#Blogtober Day 8 Holidays

So I have made it to day eight of Blogtober 2017 and so far so good! I am proud of myself getting this far! Although I would like to be publishing earlier in the day but it always depends on what time I can get the laptop on and if I have remembered to charge it up the night before.

So yes day eight and the prompt is Holidays!

My last holiday was actually my honeymoon just over six years ago! I know totally shocking isn't it! Not having been on holiday anywhere for over six years! In fact James is five and Freddie is almost two and neither of them actually have passports yet!

So our last holiday was actually to Orlando, Florida, USA! It was absolutely brilliant! We were there for ten days and we literally crammed in everything! We had planned what we wanted to do before we went and since we had pre booked our Dolphin swimming at Discovery Cove for the Tuesday which was also Andy's 29th Birthday! 

So we arrived on the Thursday afternoon and was evening by the time we got to our hotel which was in the suburb of Kissimee. We went to our room and unpacked then headed out to find somewhere to eat! We found a McDonalds up the road so we ate there then went back to our hotel.

The Friday we got up and went to Florida Mall. We had a look around the shops and had lunch. Then we chilled out round the pool and then ended up in our room during a big, but short storm! We had dinner at IHop and looked around the little gift shops by the hotel. We also stocked up on drinks and snacks for our hotel room!

The Saturday we were up early and on the hotel transport to Seaworld! This was one of the day I was really looking forward too as I had been reading up about the different shows we could see and all the animal interaction! My favourite bit was getting to stroke the Dolphins as they are definitely my favourite animals!

Sunday was spent at Universal Studios. It was also the tenth anniversary of 9/11 so we were expecting there to be a lot of extra security but to be honest there wasn't any extra at all!

Monday was our first day at a Disney park when we went to visit animal kingdom! Due to me being on crutches and using a wheelchair in the parks we did get to go on a lot of the rides quicker as we didn't need to queue! My favourite thing at Animal kingdom was the Kilimanjaro Safari! We also tried frozen lemonade for the first time while we were waiting for the parade to start! We also met Tigger, Pooh Bear and Eeyore!

Tuesday was another early start as it was our pre booked day at Discovery Cove! It was also Andy's birthday! This day was truly amazing! We got to the park and checked in and got our id cards! We then went to put our bags into the locker and get our wet suit jackets! We then made our way to our hut to have the briefing before we did the dolphin interaction and swim! As we had an early swim time we were in a really small group! which meant we got so much interaction! Once we had finished with the interaction and swim, we chose our Photos and DVD. We then went for our breakfast which along with lunch was included in the package along with all our drinks and snacks!

Wednesday was going to be a very long day as we had decided to go to Magic Kingdom! This day was amazing as we met Mickey, Minnie and Pluto! We were in the park till gone 11pm as we stayed to watch the electrical parade and also see the wishes fireworks show!

Thursday we had a chill out day as we were exhausted from all the parks! We also went to one of the designer outlet malls while was pretty cool! Friday we went to mall at millenia. Saturday was our last full day so we did the rest of our present shopping and visited the other designer outlet. We also did our packing! Sunday we just chilled out in the hotel, had a last meal at IHop and waited for our airport transfer after lunch. 

This really was the holiday of a lifetime and I really hope we get to go back with the boys when they are a little bit older!

My Perfect Holiday #MarkWarnerMums

For me going on holiday is not just about spending time with your family and friends, it's about exploring new surroundings and photography. They say a photograph tells a thousand words. And these photographs definitely tell more than a thousand words. When I look at them, hundreds of thousands of memories come back to me about the wonderful time we had

Photography has been a massive part of my life from the age of sixteen, so whenever I go away with family or friends my camera was always the first thing packed. When I first developed my interest in photography it was long before digital cameras & smart phones were invented, so I was one of those geeks who took many rolls of film away with me.

This photography holds so many happy memories for me. It was when Cinderella's castle first came into view from the monorail at Magic Kingdom. This was no ordinary holiday though, this was our honeymoon. We had saved long and hard to be able to afford our dream holiday for our honeymoon. It most definitely was our dream holiday as I came home with 1400 photographs from ten days! 

Walking up Main Street and seeing the castle at the top is one of the sights I will never forget. It's something I had always dreamed of seeing and to be there with my husband was just so special.

Disney has a reputation for its spectacular fireworks displays and they really do not disappoint! This was taken after the electrical parade where all the floats are lit up! The images projected onto the castle were amazing and this was just a snap that came out so well. I really want to get this print on canvas for our wall.

I have always been a lover of animals so to have the chance to visit Sea World & Animal Kingdom was just a dream come true. Spending time at the dolphin pool at Sea World was just amazing. The Dolphins would swim right up to the wall and you were encouraged to stroke them. There was also a viewing area to see them swimming under water. 

The most magical day of our ten day stay in Orlando was 13th September -my husband Andy turned 29 that day and we had chosen to spend it at Discovery Cove swimming with the Dolphins!  

The park takes all your photographs during the Dolphin encounter which are available to purchase is different photo packages, including the copyright to the photographs so you can print out as many copies as you like when you get home.

Andy and Yoshi

Me and Yoshi. This was a dream come true for me as I have always wanted to kiss a dolphin.

Andy swimming with Dexter 

Me swimming with Dexter.

I really hope that one day, in the future we will be able to take our boys to visit Disney World and of course Discovery Cove to swim with the Dolphins. You have to be six to swim with the dolphins, so it's going to be at least six years before we attempt to visit again as Freddie is not even a year old yet.

James is now three and still has not been abroad yet. Orlando was actually the last holiday that Andy and myself actually went on as James arrived the following year. We have still not had a family holiday even before Freddie arrived due to buying our first family home together. Hopefully 2016 will be our year!

**This is our entry for the 2016 Mark Warner Family Ambassadors Programme**

My Holiday Memories

Post in collaboration with @covered_mag

#MyHolidayMemories 

The best holiday I have ever been on, has to have been my honeymoon to Orlando, in Florida. 

We got married in March 2011 but due to the job my husband Andy was doing at the time we decided to wait and take our honeymoon in the September, so we would also be away for Andy's birthday.

We had planned many trips and days out before we went as we were only going to be there for ten days so we knew we had to make the most of the time we had. We decided to buy all our disney parks and universal studios tickets once we were out in the USA. The only things that were pre booked were Sea World and our big day out for Andy's birthday - Discovery Cove.

I had seen Discovery Cove on an American reality programme the year before, so when we decided to go to Orlando for our honeymoon, we knew it would probably be a once in a life time experience to spend the day at the all inclusive park and swim with the Dolphins!

I have to admit yes it was an expensive trip at over four hundred dollars, but as I have said Discovery Cove is an all inclusive park meaning for the price you pay, you get all drinks and snacks plus your breakfast and lunch at the park. It also included a fourteen day unlimited access to Sea World as part of the price.

On the day of our trip we arrived at the park for about eight am. We checked in and got our id passes which told us what time and where to go for our dolphin swim. Also included on the day was your locker, towels, mask and snorkel and either wetsuit or vest. We both opted for the best. You also got suntan lotion which was safe for the Dolphins.

Our swim was definitely the most amazing experience of my life and I'm sure it was Andy's too. For me being able to kiss a dolphin, feed it fish and then swim with it was just out of this world. 

Once we had done our swim we chose to spend the rest of the day relaxing on their man made beaches and swimming in the beautiful water. 

If I could go back and do this all over again I would do it tomorrow. This is definitely my best holiday memory ever.