Mount Dora, Florida, Disney After Hours Event, Festival Of The Arts at Epcot & More

TMP 72 - Florida
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Meggan: Hey everyone, and welcome back to the Travel Mug Podcast. We are so happy that you're here. Now, Jenn, last time our episode was all about me and my trip to Cuba. I'm sure our listeners are excited to hear me talk less and to hear all about your recent adventures in Florida. So I can't wait to dive in.

Jenn: Yeah. .

Meggan: Um, It's, it's exciting. So, first and foremost though, let's start with some basics. So, what airline did you travel with? How were your flights to and from? What Florida airport did you fly into, and how did all that go?

Jenn: Oh, right. So we flew Air Canada from Halifax direct to Tampa, so it was our first time flying into Tampa. Usually we fly into Orlando because it's close to where we want to be, but when we were booking the only direct flight that we could find to the state of Florida was Tampa. And we're like, you know what? It's not that big of a deal. Let's book that. All right, so let's fast forward to the day that we're leaving.

Our flight was at 7 45 in the morning. So in the Halifax Airport, if you're flying directly from Halifax to the US there's the whole separate area where you go, you go upstairs, there's separate security, blah, blah, blah. My first tip is to bring food with you if you're in the city of the airport because the restaurant has not reopened after covid.

Meggan: Oh.

Jenn: So I, they were saying when we were in the airport that it was due to reopen, like the week after we were there. So maybe by now it is open. But the only option on that side was like Hudson. It's not called Hudson News anymore, it's just called Hudson.

But yeah, my husband spent like a lot of money on gummy bears. So like , eat, I, if you're at the Halifax airport, US departures area, eat before you get there.

Meggan: Or you can eat downstairs before you go up where there's like Tims and all of that stuff there.

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: But you kind of usually wanna get through and get settled.

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: So I get that. But that is another option, I suppose, if you.

Jenn: The only thing like finish, of course, finish your coffee or whatever before you go through security, or they're gonna take it away from you. .

Meggan: Mm-hmm. . They will indeed,

Jenn: yes. Okay. So we were delayed leaving Halifax because of the weather by like 30 minutes. It had kind of like snow icy. Grossness that morning. And then once we were, the, the runway was clear. We had like a mechanical, I don't know if it was a mechanical problem or like a light came on that they had to have somebody come on board to like check blah, blah, blah. So, and then we had to be de-iced of course we had to be de-iced.

Meggan: Sure.

Jenn: So you were two hours late leaving, which is fine, but. That's how it was. Coming home again, we were delayed coming back because the plane had to come Halifax to Tampa and then it was going right back. So they were late leaving Halifax because of weather. This is a, you know, February travel problem that like you just kind of have to deal with.

It is what it is when you live in winter. Overall, I would say like we had a a, a pretty okay experience. , really probably can't stress enough like paying for your seat in advance. Our flight from Halifax to Tampa was full overbooked actually. So they were asking for volunteers to take a later flight that had a connection through Toronto.

They got volunteers so they didn't have to like bump anybody, but it easily, people could have easily been bumped. And while, while we were sitting there for two hours waiting for someone to come, like, check the stupid light where people were joking, like, oh, the people who took the flight to Toronto are probably gonna be in Florida before us, but

Meggan: smarty pants

Jenn: it's what it is. So also while we were waiting to board our flight, There was an Air Canada employee going around to everyone's carry on and tag, like putting a tag that says like, put, put this under the seat. So we each had a backpack and then I had a purse. So I had put that all under the seat in front of me.

They were telling people with the large, you know, carry on suitcases with the wheels, that if they didn't fit in the overhead compartment when they went to get on the plane, that they were going to force you to check it and make you pay. For it, which would be $50. I'm in a, in a Facebook group for air passengers rights, and it's kind of questionable whether or not this is legal for them to force you to pay for a carry on if it meets the airlines size and weight requirements. But I mean, either way, I think at this point, right, everyone's trying to travel with carry on because luggage is getting lost. But then then you're running into the situation where, and I've seen people have like, You know, they have a backpack or a purse and a large roller suitcase and maybe even like another like shopping bag type thing.

I've seen it multiple times, like people are taking too much and they're gonna crack down on this, and they have been cracking down. I've seen in Toronto, I've seen people post in Toronto, they are forcing people to put their things actually in that metal thing before they let you on the plane. And if it doesn't fit, you're paying 50 bucks a check it So,

Meggan: Wow,

Jenn: they're not messing around.

Meggan: Well it does make sense though if it doesn't fit. I mean, if it doesn't fit their requirements, that makes sense. Completely.

