Adventures with Holly - A Vacationeer

03/03/2025

Today I am highlighting the Everglades as a travel destination. While many people think it is just swamp and alligators, there is so much more to it than that! The airboat tours are very popular (and definitely fun!), but I also want to highlight some of the less known options.

1. ranger led programs: There was a fulll schedule of these for each area of the park (make sure you select the correct area of the park when you look for these on the website since there are many entrances!). We particularly enjoyed the free ranger-led kayaking tour out of Flamingo Bay.
2. Biking: There are bike trails (you can rent a bike or bring your own) that bring you right past gators. Some are dedicated like in Shark Valley and some share the road with cars.
3. “Hiking” and boating: see videos in the comments, but there are a lot of boating and hiking opportunities.

Tips: I highly recommend the winter months for this activity as the area can be hot and buggy. There is some camping in the Everglades or you can stay outside the park (let me know if you want help booking that or a tour). Another “good to know” is that you will enter a cell service dead zone inside the Everglades. There was a guest WiFi at Flamingo Bay and a few other spots, but for the most part we were without service completely and the older phones were without it even longer. I recommend mapping out your route beforehand and getting it saved so you know where you are going.

02/23/2025

02/20/2025

Epcot festivals always bring some unique offerings to the parks. Here are a few of my finds last week! The Indiana jones one looks to be getting replaced with one that has Yoda now. The broadway singers performing are such a fun part of the festival as well! For people who attend the parks regularly, or are just big fans of art, the Festival of Arts is a wonderful way to mix-up th Epcot day.

02/19/2025

On your way into Toy Story Land, it can be easy to not notice that there is a little Pixar meet and Greet area. I took a picture of it on the Disney map and circled it because the lines are often not as long for these characters since it is a bit tucked away!

The morning we were there, Joy and Edna Mode were greeting people and this area with the Pixar lamp was open, so we snapped a picture there instead!

02/18/2025

Just wanted to post another photo of Universal Studio’s parade. I love that the floats are so tall you don’t have to be in the front to see them well!

02/12/2025

Here is what a standard room looks like at Pop Century with the bed pulled back to be a table.

02/12/2025

I have eaten in the majority of restaurants at Disney World,
but Space 220 was one I had not yet gotten to enjoy in person, so I made sure it happened when Matt and I had a getaway last week!

The dining theme here is that you are in a restaurant 220 miles above Florida, so you get to blast up into space and watch “earth” from afar, including watching people in spacesuits (one was snowboarding? Spaceboarding?) and space shuttles go past.

The food is definitely a bit more upscale for Disney (we really enjoyed both appetizers), but the real draw is the atmosphere!

Pro tip: if you do your reservation at the lounge (where we were) instead of the restaraunt, you will be a bit farther back from the window, but you can choose to order just appetizers or drinks rather than being required to do the pre fixe meal options in the regular dining space. The lunch menu is also less expensive than the dinner menu if price is a factor.

02/11/2025

I absolutely love this Make Your Own ears option at Disney World!

02/11/2025

I am posting this just because there is so much beauty in Florida when you leave the cities. This is sunrise at Rodman Campground, north of Orlando. This is a nice spot if you are traveling by RV.

02/10/2025

One resort that I think goes underappreciated at Universal Studios (especially for adults) is Adventura. It has a higher-end feel than a lot off the other lower cost resorts, is walking distance to Volcano Bay, has. Restaraunt with amazing views, and has a robot that can bring you your food. What more could you want!

02/03/2025

Animal Kingdom is such a pretty and peaceful park!

02/03/2025

01/31/2025

01/31/2025

Universal Studios Orlando puts on some really fun parades, especially if you get nostalgic about Back to the Future, Ghostbusters, ET and Jurassic Park.

01/29/2025

Curious about the walk to the skyliner from Pop Century? This is from almost the farthest point you could stay at the resort (we could have been back just a bit more from the lake), it gives you an idea of what a lovely stroll it is to get to this amazing transportation option for Epcot and Hollywood Studios.

01/28/2025

Here is a little blast from my past! These photos are ones I took of the Paint the Night Parade when it had just introduced to Disneyland for the first time at their 60th anniversary!

Now, they are bringing it back for the 70th, and the parade is so fun!

01/25/2025

I am super excited about these since I am definitely going to Disneyland for their 70th anniversary!

01/25/2025

Here is the video of the fireworks from the beach at Polynesian. So beautiful!