Beyond The Disney Bubble with Orlando Adventures Podcast - June 2024 - The Great British Mickey Waffle

Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Hello, and welcome to another exciting episode of the Great
British Making Offer. I'm your host, Ben, and today
we've got a fantastic show linedup for you.
As always, we're here to sprinkle a little bit of Disney
magic into your day, but this time we'll be sharing some of
the other parts of Orlando that you should explore on your next.

(00:39):
Joining me today is somebody whois really overdue for a trip
back to Orlando, which I know isfast approaching this summer.
I'd like to welcome in John. Hi, John, How are you?
I'm very well, Ben. It's actually the the penny kind
of every time somebody says thatto me, the penny drops more and
more and I'm suddenly becoming aware that this summer is going
to be upon me and the trip is going to be upon me so soon.

(01:03):
And I've actually done very little planning.
And I and as someone who does enjoy to plan, this could be
quite an intriguing next sort ofcouple of months worth of I need
to I need to get as much plans as possible.
So I'm actually really pleased we've got a special guest for
the show for this mid month, because actually, I'm pretty

(01:25):
sure it could. It could prove to be rather a
fruitful help, I must admit. John, I've just got visions of
like you're getting a notification on your phone
saying that you're checking for the airport was open and it's
like the near bags aren't packed.
It wouldn't be the first. Time.
And it's that last. That last?
That wouldn't be the first time,but.
Yeah, and and to make this show even more special, we do have a

(01:48):
very special guest with us, Russfrom Orlando Adventures Podcast.
Russ, it's great to have you on the show.
Thank you, thank you so much forhaving me.
It's honestly it's an an honour to come and come and be on the
show. So thank you.
Thank you so much and looking forward to talking about all
things Orlando. Yeah, we we love a bit of
Orlando. But before we dive into our main

(02:09):
topic, we've got a little tradition here at The Great
British Mickey Waffle that we'd like to share.
It's time for our infamous carousel of questions.
It's generally a quick fire round, but previous shows have
shown that sometimes it's not asquick fire as we we originally
planned. So it's time to get a bit to
know more about you. So Are you ready to take a spin?
Certainly AM, yeah, yeah, go, gofor it, OK.

(02:31):
So your first question, what is your favorite park?
Favorite part Can I? Is this Disney?
Is this any park? Where?
Where are we? Where are we?
Going let's make it all for you.Let's make it all Lando based
because that'll make it. I think that, but it'll add an
extra layer of controversy to itall.
Yeah, I don't upset anyone. Oh no, It.

(02:53):
Doesn't matter, just it upset everybody.
As long as you probably, as longas you don't get the gate to
land, I think you'll be. Yeah.
No, no, we don't get there. No, I to be honest, it's a
fairly easy one for for myself. It's islands of adventure.
It it, it has to be. And to be honest, I like I'll
I'll, you know, to give you a reason there for for myself,

(03:15):
there's so much so many rides that I love going on that it
kind of ticks every box for me. Don't me wrong, There's stuff in
other parks that I love doing, but in terms of Islands of
Adventure it's got, it's got probably three or four things
that kind of tip the balance above a lot of other parks in my

(03:36):
opinion. How good a good caller.
Great choice. And that leads us seamlessly on
to question two. So what?
Tell us a ride that you hate. What a ride I hate.
And again, what? Is it a go based?
Not just not just in the favour of Park.

(03:57):
Yeah, no, absolutely. It's it's a tough one because
because I love Orlando. So there's not many things I
like would would pick out as really, really disliking.
I think in terms of Disney, Disney like is a thumbs up for
so many things. There is one ride that I think

(04:18):
of immediately and unfortunatelyit's not, well, fortunately for
Disney, it's not in their bubbleand it is, it's Fast and Furious
Supercharged at Universal Studios.
The sad thing is I, I love Fast and Furious.
I've, I've been a Fast and Furious fan since like the first
film and I like will always go and watch the films at the

(04:40):
cinema. I've, I've, you know, I love it.
But when that ride got launched,I was so excited and so excited
to see what it would be. And it replaced two attractions.
And then I went on it and I justcouldn't have been any more
disappointed. It will absolutely honest, it
pains me to this day. It really does.
It really. Is it's disappointing I find the

(05:02):
pre show is better than the actual ride.
Yeah. Absolutely like.
You get to walk by all these cars and then you've got like
the interaction and then it's like, oh, go on the bus.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's yeah. In fairness, like the actors I
think in the pre show I think I think are great.
I think they're they engage well, they're quite funny.

(05:22):
They're, you know, they're humorous.
And then like you said, you get on a bus and I just can't help
but think, was that the only waythey could have gone?
Are you sure it's not but? You know, space and it's sort of
things they could do. But yeah, no, yeah, it's a it's
a whole shame, but yeah, always been through improvement.
Something fast, I think. Surely that would have been #1

(05:46):
when you got the whiteboard out on day one.
When we're going to do this, a fast and Furious ride, What's
the one thing it needs to be fast?
Yeah. No, no, never mind.
OK, so question three. What is your most overrated
snack? Most overrated snack I hear a

(06:08):
lot of people talk about. A lot of people talk about it
and I'll be honest with you, I don't rate it that much.
A Mickey premium bar. This is probably so
controversial, like it's OK, it's OK is that's it for me.
You'd be surprised how many times that that's come up,
actually. Brilliant.
Yeah, yeah, we. I was going to say that, Ben.

(06:30):
Because the over overpriced chalk ice.
Yeah, literally that I appreciate as much as anything.
It's surely it's for the Instagram picture.
I think that's probably what it is.
But I would I'd take the the Mickey sandwich all day long.
Yeah, yeah, all day long. I'd take that over it.

(06:51):
Good call. Here we go.
What's your favorite transportation mode?
And usually we ask at Walt Disney World.
I'm going to widen it to the whole the greater Orlando area
just just because they can. Yeah, I mean, I don't, I don't
know if this is a proper answer,but I genuinely I'm all about
the hire car. Does does that count as a?

(07:11):
Yes, that's a great answer. Yeah, I, I, I love having a hire
car in Orlando. Like genuinely, I think because
I'm all about Orlando as much asanything, I think it opens up so
many different opportunities andso many different activities
that you can go and do outside of the parks, which which is

(07:31):
what I I love about Orlando. Like don't be wrong, like the
parks are the number one, but being able to go and do all of
the additional stuff I think is a struggle or or it's certainly
a lot more difficult without having a hire car in my opinion.
Yeah, I, I agree that our last trip was the first time we hired

(07:52):
a car in like 10 or 11 trip. It was like, OK, we we got to
the airport and it was like, oh,this is different.
I'm not getting on like the magical express to Disney or, or
Mears or it was like, or gettingan Uber.
It was like, OK, I'm going to bedriving out of the airport,
which was an experience of its own.
Yeah, absolutely. Yes, it's a bit sketchy that
drive out the car park innit? Especially when it's like 10:00

(08:14):
at night, but on a like a late flight.
And then it was like, OK, it waslike the car was at the wrong
terminal. So we had to all of that faff
and it was like, I'm now in a car that I've never driven
before as we hired a Tesla and it was like, OK, I'm not just
the wrong side of the car. Everything just felt different.
And it was like, I just need to get to the resort.
But once I got past that sort offirst couple of hours of driving

(08:36):
the first couple of days, that'sfine.
I've been driving in the UK. I think as well for, for you,
Russ, I think I might return to that part of the question later
in the show as well, because I, I actually think a hire car
particularly opens up so much more and, and, and yeah, you
probably do, you burst that little bubble that you're

(08:58):
encapsulated. And if you're purely on site at
either Universal or at Disney, but it offers so much more.
You know, I know for this summerin particular, a lot of people
have tried to do the maths on it.
And they've looked at the fact that the car hire prices were so
high, probably a way back in January when they were looking.
And they've basically said, well, we're not getting a car.

