I’ve been blogging now, pretty much every week since 2009. Over that time I have covered every single topic available along with most of the emotions known to mankind. The content has been diverse (which is a polite word for “all over the place”) and I have ranted, gushed, moaned, bragged and been heartbroken at different times, sometimes all in the same post. However, today sees a first. I am to use a button that I have not yet pressed in all of these blogging years.
But first, some background. A few weeks ago I blogged about the annual event of us craving a holiday once winter starts to fade. We had house stuff to do as well and so the decision was not made. In recent days a top line plan has emerged that will see us to do both. Louise said that we both agreed that the house stuff is to come first which means that our holiday plans have been pushed back a little into early 2017 and it is looking like February. This is one of the joys of not holidaying with school age kids which goes some way to compensate for the fact that they’ve grown up now.
Now, at that time of year few places on the planet will deliver the skin scorching temperatures required by Louise if she is to sunbathe for 23 hours of each day. With the entire globe at our disposal I have exhausted all relevant possibilities and am now considering two locations….America and the USA.
With those lower temperatures in mind, our original plan of a more beach based trip seem to be foiled or foolish. I know for normal human beings the mid 70s would be fine for a day at the beach, but Louise needs skin melting rays to feel the day has not been wasted. This rules out (I think) the Miami/Naples/Keys type of trip that I had in mind last time I blogged about this stuff.
So here is where I need help (some may say I have needed help for some time). In my mind, (and lets face it, that’s all that matters. Louise is picking the stuff for the house so it’s only right I choose the holiday!) I…or rather we, are looking at three options, which are…
The usual Orlando based holiday.
However it will be anything but the usual as it is very unlikely that Rebecca (and Tom) will be with us. Emily will travel with us I think. I’m not sure we (I) want to do a fully Disney based holiday this time. I suspect there will be Disney stuff involved, but not the daily focus we’ve had in the past. Strangely though, having said that, I quite fancy staying on site for a chunk of the trip. We do want to spend an extended number of days on site at Universal too. We don’t feel that we’ve done the Potter stuff enough and we love staying at the Hard Rock. So in summary, option 1 is an on site Disney resort (I’m thinking Old Key West) followed by four nights at the HRH.
California
We have threatened to do this for years, but have always drifted back to Florida. We *will* do it at some point. We always say that just after booking for Florida again. I suspect the reason for that is familiarity and ease. We know Florida so well that the level of planning and preparation is much reduced and we can just turn up and engage auto-pilot, feeling like we have returned home.
There would need to be a high level of research and prep to undertake a Californian Adventure as (I think ) such a trip is much more sprawling. There is also the small matter of the very long flight, which for a very frightened flyer in Louise, is its own challenge. Once there, I also think it involves a lot more travel as the things we think we want to do are a long way apart. Having said that, my knowledge of the place is so rubbish that I only have a handful of things in my head that I think we’d want to do. Those are Disney at Anaheim, maybe Vegas, Alcatraz, a beach (see, I don’t know what the temperatures are in California in February), Six Flags and the curly steep road in San Francisco.
Somewhere Else Other Than The US
I have nothing to add here.
So here is where I need your help and this is the new thing I waffled about at the beginning. I have attempted to use the poll feature, so please cast your vote below, ask the bill payer’s permission, and do not vote if you are watching on catch up etc etc etc.
I reserve the right to completely ignore the results of the poll but I am genuinely interested in your thoughts of you all. Most of you are seasoned US travelers and probably know more than I about Orlando and definitely California.
Till the next time…..
Mkingdon's Blog 
Eek!!! I’m going to have to put some serious thinking into this before I register my vote so bear with me and I will return later 🙂 . Suffice to say right now that I am glad to hear you can do both as I cannot imagine your household without a vacation in the offing. Having read the trip reports of Phil, Emma and Ben and Marion McClung’s ventures to the west of the USA, it is something I dearly want to do (and dare I say maybe any planning could be lightened somewhat by nicking a few of their ideas ;-)) … But then hey… How blistering is the sunshine in February? My common sense would tell me to look towards Dubai and the resort areas nearby for the sun at that time of year. (What’s the Maldives like in feb?). But then, I’m going to the Dom Rep this year but fear I will parachute out as I near that panhandle as the pull of Orlando gets too great to bear. Oh decisions decisions. Let me have a think. Oh dear
Mexico for guaranteed sunshine. The water parks there are like a real typhoon lagoon.
I’m getting the word………
Looking at the temps in California in February, it doesn’t look like it would be hot enough for Louise, otherwise I would vote California, so temp wise it’s Orlando!
