In August 2011, we (my hubs, son, and I) had the holiday of a (once in a) lifetime to Orlando, Florida, USA. We went for 3 awesome weeks, and it really was the best holiday ever!
The First Time 2011
We both joined a UK Disney forum so we could find out as much as we could about what Orlando (and its theme parks!) has to offer, along with tips and ideas and must-dos, etc.
I wrote a trip report for each day we were out there and shared it with the forum. It was a great success…I loved writing it and sharing our trip with fellow, like-minded readers.
I’m going to share that trip report here, so I hope you join me as I re-live our fantastic trip the Orlando!
If you’re planning a trip to Florida, you might find my trip report of great use, as I tried my best to give as much detail as possible for first-timers!
If you have been many times, or are an American, you may find this trip report highly amusing as I get excited about going to regular stores, or buying products!
All I hope is that if you do read my trip report, you enjoy it!
Disney Trip Report Index
This blog post will act as an index. You can always come back here and visit another day, read about what we did, and look at all the photos that I so proudly took!
Speaking of photos, I took the majority of our holiday pics on my iPhone 4. It was so handy to carry about, took some great shots and I was able to edit and upload whilst on holiday! Full sets from each day can be found on my Flickr.
Some days I did use one of the 3 Lumix cameras – the DMC-FZ18, the DMC-TZ18, and the waterproof DMC-FT2 – that we also took with us!
You can read all about who we are and our planning in my Pre-Trip Report here.
The First Time 2011! Trip Report Index
- Day 0: To Gatwick & Beyond!
- Day 1: Up, Up & Away!
- Day 2: Our 2nd Wedding Anniversary – Downtown Disney and Paradiso 37 Restaurant
- Day 3: Our 1st Orlando Theme Park – Islands of Adventure and Mythos Restaurant
- Day 4: The Three Ps – Ponderosa, Publix, and Pool
- Day 5: Universally Speaking – Universal Studios and Mel’s Drive-In
- Day 6: It’s A Breeze! – Bahama Breeze, Super Target, and Michael’s
- Day 7: Monde de la Mer – SeaWorld and Shark’s Underwater Grill
- Day 8: Hooray for Hollywood! – Hollywood Studios, Hollywood & Vine, and Cracker Barrel
- Day 9: A Sonny Day at the Lake – Sonny’s Real Pit Bar-B-Q, Dairy Queen, and Lake Louisa State Park
- Day 10: The Circle of Life – Animal Kingdom and Tusker House Character Breakfast
- Day 11: Seafood & Shopping – Red Lobster, Factory Outlets, and Premium Outlets
- Day 12: On Safari – Busch Gardens, Serengeti Safari Tour, and Zambia Smokehouse
- Day 13: El Parque Acuático – Aquatica and Banana Beach Cookout
- Day 14: We Hop Downtown – IHop, Downtown Disney, and Earl of Sandwich
- Day 15: The Giant Golf Ball! – Epcot and Teppan Edo
- Day 16: Another Adventure – Golden Corral and Islands of Adventure
- Day 17: Let’s Make Some Magic! – Magic Kingdom and Golden Corral
- Day 18: When Otters Meet – Bahama Breeze
- Day 19: The Sequel – Hollywood Studios Revisited and Pizza Planet
- Day 20: Swimming with Capricorn – Discovery Cove
- Day 21: Goodbye Mr. Mouse – Magic Kingdom, Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café, and Bahama Breeze
- Day 22: Going Home – Animal Kingdom, Rainforest Café and MCO-Gatwick
- Home a Week – A First Timers Highs and Not So Highs
These were the titles of all my posts – they were written to help other forum members, especially first-timers to Orlando, and to share our experiences and thoughts about various theme parks, restaurants, etc.
I also provided a plus-size rider point of view, and this was very helpful to a lot of readers, of which I’m proud.
I’m still losing weight, and by the time we go next year (YES! We are going back…so much for once in a lifetime trip!) I hope to be a normal-sized person without having to worry about what rides I can and can’t go on.
I’m now also writing my pre-trip report for when we go back to the magic in the Summer of 2013!
More Disney Trip Reports
- Disney Magic At Sea (Staycation Cruise UK) 2021
- Ohana Means Family Trip 2022 < Coming Soon!
- Four Resorts, Two Festivals 2019
- Hibiscus & Holly at The Poly 2017
- WDW-40:2016
- Christmas at Disneyland Paris 2015
- Halloween in The Wilderness 2015
- Dine Around Disney 2014
- Back To The Magic 2013
- The First Time 2011
- Disneyland Paris 2010