(09:19):
And, you know, we're recording this very, very shortly before
it goes out anyway. So it's maybe worth saying to
people, if you are wanting to hire a car, I've actually had
the price of a intermediate SUV half in price for three weeks in
August in just the past in the past seven days.

(09:40):
So it's maybe worth it. If anyone's listening to this
and you, you maybe shield away because the cost has been really
prohibitive. It might be something again
because of your answer that we can maybe push people towards go
and go and have a look. Go and see whether or not you
can find any deals. But there it's, it's certainly a
lot better than it was about a month ago, so.

(10:03):
Yeah, No, that's good to know. Yeah, good to know that it's,
it's becoming a bit more competitive again because I
think I like you said, I definitely at a point I think it
almost priced people out of being able to do a hire car
because it just wasn't worth it on top of parking and stuff like
that as well. It can, really.
We'd always work out, we'd always Uber and it was like,
because there's only two of us, we didn't need a bigger car.

(10:23):
So it was like, OK, it's like we're just working across of an
Uber and it was like if she's less and car hire and parking, I
might as well just get the Uber and just get on the need to.
I actually, I actually wonder, Ben, I wonder if the car hire
companies have actually caught wind of that now, because
actually there were so many people just getting Uber or Lyft
or whatever and it was much moreaffordable than actually having

(10:44):
a car. And so people just haven't
bothered and, and so they're left with a load of cars that
are in the garage and nobody's actually hiring them out.
So, you know, it can only be an advantage.
It can only be an advantage for for us going across there.
Definitely. So back to the question.
So what is your favorite table service restaurant?

(11:06):
Oh is that is tough. So many to choose from.
Oh, I'm trying to even think. I'm trying to think of ones I've
even been to as well, because I,I'll be honest with you, I
haven't done many at all. Again, this I'm, I'm going to,
I'm going to go out at Disney. I'm going to go a bit different
and I, I go mythos in Islands ofadventure.

(11:29):
I'm sure there's probably not ananswer you've had before, but I,
I genuinely, I, I, I really likeit there.
I think the, the aesthetic of itall.
I think that kind of the ambience of it and I think I
think back in the day it was it was really, really hyped.
But I think over the years the hype has died off a little bit
and I think it's a bit of a hidden gem as much as anything.

(11:53):
Yeah. So that would that would be my
MY1I. I love a hidden gem.
If if you've heard my podcast, Ilove talking about hidden gems.
So I think, I think I'd go Mythos.
What a great, great call. OK, I can, I can virtually hear,
I can virtually hear everyone's keyboards rattling that into
into put it in my notes. Check it out.
Must book it. Must book it for the next time

(12:15):
I'm there. Next question, what resort you
haven't stayed in but want to more than anything else on
Earth? This the easiest one.
Animal Kingdom Lodge. I yeah, I, I, I, I watched so
many vlogs. Genuinely, I'm I'm a absolute

(12:35):
content sponge. I love watching people's vlogs
on YouTube and genuinely, whenever someone's at Animal
Kingdom, I am like, I really, really need to do this because
it looks wonderful that the the entrance, the whole like main
foyer bit looks stunning and just the whole thing to me looks

(12:58):
absolutely magical. Have you either have you done
it? Both.
Both. Have you done it?
I'm trying to think how many times, yeah, because we've got
DVC, it's a vacation club. We've been able to say there
three or four times. Nice.
And it's it's incredible. And last time we stayed and it
was the standard view we went for, but and we put a request in

(13:20):
for a room and it was like we had, it wasn't a standard view.
It was just on the end. But it was like you could see
the Savannah and it was like we'd wake up in the morning.
There was you just saw giraffes.It was it was incredible.
I. Think there's, I think there's
well. That to me.
And a lot of the, a lot of the hotels are very much big on the
smells, aren't they? Even even the, the universal

(13:40):
ones as well, Because now that the Hard Rock Hotel has got the
most amazing foyer smell. But there is something about
Animal Kingdom Lodge. And I don't know whether it's
the it's the ward or where I don't not sure.
But when you walk into that hotel, it, it just has that
feeling of you just, you have tostand there and just go wow.
And it, it is simply, and that big massive, the glass window at

(14:03):
the far end and you just kind of, you're just drawn out
towards it. It's beautiful.
It really is. And, and I think, I think I've
said this not too many podcasts ago, but it's the whole fact
that if you go at different points of the day, the lighting
within that building is so different.
So you you find yourself having to go back just to stand and

(14:25):
watch the same same bit or take the same photograph because it
is. Yeah.
It's never the same as the day actually progresses.
It's beautiful, absolutely beautiful place.
The. Food, there's incredible as
well. You can't go wrong with like
Chico's sonar. It's just, oh, I'm just going to
be there now. Yeah, I've, I've literally never
been, so I haven't eaten there at all.

(14:45):
And like, I've seen the restaurants look stunning as
well. And yeah, it, it is so high on
the list of things I've got to do.
There's there's too many times that myself and my partner have
priced it up and been like we're, we're close.
We're close, but yeah, no, I'd highly recommend if you, if
you've not been in a way of going there, it's slightly

(15:06):
cheapest to rent DDC points. So you can rent them.
You can rent them from an owner who's not using them that year
and heavily discounted versus what you pay rack rate to
Disney. Interesting.
No, that's good to know that, yeah.
It's not too bad. So we, we're, we're staying at,
we were going to be staying on our next year of Pop Century for
a couple of nights before a cruise, but for the same price

(15:29):
we're staying at Old Key West because we're renting those
points. So it's like, what was our first
team Pop Century, Old Key West? I think I know which one kind.
Of no brainer. OK, So what is your favorite car
park? Favorite car park?
I can't remember them that well.I the the one I can remember the

(15:52):
most and like this is so random is Epcot.
And the reason why is because quite a lot of the bays are
Guardians of the Galaxy characters.
Yeah, and I'm a massive Marvel fan, so if I were to go for
anything, I'd probably go there based on that alone.

(16:12):
And if it means I'm getting on Cosmic Rewind as well, then
there you go. It's incredible.
Have you got all the songs from Cosmic Rewind?
I haven't I've, I've only done acouple.
So yeah, there's there's a lot to do, yeah.
What's your favorite? We've always had one way or
another, we've had September. Yeah.

(16:33):
And Disco Inferno, we haven't got the rest, so we still need
to go back. I'm not leaving in the summer
until I've had a Flock of Seagulls with Iran.
That's it. That's the only reason I'm going
to Orlando. You know, I've just just going
simply simply to hear a Flock ofSeagulls.
That should be even better. Yeah, you ought to do it, yeah.

(16:56):
So next question, here we go, Typhoon Lagoon, Blizzard Beach
or Volcano Bay. I'm a little bit, a little bit
biased because I've only ever been to one, if I'm honest with
you, but I've only been to one through choice as well, and that
is Volcano Bay. I, I absolutely love that park.

