AttractionTickets Sarah

04/09/2026

Free Disney Dining & Drinks is coming BACK from April 21st 2026! 🍴

Pre-register your interest today and receive an exclusive code for an additional discount when you book in the first 7 days: https://www.attractiontickets.com/en/free-dining-and-drinks-walt-disney-world-resort-florida?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=ebo&utm_content=pre-reg

Simply book a selected 2027 Disney Resort hotel + ticket package to Walt Disney World Resort in Florida with AttractionTickets.com and each guest aged 3+ will get*:

🥪 Disney Value Resort hotels - Free Quick-Service Meal per night
🌮 Disney Moderate Resort hotels - Free Quick-Service Dining Plan
🍜 Disney Deluxe Resort hotels & Deluxe Villas - Free Table-Service Dining Plan

PLUS, an EXTRA 10% OFF your total package, exclusively when you book with AttractionTickets.com.

Tag someone you need to start planning your holiday with!

*T&Cs and exclusions apply

12/12/2025

Day 5- Endless summer dockside site visit and last few hours in the park before flying home.
Today was our last day in Orlando we checked out of Stella Nova and headed over to Endless Summer Dockside - not before we all bought an Epic sweater each to remind us of our fantastic trip!
Endless summer is set on the site of where Wet&wild water park used to be and is a stones throw away from International drive. It compromises 2 hotels
Surf side- smaller of the 2 with 750 rooms quieter resort
Dockside has 2000 rooms a pool bar and lobby bar so if guests are looking for a more lively resort this is the place to be.
Each hotel has 2 queen bed rooms and 2 bedroom suites making this hotel perfect for larger families/ groups.
The rooms have been very well designed with raised beds for storage and hooks on the mirror to hang bags/ coats from. The suites have 2 queen beds and a bed in a separate room -these rooms sleep up to 6.
The grab and go restaurant is brilliant and this resort also has the largest Starbucks.
Buses run frequently to all 4 parks.
We took the bus over to city walk where we split into groups, some hit the parks others went shopping and back to the hotel pool to finally catch some rays! Today was the only sunny day of the trip, however we all agreed it would have made the parks harder had the weather been warm the whole time. Before long it was time to head back to Stella Nova for one more kids pizza and fries before heading to the airport. Check in was fast and Cathy secured us a time slot to go through security- definitely worth doing this whenever you are flying out of Orlando! We were through within 10 mins! The flight home was full due to Aer Lingus cancelling the Manchester flight but we still all managed to get some sleep. The flight time was 6hrs 50 mins a little bumpy in parts with turbulence but we landed safely.
I am now home and can’t believe what an amazing time we all had! So very lucky and massive thanks to Dave and Laura from Universal for looking after us!