Jenn: Yeah. Yeah. They also didn't serve any free snacks on board, which I thought was weird for a flight of our flight was over four hours, so I don't know, like what the food rules are. I mean, they gave drinks, but no snackies so. I'm not sure.

Meggan: Yeah, we didn't have any either. So maybe it's, maybe it's not just the like like cheaper airlines. Maybe it's all airlines now and maybe there's no rule Yeah. Paid for it regardless of whether the time is six hours or two.

Jenn: I have no idea. We, I flew Halifax to Toronto, to Orlando in October on Air Canada and they gave us snacks, so I have no idea what has changed between October and February. anyway.

Meggan: Inflation ,

Jenn: I guess, right? . Yeah. Overall, like our experience was fine weather can't be controlled, but I would say it's definitely not the service of yester year anymore.

Meggan: No, indeed. That can go for many things. So, What, what was your rental car experience like? I know you hadn't really rented before for more than a day. So how was it to have like, a longer term rental from like pickup to drop off for that longer period of time?

Jenn: Yeah, we, we had a really good experience. We rented through Avis. We had signed up for Avis preferred while we were in Scotland when we were having the whole rental car fiasco. Anyway, it was key this trip because it allowed us to skip a very long line.

Meggan: Nice.

Jenn: And I know and basically go right to getting our car keys. So Yeah, tip sign up for those preferred things. I, it's free, like it literally . It's only a benefit to you. So we had a brand new Toyota Camry. I have no complaints. Gas was really cheap. Yeah, I mean people drive like crazy in Florida, like grand theft auto, crazy and I was like stressed because of course you're driving a car that's not yours. I'll like, if someone friggin hits me, I'm gonna be upset. But anyway, I didn't do any of the driving. Ryan did all the driving, but we, we had a good rental experience. .

Meggan: Awesome. Well that's good to hear, especially after the, the fiasco in Scotland. Indeed.

Jenn: Yeah. .

Meggan: Oh my goodness. So this is Ryan's first trip back to Florida Post Pandemic. What was that like for both of you to be back in one of your favorite places together?

Jenn: It was really great and Florida has always felt like home to me, and it was even more so this time now that two of our closest friends live there and we got to spend time with them in, in conjunction with doing our favorite things in Florida.

And it was different because of course we usually spend the whole trip inside the Disney bubble. And this time we were not always in the Disney bubble and we were driving ourselves around. But honestly, like while we were there and since we've been home, all we've been talking about is ways that we can spend more time in Florida.

Meggan: Right, right. Excellent. Well, speaking of Florida then, so where did you travel there and what did you do, like, so outside of Disney, this trip?

Jenn: Yeah, so we spent four days, the first four days with our friends at their house. So they live in the Golden Triangle area,

Meggan: not the Golden Circle ?

Jenn: No, the Golden Triangle. So it's kinda, it's like north of Orlando. So specifically we explored Mount Dora, Eustis and Tavares. So I completely fell in love with Mount Dora. It is the sweetest little small city. It's like 14,000 people. It has a really nice little like downtown area. It's his like historic buildings shops, restaurants. It's super walkable as well, which is really nice. And it's on a large lake, which, you know, us water. Water, ocean people. I'm like, I could see the water ,

except that water has gators in it, so

Meggan: Right. That part's different. .

Jenn: We also enjoyed, there was a Sunday farmer's market that we really enjoyed. It was super windy that day, which made it a little bit harder to be outside.

But I have to give a shout out to Pura Vida Popcorn. We kind of, we ended up chatting with them for a long time. They are a couple that moved from New York State. They spend most of the year in Florida and they have popcorn business and oh my God, they had sweet and spicy popcorn. It was like caramel, but it had like a spicy powder.

Oh my God. Like, I'm still dreaming about it. I wish I had bought a bigger bag,

So if you're gonna the area on a Sunday, check out them at the farmer's market. Um, We explored a nature reserve park in the area called Palm Island Park , complete with a lighthouse on a freshwater like I know.

Meggan: Sure, sure.

Jenn: Right? Yeah. . Yeah, I, like I said, after a few days, I was looking at real estate in the area.

Meggan: How do I become a resident of Mount Dora

Jenn: seriously? And then we also just spent like a lot of time with our friends, like hanging out at their place, kind of generally relaxing as well. The, the downtown area of Eustis is a lot smaller, but also has like little shops and cafes and restaurants also on. . I, I can't remember if it's the same lake or a different lake. I think it's the same lake. And then Tavares, we didn't spend as much time in, cuz the day we were there was the day it was very windy. But they're like the sea plane capital. So you could do like a sea plane tour, which obviously wasn't happening that day cuz it was like, Hurricane winds, so .

Meggan: Right, right. Yes. Well that sounds really great actually. I'm so glad you kind of got to explore somewhere different there. That's awesome.