(17:16):
I, I think it is a fabulous parkfrom start to finish.
I think entrance is lovely and like it's so calm and relaxing
and the moment you see the volcano, I think it is, is
stunning. I really, really do just or just
all around it. I think the whole park

(17:37):
aesthetically looks fantastic. And I think I've said it in a
couple of podcasts of my own, that the food, the food options
in Volcano Bay I think are, are some of the best in Orlando.
I really, really do. So that would get my vote all
day long. I'm not, I'm not surprised at
that either. And I'm I'm not only just from

(17:58):
listening to a couple of your podcasts.
I think a lot of people at the moment, actually, when you, if
you get the universal ticket andit's chucked in Volcano Bay, I
think you, you feel compelled toactually go because of the whole
scenario of you're going to somewhere that looks just
amazing. But the actual reviews of it are

(18:19):
so good. But I, I still think Disney are
missing a tricky about just having only the one water park
open at a time. And I think that young people,
once you sow that little Caesar doubt, you know, So if you're
going with like a younger familyand you're thinking, Oh my word,
we can't go with Typhoon Lagoon because it's Blizzard Beach's
turn to be open. You suddenly decide, well, I'll

(18:41):
tell you what, let's just take the Disney water park out the
equation. We'll go Volcano Bay.
We know it's good for the whole family.
We know the reviews of it are really consistently good.
And that's all it takes when people are planning a holiday is
if there's any element of doubt,they just don't do it.
And then they'll go and do the one that they know that'll be
more enjoyable. And and again, like you said,

(19:03):
with the with the presence of a really good food offering,
you've actually got the makings of an absolute brilliant day
out, haven't you? Yeah, yeah, fantastic.
And I will also say that the Aqua coaster being Krakatau is
like genuinely is such a unique experience that I just, I like,

(19:24):
I, I've shouted about that ride as much as I have like some of
the big roller coasters that I love.
I I think it's fantastic. I really do.
Yeah, we've, we've not ventured there yet, but I think just, but
since it was open, we've had like the annual pass, but we
always went for the two park 1 instead of a three.
So it's like maybe this time, because we've got a couple of
days at Universal, at the end ofthe trip, we might think about

(19:46):
Volcano Bay. Yeah, no, I couldn't, couldn't
recommend it highly enough. I really I really.
Especially when you've got it including a new ticket, it's
like, it's like I can, I can fita few hours in there at some
point. Yeah.
And, and The thing is, I like, Ilike.
The last time I went was in October.
And I appreciate not many peoplego to a water park in October,
but I was there and, and it wasn't that busy.

(20:07):
And realistically, we, we'd kindof been around done the park and
done every slide and ride in there by probably 2:00 in the
afternoon. So it, it, it wasn't hugely
busy, which obviously with, withsome of the Disney parks, you'll
find that getting a park done top to bottom by 2:00 is unheard
of. Yeah, yeah, but but still busy

(20:29):
enough for it to feel like therewas a nice atmosphere.
Not not just kind of barren, if you know what I mean.
Yeah, I think as well it's worthsaying if anyone hasn't
experienced that whole thing of trying to go against the the
crowds in some ways, because Americans tend to only got used
water parks when it's really hotand when it's on the weekend.

(20:52):
And if you come from, if you're coming from the UK, you can
actually make the best of like what we, what we would deem as
being a beautiful day in the UK.Yeah, in, mid in, in, in
October. And yet the Americans just, you
know, they'd probably be, they, they'd probably have the winter
coat on or something like that. And we, yeah, we'd be there.
We'd be there with the speedos on, absolutely ready, ready

(21:16):
thinking, oh, it's a it's a lovely day to be lighting out in
the sun, you know? Yeah, it's it's we've.
Been in November? Yeah, we've been in November and
it's we've been to there's a beach and it's like, it's a lot
quieter here than I remember. Yes, yeah, yeah.
I think I know where you're going to go with the next one,
but Galaxy's Edge or Diagon Alley?

(21:39):
Oh, I tell you, I tell you what,This, this is so tough because I
was a huge Harry Potter fan. Grown up.
I like massive, but I'm currently a huge Star Wars fan.
I if I'm absolutely honest, I'veI've got to go die again alley
because for me it there's a few reasons like I love, I love

(22:03):
Harry Potter films. I like it looks absolutely
stunning. I love the fact that it's out of
the film, whereas Galaxy's Edge and Batu is kind of a it's is
not necessarily from the films. It's, it's kind of a fictional
land set in the same world, isn't it?
So. Between different.

(22:23):
Exactly that. So I love the fact that Diagon
Alley is is literally as you seeit in the films.
I love the the ride in there, Escape from Gringotts, the shops
I think are fantastic, but also in terms of like my previous
memories as well, it, it's one of the main, one of the main
things that like I was most excited to go back to Orlando

(22:47):
for when I was quite a lot younger.
So it was, yeah. It'll always hold a special,
special place for me. Yeah, and that fits.
That fits nicer than the next question.
So is it an early early morning or a late night park visit?

(23:07):
If you've listened to my bug guys, you'll probably know I I'm
a rope drop person. However, if I'm to be in a park
and it'd be my favorite time, it's the it's, it's a night.
It doesn't matter what park it is.
I think doing rides in the dark,like I appreciate like the

(23:27):
Disney ones, not as much becausenot as many of them are outside,
but I think of like Velocicoaster in eyes of
Adventure. I think of Hagrid's and those
two rides in the dark opposed toin the daytime.
It's like for me it's chalk and cheese.
I think they're amazing rise in the day.
I think they're an absolute different level at night.

(23:49):
It's just something different experience you get, and I
remember to always say Big Thunder Mountain, especially if
it's dark and you're sitting at the back.
It's a totally different coasterto what it is during the day
where there's some tortain. I think I remember it's.
On Splash Mountain, before it closed, that it was our last
ride on, it was in the dark. It was like, I think New Year's

(24:10):
Eve and it was like going on that and it was incredible.
Just just going over and seeing fireworks on that draw.
Oh, I bet that was stunning. Stunning.
Wow. Yeah.
So moving to the next one. So are you a keep the magic or
backstage detail person? Oh, I reckon I'm probably

(24:32):
backstage detail. I'm I, I, I love knowing how
stuff's done. I I.
I I love a breakdown video like,and I appreciate not kind of the
same thing, but I love how like rides are made.
I love how, you know, like I love funny how how the magic's
done. I I really, really do.

(24:52):
Again, like I said, not, not notnecessarily the same thing, but
when it comes to like films and stuff, I'm obviously big into my
films, hence the love for the kind of Disney and Universal and
I like. I spent hours watching breakdown
videos of like shows and films and stuff like that.
So if I can find out any little Nuggets, I'm there.

(25:13):
I agree, I can't watch a Marvel TV show or film without watching
like new rock stars or someone breaking it down by saying
missing on Easter eggs. It's got it's got to be a new
rock stars and if you can get Eric Voss on new rock stars, I
mean, that's the one. Yeah, Yeah, you know it.
Oh, cool, There you go. I got, I got.
So. So I get sidetracked.

(25:33):
You know, when we start going through all this and I start
thinking, oh, I go back to the very first one of these we did
and I still think I gave the wrong answer.
So I always kick myself when it gets to that one.
Yeah. Go on.
Tell us what's your favorite other podcast of Vlogger about
Disney, Universal, or the greater Orlando area?

(25:53):
What it's a tough one because ifany of my listeners any way of a
guest you. Could alien you could alienate
this company Couldn't. You literally oh, I could I
could upset everyone right obviously about if.
You say anyone that does even better.
I'm, I'm not a sit on the Fed guy.
We'll be all right. I, I think it's no, it's no

(26:15):
secret. I think to be fair, like in
terms of my favorite vloggers atthe moment, there's a channel
called T&J Travels. That's Tom and Jess.
They, they've been on my podcastas a guest.
I like, I would, I would say I'mgood friends with Tom.
I get on with him well. Like we have good chats about
Orlando and, and other stuff beyond that.
And genuinely as, as vlogs go, Ithink they've been going for

(26:37):
just over a year and like genuinely some of the best vlogs
out there for, for, for British,British Youtubers.
I think spot on. But I mean, there's so many.
Obviously I've got guests lined up if I'm actually honest with
you, and I don't want to upset all of them.
I know exactly how you feel. It's like, I remember when we
did that first things, we all kept thinking, oh, maybe at the

(27:00):
time it was like Tim Tracker, because that was what everyone
was watching at the time. And, and everyone goes through
all, all this thing and it's like, remember during sort of
the pandemic, there was like, weneeded any sort of content from
the parks that you could get. So it was like what everyone was
on there. And it's like, yeah.
And you just gravitate. You just find you don't realise
until you start watching and start listening how big the

(27:20):
dizzy community is. Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
I like, you know, I've watched so many over the years, Like
like you said, the original was Tim Draka.
It started it started there, butI've, you know, not to just name
drop loads of people, but it's like there's channels such as
get Binky. I don't know if you've watched
that on YouTube, like, and two lovely, lovely people, spoonful

(27:44):
of sugar, another lovely couple.And then there's there's so many
new ones coming through as well.And, and you know, and
everyone's doing different content as well, which which I
love. Yeah, this I think we're talking
to Gaz and Angela Kershaw's nextweek on their mega trip to Asia.
So I really thought because that's that's that's definitely

(28:06):
on our bucket list. Visit one of the Asian parks.
I tell you what, Ben, you might need to put a spoiler alert in
in there just simply because you're giving away who who's in
next month's mid month podcast and he's like.
It's it's an excuse for someone to subscribe.