12/11/2025

Day 4- Site visits and more park fun!
Today we were supposed to visit Volcano Bay but due to the colder weather it was closed, this is something to always point out to customers to check the Universal App for full opening hours.
We started the day with breakfast at Loews Royal Pacific, another signature hotel that includes unlimited express passes to Universal studios and Islands of Adventure. This hotel has been remoddled a few years ago and are in the process of renovating the guests bedrooms. We did see a bit of works taking place but they are working on 1 floor at a time so the disruption is kept to a minimum. The lobby area is so light and airy and the bar is the focal point of this Hotel. We were lucky enough to see a refurbished room on floor 7 so again tiptop for anyone staying here request floor 7 for a refurb room. They were working on floor 3 so supposedly that means floors 6,5,4 are also complete.
After breakfast and tour we hopped across the road ( there is a walking bridge we were supposed to use but Dave lives dangerously 😂) into the back entrance of Sapphire falls and through to Aventura.
I stayed at Aventura 2 years ago on the superfam but never got to see bar17 so this was fab to go up and look round. Amazing views over the park and hotels-
Fun fact- when building the bar they noticed how filthy cabana bays roof was so had to get it cleaned 😂
We then went back to Sapphire falls to look round. This is a signature hotel however does not include express. It is a firm favourite with guests and you can see why! Caribbean beach themed the rooms are light and airy and a lot of the rooms over look the pool or lagoon. Once the tour had ended we got the water taxi over to the parks- but first took a photo infront of the globe.
The park felt a little busier today but we all had unlimited express passes so no waiting in lines! 🙌
Soon it was time to head back to the hotel and get ready for dinner at Mama Dellas restaurant at Portofino Bay.
Portofino Bay is the last of the signature hotels and has a very different vibe to the other hotels. This hotel was recently remodelled and wow it’s just stunning. You really feel like you are in Italy. The hotel has 3 guest bedroom wings and most have views over the sweeping bay and with 3 pools to choose from plus the most restaurants than any of the other Hotels you really are spoilt for choice. You may even catch a live performance of an opera singer from the balcony!
The rooms have been remodelled and are so much better, the partition between the bedroom and the bathroom has been replaced with a solid wall making it more separate.
We were lucky enough to see a deluxe room and a kids suite! Club level rooms are dotted all over the hotel so the club level lounge is located on the ground floor rather than then having a dedicated floor.
Balconies are allocated at random and there are not many rooms that come with a balcony.
It was so fab to see the minion suite as we do get asked questions on these rooms. I can confirm you can fit a tall teenager in the capsule bed. There is a king bed in the main room plus a sleeper chair bed and then the kids room is a twin. Love this room!
Once the tour was complete it was time for dinner at Mama Dellas where we were serenaded by opera singers and even met Mama Della! We had a 4 course banquet the food just kept coming and everyone said how amazing it was.
Today is our last day here, we have a site visit of Endless Summer then it’s free time until our flight home.

We all feel so lucky to have been able to experience what we have this past few days.

12/10/2025

Day 3 of the Universal Fam trip started with breakfast at Hard Rock Hotel at The Kitchen followed by a site expection of this fab hotel!

Breakfast was an all you can eat Buffet and was a great way to start the day. The hotel has just completed a refurbishment that included The Kitchen, the rooms as well as the facade of the hotel. This hotel has been a firm favourite with guests for a long time and you can see why! A 7 minute walk to the park, spacious rooms, music playing in every part of the hotel including the swimming pool and not forgetting unlimited express passes to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure for the duration of you stay. The hotel also offer club level rooms on the 7th floor that has access to the Royalty Rock Lounge which is open 7am- 930pm. Guests can enjoy breakfast, afternoon snacks, evening drinks and desserts.

After the visit we made our way to the park using the walking path. It really is so close to the park entrance. You clear security here too again another benefit of staying on site. Within 10 minutes we were in Universal Studios meeting Todd our VIP tour guide of the day.

We picked up our VIP lanyards and off we went to start our day at Islands of Adventure.
I absolutely love these 2 parks. There is so much to do and experience here for all ages.

Rides completed- Hagrids twice so you can experience both the bike and the side car.
I sat out of Forbidden Journey and instead watched the Hogwarts choir complete with toad puppets.
Velocicoaster- just as exhilarating and terrifying as I remembered but I did enjoy it this time.
Skull Island reign of kong- one of my favs in this park it might be a older ride but it’s still brilliantly done.
The amazing adventures of Spider-Man who doesn’t love Spidey!

We then had a quick lunch in Suess Landing as we had a date with a very important person- The Grinch! We were so lucky to have our very own private meet and greet with the main man- the wait times to see him were over 2 hours. This was one of the highlights of the day and trip so far!

We jumped on the Hogwarts Express over to Universal Studios- top tip ride this each way!

Gringotts - we got to see the dragon breath his fire just as we got off!
Transformers
Jimmy Fallon race through New York
The Mummy

We then got a hot drink as the temperature had dropped and made our way to find a spot for the Macy’s holiday parade.Top Tip stand outside the entrance of the Mummy for a good spot- not only does it snow here but you also get the see Santa turn on the Christmas Tree Lights!

Once the parade was over we split into 2 groups one dashed back to hogwarts to catch the nighttime lights at the castle and the rest of us watched the Cinesational drone and fireworks show around the lake. This was amazing!! Definitely recommend watching this if you can.

After another jam packed 12 hour day it was time for dinner. We went to NBC grill where we had the upstairs to ourselves with fab views over city walk and the park. We then made our way out of city walk and waited for the bus back to Stella Nova.