Jenn: Yeah, I am too because, you know, prior to this trip we've always joked about like wanting to move to Florida or Snowbird or whatever, and it's like, okay, well we've really only been inside the, the Disney bubble.

Like we should really. Again, I,

Meggan: you can't move there, .

Jenn: I would love to live inside the Disney bubble belt lake. It's just not realistic.

Meggan: No, no. So speaking of Disney, so talk to us out that portion of your trip. So I know there's been some recent changes. Was anything like different from your last visit. And what did you guys get up to and like talk to us about your overall sort of experience this time.

Jenn: So we stayed at pop century which is the Disney resort that we've stayed at before. We stayed there in 2017, I'm pretty sure. So it's a value resort. So like one of their cheapest options. But what's really great about the resort for me is they have a skyliner. So it's like a ski gondola enclosed thing that you get up in and it takes you to two of the parks, which so you can avoid the buses.

Nice. Which is really nice. It's a really convenient way to, to travel around. . Um, So our first day at Disney after we checked in our resort we went to Magic Kingdom on Valentine's Day, and oh my God, it was insanely busy.

Meggan: Really.

Jenn: I was not expecting it to be that busy. I assumed like a lot of local people were there to like celebrate Valentine's Day. There wasn't really like anything special going on in the park that, but it was, it was.

Meggan: Interesting.

Jenn: I know. So the next day we spent the morning at Animal Kingdom. Did a couple of our favorite rides. We always loved doing the safari, seeing the animals, and they also have like a couple of walking trails where you can see animals, which is really nice.

Ate at one of my favorite restaurants there, the Nomad Lounge, and then, That evening, we had tickets to the after hours event at Hollywood Studio. So after hours is an extra cost. It's a separately ticketed event. So it's not included in your day ticket. So the event officially was from 9:30 PM till 12:30 AM but we could get into the park at 7:00 PM with that ticket.

So we got there. They put like a bracelet on you so they know that you're part of the event, and they let us in a few hours or a few minutes before seven. And then we, we stayed until midnight. I was tired and we had done everything but. . So one of the things about the event is there is free bottled drinks. So like wa, water and pop, and I think maybe like a juice option. And then there's free, or free, it included , nothing is free friends included popcorn and like ice cream bars, so like the Mickey ice cream bar on a stick, and then like a Mickey ice cream sandwich. So you could get as much of that as you wanted.

And there were like different stations all around the park where you could pick that up. So the big draw for these after hours events is lower crowds, so they don't sell as many tickets. And that part was perfect. We rode every single ride except for Star Tours, which is a choice because we hate that ride

Meggan: I didn't wanna go on it anyway.

Jenn: I don't. And the wait was like five minutes and yeah, I considered it for like half a second just to say I did every ride, but it makes me so motion sick. So , the slight downside about the event is there's no most of the shops aren't open. There was only one shop open that we saw, and I didn. I didn't see like any character meet and greets. I think there might have been a few around, but if you did those things between 7:00 PM and 9:00 PM when the park technically closed, you could get those things done as well. A lot of the restaurants were also closed, but you had free popcorn and. Ice cream.

Meggan: So , do you remember what the extra cost for approximately of that ticket was?

Jenn: I think it was around 150 US dollars a person. So I mean, it's, it's not cheap. It, it isn't But for me, it was worth it. There were rides that we really wanted to do that during the day could have a wait of two plus hours.

And so being in the park without, , all of those crowds. It's just a really nice feeling. And for two adults that can stay up to midnight or after it. There's not a lot of kids around or there's way less kids around.

Meggan: Sweet.

Jenn: So that's nice. Yeah, we got some really cool photos too in the there's like a Star Wars land at Hollywood Studio, so we got some photos with us with like Light Sabres and stuff. So it was fun and like it's just a lot more chill because you're not like rushing around as much and there's not as many people like. Right here in, you know, like right next to you when you're like walking down the street.

Meggan: And I think this goes really well too with the spend versus splurge. Like what matters to you.

Jenn: Yeah.

Meggan: And obviously this, this sounds like a cost, and, and honestly that sounds appealing to me as well because less people is a big draw whenever you're at Disney. And also being able to do your rides that you wanna go on without the waits is huge. So, yeah. . I can totally see that. That makes sense.

Jenn: Yeah. And they don't offer these all the time. And they're right now offering them for Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom. And I think that they've added Epcot recently, or it will be starting later this year, and it's only like certain days of the week. Like it's, it's very limited. But overall our experience was really good and, and I would do another after hours event.

Meggan: Cool. What about your last day?