(28:26):
Yeah, so and I think I know where you're going to go with
this next one, but your hotel stay, are you on site or off
site? OK, so this, this, this, if
given a choice, I would go on site.
However, I've stayed off site every time.

(28:46):
I've never done on site. And the the reason why, the sad
reason why, unfortunately it comes to price.
I I've, because I've talked about this in, I think it was
last week's episode. And ultimately I've basically
said that if I can go to Orlandoas often as possible, then I'm
going to do it. And if that means sacrificing

(29:07):
where I stay, then I'm going to probably sacrifice that first if
it means I get to go to all the parks, I want to go to that.
So that is my answer. So in terms of what I want to do
is obviously on site, absolutely.
Like, like I said in the previous questions, Animal
Kingdom Lodge is, is the dream. And there's so many which I want
to do as well. Like there's, to be honest,

(29:29):
there's more Disney ones I want to do than Universal.
But obviously when the time comes, then I will do them.
But until then, ultimately I will, I will just, I'll stay off
site if it means getting to Orlando as as frequently as I
can. We we've done them all recently
where we've looked at so, oh, we've run out of points for this
year on it's like we've already had our trips, like we squeeze
another one in, but we'll stay at pop or we'll stay at also our

(29:51):
music or just somewhere. If we can make that trip happen.
We just look at it and go like, actually, we've got it.
Let's just, let's just do that. If you can do it and make it
work. It's always the hotel you
compromise on because it's like you can't do anything about the
tickets there. They are what they are, but you
just work out what. Yeah, and, and, and ultimately I
think for myself, I, like I said, I'm, I'm a rope drop kind

(30:13):
of guy. I'm a rope drop guy.
And I'll, I'll try and stay to the to the end in a park if
possible. So I spend very little time in a
resort, if I'm absolutely honest.
That's not to say like, you know, if I was, if I was in
Animal Kingdom Lodge, then I would probably want to spend
more time in there because it's fabulous.
And I want to, I want to, you know, be in the surroundings and

(30:33):
the atmosphere of it. But there's, I can't think of
many times that I've spent a lotof time in a resort other than
to kind of go back and go to bedthat.
Sounds that sounds absolutely perfect.
We're going to we're going to finish this grilling of the
carousel. The questions with the with the
mandatory 1 where it sets all ofus in fighting again.

(30:56):
So it's Festival Lion King or Finding Nemo the musical which
is which is your go to of the two?
Liking yeah, no, no, for me, noteven a question.
Yeah, No, I'm a big, big fan. I love it.
I absolutely love it. And you know, just just

(31:16):
everything about it is, is special.
It really is. I'm I'm sure so many people have
said the same thing but I I loveit so much.
It's it is always our perfect question because I remember, I
think the first time we brought it up after a few weeks, it was
like the eight of us were completely split.
It was completely. And every time we spoke to some,

(31:37):
to someone else, it was a eitherLion King one way, Nemo the
other. And it was like it.
I don't think it's ever gone more than one side or the other.
And. It's there you go.
It's that man. Mate, it's just like it.
Is. It's probably good for the
crowd. So if you if it's splitting
everyone evenly, it's great for the park because then half

(32:00):
people are going to Lion King, half people are going to Nemo.
Yeah, exactly that. Exactly.
That, yeah. They've got some really great
answers and now we know a littlebit more about, I think let's
sort of go into the main topic. So we're going to talk about all
things Orlando. So from Disney, Universal, and
everything in between, whether it's the latest attractions,
hidden gems, and tips for makingyou visit, we've got it covered.

(32:23):
But there's always something newhappening in Orlando and I know
there's going to be a lot of people listening.
The Audi planning trips for nextyear because I know at Universal
there's going to be a brand new park opening the Epic Universe.
Yeah. Are you excited?
Are you excited about it? Very excited.
I I'm one of those people who iswho is eagerly awaiting the the

(32:46):
opening date for that park to then book my trip for next year.
I'm, I'm, I'm. So I'm so tempted to just book
it now, but I don't know when it's going to open.
So I don't want to like, I don'twant to.
I don't want to bolt too early. Because the hotels, the on site
hotels are opening like this is January in February.

(33:07):
So, and again, they look standard.
Yeah. And they're not the same price.
The prime value, I think they call them.
You've got the value results which are end of summer and
dockside and then you've got prime value, which is like the
Cabana Bay and sort of Terra Luna, I think it's called.
I never remember the name. Yeah, that's that's, that's the

(33:29):
new one, the one with the like Oval shaped windows, multi
coloured, Yeah, facade kind of thing.
Yeah. Looks amazing.
It's like we're we're planning atrip for next September, but I
keep looking on the price of like, Oh, that's the book it
now. Or do I think like when do we do
I change when we're going next year to?
Yeah. Yes, China, because I don't want
to be there when it opens because it's going to be so
busy. Exactly.

(33:50):
And you want to go a few months after.
Yeah, once, once I've worked at some of the kinks because it's
like new rides sometimes. If it's like what happened a few
years ago with Hagrid's, there'sa lot of downtime when it opened
and a lot more challenges. So I don't know.
I'm I'm really looking forward. To I mean, I also like in terms
of crowd levels, I, I actually, funny enough, I was at Islands

(34:12):
of Adventure the day that Hagrid's opened.
I don't know if I don't know if I don't know if you've ever
heard me say this story. I was so excited.
Obviously I've waited for it foryears and I was like, right,
going to going to get down to the park.
And if you know Islands of Adventure, well, it was queued
from Hagrid's in the queue of Hagrid's all the way back

(34:33):
through Marvel Superhero Island.Wow.
Wow. I didn't ride it that day.
Yeah, I I was. I just couldn't believe it.
I just, I'd never seen anything like it.
And I kept checking the app for the day and it was just saying
like 8910 hours. I'm like, who is who is doing

(34:54):
this? Yeah, yeah, that's some die hard
Harry Potter fans right there. Fair enough.
I think I'd love to be there forthe experience and I'd love to
ride. Oh yeah.
In a 10 hour queue in Florida. No, exactly that.
Yeah, no, that's, yeah. I, I, I obviously I was
disappointed, but at the same time I was like, I, I can't, I
can't do it. I can't bring myself to do that.

(35:15):
Yeah. Can I widen out a little bit
more rush, because because I'm, I'm aware that, you know, you,
you tend to go between the Disney and the and the Universal
parts parks seamlessly. I'll, I'll say it that way.
Yeah. This question is going to come
up a lot more in the next 12 months, and you're going to be

(35:36):
the first person I'm going to ask, but I'm probably going to
ask it to an awful lot of people.
Do you think? No, No, I think.
I think I think it's. The type of question that
everyone's going to be asking because do you think Disney have
been asleep at the wheel whilst Universal are planning and have
actually got this new part builtand they've are they going to
steal an awful lot of custom from Disney?

