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It’s officially Fall! It definitely doesn’t fe It’s officially Fall! It definitely doesn’t feel like it in Miami, it really never does but that just gives us a reason to explore other states. West Virginia is one of them, fun fact I actually lived here between undergrad and grad school! Here are Things to do in West Virginia (SAVE + SHARE): 

1. Enjoy New River Gorge National Park & Preserve, or visit any of the states 35 state parks as West Virginia has 1.5 million acres of parks and public land. We personally walked the Shavers Lake Trail and canoed on the lake. 

2. Enjoy some serious adventures! We’re always trying something new and West Virginia offers a lot of options from whitewater rafting, to 1,000+ miles of off-road ATV trails, to rock climbing, caving and mountain biking . 

3. Take a train ride on the Cass Scenic Railroad which stops at the Whittaker Camp where those who worked in the lumber and coal industry lived during the work season. 

4. Explore Cranberry Glades Botanical Area where you might just get to see some black bears! 

5. Walk the Falls of Hills Creak trail to get up close to some gorgeous waterfalls! 

This week I’ll be sharing various cities and states you can experience a beautiful Fall getaway. What are some of your favorite places to enjoy autumn?

Tap the link in my bio for my West Virginia blog post and a blog post of the best places to experience Fall in the US!
Still not over our day exploring the waters of For Still not over our day exploring the waters of Fort Pierce. We danced, snorkeled, fished and went tubing. Definitely want more days like this and still pinch myself that this is what a day of work looks like for me sometimes. Thank you @seadoo for the opportunity.
If you know my husband you know water activities a If you know my husband you know water activities are his favorite! Fishing, jet skiing, just being on a boat on the ocean relaxing, name it, he’s there. So we couldn’t be more excited than to not only get the chance to test out the new @seadoo Switch but be the stars of a whole commercial for it. We had entirely too much fun filming this. Of course now he wants to buy one!

Do you like getting out on the water? Favorite activity?
Our 3 Day London Itinerary (SAVE + SHARE): 

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Day 1: Walked across the Tower Bridge (you can take a tour of London of Tower as well), walked along the River Thames and took a make a fascination hat class with @create_your_own_hat! 

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Day 2: Harry Potter walking tour, checked out Borough Market and went on a night ghost bus tour. 

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Day 3: Morning Tea at Peggy Porschen, Buckingham Palace for Changing of the Guards, and explore Westminster for the infamous red telephone booths, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey.

If you have more time on previous visits to London we have taken a day trip to check out Stonehenge, Bath and Windsor Castle, rode the London Eye, took a ferry ride down the Thames River, checked out Warner Brother Studios, and did a graffiti/street art tour.

Is London on your list? If you’ve been what did you do that you think is a must for visitors?

Things to do in London, London with kids, family travel
Then vs Now (swipe left)!🥹🥰 My babies are no Then vs Now (swipe left)!🥹🥰 My babies are not babies anymore. Where has the time gone? Excuse me while I go cry in the corner 😭😭😭😭. 

Too in my feelings to provide an informational post, I’ll be back tomorrow.
Why is this man always trying to stop my fun? List Why is this man always trying to stop my fun? Listen replace husband with whoever you need to but why these ppl keep acting like we can take our money when we’re gone?!? Y’all feel me or nah? 😅😬😩
Morning Tea in London! Afternoon or High Tea is us Morning Tea in London! Afternoon or High Tea is usually on everyone’s things to do in London list but since the girls and I don’t eat beef or pork the menus for most places didn’t make sense for us as they are filled with ham sandwiches and other things we don’t eat. I ended up finding Morning Tea at Peggy Porschen instead which offers a tea menu with breakfast items, while not traditional it worked best for us! It cost £35 pp.

For a traditional Afternoon or High Tea Try:

🫖Palm Court at The Ritz
🫖The Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon at Fortnum & Mason
🫖Theatre Royal Drury Lane
🫖The Grill Room Hotel Cafe Royal (has vegetarian an vegan options)
🫖Coronation Afternoon Tea at Cellarium, Westminster Abbey
🫖The Rosebery Coronation Afternoon Tea at Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park
🫖The Goring Hotel

Afternoon Teas Geared Towards Families:

☕️Peter Pan Afternoon Tea at Aqua at The Shard
☕️Jurassic Afternoon Tea at the Ampersand Hotel
☕️Jungle Book Afternoon Tea at Brown’s Hotel
☕️Secret Garden Afternoon Tea at Taj 51
☕️The Buzzy Bees Afternoon Tea at St. Ermin’s Hotel
☕️Grover’s Children’s Tea at Grosvenor House Hotel
☕️The Peppa Pig Afternoon Tea Bus Tour
☕️Sherlock Holmes Inspired Afternoon Tea at the Mind Palace
☕️Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Tea at One Aldwych
☕️Mad Hatter Afternoon Tea at The Sanderson
☕️Wizard of Oz Afternoon Tea at The Soho Hotel

Have you done a proper Afternoon or High Tea in London before? Was the one you did on this list, if so what did you think of it? If you have additional recommendations please do leave a comment!

