5 Things To Do Before You Head To Orlando

Why hello there my fellow Disney/Universal/Orlando lovers! I'm back once more talking all things holiday and excitement!

If you didn't know already I am heading back to my motherland in March ready for another amazing holiday full of Mickey, Harry and everything in-between!

I'm always asked so many questions when it comes to Disneyworld etc, especially from people booking their first trip or wanting to know what's best to do, wear, pack - so I thought it was about time I wrote yet another post on the magical land of Orlando and how you can make your trip that little bit easier, better and cheaper!

So, here's five things to do before you get on that plane!

1. Have a plan
As annoying is that is - it really is better to have one, even if it's a vague basic idea of what you're going to do!
If you're staying at a Disney hotel I would highly advise heading to the parks with 'Magic Hours' each day - that extra hour in the morning really is amazing for avoiding huge queues and getting on those rides maybe you wouldn't be able too in normal peak times.
When it comes to Disneyworld - booking dinners and Fastpass's is also essential! 
Again, if you're staying at a Disney resort hotel this is easy - just get the My Disney Experience app and you can book your meals 6 months in advance and your fast passes 90 days in advance! This sounds crazy but it is a must, you won't get into Be Our Guest unless your booked - I booked ours last week which was 6 months in advance and there was only 3 dinner times to choose from!

Fastpassing is also the guaranteed way to get on those busy rides and avoiding the hours and hours of queuing! You get three a day so use them wisely (Mine train, the 3 mountains, TOT and Toy Story are always super busy so make sure they are included in your choices!)

When it comes to Universal the way that works for us is starting at Islands Of Adventure, getting there about 45/30minutes before the gates open and queuing then going straight to Hogsmeade (yes... we've been known to run) - doing everything there and then working our way back down to the Marvel area before getting the train over to Universal Studios!

2. Buy your tickets
I CANNOT tell you enough to buy.your.tickets.before.you.go.
With our booking our Disneyworld tickets were included but if you are planning on staying in an apartment/villa/off Disneyworld property then you 100% need to buy your 2 week/1 week tickets before going!
This is the same with Universal - buying a 2 week pass here in the UK is SO SO much cheaper than even trying to get a two-day pass once in Orlando!
The perfect place to do this is Attraction Tickets Direct - check them out for all your ticket needs and save yourself the money and the stress of paying full price on site! 

3. Organise your transfers
This is probably an obvious one and a tiny detail but make sure your journey from landing to your new bed for the next week or two is seamless!
 If you're staying with Disney this is included with Disney's Magical Express which drops you to your hotel from the airport on a fun-filled coach BUT you do have to confirm your place on these - so make sure you have that sorted before you jet off!

4. Invest in handy bags and comfortable shoes
Probably my number one piece of advice - the right shoes and bags can make or break your trip!
For me trainers are probably my number one go-to footwear for walking round the parks all day! (and luckily they are in fashion right now!) You are on your feet alot so flip-flops, unless super comfy, can be a pain! Aswell as comfort, trainers are a little bit more secure for when you are on big rides at places like Universal... no sandals flying off half way round!
Bags are also a big thing for me when I'm away - with posing for photos, grabbing your phone and wanting you hands free at all times a handbag really isn't the one - I like to go for a cute across body bag and my boyfriend usually takes a backpack for us both to pop in extra clothes and snacks!

5. Save, save, save!
Yup, it's true you're going to need money - and if you want to have a relaxed vacation, not worrying about each and every purchase, it's always better to save too much than not enough!
Obviously seen damn Brexit the exchange rate hasn't been as fantastic as it was but maybe it will improve soon.. who knows!
On our last trip my boyfriend and I took $3000 ... yes this might seem like alot but we didn't want to have to think too much about the money we were spending! We work hard so why not?
This was $1000 each to buy/do what we wanted and also $1000 for our food, wallmart trips, dinners out etc.