(35:59):
Because from my perspective, that seems to be, it seems to be
that bit beyond where we were with Harry Potter, where
Universal had maybe 2-3 years when they stole a March on
Disney. And they, and they certainly did
because actually they got peopleinto a park that was just way
beyond what was seen previously.But this, this is different

(36:20):
level. You know, they've got, they've
got the water park, they've got two existing parks.
And now with Epic Universe, they've actually got what could
be a whole vacation's worth of of park entry and you would just
push the Disney ticket to one side and leave and say we'll
give it a miss this time. Yeah, I think you're right
because ultimately there are people who will go out and do a

(36:44):
Disney only trip like that, thatI think it's a given.
But I don't know that many people who would just go and do
a universal only trip because I,I think realistically for the,
the free parks there are I, I don't, I, I personally, I don't
see how you would fill two weeks.
I, I don't think you could. Whereas in, in Walt Disney
World, I think you could easily fill two weeks, for example.

(37:06):
So I do think, yeah, I absolutely, I think with Epic
Universe, I think that they, they're absolutely like they're,
they're a couple of years ahead in terms of where Disney are AT.
And I think, I think Disney are reacting a little bit.
I think they're reacting with test track.
I think they're reacting with the closure of dinosaur to
potentially be something else, but we don't know.

(37:30):
And then obviously. Indiana Jones, I think.
Yeah, we, I mean. But but The thing is, what's
frustrating about that is it's the same ride system that's in
Disneyland. So it's like something you could
probably do in a couple of months, six months, a year,
where instead of actually, whether you look at universe or
an epic universe, it's a brand new ride.
These these aren't rides though in other areas, in other

(37:53):
universal parks, obviously, they've got so, so much of a
catalogue of different rides anddifferent attractions.
How long did it take to bring Tron over?
Don't. Mention, don't mention Tron
better you know, I think, I think let me let everyone hears
that and everyone's like, Oh no.No, no.
We've got 6. Years.
How not to do it? Yeah.

(38:15):
Yeah, I think I, I just, I really think, and and you know,
I've, I've had this conversationwith a few people.
I think ultimately Disney have to react quickly, but they also
have to react with something bigwhen it comes to like whatever
announcement they'll come out with at D23I think they've
really got a building excitement.

(38:36):
I, I, don't me wrong, whatever they've added to the parks in
previous years, I think has beenabsolutely brilliant.
Like even down to like the, the Moana journey of water.
I think it's fabulous. But I think, but, but that's
little kind of little additions that they're making.
I think they, they need to really kind of go Galaxy's edge

(38:57):
kind of big addition to combat what Universal are, are doing
currently. I think Universal with their
last couple of rides, at least in terms of like Velos coaster
and Hagrid's have smashed out the part.
And I think if you're, if you'rea thrill seeker, you're, you're
going to go to ONS of Adventure or, or the Universal Resort I

(39:19):
think at the moment and you know, Disney are clever, don't
be wrong. Like they've been so clever with
where they've put Guardians of the Galaxy.
They've been so clever with kindof putting Galaxy's edge into
Hollywood Studios. I think they just they need
another big one in my opinion. There's a lot of space at Launch
Studios left, like, yeah, Star Wars Launch Bay and the

(39:41):
animation area courtyard, and that's like Lightning McQueen
that really needs something. Yeah, yeah.
I just, but you know, it's, it's, it's what do they do?
I think in a dream world they would they would bring Marvel.
But we know the the situation with that.
I just unfortunately it's, it's not going to happen in Orlando,

(40:02):
at least not anytime soon. At least without Disney opening
the checkbook and offering a universe and all an awful.
Lot of money. Yeah.
Yeah, you can feel the pain already, even just saying that
you can feel the pain that Disney would feel by by actually
doing that. So, yeah, having having to pay
to basically put the thing they own in their own park feels

(40:25):
absurd. Yeah.
Yeah. But you know, I, I just, I, I
love them both. And like, there's only one
winner and it's us, the fact that we get to go.
Very, very much so. You know, Epic Universe and then
we get to experience whatever Disney counteract Epic Universe
with. So we keep and it's fantastic.

(40:46):
That's what I that's what I like.
I love their competition betweenboth and they both need to just
push each other on because in the day we just win with better
attractions, better experiences and always other reason to go
back to Orlando. Yeah, 100 percent, 100%.
And I think it's with Epic Universe, it's going to change
because even we've thought aboutit, But normally when we go to
Universal on a two week trip, we'd probably put in at least

(41:08):
two, maybe 2 1/2 days in for Universal to get all the stuff
that we want done. But with Epic Universe, we're
going to probably add a stay on site at Universal and probably
do four to five days there. Yeah, yeah, I.
Think it's taken a few extra days from Disney that we've done
a lot of rides over the years and we're looking forward to
doing things like Tiana's bio adventure at Disney.

(41:29):
But I don't know what else there's going to be new out for
next year. I think we've got to that point
now where Dizzy haven't announced anything else.
Because I remember when we looked back to when we started
the show five years ago, when wehad that first D 23, where it
spoke about the Epcot transformation, Spaceship Earth
having its refurb, the Mary Poppins attraction, all the

(41:50):
stuff that actually hasn't out of that.
We're still waiting on this festival centre being built,
which still isn't open. It's.
Yeah, they've got to, they've got to.
They've got to react and I think.
Yeah. I think D 23 as a whole this
year will be huge at Disney as acompany because, because I think
like even outside of the parks, I think I'm a big Marvel fan

(42:14):
with Marvel as well. Like they've got to, they've got
to kind of hit big on that. Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, I think as I think as well, I think one of the worst
things that they can actually dois turn up for D23 this year and
just go throughout the same bluesky thinking malarkey.
Because the only way you can describe it, it's not blue sky

(42:34):
thinking. It's just like filling in a
presentation where you've got noidea what you're going to do and
what you're actually going to. You know, there's no hard and
fast reality to it. It's just like, oh, well, we
might do this, we could do this.We and actually I think
everybody's looking for a littlebit more now.
And it it kind of UPS, it UPS the ante a little bit.
And I like that. I like it.

(42:56):
I think even if they put a date in, so say like Villains Land or
beyond Big Thunder Mountain is done by 2028 or 2030 at least.
It's something people go actually, but it's fine.
You've got a date. You know what, it's going to
work too. Because I remember when they
announced Galaxy's Edge in Hollywood, in Hollywood Studios
and Toy Story Land, it was 2018-2019 when they announced

(43:16):
that three years before. So it's like we use being told
what's happening in a few years.We've got to that point now.
It's like we've been told the past two years of D23 that it's
just going to be like, well, we're not sure when it's going
to happen, but we're thinking ofthis, yeah.
Yeah, the the, the other thing Iwill say that not not taking a

(43:37):
corner, but universal, they announce it and they do it.
And then when they do it, they they do it in such QuickTime.
I think of like Velocicoaster, That thing went from like
flatten the ground to up in the air in I think less than a year.
Yeah, which is absurd. Announced it I think before and

(43:57):
everyone kept saying like, well,what are you building here?
And it was in there was nothing being built and it was it was
just all of that that all like construction happening and it's
like it was like Yep, here it isit's open and it was like six
months later and it was done. It was after that point it was
like. Yeah, I think Disney could, I
think they could take a leaf on on that side of things out of
Universal's book. I think just kind of, you know,

(44:20):
there's there's no reason, you know, Disney are ginormous a
company that they they can they can come up with the plan and
they can commit and do it in in record-breaking time.
I don't know there's any doubt. I think I'm going to have to.
That's the only way I see it, Yeah.
So. Yeah, exactly that.

