Travelling the USA | Orlando, FL
- Simon-Peter Lincoln
- Sep 4, 2016
- 6 min read
The idea behind staying Orlando was for Magic Kingdom (obviously) and to just relax. We want to chill by the pool and get the tan I missed out on from working in the art centre all summer. We're staying quite away from the hustle and bustle of central Orlando, but it's a $10 Uber ride from anything interesting and between 3 people, it's nothing really. I've always wanted to visit here for obvious reasons and now is my opportunity.
Wednesday 31st September
We arrived in Orlando in the early afternoon today and from the moment you step off the plane, you know you're in Disney. Everything is Disney; from the stores to the murals on the wall and we weren't even out of the airport yet. The lady who owns our AirBnb had arranged for a private driver to pick us up from the terminal and Tatie was waiting for us as soon as we had picked up our bags. She was lovely and explained to us where things where and how much it would cost to get there and brought us to the place we were staying where we met Paulina. The ride cost us $40, which we probably could've gotten cheaper, but From the moment we met her, Paulina was welcoming and made us feel like we were at home in her home. The place was full of bibles and Christian books, and because I've been brought up in a Christian family, it reminded me of home; before long, Emma, Bethan and I were in a deep conversation with Paulina about faith and it was super refreshing.
As it got later, we realised that we hadn't eaten, so we ventured out into the neighbourhood to find a local supermarket. After a long browse, we set off back to the apartment with $63 worth of food. One of my best friends from back at home was waiting for us when we got back as he was meant to be staying with us and I didn't know what time he was arriving; by the time we got back he'd been waiting for an hour (my bad). Bethan and Emma set to work in the kitchen and made a tomato and sausage pasta which was really good given the fact that the ingredients were super cheap. The night didn't really go anywhere from there, we just watched some more TV and hit the hay. Pretty exciting right?
Thursday 1st September
Today was the day, the day that every child (and inner child) dreams of! DISNEY WORLD! We'd heard horror stories of the weather for the day, but, although it was grey and cloudy, it didn't seem like the heavens were going to open. I got Tatie to pick me up at the crack of dawn and take me to the B Resort and Spa in the Disney area, where I met 3 of my friends from camp who were also going. From there we took a short shuttle ride (which was free by the way) to the Magic Kingdom. I couldn't keep myself from dancing and jumping around, I was living a childhood dream! The monorail wasn't open yet so we took the boat across the water to the main entrance of the park. Here our 'selfie sticks' were taken off us and we headed on into the park.
Even with the grim weather, Magic Kingdom was everything I thought it would be... completely magic. Walking through the streets, I had to stop myself from running off to see everything and take photographs with all the characters I'd grown up with. I did manage to get a photograph with Aladdin, Jasmine, Rafiki and Buzz Lightyear; life = made. Kat had brought her DSLR camera which I got snap happy with all day, so as soon as I get those pictures, I'll upload them. Due to budget issues, I had to watch the wallet, so in the morning I'd packed some pasta and sandwiches to last me the day. So whilst the others were spending nearly $20 on food, I was sat there, happily content with my free food. All in all, I spent about $35 during the whole day, this including drinks, ice-cream and a little trinket to take home for Tamsin.
The rain seemed to hold off for the whole day (apart from a brief downpour at lunch time), until the very end. As we were stood waiting for the light show and firework display to start, the heavens decided to open and when I say open, I mean it. The girls were clever enough to bring their rain macs, whereas I had left mine back at the AirBnb, so I got soaked to the bone. I was wet. Hella wet. We made it out of the park and took the monorail back to the entrance to catch our shuttle back to the hotel. I met up with Bethan and Emma and made our way back to our place and after such a long day we pretty much went straight to bed.
Friday 2nd September
Friday was always going to be a lazy day for us, we'd planned to do little to nothing whilst in Orlando and because of the hurricane warning, the weather left somewhat to be desired. After a long lie in (I stayed in bed until 11!), The girls and I decided that we needed to do something with our day, preferably free. The decision fell on the Florida Mall, so we caught a quick Uber and headed out. The place we arrived at was like a large Trafford Centre with hundreds of shops for everything you could possibly need or want. I tried to spend as little money as possible, so this resorted in me only buying a drink and food, plus a little gift for my sister. I had the shock of my life though when I checked my bank account and had $300 less than I thought I had; this kinda brought me down, but I quickly turned around and realised that I can make that work. CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.
We made our way back to the AirBnb, where we had to prepare for guests. A few of our friends staying in the B resort where coming around to have a 'last supper' as a couple of them are leaving tomorrow to head out on their own travels. Bethan and Emma cooked up an awesome turkey bolognese with garlic bread and we shared more as a family than friends. They soon enough left, so we said our final goodbyes and sat to watch a movie, before heading off to bed.
Saturday 3rd September
No plans for the day made for another lazy/cheap day at the AirBnb. We had another lay in and when we woke up, the sun was out for the first time since we've been in Orlando (thank God!). This was our opportunity. We're hitting the pool! So, the swimmers were thrown on before heading out and to the pool. After a quick swim and chat, we got out of the pool and decided to sunbathe. We had a great 15 minutes, until our sun-party was cut short by another heavy downpour. So we quickly grabbed all of our stuff and legged it back to the house.
After showering and changing, the sun decided that it was time to come back out, so we headed back to the pool to sunbathe some more. This time, it stayed out and we just got lazy and stayed by the pool for a few more hours. We headed to the local 7/11 to get some drinks for the drive to Miami tomorrow and went back to the apartment. Emma cooked up a pretty impressive dish of chicken, veg and (my personal favourite) sweet potato fries. We then all packed up our stuff, showered and headed to bed, ready for the early day tomorrow and the drive to Miami (cue Will Smith).
With no offence intended to any Orlando locals, I have to say that I probably wouldn't come back here unless I was visiting the parks. There really isn't anything here BUT the parks. We had a brilliant host that I would definitely recommend, but if you can't afford to visit the parks, then there doesn't seem to be a lot to do, especially on a budget. I'm happy that I spent time here and I enjoyed my stay, but I don't think I'll be back in the near future.
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