The first time..

Here at Oh Orlando towers we’ve had a quite a few new followers, and they in turn have asked us about our favourite “firsts” so… here we go!

The first time driving up to and under the “Welcome to Walt Disney World” sign!  This is an absolute mind blower of a moment. As you are driving up to this huge sign that spans the road you wonder what’s ahead! FUN FUN FUN! THATS what’s ahead! We always laugh when we see it now because there are signs next to to it saying”no stopping” so we wonder how many people have actually pulled over to take a snap with the sign? I mean? It’s not like its a busy road or anything?….

An add on to this little piece is the monorail. The first time you climb aboard and here those words “please stand clear of the doors, pro favor mantengase alejado de las puertas!  It’s this little announcement that says to us “we are on the way to an adventure” On the monorail,  the first time you travel through the Contemporary Resort is a mind blower, you see all the rooms lined up either side and the huge dining room below you full of people eating and having fun with Mickey and friends. The monorail also passes several other resorts as well and you get a little peek at these. The Grand Floridian being one of these resorts, we love the little wedding pavilion set on the lake. A very lovely picture indeed.

The Tower of Terror….we absolutely positively definitely love this ride! No matter how many times you ride it, you get a different experience every time so it always feels like a first time.  From the queue inside the lobby where the theming is jaded 1940’s, to the basement where you get on the ride car, this attraction is one of the best  queues. If you are a Twilight Zone fan there are many little Easter eggs dotted about the place referencing various familiar . (Don’t ask us we’ve never watched it!! But we’ve seen some vlogs on YouTube talking about it,  DSNY is a great one to watch all about it).  The ride itself is a proper ‘heart in the mouth’ one, not only does it change every time you ride it, the other fun part is watching people who have never been on it before! Hahaha! The way the ride  appears to “fall” so quickly is due  to a cable underneath actually pulling the car down, and boy does it pull hard! We love people’s faces as it ‘drops’ and they lift out the seat a little…. the screams are sooo funny.  If you ride one thing at Hollywood Studios, make sure it’s this one.

Now, we love a waterpark. We really do!  And when we first saw Volcano Bay was opening we thought it was gonna be another park just family fun etc etc. How wrong were we. From the moment you walk up to the entrance and the Tiki Gods are there to welcome you its an absolutely jaw dropping place.  What we loved about it is that everything is “just right” – I know that seems like a silly thing to say but it’s the organisation that makes it fun. (Never thought I’d be saying that says Mr Oh) when you walk in you are issued a ‘tapu tapu’ wristband this enables you to virtual queue and if you link your Universal App you can pay for food etc as well.

The rides here are legit next level in waterpark rides. We have never experienced anything like them. From the family sized rafts to the huge drop slide you will never be bored. I don’t think we actually sat down the whole time we were there! Me and my son Ash spent the morning running, yes…running up the volcano Krakatau and doing the drop slides. *we ran up the first time, after that it was more of a jog, stroll and ‘ooo, look how far you can see” sort of thing.  One of he many highlights here for us was the aqua coaster. This is unbelievable. A water coaster that speeds UPHILL?? Magic? Madness? No, magnets actually. This thing was one of our favourite rides of the whole day, and I’m not kidding when I say its a long ride as well. You go all around the Volcano and get ‘air’ a few times as well. Sheer delight. But we cannot leave Volcano bay without mentioning the fast moving ‘lazy’ river. This thing was such a giggle. You HAVE to wear a life vest in here. No ifs, buts or coconuts. We thought what do we need this for??…..we soon found out. As you use the zero entry pool to access the river it starts tugging at your feet..then whoosh! You are in! And away you go. The water fair rips you along all to the beat of Hawaiian music (Hawaii five 0 was playing and we just laughed for ages at this) the water is only 3 ft deep but boy does it move. Every now and then there is a ‘push’ from a side jet to get you going even faster. Have not laughed as much as this in ages. Ladies beware. If you go in this it will remove your nail polish on your toenails as you scrape along! But please please do this. It’s a fast way to take a lap of the park!