(44:41):
So as we mentioned earlier aboutsort of hire car is, is that the
what you say is the best place for someone for left bad strip
to get around Orlando? I would, I would say so.
I appreciate that it can be nerve wracking.
I think just driving in a different country at times can
be nerve wracking. But once you like, like you

(45:03):
said, then once, once you kind of get out on the road and
you've been out there for an hour, a couple or two hours, it
just becomes normal. It's easy.
And I, I genuinely think that interms of being able to see
Orlando, having the hire car just gives you so much more
option. It gives you so much more
choice. There's so much to see in

(45:23):
Orlando that a lot of us haven'tdone.
Like I, I, I actively try to go out and do different stuff in
Orlando and there's so much I haven't done.
So I, I really do, I really do recommend having it.
And I think for, for going out to Orlando for your first time,
I think for me, I, I would try to do a bit of everything.

(45:44):
I tried to do Disney Universal and a little bit kind of outside
as well. It's a good idea because I
remember that our first trip waslike we we booked a package,
then we're working holidays for our honeymoon.
So it was like, OK, we booked itand it was like at the point I
think if to hire a car because of the age, it was an H to 500
lbs for insurance. So that we decided not to.
But we were saying that seawaterwe said on international drive a

(46:07):
lot and it would use the eye trolley to get out and about.
And that was before Ubers were out.
So we were using the hotel shuttles, which meant that you
got to the parks after rope dropand like you were back at the
hotel before fireworks. It just didn't, didn't work out.
And then we realised that on ournext trip after that, it's like,
oh, the parks stay open later. And it was something we hadn't

(46:29):
thought about until we'd realised that actually we use
Ubers in 2014. I think we're one of the first
people I think to use them. It.
Felt like it because no one knewabout them and it and it was
just incredible. Just like a new phone that a car
would appear and we got so used to that.
And then hiring a car last year was incredible.
It was just the first time that the price, I think during COVID,

(46:49):
a lot of the car hire sort of cars got sold off from car hire
companies And it was like made the price go up for when people
want everyone wanted to hire them.
And it was just last, it was thefirst time I thought actually,
let's see if we can hire a car. And it was just it turned out to
be the Tesla was the cheapest. Yeah.
I mean, that's a, that's a result.
I mean, obviously, how about there?

(47:09):
I But the downside is when you get back home you want to drive
a Tesla. Hyper doesn't doesn't really
cut. It yeah, I, I sadly on my, on my
last jet. I mean, I say sadly, I, I was so
lucky to end up with a, a Jeep grand Wagoneer, which is
genuinely the biggest car I've ever driven.
It like it was ginormous. The armrest was as big as a seat

(47:34):
in the front and like it was massive.
And then I came back and get in the get in the Ford Focus and
it's not quite the same. Isn't it?
It's bizarre. It's just like you feel it's one
of them things when you get to the garage and you're just like,
oh, is this one mine? Are you just like, yeah, you
just dream of driving like cars that you wouldn't even think

(47:57):
about being able to drive at home and stuff like that.
It's amazing. Yeah, I'm, I'm going.
To I'm going to pick you up on said before when you said about
doing sort of Orlando stuff thatis out with the parks and stuff
like that for for anyone listening, I know you're big
into your hidden gems and thingslike that.
So what would your recommendation be to not miss

(48:20):
out if you take take the big parks out of it?
Right. We're not doing.
We're not doing. Yet.
Disney, Universal, SeaWorld, we're going to have a different
day. What was?
What would your recommendation be?
I, there's a, there's a few things I love doing.
My, my top thing, if I would have recommended to anyone to go

(48:41):
and do, is to go and do an airboat ride.
I, I don't know if you, even if you've done it, I, I love it.
You basically kind of go out over the, the lakes and the
swamps on this, this airboat andyou get a guide and he'll,
basically he'll talk you throughthe wildlife and you, you might
get lucky and see some alligators and you'll probably

(49:02):
see like all, all sorts of different birds and animals.
And I, I, I love it. I think just being it, being
able to kind of be out in Orlando is, is fantastic.
I love doing it. I've done it.
I think I've done it five times.Oh wow.
So I enjoy doing it. Yeah, too, right.
That sounds like proper Orlando as well.
It's it's not, not not what not what you think for your first

(49:23):
thing to go and do, is it? It's.
Yeah. And it, I think like having,
having the guide there and having someone who's obviously I
kind of that more often than not, they're, they're kind of
born and raised Floridians. So they, they know this place
like the back of their hand. It's amazing that you'll be like
on this, on this airboat going through all the big reads.

(49:44):
And it's kind of like you're thinking this, this isn't a
route, but he knows the route through all of it and kind of
knows exactly where he's going. And he might go and search out a
spot that he knows where there'stypically alligators sleeping
and stuff like that. I've just honestly, I think it's
stunning. It's a really good experience.
Can I have to have? I know I have to get that as

(50:04):
well. There we go and just write that
one down. Yeah, it's a, it's a good one.
If, I mean, if I was to give youanother one as well, I, I don't
know if you've done it. I, I would absolutely recommend
going to Kennedy Space Centre. I appreciate it's a bit more of
a drive and it's kind of out of kind of Orlando listen, but I, I
think it's worth the trip down there.

(50:26):
Yeah, it, it's, I think it's a fabulous day out.
I've been lucky enough to go andsee a shuttle launch from there,
which was something special. Yeah, it really was.
And have you ever? Have you done it?
Yeah, I've been a couple of times.
Yeah, it's just. It's the actual, you know, when
you know, when you've watched iton TV for so long and then and

(50:50):
you actually, yeah, you think that's beautiful list up now,
but the actual enormity of of that.
Whole the scale. And you're just like, Oh my
word, you're just like, you're completely in awe of, you know,
the old space shuttle construction building and things
like that. Way.
Yeah. Where they would have it on a

(51:12):
sort of it'd sit upright. You just can't comprehend the
size of that. The facility is just amazing.
And actually, I think the way that they've done it and the if
you go right to the very front of, of the, the actual place
itself, that's got a, a memorialwall where it celebrates the,

(51:32):
the lives of, of astronauts who have lost their lives in space.
And, and that for me was that was really quite a, a poignant
part of of. Going Yeah, it really is, yeah.
But yeah, it is a really good place to go and a lot of people
are put off primarily because ofthe amount of time it takes to
go out to the coast. It's actually it's a really easy

(51:53):
drive, so. Yeah, don't like, don't agree.
Don't let that put you off. It's a, it's a great place if
you've got, if there's a group here or if there's you've got
kids with you. It just changes the the vibe of
the whole, the whole trip because you're actually going
and you see maybe something thatappeals more to other people.
And yeah, I would always, alwaysrecommend that.

(52:14):
That's a really good one to to bring up.
I think. Great, great idea.
Yeah, nice, nice. Yeah, Ben, I'd, I'd recommend
get it, get on the list. It's it's been on the list, but
obviously the last time was the only time we had a car, so but.
Yeah, fair enough. So, and it's it's annoying this
time we're not going to do it because it's like we're going to
dizzy cruise. It's like we thought about it.
We could have stopped off on theway or done it on the way back.

(52:36):
Yeah, just might, might see if there's room room in the
itinerary. Well.
That's. It but I'm going to extend our
trip already. You always need to have
something to go back to next time, though.
I think that's the thing thing we've learnt the thing.
We've all booked the first trip and gone.
It's a once in a lifetime and then you realise like, OK, I
don't want that feeling back again.

(52:57):
Being out in that Florida weather.
I want to just be able to walk into Magic Kingdom.
I want to be able to just like, I don't know, just explore the
area and just I couldn't fit it in the two weeks.
You're never going to be able tofit in a two or three or John.
How Long's your longest trip then?
Oh, we went for five weeks one time, which was absolutely

(53:19):
incredible And and did you get bored being away for five weeks?
No, not for a minute. And that and that.
So that answers everyone's question is like, does it feel
really weird? Yeah.
Does it does it take away from the magic?
It doesn't. Didn't alter the magic
whatsoever. It didn't matter what we did.

