Travelling to Orlando - Flights & Transfers

Hey guys! The first post in my Travelling to Orlando series is all about flights and transfers.

Do your Research:
When it comes to booking our flights, the first place I start is Skyscanner. This is a price comparison website that basically gives you a variety of flight options to choose from. You can filter by airline company, price, flight times, layover length etc. Obviously price is a big factor but I always take into consideration layovers and how long they'll be and justify the price against the waiting times then. I also make sure to Google the type of aircraft to see if they have individual entertainment screens. We assumed all long haul flights did until one year we got caught and had no entertainment for 9 hours!

Direct or Indirect?
We've done both! Aerlingus go direct and I have to say it is definitely nice to just know the next time you're getting off is at your destination and not have to wait around in another airport for a few hours. That being said, Aer Lingus can often be way more expensive and so going indirect may be the better option. I always keep an eye on their sales! They also had really great flight times - departing Dublin at about 2pm and departing Orlando at about 8pm returning meaning you have a full day on your last day.

We've gone indirect 3 times with United, U.S. Airways and Air Canada Rouge. I'd recommend United and U.S. Airways no problem but we had a really bad experience with Air Canada Rouge and I personally wouldn't fly with them again because of that.



When we go indirect, we always make sure the stopover is somewhere in America so you can clear customs in Dublin (much quicker than in the U.S.). I also always look at the layover time - we've never had a layover of more than 3 hours; something to keep in mind as some can be 7 or 8 hours (sometimes overnight). Also be careful as some layovers make you change airport in the state you're flying into so that's worth checking too as you may not have time to collect your bags, make your way to the other airport and re-check in.

How Much?
Well obviously that depends on the time of year you fly and who you book with. We've always gone in August / September as the parks are much quieter. We paid roughly about €1300 for the return flights for the two of us with Aer Lingus. When we've travelled indirect, we've paid as little as €950.

Transfers?
We travel to Dublin airport from Cork using the Aircoach. For transfers from Orlando airport we use Mears Transportation. We pre-book this online for about $60 return. It's a shared shuttle service but they organise everyone who are staying in hotels near each other so it never takes too long.

That's pretty much all for flights and transfers; if I've forgot anything then please let me know! My next post in this series will be all about accommodation in Orlando.

Primark SS18 Collection Preview

Hey guys!

As you've probably seen from my Instagram and Snapchat, I was invited to Dublin to view the Primark Spring / Summer 2018 collection this week. It was absolutely fab and it was so lovely to get chatting to some new bloggers as well as catching up with bloggers I've previously met.

SS18 has lots of mustard vibes which I'm loving. I've really been loving mustard these last few weeks so I'm happy it's staying. Other trends seem to be stripes, reds, denim and mules (yay!). I took a few pics of the collection and the event itself so I said I'd put them all up here. I can't wait for these to start arriving in stores from next month!

Cork Fashion Trail

Last weekend, I was amongst 20 VIP bloggers invited to the very first Cork Fashion Trail, organised by Marie Barry-Murphy.

We started off with a lovely breakfast in Starbucks on Opera Lane. Whilst there, Julie Evans and Natasha Crowley showcased some of the Spring/Summer trends coming into Opera Lane's high street stores. Expect florals, pinks and stripes! They had some fab displays and gave us great info on how to style certain prints and clothing pieces. Natasha also offers a free two hour personal styling service for both men and women. Natasha has some great knowledge on what clothing items suit certain people and I'd highly recommend making an appointment with her if you're looking for some style advice.

The first stop on the trail was Olori Boutique run by two gorgeous sisters, Sarah Jane and Lisa. They treated us to some gorgeous Bucks Fizz and chocolates and showed us some of their gorgeous pieces. They only stock a few pieces of each item so if you're looking for exclusivity then head straight to this boutique.

The next stop was to Miss Daisy Blue, a vintage shop in the English Market. They had some gorgeous vintage pieces of clothing and their interior decor really shone. How cool is this bicycle?