I hope this has been some help to some of you - if you enjoy these Orlando/Disneyworld posts do let me know!

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Kirstie's Travel Diaries #13 : The Tonight Show

Catch up with #12 here.

DAY 13 (12/03/12)

6 months or so before our trip I was sat at home on the Isle Of Wight thinking of all the things we could do whilst in the US.
 Something that popped into my head was being in a TV audience. There are so many shows daytime and evening in America that have a live studio audience and I thought what an amazing experience it would be!
So I started looking in to how to apply to be in there (if that was even possible) and what shows would be near to where we were staying!
After alot of research I decided that The Tonight Show...aka Jay Leno would be amazing - he always has such amazing stars on there and he is a funny guy! So I e-mailed the show and explained what me and my friend were doing and why we would love to have tickets to the show!

A couple of weeks/months (can't quite remember) I received a reply and a confirmation of our tickets to the Monday show on 12th March 2012!!!! SOOO exciting! And what was even more exciting was finding out WHO was going to be on the show.

We found this out when we were in New York as it was a week before the show and the main guest was JESSICA SIMPSON! 
THE Jessica Simpson was going to be on the show promoting her then new show Fashion Show, her Elle cover and oh yeah - she was about 8 months pregnant! 
Me and my friend had always been Jessica fans so we were obviously ecstatic that we were going to be just a few metres away from her!

We had our driver again, the hilarious Harry (who told us he looked like the Armenian Jay Leno... which he actually did haha!),  he sent a snazzy black car with blacked out windows to make us feel important!
 We had been told that it was first come and first served with the e-mailed tickets so we rocked up a couple of hours early and joined the queue!
 After about an hour or so we were taken in the studios and put into another queue outside the stage with a number each. These were the numbers that were going to get us in!
After another, what felt like a lifetime, wait - we were heading in!

We walked in backstage and after one of the crew looked at us they pointed to a bit of paper (which was the layout of the seating) and had a guide show us to our seats..... and guess what - we were FRONT MIDDLE!

We literally could not believe it, about 4 metres away from the seats that Jay Leno and his guests were going to be sat in within the next hour - how was this real life?!
We had a few people come out and get the crowd warmed up, asking who had come the furthest..... we obviously won that one - with a few gasps from the rest of the audience which made us laugh!
Jay himself the came out and introduced himself and how the show worked! 
It was then time for it all to begin time for lots of clapping (I swear my hands were red after), lots of laughter and lots of smiles!

Because we were front row we got to get up at the beginning and approach Jay at the stage when he came out for high fives - amazing!
After Jay's comedy opening and he first guest had been and gone, his name was Adam Carolla I think he had been on Celebrity Apprentice or something it was time for a break and to prepare for Jessica! (I think this was how it went... it could have been the other way round... but you get the jist!)

Throughout this experience I kept having to look at my friend and say... is this real? It was bizzare - we were in LA, on the Jay Leno show waiting for Jessica Simpson, not many people for a little place in England can say they've done that!

That's right the first brunette there is me and the blonde next to me is my friend - Hiya Jay!!

Here she came - through the gap in the wall and down the walk-way. Wowee she was pregnant but looking stunning and in still wearing amazingly high heels - impressive!
I couldn't believe it is was actually Jessica Simpson!!!
She chatted about her Elle cover, her new show, her pregnancy and her obsession with Slutty Brownies.... which sound incredible!

After her interview it was time for the band Soja to play and then it was over! 
We had had the best afternoon! We hung outside the NBC studios waiting for our ride back to our hotel and in the process we spotted Jessica leave and also saw Jay for  bit as he pulled over his car to chat to us all!

Home we went and it was time to pack, we were leaving the day after next and we wanted to make sure we were all ready for our flight to San Fran before our last day in LA so we could enjoy it to the max!

NEXT POST : Horse riding in the Hollywood hills & the 21 Jump Street premiere - yup that's right.. Channing!

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