Universal for me in 2013?

Our next podcast, episode 39 – The Girls With Universal Appeal is focusing totally on Universal Orlando Resort as I feel of late we have been very Disney-centric recently so here is a piece about my growing excitement for my visit this summer!

My first visit to a Universal theme park wasn’t actually in Orlando and it doesn’t belong to Universal either but back in 2002, I visited Universal’s Port Aventura, in Salou, Spain. However after seven years it sold all interest in the park. Anyway as I was saying, it was a jaw dropping experience not just for the rides but for the nighttime spectacular they hosted around the central lake using fireworks and floats. I was lost for words. I had never seen anything like it before and it was worth the 90 minutes I had stood and waited.

So forward wind to July 2010 and my very first visit to the Universal Orlando Resort. Little did I realise that I had arrived in the most happening spot in Orlando at that time, as the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride plus newly themed area had just opened. However to my dismay once I had my fill of rides and attractions there was little to hang around in the evenings for. No lake side stunt show and no fireworks.  I must admit I was a little taken back and despite visiting in 2011, I gave Universal a miss in 2012.

So it has been two years since I have been to Universal Orlando and wow the changes that have happened! It is like my prayers have been answered. New in 2012 was their Cinematic Spectacular which celebrates 100 years of movie magic and the cherry on this girls cupcake is that the narration is by my favourite actor of all time; Morgan Freeman. However, Universal haven’t just added an evening show to appease me; there are new rides and attractions and I seriously can’t wait to see the upgrade to Spiderman as well as the new rides for Transformers and Despicable Me.

Are you like me and haven’t paid Universal a visit for a while? Curious? Well join myself, Kim and Chris Wakefield (from Universal Now podcast) on 22^nd July for a whizz around the park and then once I have visited to share my own pictures and opinion on the new things they have to offer.

Minnie kisses Michelle xxx

The hotel conundrum

The second of a series of blogs by guest blogger Jenni Weightman.

I am a massive fan of staying onsite when going to Disney. In Paris I have stayed in the Cheyenne (cozy and usually a great price), Sequoia (gorgeous in winter with the fire in the bar and rustic decor), Newport (pretty but far too big) and the Disneyland hotel (just amazing). In Florida we went for Port Orleans Riverside and were given an Alligator Bayou room. I was initially a bit disappointed (I know I could have given a preference on booking but I couldn't decide at the time!). But in the end the room and its proximity to the main building and also a relatively quiet bus stop was perfect and the decor was very much like the Sequoia in Paris. One of the best things about staying at Port Orleans was the boat trip to Downtown Disney. Lovely and relaxing and on one trip the Captain even did a trivia quiz!

Anyway, when I first starting planning California I assumed that we would stay in one of the Disney Hotels and I immediately fell in love with pictures of the Grand Californian. That was until I saw the price! At a grand total of $3980 (£2580) it was definitely out unless we re-mortgaged the house (not a good idea) or win the lottery (why does this never happen?).

So it was time to find another option! I found a official website for the Orange County area (http://anaheimoc.org/plan-your-trip/maps-and-transportation) in which Disneyland is located and they have some great maps including one that contains a list of all the hotels in the area. This became my starting point and the hotel spreadsheet was born.

My initial list contained a staggering 79 hotels but I quickly filtered out those that were further than a 20 minute walk and more than $80 dollars per night. Many of the Hotels that are further out either have their own shuttle or are on the Anaheim Resort Transit Route. The buses at WDW really started to annoy me after a while though so I wanted to be close enough to be able walk to the parks. The cost restriction unfortunately meant that I had to say goodbye to staying on site as even the cheapest (Paradise Pier) was over budget. I then had the fun task of checking each of the remaining hotels on Tripadvisor and their own websites for whether they had a free breakfast (good), wi fi (good) and bed bugs (bad). 

The problem with using Tripadvisor is however many good reviews there are for a place there are always the few negative ones that really scare me but I tried to ignore any that were just being petty or expecting 5* service in a 2* place and eventually ended up with a shortlist of 9. At this point I became really geeky and gave each hotel a score out of 3 for Location, Reviews and Price and then sorted them so that the high scorers came to the top. I had my joint winners; The Desert Inn and Suites and Quality Inn and Suites Anaheim at the park. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I spent hours going back and forth between the two! But eventually the location of Desert Inn tipped the scales in its favour. As it is on Harbour Boulevard, pretty much opposite the gates, we can fall out of bed and be at the turnstiles in 5 minutes. I'm not going to lie though, I haven't stopped reading reviews or holding my breath every time I see the hotel being mentioned on one of the many Disney forums but for what we need (basically a room with a bed near to the parks) it seems a great bargain at only £420 for the 8 nights. It also has a indoor pool and a viewing deck where you can see the fireworks from. So as long as we don’t end up with noisy neighbours everything should be good.

