Category : Florida
A few weeks ago, my family and I got the chance to drive to Orlando and meet Shrek and his pals. It isn’t often that you can see snow and ice in Orlando, Florida but you can if you visit the Dreamworks Experience at the Gaylord Palms. I was honored to represent Travel Mamas, a site that I love and read often. Hop on over to Travel Mamas and read about our visit to the Gaylord Palms Resort Dreamworks Experience!
When you walk around LEGOLAND Florida, you will spot lots of figures made from LEGO bricks. The kids love spotting them everywhere they turned.
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Over 50 million bricks were used in the building of LEGOLAND Florida. You can find those bricks all over the park but many of them are in Miniland USA. Miniland USA is exactly that…a mini-land made out of LEGO bricks. Though you would think my kids wanted to hop on as many rides as they could, they chose to spend time in Miniland USA every time we walked past it. There were buttons to push, things to watch and buildings to recognize. We loved spying landmarks that we have seen in person and I was so excited when Big S spotted the Washington Monument, something he remembered seeing on a previous trip.
My LEGO-loving son couldn’t get enough of Miniland and I could see the wheels turning in his head about the different structures he was going to try to build with his own LEGO bricks when we got home!
See my other posts about our visit to LEGOLAND Florida:
One Adult and Two Kids at LEGOLAND Florida
LEGOLAND Florida in Winter Haven – A Weekend Getaway from Pensacola
Posted in Navarre on November 8, 2011
Navarre Beach sits between Pensacola and Destin on the gulf coast of Florida. We are lucky enough to live in Pensacola and we visit Destin regularly during the summer for its great shopping, restaurants, and beaches but we normally cruise right past Navarre. In a recent visit to Navarre Beach, I realized that we have been missing out on a great family friendly beach destination.
The beaches are filled with laughter from kids splashing in the water and digging in the sand. All of the restaurants that we ate at welcomed children of all ages. There is an amazing park and splash pad as well as a butterfly house that is great to visit. We stayed at the Summerwind West.
Summerwind is a condominium located on the water just steps away from the Navarre Beach Pier, the longest pier on the Gulf Coast. There are so many pros to staying in a condo and they often outweigh the cons. I love to be able to spread out and give the kids their own space. It is nice to put them in bed and not have to worry about disturbing them if I want to watch some late night television or stare at the stars from my balcony. This was my view in the morning…not too bad.
We stayed in a three bedroom unit managed by ResortQuest that was decorated in beachy decor. One bedroom slept two in one bed, the second bedroom slept two in bunk beds, and the master bedroom had a king sized bed. In the living room, the couch was a pullout, sleeping a total of eight. The unit had two large bathrooms and a fully equipped kitchen. Both the master bedroom and the living room led out to beautiful balconies facing the water.
Things to know before you go with kids: When you first arrive at your condo, be sure to check the sliding glass doors that lead out to the balcony. Our living room door was locked but our bedroom door was not. I promptly locked the doors so my little one couldn’t head out on the balcony by herself.
The unit we stayed in also had a washer and dryer that were great for cleaning up the towels after a long day at the beach. Exiting out the back of the condo building, it is just a short walk past the pool and on to a boardwalk that will take you directly to the beach. The pool is big enough that even though there were usually at least two other families there, it never felt like it was crowded.
You don’t use a key to get into the condo; you use a keypad. The number was easy to remember but I tucked a copy of it into my bag so that I always had it with me in case we forgot. Using the keypad was great because it meant that we didn’t have to worry about carrying a key with us while we were at the beach. It also meant that I didn’t have to worry about whether or not I was putting the keycard next to my phone which inevitably always makes it so the key doesn’t work.
The location of Summerwind is perfect for a family vacation. There are a lot of condos and houses on the strip of beach but Summerwind is within walking distance of the pier where kids will love to watch the fishermen bring up their catch and try to spy stingrays or sharks in the water. It is also a short walk from several restaurants so you don’t have to get in the car and drive after a long day spent at the beach.
Do you prefer to stay in condos and house rentals or hotels when you travel?
We were told by Captain Kirk of Condor Sailing Adventures that October is a great time to sail…he wasn’t lying. Our sail with Condor Sailing Adventures was a blast and the kids are still talking about how much fun it was.
Little S thinks she is rather suited to this sailing life!
Big S has decided that he doesn’t want to live in a house when he grows up…he wants to live in a sailboat. Driving the boat is serious work!
And really…who can blame them?
(That is the new baseball stadium that is finally going up. It has been years in the making and we can’t wait until it opens for the Pensacola Blue Wahoos 2012 season!)
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*Thank you to Condor Sailing Adventures for hosting us! As always, my opinions are my own with no outside influences.
LEGOLAND Florida is a LEGO lover’s paradise! My two children, one who is 7 and one who is turning 5 at the end of the month, fell in love with LEGOLAND Florida the minute we walked through the gates. My daughter was tall enough to ride every ride she wanted to and my son was big enough to ride almost every ride by himself. This is important to note about our trip to LEGOLAND Florida because I made the visit by myself with my two kids.
One adult, two kids. Young kids. Kids that are not very tall. Or extremely brave when it comes to amusement park rides.