(53:41):
We went to the beach, we went to, I think that was the trip
where we went to, went to Clearwater, but we also went to
Anamuria Island. We've also done Saint Augustine
up on the East Coast, up towardsJacksonville.
You go and you travel and you just take what Florida has and
because every single bit of it is absolutely beautiful.

(54:03):
And when you want to come home, you still don't want to come
back. And that's that's the worst.
That's the worst thing of the whole lot.
It's. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Oh, stunning. I bet that was.
That was fantastic. Fantastic.
Well, what's the longest trip you've done, Ben?
Sorry. Sorry to like flying Jack.
Yeah. No, per SE.
I'm in podcast mode. I think because of because of

(54:26):
work and stuff, it's probably been 17 nights.
Nice. Yeah.
Still on time there. Yeah.
It's still nice. It's just like you, I might be
17 or 18 and it's like you get back and it's like, I don't want
to go back to work. It's like, no.
And then it's like, I think we've just learned that trick.
It's like we need to at least have a plan of when we want to

(54:46):
go back. Yeah, yeah.
And. The Disney Blues is a thing.
It really is too right, Genuinely.
Yeah, and it's like we went lastOctober and it was incredible.
It was just a lost minute trip and it was like it would call it
a budget trip. And it really was.
It was like, we stayed at All Star Music.
No, so All Star Sports, that's where we've got the Tesla.

(55:08):
And it was like we had annual passes that were due to expire a
week or two later. So it was a last minute sort of
booking trip for everything. And it was like, and when we're
out there, it was our, was it 11month opening for us to book our
resort for this September. So it was like before we'd even
left, we'd already booked the next trip.

(55:30):
Oh, that's. That's how you want.
It I've got to say that. Yeah, I remember it.
We were in annual Kingdom or like one of our last I think
might been our last morning there and it was like I got my
phone now and it was like, OK, availability for Saratoga
Springs. There we go.
It's booked, it's done. We we now know where we're
staying next September. It's just, yeah.

(55:50):
Perfect. That's that's the way to do it.
Is and so now, now we've got Disney crews to go along with
it. Yeah, which we can't wait.
We had a, a Disney cruise bookedin 2020.
Obviously because of COVID and stuff, we ended up going on the
UK staycation one which was stuck in the UK for a little for
a few months. We went on that one for three
nights and we got the cruising bargains like we need to go back

(56:12):
on a cruise. So we're going to make, make
make most of that this year. Yeah, absolutely.
So when's your next trip then, Russ?
At the moment, solving design. Stages I don't know and the
reason the reason why is becauseof Epic.
I went in October and I've got acouple of non Orlando trips but

(56:32):
this year that were kind of likein the pipeline and already done
so I'm we're we're basically we're waiting on epic as soon as
epic gets announced, I then I book it is is is is is as simple
as that. If Epic basically ends up
getting announced for later in the year, I think we'll end up

(56:53):
booking for first half of the year and I think we'll
basically, I'm not sure I can wait that long.
So I think it'll be coming sooner.
It's interesting because the hotels are opening.
I'm going to guess they're goingto be open about 3 months
before. Yeah, that's my guess.
So I reckon that it's going to open for like Memorial Day
weekends like May. Yeah, yeah.

(57:15):
I think that seems to be the thegeneral.
Lesson Holidays. Yeah, Yeah, yeah.
So that's, that's the plan at the moment.
I mean, obviously as, as we knowlike these, these things change
quick and you know, given an opportunity to go, I'll be, I'll
be looking at pretty, pretty quick.
And that's the thing you just keep your eye out for whatever

(57:36):
deals are about. It's whether you use a travel
agent, whether you just look on like some of us do regularly
have sky scanner open on their laptop and just see if there's a
cheap flight at some time. Then you just think like I've
got some annual leave to use. It's like, can I do it?
This year is different for us because we're not doing the
parks as in all the parks, we'rejust doing Mickey's not so
scary. Halloween Party is the only park

(57:58):
and Universal at the end. Universal at the end of two
nights, last for one night but within two days.
But first time we're staying at Royal Pacific.
Oh fantastic, so. Making use of the express
passes. Yeah, no, definitely.
That'll be a that'll be a great experience, no doubt.
No doubt my mind. I, I'm not sure where, whether

(58:18):
I've worked it out yet that we're not going to be doing
Analogue Kingdom, Hollywood Studios or Epcot.
It's it's a bit weird. Yeah, it, it might sink in when
you're there. It might just, you know, but
yeah, it is what it is. And that's the thing with an
Orlando trip. Every single trip's a bit
different and, you know, for, for, for good, for good as well.

(58:39):
Like just doing different stuff.I'm all I'm all for it.
I think it's the things. If you do the same thing every
trip, sometimes it can be a bit monotonous, probably excluding
Cosmic Rewind, but there will besomething if I'm doing the same
thing over and over and it's like in the same order.
It's like they do something different each year or stay
somewhere different and find somewhere else to eat.

(59:01):
And having a car, it's a great place to eat off site.
We've found so many other restaurants, so many places and
save so much more money by just go eating off site than always
eating in the parks. Yeah, yeah, I'm a, I'm a big fan
of big fan of eating off site aswell.
I will be honest, I I do enjoy alittle Orlando, Orlando eat.

(59:22):
I've I've done a done an episodeon Best Orlando Eats and there's
there's quite a few of my favourites out there that I
recommend to a lot of people. No, I was going to say as well.
You mentioned about being off site, Russ, when you when you
stay, is that in a villa or do you go for off site hotels or
motels or? I've done both.

(59:44):
Yeah, it does. So my previous trip, we, it was
myself and my partner. I went with my parents for the
first time in years. And then my brother came as
well. And we, we basically got like a
three Storey apartment. It was in, it was in a place
called Vista K Resort. So it was kind of, it was an
Airbnb set up basically. And funnily enough, you, you

(01:00:08):
come out of the the site and it was opposite where the Stella
Nova, the Epic Universe Hotel was.
I literally I got to see. I got to see that every day.
Coming down the road. Yeah.
So, yeah. So I'd like I've done that on
the my most previous trip. But then I, you know, I've, I've

(01:00:29):
done international drive a number of times.
And then I've also done, there was one down the other end of
international Drive. I think it was a Sheraton one.
I can't remember what it was, but it, that was, I went with a
group of four of us and we did like, it was kind of a, a bit
more of a villa set up. Yeah.
So I've, I've done, I've done various in, in, in and around

(01:00:51):
kind of Universal Blvd. International Drive kind of
area. I mean, over the years, I mean
years ago when I was younger, wewe stayed at Champions Gate,
which I think is a little bit further out.
It was a lovely place. I think I'd appreciate it an
awful lot more now I'm a little bit older, I'll be honest.
Fabulous place. Yeah.

(01:01:13):
So that that's, that's what I'vedone.
But I mean, again, I think in terms of preference that I like,
I've held no preference to either.
I'll, I'll, you know, ultimately, if it means I get to
go out there, I'm, I'll go to whichever.
Place is possible. Yeah.
I think that's, that's exactly it, isn't it?
You know, I think the only thingI draw, the only thing I draw

(01:01:34):
the line at is camping. That's about it.
I'm with you, just Joe camping. No, just just purely on the on
the mosquito front and that and that.
That's the greatest camping I I I would get is the cabins and.
I could do that. Look brilliant I.
Just like, yeah, I definitely sing out and just get eaten
alive. Yeah, no, that not.

(01:01:56):
That wouldn't be too fun, no? It wouldn't.
It's especially just really thing just like the sort of
Orlando and Florida wildlife. Yeah, that doesn't bear.
Let's let's not even go now. Just yeah, yeah, the thought of
an alligator. Yeah.
If I can't see it, yeah, well, you can't see.