To get my Grand Californian fix though I fully intend to visit to admire the gorgeous lobby and dream about one day staying there!

Next month- blog part 3 Getting to the Magic!

Show 35 Notes and Giveaway

This podcast episode saw us joined by guests Jeff Dixon and Jayne Phipps and we reminisced about an attraction from the past, The Skyway. Then Kim and I thought we would have a calorie free tasting of all our favourite foods to eat at WDW. We have linked a competition to this so read to the end of this blog to find out more!

Skyway Feature 

This fabulous gondola lift attraction delivered and delighted guests as they were transported from Fantasyland to Tomorrowland. Since it's closure in 1999 there has been many a debate over why it closed; join the girls, with budding Disney historian and author, Jeff Dixon, and self confessed Disney holiday-holic Jayne Phipps as they chat through what it was, the benefits and some secrets of the 'buckets in the sky'.

Toon Town - Gone But Not Forgotten!

Top Six Foods in Walt Disney World 

This was supposed to be the quintessential list of twelve delectable delicacies neither of the Minxes could manage without tasting during their Disney holidays. However in true Minx fashion they added in a lot lot more than six each! The list is below for you to revisit and please email them yours!

Kims' List

Turkey Leg, Kims' preferred location - Turkey Leg Cart, Frontierland $10.25

Chocolate Milkshake, from places such as Sci Fi Diner $4.69

Sparkling volcano cake, Rainforest Cafe, Animal Kingdom $13.99

"The Famous" Kitchen Sink, Beaches and Cream $26.99

Cobb Salad, The Hollywood Brown Derby, Disney's Hollywood Studios $15.00

Anything Mickey Mouse head shaped! Available mostly anywhere!

Ciarán with a turkey leg and Briony with a pretzel

Michelles' List 

Melty cheese and mushrooms from the fixings bar at Pecos Bills free when purchasing a meal

Kona Kone from the Kona Cafe at the Polynesian $6.49

Chocolate peanut butter cupcake from Starring Rolls, Disney's Hollywood Studios $3.99

Fresh fruit and nutella waffle sandwich, Sleepy Hollow $6.39 (served 11am-5pm only)

Dole Whip Pineapple Float, Aloha Isle, Adventureland, Magic Kingdom $4.99

Raisin oatmeal cookie ice cream sandwich, Discovery Island Ice Cream, Animal Kingdom $4.49

Giveaway 

If you wish to buy any of Jeff Dixon's amazing books, which are part fact part Disney fiction, use our affiliate links to the side of this post however we have a signed copy to give away too... send us, via email, your top six foods you like to eat in WDW and why. We will choose the best list and send a copy of Jeff's Book Key To The Kingdom to you!

See you for podcast 36 out on 10th June 2013

Minnie Kisses

Kim and Michelle xx

Email contact@theminnieminxes.co.uk

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Show Notes Episode 34

DDP, ITM & us Girls

Arggh Kimmie hates acronyms, so I titled the show especially for her!

Welcome to our official show notes for episode 34. It is crammed full with a review of how both us Minxes have used the Disney Dining Plan and we also chat to Mr Inside the Magic, Ricky Brigante.

We start the show with a mouth-watering chat about the Disney Dining Plan. Both myself and Kim have used the dining plan and we have put together some of our stories and tips in a twenty-five minute segment - but boy it was incredibly difficult but I think we covered the main points! Though there are more details on the previous blog post, so please scroll down to read that too! If after all that you have anymore questions, please do not hesitate to email us.

Then our interview! A week ago I had the pleasure of being joined by Becky Manion to chat with Ricky Brigante about his life, starting Inside the Magic and then we moved on to talking about the wonderful theme parks in Orlando. Look out for more from Ricky as we have also recorded a feature about his favourite Magic Kingdom attraction.

Plus three facts from Ciarán, themed around Star Wars Weekends it sure is a bumper episode which we hope you will enjoy!

Minnie Kisses

Kim and Michelle xx

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