I was worried about what would happen when we got to a ride where both children had to have an adult with them but the rides at LEGOLAND Florida were designed with children ages 2-12 in mind. Aside from the roller coasters, we only had one other time that my son could not ride by himself. Unlike other theme parks where you find yourself hanging out in one section most of the day, the entire park beckons children to hop on the rides and experience things by themselves. At the same time, adults can ride with their children enhancing the family experience.
What I loved best at LEGOLAND Florida was the number of rides that my four year old could ride on her own. Here are a few of our favorites!
Jr. Driving School – After watching big brother drive his own car around the streets at the Ford Driving School, Little S was ready to practice driving herself. The track is smaller and perfect for the little ones to try their hand at driving. Parents are able to sit along the fence around the track to talk to their children or take pictures.
Beetle Bounce – This was, by far, both children’s favorite ride. They rode it several times both days we were there. Children are strapped in and the ride brings them up in the air before dropping them and then bouncing them back up. This ride was also one of the least crowded both days.
The Lost Kingdom Adventure – You ride around in a car that fits four people. Each person gets a laser gun to fire at targets and the person with the most points at the end wins. Both of my kids were able to sit in the front of the car and I sat in the back. I was able to keep an eye on them and beat them at the game!
Rides that would have been more fun with a second adult:
Aqua Zone Wave Racers – This was one of my favorite and least favorite rides at the same time! We actually entered through the exit because of a misplaced sign, so we didn’t see the height requirement. My son was too short to ride by himself. Luckily when we reached the front of the line, the Model Citizen (LEGOLAND Employee) told me that my son could wait while I ride with my daughter and then my daughter can wait while I ride with my son. Sounds like a great idea right? Um, it was except for the fact that the ride does nothing but whip you around in a circle. Over and over and over again.
Roller coasters – While both of my children were tall enough to go on all four of the roller coasters at LEGOLAND, my son refused to ride in the seat by himself (and frankly, I don’t blame him!) and there was no way I was putting my four year old in a seat by herself. I am sure that we could have waited in line until someone came up that was going to ride by themselves, but we decided not to.
Rescue Academy – At LEGOLAND Florida, most of the rides have some sort of interactive element and Rescue Academy is no exception. You hop on a fire truck, pump a handle back and forth to race to the fire, put the fire out by pumping the fire hydrant and then you pump the fire truck back to the finish line. I am not going to lie…this was a lot of work. With two little ones that didn’t do much of the work, this mama was exhausted! I definitely could have used some help and I wish I had paired up with the mom and toddler in the car next to me. They were having as much trouble as I was!
Thank you to LEGOLAND Florida for hosting me and helping to subsidize my expenses. All opinions are my own with no outside influences (except maybe my kids!)
Posted in Navarre on October 6, 2011
A few weeks ago, we attended the Navarre Sand Sculpting Festival. We actually have a sand sculpting festival in Pensacola but I always have a reason not to go…too hot, too much to do, too crowded, and so on.
While in Navarre, we stayed in a beautiful condo just a few steps away from the sand sculptures. This made it very easy to check out the sculptures throughout the weekend and see them as they progressed from piles of sands to intricate works of art. The “Before” pictures were taken a day after the festival and contest began. The “Almost Complete” pictures were taken just a few hours before the festival and contest ended.
Work in Progress
Almost Complete
Work in Progress
Almost Complete
Work in Progress (This was my daughter’s favorite!)
Almost Complete (This picture does not do this sculpture justice. See the completed picture.)
Work in Progress
Almost Complete
Work in Progress
Almost Complete
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The 50′s Prime Time Cafe is set up like mom’s kitchen…complete with curtains on the windows, black and white televisions, and tasty dishes just like mom would make. You will find pot roast, meatloaf, fried chicken, chicken noodle soup and tuna casserole on the menu!
The waiters and waitresses are absolutely hilarious. They make sure you know that your elbows do not belong on the table. Be careful because if you are caught with your elbows on the table more than once you will be punished! My husband had to stand up with his nose in a corner! It is all in good fun and we all had a laugh at my husband’s expense. When your plate is clean, you get a Clean Plate Club sticker!
Our kids thought the best part of the meal was when it was time to pick our dessert. This is the dessert menu:
We were able to recharge with food, cool off in the air conditioning and as soon as we were done with dessert we were ready to stand in line for another ride!
Wander on by Wanderfood Wednesday to see sweet and savory dishes around the world!
Posted in Orlando on August 26, 2011
Although their Jedi Training at Disney World’s Hollywood Studios got rained out before they could even yield a light saber, the disappointment was quickly wiped off of their faces when they found out they were going to meet Darth Vader and his Storm Trooper anyway!
Stop by Delicious Baby to travel the world all while sitting in your computer chair!
We don’t wait in line to meet the characters while we are at Disney World. Call me a bad mom but I just can’t stand waiting in line to snap a picture and get an autograph while we are missing rides and shows. I don’t think my kids are really all that interested either. If they are desperate to meet characters, I would rather set up a character dining experience. That being said, while we were at Disney at the beginning of the month, we met two different characters. We were walking by this friend just as he arrived so there was no line. The boy cousins thought the meeting was hilarious!
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