My suggestion is Tokyo Disney – if you go, others can experience it vicariously through a new style of trip report….!
(Am ignoring Louise’s requests for sunshine, obviously!)
Somewhere that hasn’t been mentioned ‘Dubai’!
Not everyone’s cup of tea but we love it there.
How about florida and cruise back?
Disney cruise that you can combine with a stay at Universal. X
Orlando ticks all the boxes for weather, food etc. Have you considered adding a cruise to the itinerary? Disney and most other cruise companies use port Canaveral. Plenty of food on board to take photos of…..just love your food photo reports.
100% California. Its an incredible place, we did San Fran, Yosemite, Monetery, Pismo Beach, Anaheim, San Diego & LA.
We have also done Vegas a couple of times and its an amazing place!
I have voted Florida , after visiting so often ourselves I love your reports and the fact that your trip report has finished and you are just thinking at the moment I am reduced to reading your book of trip reports (that I bought 2 years ago to read on holiday in Florida hahaha) I am up to 2005 at the moment..I myself have’nt any plans to go again and dont fancy anywhere else in the world after Florida..so I am happy to read everyone else’s TRs until I win on the lottery…ps Florida would be hotter for Louise …..
Hi Craig
Having been to Orlando in Feb – I would say don’t do it – I was freezing. My friends out there would confirm its their coldest month – I ended up buying jumpers and a tinker bell fleece in an effort to stay warm.
The Keys would be warmer but Mexico or Caribbean would be a better bet in Feb
Di
san francisco is lovely but I would imagine cold in feb. we went in April and had to but hoodies and socks. I say go with what you know,I know that’s boring but why spend a bucketful of money on something you might not enjoy. happy planning.
Ive voted for California but it won’t be hot in February. We’re back from a March trip to Vegas and had to buy hoodies and scarves ! Miami and Keys will be warm but still not the skin blistering heat for Louise. We’ve also done Vegas in June and I’d never do it again. I like the heat but it was waaayyy too hot to do much
Oh, I’m in the minority. Five star All inclusive in Jamaica. You need the rest! Stunning beaches, clear blue (warm) sea with loads of tropical fish to see, fantastic food and the island is beautiful.
Hi Craig not sure if you researched anything about California but you will possibly find villa prices ridiculous compared to Florida! Our friends ( also Disney addicts) visited LA for a wedding and paid around £2k for 2 weeks !!
Carrie
We loved both Antigua and Barbados. (Ooooh, hark at us!!) We’d particularly recommend The Verandah resort in Antigua. Blissful.
If this happens to be the year you do California, why not break up the flight with a stopover in New York for a few nights?
Otherwise, we also thought the Disney cruise might be an idea. Never done it ourselves, mind, we’ve clearly been spending too much of our hard-earned cash elsewhere.
Barbados for a short (ish) flight
Thailand (slightly longer). Personally I would go Thai.
There’s no box that says “Orlando and somewhere new” which would be my suggestion and best of both worlds.
Over the last 25 years we’ve traveled around the globe to many different places but Florida pulls us back like no other place and Orlando in particular. I think, as you do, it’s the familiarity and feeling of “being home”. Last Oct for the first time though after speaking about it for a few years, we finally booked a cruise (us and our 2 teen boys). We booked with Royal Caribbean on Freedom of the Seas (as it left from Port Canaveral and because Disney cruises were/are extortionate). It was probably the best holiday we’ve had to date. The cruise surpassed our expectations in every way. We did the Western Caribbean and although we enjoyed the visits to the various islands our favourite days were spent on board the ship. This was the opposite of what we expected as I thought the ship/sea days would be a drag. It was our first time to Orlando without visiting WDW but we managed fine – probably because we bought tickets to MNSSHP and got our Disney fix that way.
We’ve booked to go on Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas this Oct. sailing from Fort Lauderdale to the Eastern Caribbean, however from Nov this ship will be based at Port Canaveral. Can’t recommend a cruise enough! Louise gets the heat, you get “free” food around the clock and you get to go back to Orlando. It’s a win/win!
I went with California, simply because I too always say “next time we’ll do the west coast” and it never happens but it’s so important to me as a massive Disney fan that one day I do actually make it to Anaheim! Orlando just has so much of a pull and we don’t get to go as much as we’d like, so in the back of my head I’m always thinking that if I don’t enjoy it as much, I’d have sacrificed Orlando for another few years. Saying that, I think the west coast just has so much to offer. It’d be a new experience, not just “doing Disney” and it’d be something different for you and Louise as a couple, so you wouldn’t just be comparing the holiday and missing the girls too much 🙂