(01:02:17):
You won't. Hurt you at the moment, I see.
It I'm not quite as keen. You see it and then that's all
you can think about if you're ifyou're through.
And if you're off lights up in ahotel, that's fine.
And if you're if you're in the in a villa, you've got the lanai
out the back as well. Yeah, detected.
That's it. I think that's that's the reason
Becca only likes to whenever we check into a Disney hotel.

(01:02:40):
She doesn't like when we've got a balcony.
She doesn't like being underground film.
So it was after ask her. I wonder whether that's it.
Might it might be right? It's a good shout as well.
Let's be. Honest.
Not so it's nice if you've got abalcony, you want to look out.
You don't want. There are some of the resorts
that we've stayed at. Whereas if you're on the ground
floor, you just see everyone walking in the mornings to go
get the refillable mugs. Yeah.

(01:03:01):
And everyone's gone off breakfast.
It's like, do you want that if you've got all the curtains open
in the morning? No, no, Not what you want to say
every morning. No, indeed, no.
Oh, brilliant. So I'm going to ask you one
more, one more question, really just purely out of nosiness,
because you know, we've just celebrated after 5th anniversary
as a podcast. You know, you've, you start this

(01:03:23):
Orlando adventures podcast. Why, why, why do you, why do you
even have that bit where you, you suddenly one day wake up and
say, I'm going to turn all my travels and I'm going to share
them and I'm going to put them out there for everyone to listen
to. You know, what was it?
Where did you where did you downfrom?
Great question. It's a great question.

(01:03:43):
Oh, ultimately, I, I love Orlando.
I mean, that's quite clear. And like I said, I, I, I, I
consume a lot of Orlando and Disney and universal content.
I love seeing it on Instagram. I love seeing it on, on YouTube.
So I spend a lot of my time doing it.
And obviously I'll do anything Ican to get out there on holiday.

(01:04:04):
And I think ultimately over the years I've like, I've looked for
Orlando based podcasts and obviously there's universal and
there's Disney, which, you know,is, is perfect and I, and I
listen to them, but I couldn't necessarily find one, which was
Orlando. I kind of like that was kind of

(01:04:25):
going a bit further and not justtrying to stay in the bubbles of
the parks. So I kind of just went from
there and went, you know what, maybe I just make it.
Maybe I, maybe I just make the podcast and I, as much as
anything, I, I, I wanted to makea platform for all of these
content creators that I see and I enjoy, enjoy consuming their

(01:04:47):
content. I wanted to create a platform to
have them come on as guests and speak to them and hear about
their experiences. And that's kind of what it's
come from. Ultimately, I love talking about
it. So I figured why not talk about
it every week if I could talk about it every week.
I mean, obviously I do my podcast on my own and I managed
to sit here for an hour and talkabout all and on my own.

(01:05:09):
So the moment I get guests I'm, I'm off.
Yeah, I think we've had shows. I think we we had to cut down
our 5th birthday show because itwas 2 1/2 hours long.
Oh my God. So we've decided to split it
weekly for Yeah throughout all throughout June, just because it
was just yeah, it's yeah. It was amazing to look back at
all the stuff I bet over the last five years.

(01:05:32):
And, and genuinely, I would say like a testament to your, to
your channel as well. Like you've been going for five
years and you put out such informative information and like
hearing different guests and hearing what you, you've all
been doing on your trips, like absolutely fantastic.
I like, I honestly can't, can't hold my hands up and say how
good a job you're doing. Enough, really.

(01:05:56):
Nobody ever tells us that like, yeah, we're really self critical
and things like that. Yeah, we, we just open the
computer up and we're just like,we just between all of us, we do
what we've done for this show and we just talk about a place.
Yeah, we love going. And I think that that certainly
comes across in your content. I would say that.

(01:06:17):
And it's that it's having that passion for a place where you
can't lose yourself for, however, it doesn't really, it
doesn't matter if you go for five days, five weeks, it
doesn't matter. You actually have that shut off
time where you just go and just soak it all up and you come back
and you want to go back again. And, and that really comes

(01:06:38):
across loud and clear and what you're, you're creating.
And I think that that's certainly something I know, I
know it's very close to our heart as a, as a, a podcast and
even as a, a YouTube show on a Wednesday where we, we talk
about all kinds, all kinds of stuff.
But it's that, it's that passionAnd that, you know, I don't, I

(01:06:59):
actually, I think I've said thisto the rest of the team is the
fact that actually I enjoy just having that shared bit with,
with other people, but also with, with our group.
And if nobody else actually listened to it or watched it,
I'd still be talking about it anyway.
So it doesn't really matter. Yeah, exactly that.
Like ultimately the same with with with yours.

(01:07:22):
You can tell that you enjoy this, like you wouldn't do this
unless you loved it and that, and that's what Orlando's all
about. And I think just the passion
that that that all of you have for it and, and myself as well
and being able to share that with other people and share
their experiences, I think it really is a special, special
place. I really do think so.
I think we've all all experienced that person you've

(01:07:44):
spoken to maybe at work or someone who can that rolls their
eyes like Eve and Orlando again.And it's like this.
They they don't get it. They don't get it.
Go. My, my mum still says that to
me. Now you're going there again.
Obviously we're trying to get mypartner around as well.
Sometimes she's like, can't we go somewhere else?

(01:08:04):
And I'm like, I'm like, how about Orlando?
The best thing is like, how about we go to Mexico, the UK,
we go to France. That sort of works, but yeah.
Oh I love. That we, we did it all inclusive
in Gran Canaria a couple of years ago and it was like, it
was nice. But then as soon as we got off

(01:08:26):
that holiday, but back on the players, like I'm looking at
flights and they're like, I need, I need, I need a bit of
Orlando. You need a bit of universal,
just something different. It was, it was a lovely holiday.
I'm not going to say anything bad about Gran Canary.
It was in, it was incredible. It was what was needed.
But sometimes you just miss a bit of that magic.
Yeah, I completely agree. Now hit the nail on the head.

(01:08:49):
Yeah, you miss a bit of magic, and I think that's why we all do
what we're doing at the moment. We're just talking about a place
that that we all love. Yeah, yeah.
Couldn't agree more. Couldn't agree more.
Yeah. And that just about wraps up our
show for today. It's a huge thanks to Russ from
Land of Avengers Podcast for joining.
It's been a pleasure to have youon the show.
Yeah. Thank you so much for having me

(01:09:09):
like genuinely, I like, I can't thank you enough.
I really appreciate it and I love your your podcast and the
content you're putting out. I think like what a, a wonderful
group of people. You're obviously like genuinely
lovely people and I, I, I've, I've got a lot of time for, for,
for what you're doing. Thank you.
Thank you. And before we end the show,

(01:09:30):
Russ, can you let our audience know where they can find you on
sort of your socials and most importantly, your podcast?
Yep. So Orlando Adventures podcast on
Instagram and then I have Orlando Adventures podcast on
Spotify, Amazon Music, and AppleMusic as well.
Brilliant. So don't forget to subscribe and

(01:09:51):
leave a review. And it really does help out sort
of especially with the podcast algorithm.
And if you also you're watching us on YouTube, if you've enjoyed
today's show, hit the like button.
And and also if you want even more of this waffle, just clear
to subscribe to. So we're on social media at GB
Mickey Waffle says to stay upstate on all things more.
We're on like Instagram threads,TikTok.

(01:10:14):
I think there's too many to count now.
Until until next time, keep waffling on and there's just one
thing left to say. We'll see you real soon.
See you real soon. Now my wheels in motion and my
windows open with the wind blowing in my head, I'm driving
down the highway. Gonna do this my way.

(01:10:36):
I can feel it in the air. Here I go.

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Beyond The Disney Bubble with Orlando Adventures Podcast - June 2024

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Beyond The Disney Bubble with Orlando Adventures Podcast - June 2024