception that Walt Disney is just for kids it’s no shock to me to hear that over 40% of visitors to Disneyland are adults without children in their group. The parks are especially nostalgic for those of us who grew up in the eighties and early nineties when Disney was very much a way of life.
When travelling to Disneyland Florida there’s a number of different options to chose from when booking and selecting your ticket. We were visiting with a park hopper, which allowed us access to each one of the four Disney parks and also provided us with a fast pass option. With only one spare day in our schedule we spent our day split between the two most popular parks, Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios.
Magic Kingdom is the fantasy land, the immediate image that springs to mind when you think of Disney Parks, the one with the famous Cinderella Castle and where, for me, the true magic of Disneyland is experienced. If you only have the time or the funds to visit one park then my biggest recommendation would be to go to Magic Kingdom. Whilst the rides are far tamer the atmosphere is completely unmatched. In this park if you are travelling for the thrills then Space Mountain and Thunder Mountain are the best two rides but I also recommend going on Small Small World as it’s such a classic.
The feeling of freedom and excitement is a rare experience for us adults and yet, surrounded by vibrancy, dancing characters and whimsical architecture, in Magic kingdom, you feel so alive! It’s worldly understood that a spa day is the ultimate relaxation for us ladies to unwind and clear our minds for a few precious hours but in my opinion there is no better way to achieve a carefree state of mind than wandering through Disneyland!
After checking out the magical kingdom, snapping pictures with Disney characters and riding the teacups ‘just for fun’, we headed to Hollywood studios for more of an adrenaline rush! Hollywood studios is based around all of the action and adventure films created by Walt Disney and the rides there are far more thrilling and fast paced. With our park hopper handy we jumped on one of the Disney buses (which collects guests from outside Magic Kingdom) and drove the 15 minutes to Hollywood studios. Our pass lead us straight in and we headed to one of the fast pass booths to book in our rides for the afternoon. One thing we loved about Disney as a theme park was that fast track entrances to rides had to be booked in one hour time slots. As frustrating as it was that we couldn’t simply go to the ‘fast track’ queue like in other Orlando attractions, when we did book in a time slot we were never in a queue of more than 10 people. By booking in specific slots it meant that every time we rode, we sailed straight through and it was really easy to book in a time slot. If they didn’t have this system I would imagine the fast track queues would have been far longer.
In Hollywood studios we made a bee-line for the two most famous rides, Tower of Terror and Aerosmith’s Rock n Roller. I had been to Disneyland in Paris a few times prior so I knew what to expect with Tower of Terror but it was my first ride on the latter roller-coaster and it was awesome! No spoilers will come from me but I did vlog the entire trip so there’s a sneak peek of some of the rides and our experience in Orlando.
If you are travelling to Florida I can’t recommend a trip to Disney more, there really is no place like it in the world. Your worries and troubles are left at the door and for the days spent in the parks, your true innocent, care-free-self is revealed. We all need to ‘just be ourselves’ every now and again and in my opinion there’s no better place in the world to do just that!
Oh my Disney!!! Such a great post ⭐️⭐️⭐️