We cannot mention ‘firsts’ in Orlando without mentioning the people. Without a shadow of a doubt the locals are the people who make it for us and everyone else. The first time you interact with a cast member and they say ‘enjoy your day’ you know they really mean it. (At this point I’m not gonna point out the difference between the U.S. & U.K. that’s like trying to explain quantum physics to a puppy).  We have been to Orlando many many MANY times and are never disappointed with the attitude of the people there. One of the bests firsts is when you go into a restaurant/diner and the staff are helpful and knowledgeable and will change whatever you want on the menu because you have a couple of grumpy kids in tow, they are worth their weight in gold.  One of our absolute fave restaurants for this ‘can do/no problem’ attitude Is the Cracker Barrel.   This place is so nice. It’s full of locals eating and that’s always a good sign, and the staff have all been there for years.  From the welcome at the “Barrel” to the server taking your order and bringing your food to you its a delight. You are always greeted with a smile, no matter how busy it is. We love it. Our last visit we had 6 of us all with different needs and requests. The waitress was a dream. She saved us loads of money by showing us the different ways of ordering and changing one thing for another. And the refills on the coffee were more than welcome. And the takeaway cup as well, filled up for the trip!! Much much love for the Cracker Barrel!!

Shopping. Here in Orlando you are spoilt for choice with shopping. We are not joking. The first time you see the two huge outlet malls and 2 massive shopping centres (Mall at Millennia and the Florida Mall). Mrs Oh always plans shopping days into the holiday. Why a day you ask. Well.. it’s when you’ve done the 4 laps of the outlets. And realise that’s just half of it….good job there are coffee shops dotted about that’s all I can say. The outlets are a delight for us from the U.K. we Brits love a bargain, and when you go in some shops like Under Armour and its “3 for 2” we are all over that! One year Mrs Oh was in the shoe shop Nine West and came out with 4 pairs… of course Mr Oh had to have them in his suitcase didn’t he… I looked like Eddie Izzards roadie. We love the ‘posh’ mall, the Mall at Millennia. This place is stunning to look at, and is loaded with stores, cafes and restaurants galore. The most famous one being the Cheesecake Factory (we could do a whole blog on this place, and probably will one day) from Macy’s at one end to Bloomingdales at the other you will find some exciting things here. Mr Oh loves the Tag Heuer shop and the Under Armour store. Mrs Oh is always in Forever 21 and Bed, Bath and Beyond… this place is pretty laid back and you are never under any pressure by the staff. If you want upmarket there is a Gucci store or the Abercrombie store. But at the end of the day you have to visit the Cheescake factory. This is another level in taste. Cheeseburger spring rolls with a side sweet potato fries. All. Day. Long. Nom!! The Florida mall is a mall that lots of the locals use. It’s always nice and busy and bustling bit never overly so. Mrs Oh always comes here for her mid holiday manicure and pedicure. So I’m left to my own devices for an hour or so…. coffee and a wander is a cool way to spend an hour. Recently the mall has had a large amount of work done and it looks fabulous. A must do for anyone visiting the area for the first time.

One of our ‘last firsts’, if that makes sense, is something a lot of people don’t like to do, and that is driving. We can never understand when people say “ooooooooo, it’s dangerous out there”. No, it’s not. The roads are huge. The signage is along the roads is excellent and the layout is really easy. There are very very few islands as well. The Americans don’t seem to like those very much. As long as you take your time, look at what lane you need to be in (in the U.S.the lanes can filter off to the left and right) you will be fine. If you are lost, ask a local!! Or the police. They are there to help tourists and will put you right in a jiffy! To prove this Mrs Ohs brother once pulled out into the traffic the wrong way into the oncoming traffic …. he was faced by wall of vehicles all sitting looking at him. What happened ? Nothing. They waited till he reversed (rather quickly) back into the restaurant, they waited till he pulled back into traffic (the correct way) and just drove on. No horns honking. No shouting or screaming. Nothing. Just a few giggles and that was it. So do yourself a favour and rent a car. You will see so much more of the local area and meet so many more of it’s fabulous people.