Day 4 is site visits and meant to be Volcano Bay but due to the colder weather it’s closed. So this means more time spent in the parks!

12/09/2025

12/09/2025

Day 2 of the Universal Fam trip was all about Epic Universe!
Steps- 23417
Time in the park- 12 hours
I was awake for 5am so what better way to start the day than with a coffee and a croissant. I bought a refillable mug for $20 for 3 days and can use it for coffee as well as water/soft drinks etc. The grab and go counter opened at 6am and serves Starbucks coffee too!
As we were not leaving until 9am myself and Kirsty decided to take a walk to Epic to see how easy/ far it is from the Hotel. It was a very easy stroll with just one road to cross and tokk no more than 10 mins. We were lucky enough to get close to the entrance ( we did however get stuck as they had shut the gate we walked through 🙄😂).
Soon it was time to return to Epic this time we used the free bus and dropped us right outside.
We were very lucky to be the only tour group this month to experience the VIP tour. This was absolutely amazing and thoroughly recommend everyone to do this! Our guides were Zach and Ryne and they were brilliant! Rynes knowledge of the park was 2nd to none- he was even involved with bringing Harry Potter Battle at the Ministry to life.
We picked up our VIP passes which also were our unlimited express pass to use once the tour was over. The park was open 10am-10pm so you have plenty of time to utilise the passes . The wait times varied between 15-35mins for most of the rides with Ministry reaching 120 mins. Toothless meet and greet didn’t go below 95 minutes.The express pass meant we literally walked onto every ride!
I can write so much about this park but will keep it brief as we still have so much more to do on this trip!
Favourite land- Dark Universe
Favourite ride- Monsters Unchained
Show- the untrainable dragon was so cute! A must see show for anyone visiting Epic
Food- so many places to eat! Sadly there wasn’t time for me to eat at Pizza Moon. The blood chicken burger from Das steakhaus in Dark Universe was lovely.
Lockers- the way they operate the lockers here was so clever! It’s all done by facial recognition just look at the camera a locker opens and off you go. When you get off the ride just repeat the process. The lockers are not huge but do hold a rucksack.
Helios Grand Hotel- wow!! If you get chance to stay here do so! Me and Donna managed a quick tour of the hotel just before we left for the night. The hotel is situated in the park. Guests have their own entrance and you must have a park ticket to enter the park this way. The view from the 10th floor bar was breathtaking. We all agreed you need a park view room if staying here.
Highlights- meeting Toothless, laughing so much on Curse of the werewolf, Wes’s face as he entered Super Nintendo world, being transported back to 1920’s Paris in the Wizarding world of Harry Potter and the fact you can’t see any other part of the park! Very clever!
The whole day was just well- Epic!
Day 3 is another VIP day this time at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure.

12/08/2025

Universal Orlando AT Fam trip Day 1- travel day. Checked in at Manchester airport terminal 2 to a very quiet flight! Boarded Ruby Slipper and settled into our seats for the 8 hour 43 min flight. Flight was good, the staff were brilliant very attentive. Landed at MCO and didn’t have to wait too long to get through customs and retrieve our luggage. It was chucking it down made us feel right at home 🙄😂Grabbed an Uber and we were soon on our way to the hotel Stella Nova to meet our hosts Dave and Laura and wait for the Gatwick flight.
Checked in and got room 6007 😂 lovely room on the 6th floor overlooking Terra Luna.
The rooms are very spacious, lovely comfy bed and all the mod cons you need. Quick refresh and down to meet everyone else for a quick bite soto eat at Cosmos Market place ( of course I had pizza) and drinks at Nova Bar. Treated to a Florida thunder storm with lightning and thunder before giving in and heading to bed.
Day 2 is all about Epic!!! So excited!!

12/07/2025

All checked in ready for our AT Universal Fam trip! 5 days of Epic ness awaits!!

07/11/2025

I had a Magical day yesterday! Spent the afternoon at Disney headquarters for some Walt Disney World Hotel training followed by a trip to the theatre to watch Hercules!

07/09/2025

Hear those sleigh bells ringing? Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party returns November 7! 🎄🔔 http://di.sn/60034tNB1