Junior #NInja Review – Orlando, Florida

DAY 1
I flew to Orlando with my Mum, Dad and my 2 brothers. We flew from Belfast with Virgin Atlantic. The flight was delayed for about an hour. Despite the delay, the flight was really good. It had a great selection of movies for kids and adults. They even had the newest movies such as Justice League and Daddy’s Home 2.
When we landed the airport was really busy and it took a while to get through customs, get our bags and to pick up our car. We got a great car from Avis car hire, the car was super comfy.
We drove from the airport to the place where we were staying, Bahama Bay Resort. It was a beautiful resort with pools, hot tubs, wildlife, a great clubhouse and even a mini beach!

Day 2
We woke up early and my Dad got us donuts as a treat for our first breakfast. After breakfast we headed to Universal Orlando’s Islands of Adventure. We went on some great rides, such as Dudley Do-Right’s Rip-Saw Falls. There are lots of Super Hero rides too, I love the Spider-Man ride and getting to meet Spider-Man! Islands of Adventure has lots of different parts, Harry Potter, Jurassic Park and Seuss Landings. It is so much fun!
We went to Walmart on our way back to our condo to get shopping. Walmart is massive, my brother William and I love the toys in Walmart and the cool t-shirts.
After Walmart we came back to Bahama Bay and went to the pool and the kid’s splash zone where we got drenched. My baby brother absolutely loved it!
In the evening we went for a walk. We went down a nature trail, had a look at the other pool and mini beach and looked out on the lake to see if we could see any alligators (we couldn’t see any!) We then went to the clubhouse to play pool, it was brilliant!

Day 3
We woke up early again this morning. 6am in Florida feels like 11am at home and for a few days, it’s really weird! My Dad thinks this is great though as we can go to the parks super early on the first few days and arrive for them opening. So this morning we went to Universal Studios. My Mum, my brother William and I went straight onto the Hollywood Rip Ride Rocket when we arrived. It is awesome! We rode lots of great rides, Revenge of the Mummy, Transformers, The Simpsons, Men In Black. We had lunch at a place called The Sandwich Bar at Universal, it was delicious!
When we arrived back at Bahama Bay we went for a swim. We had dinner from a place called Pizzanos. It was yummy, we had pizza, chicken tenders and barbecue chicken wings.

Day 4
This morning we went to Disney Springs. The Lego Shop there is brilliant. I made my own Lego figures and my brother got a cool Black Panther Lego set. The shops at Disney Springs are great. There is a brilliant Disney Store where my baby brother got some toys. There is even a Disney Christmas shop!
We spent the rest of the day at the pool. We had lots of fun. After dinner we went to the clubhouse and played pool.

Day 5
We had breakfast then headed back to the pool. We spent most of the day relaxing at the pool today. My Dad took my baby brother for a walk round the lake and saw an alligator! We all went with him to see it but we didn’t go too close!
We went for dinner to Joe’s Crabshack. It was sooooo good. My Dad and I got crab pots and had to wear big bibs! After dinner we went to Islands of Adventure again. We love going to the parks in the evening. They are always a bit quieter and Mum and Dad like that the parking is free! We have a 2 week ticket for Universal so we can come and go which is good. My Mum and I went on the Incredible Hulk rollercoaster, it is so exciting! We also went on Dr Doom’s Fear Fall. Mum hadn’t been on it since she had been in Orlando with friends years ago but she remembered not liking it and was really nervous about doing it again. Mum loves rollercoasters so my brother and I were a bit nervous but we didn’t think it was that bad! Mum was shouting “HATE IT” during the ride which was really funny!

Day 6
In the morning we went to Orlando Premium Outlets. We went to lots of great shops. My Mum had a great time – my Dad not so much!! There is an awesome sweet shop where we got pic n mix.
It was cloudy today so we headed to Disney Springs. We went to the AMC Cinema and saw the Greatest Showman, it’s my favourite film! We had dinner after the cinema in Wolfgang Puck Express. The kids pizza was one of my favourites.

Day 7
It was really sunny again today so we had a pool day. My brother and I made new friends from Canada. We had lots of fun together and it was so hot!

Day 8
We woke up and went to the supermarket. Then we came home, had lunch and left to go to Volcano Bay. It’s the new water park at Universal Orlando. When we arrived we couldn’t get in! It was full to capacity so they had closed the Park. We were disappointed but we knew that we would come back again.
We came back to Bahama Bay and went to the pool and played with our new friends.
We rented a DVD from the Clubhouse, Justice League. It was awesome.

Day 9
We had another pool day today, the weather was so hot again!
We headed to Florida Mall after having dinner in TGI Fridays. Florida Mall has lots of great shops. I love the Crayola shop, I got a tin filled with felt tip pens. There is a massive M&M shop there too, we stocked up!!!

Day 10
We got up really early this morning and headed to Volcano Bay again.. Thankfully we got in this time! They give you TapuTapu wristbands in Volcano Bay that give you a return time so you can have fun instead of waiting in a boring queue!
We rode lots of great rides such as Ko’okiri. It’s a 70-degree fall through a trap door with a 125 feet drop down to the water! It was scary, but awesome!
We had lunch there then rode the Krakatau Aqua Coaster. You are in a canoe which goes up the volcano before plunging through a waterfall. I loved it!
We headed back to Bahama Bay and spent the rest of the day there, we were exhausted!

Day 11
We relaxed at the pool today until the afternoon. Then we went to Islands of Adventure and went on lots of cool rides. I love Harry Potter and Islands of Adventure has the Forbidden Journey ride which is brilliant. You walk through Hogwarts before getting on the ride. When we arrived there was an awesome light show at the front of Hogwarts.
You walk through Hogsmeade in Islands of Adventure where you can buy Butterbeer and a wand. It’s really cool! You can then get the Hogwarts Express from Islands of Adventure over to Universal Studios. You arrive in Diagon Alley at Universal Studios. There you can ride the Gringotts rollercoaster. There is a massive fire breathing dragon over Gringotts Bank!

Day 12
We went to Orlando Premium Outlets again today for more shopping. The shops are great and we got some new clothes. We had lunch there then headed back to Bahama Bay.
We went to the pool and stayed until 8pm with our friends, then our friends came to our condo andwe stayed up until midnight!

Day 13
We went to the pool today until lunchtime. Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway was at Universal Studios and my Mum and I really wanted to go! Mum tried to get tickets but had no luck but we decided to go anyway. The atmosphere was brilliant and we saw Dec, Jason Derulo and Craig David up close!
My brother’s birthday was the next day so we went to Disney Springs for him to get Lego for his birthday present. When we arrived there was a huge thunderstorm and we got soaked but it was good fun running through the crazy warm rain!

Day 14
The last full day of our holiday ☹ Today is my brother’s birthday and he wanted to spend it at Universal. We went to Universal first and got straight onto the Hollywood Rip Ride Rocket. It is a brilliant rollercoaster, it is really fast and you pick a song to listen to when you’re on it, it’s so cool! We got the Hogwarts Express over to Islands of Adventure where we went on the Hippogriff rollercoaster.
For my brother’s birthday we went to the Chocolate Emporium at Universal, the deserts were enormous and delicious! My brother had a brilliant birthday in Orlando!

Day 15
We travelled home today. Our flight wasn’t until 8pm so Mum and Dad decided we should pack in as much as we could before going to the airport! We went to Disney Springs for lunch then Florida Mall for some very last minute shopping.
The flight home was good. I didn’t sleep very much but I watched some films which were great.
I had a brilliant time in Orlando, it is my favourite place in the world. There is so much to do with the parks and I love playing at the pool as well. It was the best holiday, I loved it!