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6 Tips for a Pleasant Disney Experience

June 23, 2017      Destinations, Florida, North America

This post contains affiliate links. If you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small commission at no cost to you. Please see our disclosure policy for more information. All opinions are my own.

Visiting Disney World is supposed to be a happy time. However, waking up early, standing on long lines and paying a lot of money for food can be a big turn off. As Florida natives and frequent visitors the the Happiest Place on Earth we’ve learned a lot. Below are our tips for a pleasant Disney experience.

You May Be Interested in Reading: 5 Reasons to Take Your Toddler to Disney World

Avoid peak dates when visiting Disney World

I realize Disney is always packed but avoiding holiday weekends and spring and summer breaks will make the crowds more bearable. We went the weekend after Labor Day which I believe by this time all schools across the country had started and although it was still crowded the crowds were manageable and most rides had no more than a 35 min wait time if you didn’t have the FastPass. Visiting Disney for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween? Read my specific tips for this special event here.

Sign up for My Disney Experience and buy your tickets online and have your My Disney Card mailed to you to avoid the lines at the gate. You can also select your first 3 FastPass attractions so you won’t have to wait on line.

Download the My Disney Experience app

It gives you a map of the park and shows you your current location. It also lists the current wait times for rides, allows you to make reservations for lunch and dinner, and lets you reserve your FastPass for attractions.

Get to Disney World for Opening Time! 

Believe me I know it is hard getting out of the house early with kids but you will get to the park and be able to get on 2-3 of your must do rides before the lines get outrageous. Not only that but depending on the time of year you go the Florida sun can be extremely overbearing especially from 1:00PM-4:00PM (did someone say lunch and nap time) so that allows you a good amount of time to enjoy before you possibly decide to take a break.

Bring Snacks and Lots of Water

With a bottle of water in the park ranging from $3-$4 bring your own! Freeze half of them so they stay cool all day. You are allowed to bring a soft cooler as long as is not larger than  24″ long x 15″ wide x 18″ high.

Consider Bringing Your Own Stroller Or Rent From an Off-site Location

Below are pictures of the strollers available to rent at Disney. The seats do not recline and they provide limited storage to put your bags. If you are traveling with an infant and don’t want to baby wear them the entire time there is no place to snap in their car seat like  in a travel system or car seat caddy.

How to Avoid Long Lines at Disney World (Updated December 2017).

On our 2nd trip to Disney World this past December we noticed after we already waited in line for 40 mins to order our food that Disney World implemented a new mobile food and beverage ordering when ordering through the My Disney Experience app. You can view the menus of the participating restaurants order and pay for your food in advance. You can place the order immediately or wait until you actually get to the restaurant and have them prepare it then but still avoid the long line to order.


You May be Interested in Reading: 24 Fun Things to do in Orlando Besides Disney & Theme Parks

 

Another way to avoid long lines at Disney is to visit the park on special event days. We loved our experience at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. The lines were so short and seeing the characters in their Halloween outfits and trick or treating throughout the park were highlights for my kids. Read my full review here on what to expect.

We love going to Disney World and while we’ve never stayed on property we always stay nearby. Our favorite is the Holiday Inn Club Vacation at Orange Lake followed by Margaritaville Resort Orlando. Looking for things to do in Orlando besides Disney World? Check out my ideas here. Did you find this blog post helpful? Please share it!

Disclosure: “Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. The commissions earned help me offset the costs of running this blog so please support if you choose to purchase, it is much appreciated.”

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Comments

  1. Denize says

    March 26, 2018 at 12:34 am

    We r going to head to Disney in mid to late April. Thanks for the tips. We r traveling as a family of 5 from Canada so fingers crossed.

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Hi! We’re The Hambricks

Hi! We’re The Hambricks

If kids live there, kids can visit! That's our motto and you'll often find us exploring destinations most don't find "kid friendly". We've traveled to 35 countries on 6 continents with our children since they were 10 weeks old and share tips to make it easier and affordable. But mom and dad are people too so we also write about solo travel, baecations and girlfriend getaways.

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