Jenn: Our last day at Disney, we spent at Epcot. So Epcot, if you've ever been there, if you've never been there, there's the World Showcase. So there's all kinds of different countries that are represented there. So when we were there, it was the Festival of the Arts, which they have different festivals throughout the year, festival of the Arts food and Wine Festival. Right now, after we left is Flower and Garden Festival, and then there's the festival at the holiday around Christmas. So they have different food booths going on at all of these.

At the Festival of the Arts, there's different artists and different like workshops you can do and then you can also purchase art. So we actually planned our trip a little bit around going to be at Epcot on this particular day because we wanted to meet one of our favorite artists. His name is Dave Perillo, and we had purchased some of his art on our trip, I think in 2017 or 2018 and just like totally fell in love with like his style of art.

So on this trip we bought six more pieces of art, which sounds

Meggan: wow

Jenn: unhinged, but five of them are like, Small, like postcard size, pieces of arts. They're not huge. And then one larger piece. But we are able to, to meet Dave Perillo and chat with him for a few minutes and have him sign our, our art and. It was really funny because he, y you know, Americans don't know a lot about Canadian geography, so I, we were like, oh, we're from Nova Scotia, like the east coast of Canada.

And he's like, oh, like letter Kenny. And I was like, no, like trailer park boys. And he is like, oh, ok. I'm like, oh, great.

Meggan: Shout out jonathan Torrance just repping you there in Florida. . That's so funny how like, let's, let's peg you in with the TV show .

Jenn: Yeah. I mean they needed, they needed to reference point and a guest trailer park boys is it.

Meggan: My god. That's hilarious.

Jenn: Yeah. So I mean, Epcot, I love Epcot. It's a really chill park, like we just rode some of our favorite rides, ate at some of our favorite, you know, one of our favorite restaurants. And yeah, it was, it was really good.

So I did wanna talk about Genie Plus, which I talked about. The last time I went to Disney, I kind of explained how that worked and how we used it.

We chose not to do Genie Plus on this trip. The cost ranges from 15 to 29 US dollars per person, per day. So it's not super cheap, but it, it does allow you to bypass some of those long lines. We chose not to use it because, Overall, because we go to Disney often ish, and I know I'm going back again.

I'm not obsessed with riding as much as I can. While we're there in a day, like I'm just not, I don't want to run from one thing to another, and that's just not the, the pace that we're interested in right now. We, we do whatever we wanna do. We eat whenever we wanna eat. And I mean, honestly, there was maybe two rides we didn't do because the line was too long.

Now had we not done the after hours, at Hollywood Studios, I probably would've done Genie Plus. If we had gone during the day, like a regular day get ticket, so

Meggan: Right. That makes sense.

Jenn: That was the choice we made, was to go to the after hours event and then just not use Genie Plus. And not that it quite made up for the cost difference, but that was the choice that we.

Meggan: Yeah, no, that makes a lot of sense. Well, cool. Sounds like you I mean, got to meet one of your favorite artists. Go to your, you know, Epcot is a really cool park, after hours. That sounds great. Yeah. How was the weather? So obviously when you go to Florida to these types of things, you're outdoors a lot. So what was that like during your trip?

Jenn: Yeah, and I think that everybody thinks that Florida is hot all the time, and it is not true. Like they can get down to like near freezing temperatures. Right? The, the weather was weird while we were there. The day we flew in it was super hot and I was like, this is amazing. I'm so excited. And then like a day or two later, I think two days later, it was 15 ish degrees Celsius. And then the, that was the day there was a wind warning and it was just like . It wasn't the most pleasant day to be outside, but we made the best of it. Yeah. And it did stay Cool. Cool. I was like, it's freezing. It's not, it's.

Meggan: So cold.

Jenn: So cold . But then like the last three days were really hot and sunny. So like it's a roller coaster bring, but at night when we were at the parks, like you, you needed a sweater. So you kind of had to pack for all, all weather situations

Meggan: except snow. Like, let's be,

Jenn: yeah, no, it didn't snow. . But yeah, I, I wish I was still there. I wish I was .

Meggan: I understand, I understand completely.

Well, I mean, great roundup, I think some good tips. You saw other things talked about some different things at Disney, so that's excellent. I mean, thanks so much for the rundown. Really appreciate.

Jenn: Yeah. Yeah. It was a really, really good trip and like a really good mix. Doing stuff and just like chilling , you know?

Meggan: Awesome. Yeah, no, and I think that's what vacation should be, so good job, Jenn.

Jenn: I did it .

Meggan: I'm so proud of you, . So that's all we have for this week. Thank you so much for listening to the Travel Mug podcast. As always, you can find us on our website, travel mug podcast.com. We put short blurbs about every episode, links to each episode as well there.

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But either way, until next time, see you later. Bye!