Visual Diary Anna: Enjoying Orlando

Visual Diary Anna: Enjoying Orlando

Anna // 09 October 2012

Anna is NSMBL’s co-founder and strives to provide women from all over the world with the most recent fashion news, the best places to shop, all new must haves in the world of fashion and beauty and the best travel tips. This time, she took a trip to Orlando and searched for the best hotspots to share with our readers.

‘September has been such an amazing month for NSMBL so far! My schedule has never been more chaotic, but I also must say I’ve never enjoyed being busy as much as I am enjoying it now. In less than four weeks, I traveled to five different destinations. From New York to London, from London to Orlando, after that Milan and finally closing the month off in Paris. Between all the Fashion Week madness of September, I took some time off to visit the amazing Orlando, Florida. It felt really great to escape all the insanity and to be adventurous and explore all the amazing activities Orlando has to offer.

You must be wondering what the reason was for my short, great escape. Together with Visit Orlando I spent the entire trip looking for the best hotspots to share with our readers. As it turns out, the city has so much more to offer than the amusement parks that Orlando is known for. The coming weeks you can read everything about our adventures in Orlando on NSMBL, starting with a massive personal visual diary filled with photos and information I gathered during my visit here.’

PS: You can also follow me on Twitter and Instagram (username: Annanooshin) for more updates.

For years and years, Orlando has been known as one of the top cities in the world to travel to with your family. The city is filled with amusement parks; you can find pretty much any park offering any kind of genre, so there is something to be seen for everyone. Despite our love for parks (they give us that amazing nostalgic feeling we long for once in a while), most of the parks scream over the top amusement, and sometimes a girl just wants to get away, escape the big city and get lost in adventure. This is the exact reason why we decided to explore Orlando from a completely different perspective.

For an entire week, we explored Orlando like an Orlando local would explore the city. Our theme for this trip was a real ‘Girlfriends Getaway’, a place you and your girlfriends can book a trip to and really enjoy the surroundings and fun the city has to offer. No amusement parks, but lots of adventurous outings such as a balloon ride, a safari, fun entertainment and of course lots of shopping. Don’t worry, we didn’t forget about the cultural fun, so we added a few museums to the mix and we made sure we dined at the best restaurants the city has to offer. Below you can find a selection of what kept us busy all week, but keep checking NSMBL for more updates.

Sleep like a princess

The big question you and your girlfriends have to figure out before booking this trip, is obviously where you guys will be sleeping. The options are endless, so we tested two completely different residences, starting off with the over the top luxury of the Waldorf Astoria. This mega resort, situated in Bonnet Creek, is truly an experience you will never forget. The hotel offers a complimentary shuttle service to all the Disney amusement parks, and offers a luxury spa, swimming pools, a complete golf course and different restaurants with menus derived from the best New York restaurants. You will never want to leave this place once you’re there.

Location and view

The hotel is located about 30 minutes away from the airport, making it an easy drive. What we loved the most, was the amazing view that we had from our rooms, so spectacular to see the golf course, pools and really be able to relax to the fullest. For more information, booking and prices, you can check out their website here.

Isn’t this view amazing? It doesn’t really get much better than this…

Sleep like a rock star

For those who prefer a more edgy hotel, sleeping like a rock star is possible in the Hard Rock Hotel Orlando. Like the world famous cafes, the Hard Rock Hotel is filled with musical treasures and monuments that will make you want to check out every single corner of the hotel. From Mick Jagger’s boots to signed Pink Floyd t-shirts, this hotel is a true pleasure to sleep in if you’re a music lover. The rooms are really big, the beds are super comfortable and you can find cute gadgets all over your room, such as an MP3 Docking Station and iHome alarm clock. You can also enjoy the benefits of the luxury spa; you have a view that is indescribable (you can watch all the roller coasters from Universal Studios Park and hear everyone scream) and the best part of it all: you can have a swim in one of the only swimming pools in the world with an underwater music system. It’s really too cool! For more information, booking and prices, you can check out their website here.

Practical information

Best time to travel

You can pretty much count on the weather to be great all year round in Orlando. Do keep in mind that hurricane season starts from June 1st until November 30th. We flew to Orlando in September, risking the fact that the weather would be a bit unpredictable. Despite this fact, if you’re traveling with a smaller budget, it is highly recommended to book your trip during hurricane season. Despite a few hours of rain every day, the weather was really nice and not too hot, making it a lot more fun to explore the city. The best part of traveling off-season: you get to avoid the hundreds of tourists and you can skip the lines pretty much everywhere.

Transport

For those living outside of the States, you really need a car in Orlando. This way you can explore things faster and more efficient, but it also causes you to have that real American feeling. Most parks, malls and restaurants need driving to, so make sure that you arrange your car situation before you arrive in Orlando. Tip: try to have everything booked before you land, this way you can make sure that you have the best price for the car and you can avoid extras that car companies often try to sell you if you’d book the car ‘live’.

Excursions

Make sure that you’ve prepared a list of excursions you really want to do when you arrive in Orlando. There is so much to do, that by doing a bit of research you can save yourself a lot of stress and trouble. By booking some of the excursions before hand, you can also guarantee you and your friends a spot so you can avoid disappointments. On Visit Orlando’s website, you can find lots of suggestions and tips for excursions, so be sure to check that out.