Saville's Menswear was next on the agenda. We were given a tour of the different suits, jumpers, chinos and shirts they have to offer and were informed of their made to measure service where they fit you for your suit. This sounds like a fab service as you can pick out your own material, colours, linings etc. so it's really personalised. They can also add personalised stitching inside which is fab to mark a special occasion like a wedding. Also, can you get over that these shoes are hand painted??? They are fab!

Next, we visited the Shoe Suite which is a family run business. We were given the most beautiful welcome and the shoes they have to offer are amazing. They have every type of shoe you're looking for and also cater for women's size 9 which isn't available in many shops.

Lunch time came and we were treated to a gorgeous spread in Duke's Cafe. The team in there couldn't have been nicer and the food was simply delicious. We were given our own area upstairs which was great to sit down and have a chat while sampling the gorgeous food they had to offer.

After lunch, we headed to Phoenix V where the girls treated us to some prosecco. The dresses Phoenix V has to offer are just out of this world. So much to choose from with lots of different styles and colours. The interiors stood out for me in this shop; I loved the hanging rails and the gorgeous floral display as you walk in the door.

They say diamonds are a girl's best friend and after visiting Swarovski, I can understand why. They had some gorgeous pieces and they kindly treated us to even more prosecco.

The final stop on the trail was The Athlete's Foot. This is a fab sports shop with a range of runners to die for!!!! All I know is I will definitely be back to buy about five pairs of runners :P

I headed home after this but some of the other bloggers headed to The Clayton for a wrap party where they were treated to some tasty food and cocktails. I love this photo that Eli in Photoland took - really shows what us bloggers are like!

This was a great day out and it was great to catch up with some bloggers I've already met and get to meet new bloggers. Marie did a fantastic job at organising this and I cannot thank her enough for inviting me. We all had a great day; it couldn't have went any better. A huge thank you to all the shops as well; we were treated to fabulous food, drinks, gifts and some very generous discounts. I can't wait till next year!

I also vlogged part of the trail which you can watch here.

Here's the other VIP bloggers - you should definitely check them out!

Marie - The Beaut Mum, Shell - Shell La Belle, Jessica - Jessica Diaries, Caroline - Carolines Days, Sinead - Bon Fashioniste, Meggan - Cardigan Jezebel, Damien - Damien Broderick, Rachel - The Rebel Review, Clodagh - All Things Nice, Flo - One Hour Behind, Ebony - The Little Things Company, Yvonne - Putting It Out There, Shin - Thinking Out Loud, Patricia - My Life The Event, Sarah - Merry Me, Lei - The Style Preacher and photographer Eli in Photoland

Dublin Zoo & Tayto Park

A few weeks, as you'll already have known if you follow my instagram and YouTube channel, myself and Kevin spent the weekend in Dublin visiting Dublin Zoo and Tayto Park in Meath. The weather was absolutely amazing which is surprising for Ireland but it definitely made us enjoy the trip a lot more.

We spent Saturday afternoon in the zoo and loved it. I've only ever been there once and it was Kevin's first time there so we really spent as much time as we could exploring. We really enjoyed it - the baby elephants were by far my fav! you can watch our vlog of the trip here to see the animals up close! I'd definitely recommend it to people of all ages, especially families, as there's lots to see and do there.

On Sunday we visited Tayto Park in Meath which is a park that's a half zoo, half amusement park. The animals here were a lot better than Dublin Zoo though there was a lot less of them. We even got to see tigers and snow leopards being fed which was pretty cool. Again the weather was amazing and I left with disastrous tan lines from my shoes and poor Kevin left with scalded arms :P but we had a fab day nonetheless :P Before we headed home we did the Cu Chulainn rollercoaster which is Europe's first inverted wooden coaster (it's actually a car but has a banked turn that's more than 90 degrees so that's why it's inverted :P). The rollercoaster was amazing and much faster and smoother than we were expecting. Kinda disappointed that we left it till last and only got to do it once but we'll be back another time to do it then! They also had zip lines, climbing walls and lots of kiddie rides making it a great day out for everyone! We also vlogged this trip which you can see here.

Let me know if you've been to either of these places and what you thought of them!