Florida Fun, Fireworks & Fabulous Site Inspections
Join Bea on her trip with Ocean Florida to the Sunshine State!
Day 1 - Because we were here to ‘work’ site inspections were a must, and we saw some great ones. Up early on our first day we headed over to the sister hotel, Drury Plaza. Just half a mile from Disney Springs, this hotel is an official Walt Disney World Good-neighbour hotel. What does this mean I hear you ask? Well, you will receive some Disney perks including shuttle transfers to all Disney parks. This newly refurbished hotel (2023) offers fresh designed family rooms and a big open pool looking over the lake. After having a really good look around and sampling a Mickey pancake or two, we headed over to Walt Disney Swan and Dolphin for lunch and another look around. Both sides of the hotel share their amenities, and are strategically located between Epcot and Hollywood Studios, with Disney perks such as early theme park entry and scheduled transportation in the form of a boat or buses. The Swan, with its elegant design is the smallest of the two, with the Dolphin being more grand. A quick freshen up, back at the hotel ( the Florida heat really surprised us this time of year), before heading out to Disney Springs, where shopping, people watching and eating was done. Wrapping up the evening at Chef Art Smiths Homecomin, where the fried chicken was tasty and the Mac and cheese deserved every award it’s won.
Day 2 – Up bright and early, ready for what would become one of the best days on the trip. ‘Rope drop’ which basically means being there before the park was even open was definitely worth it. Heading straight to one of the best rollercoasters in Disney ( my opinion only obviously) Guardians of the Galaxy, which launched us into space, time and screams. From Epcot we drove over to Hollywood Studios for some rockstar energy on Aerosmiths Rock n Roller coaster, and the chill of the Tower of Terror. I didn’t think my ‘work’ day could get any better. But then we headed to Magic Kingdom. What a grand finale it was! The fireworks brought me to tears and the dazzling starlight parade was the most incredible way to end the day. It was the perfect dose of Disney. After a long but amazing day we headed to our Villa in Champions Gate to settle for the night.
Day 3 – A slightly slower morning, which was needed and appreciated, before heading out for a full day of villa inspections, Highgrove, Solara, each one more impressive than the last (a full review of each one coming soon). Stopping for lunch at the lovely Traditions Restaurants at Reunion Resort, before heading to see some of the most incredible villas I have seen offered, they had a full blown pirate ship in them! Who knew that would ever exist?
After a little bit of retail therapy at Target (yes I bought a lot of things I didn’t need) we headed over to the Residence Inn for a site inspection followed by dinner. This felt less of a hotel but a little like a home away from home, the suites were roomy and are perfect for relaxing after a full day at the parks. Coming with a full equipped kitchen, you have the perfect excuse not to leave.
Day 4 – Coffee was essential this morning, because by day 4 we were flagging a little. We definitely needed a pick me up, so what better way then to head to The Grove Resort, my favourite hotel out of them all! It was perfect for families, tucked away only a short drive away from Disney, the hotel offered everything including an onsite waterpark, featuring a lazy river and FlowRider. The 2/3 bedroom suites are perfectly spacious for groups or families but don’t worry if you don’t want to cook every night as there is an on site restaurant available. The rest of the day was spent at Seaworld before heading over to the Caribe Royale followed by dinner at the Stadium Club. The Caribe Royale is an upscale hideaway right in the heart of Orlando, but without feeling like you’re in the busy theme park area. They offer rooms and even some villas, the pool scene had a fantastic vibe and offered a lot a dining options. The Stadium Club – what an incredible addition to the Caribe Royale, if you love any American sport this is the place to be, it’s a high-tech immersive entertainment space with sports simulators where you can play virtual sport, quarterback passes or zombie dodgeball. The entertainment didn’t stop there, as we then headed to Andretti Karting for laser tag and go-karting, where apparently my driving skills were questionable, I unfortunately didn’t win any trophies.
Day 5 – We said goodbye to our lovely villa and hit the road for the Space Coast, where our amazing host Tom met us for two days of discoveries. Of course we had to meet him in the most wonderful place on the Space Coast, Kennedy Space Centre, it’s a place where everything feels larger than life, with giant rockets and space suits that have actually been to space. Not only is this place educational, but also makes you think ‘wow I didn’t realised I cared so much about Space’ from Space Shuttle Atlantis, shuttle launches and The heroes and legends exhibit. It’s a must whilst in this area and will have you watching all those space movies when you come home. That evening we headed for a sunset river cruise on the banana river and were lucky enough to see dolphins. Dinner tonight was at the Sunset Café, where it definitely lived up to it’s name. We then checked into the Hilton Cocoa Beach hotel, right on the beach front, a few miles from the Cocoa Beach pier and perfectly located for all you cruise goers from Port Canaveral.
Day 6- It’s cruise day, after a reasonably early night we were up and out heading over to Port Canaveral for a ship visit of the beautiful NCL Prima, what a lovely ship, from go karting (there was a bit of a theme on this trip), to market place food halls. The Prima is perfect for couples and groups of friends. Our lovely host Tom had lots of plans for us that afternoon when we came off the ship, however Florida had others… a rocket launch. Yes you read that right an actual rocket launch! So we grabbed some beers and headed to the beach at our hotel and we waited and waited a little longer. Unfortunately, with 4 minutes left on the clock it was -scrubbed! Due to some technical space terminology that went way above my head. We were so close but yet so far away. However, this didn’t put a downer on our day as it was so lovely to spend the afternoon on the beach, beer in hand, sun shining and listening to Toms incredible stories about the place he calls home. That night we went out to celebrate our final night all together and went to a place called Dirty Bird (not sure on the name) but the food was great, along with the atmosphere and the company,
Day 7 Home time but not before we headed to Ron Jon Surf shop for our final shop of the trip, followed by a wander through the Historic Cocoa Village, a cute, quirky place to end our whirlwind adventure. Then back to Tampa we headed, with our bellies full, lots of knowledge to take back to our teams and customers and of course lots of happy memories.
It was the perfect dose of Florida and I can’t wait to bring Will and Harris back in the future.
Bea x
