Christmas In Florida

When you think of Christmas, what do you think about?   Soft snowflakes falling to the ground? Sitting by a warm crackling fire?  Sipping hot chocolate while ice-skating?   What about decorated palm trees?  Classical Christmas songs echoing pool side? All while taking in the full sunshine days of the south?  If the latter excites you, you may be interested in Christmas in Florida.

It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air… W.T. Ellis

My husband and I had the opportunity to travel to Florida recently for a conference.  While, our home was covered in soft white snow, we found ourselves surrounded by swaying palm trees and golden sunshine.  Although not the ideal location to get into the Christmas spirit, I must admit… Florida was full on Christmas.

Last year at this time, we had the pleasure of experiencing Christmas in New York – which was an experience of a lifetime.  We loved our weekend in the Big Apple taking in some of the fun festive activities; a Broadway show, skating at Rockefeller Center, and a carriage ride through Central Park to name a few.  I believe that experience will be hard to top in future years.  

Sidenote: To read more about NYC at Christmas time, click HERE

Our Itinerary:

• A 4-night stay at the Four Points Sheridan Orlando
• Disney Magic Kingdom
• Icon Park
• Premium Outlet Shopping
• Our scheduled seminar
• Mini-golf

Day By Day Itinerary:

Day 1: Wednesday:

We flew into Orlando in the evening via Porter Airlines and arrived at the Four Points Sheridan Hotel.  This hotel was a quick 25 minutes from MCO (Orlando International Airport) and we travelled via Uber to our destination. 

Porter airlines was outstanding. We had never flown with Porter before and it went above and beyond our expectations. We had Reserve Seats which allowed us unlimited food and beverages with a personal flight attendant for the first few rows. I would highly recommend Porter Airlines and will definitely fly with them again one day. 

Pulling up to the Four Points Sheridan, directly situated across from the Universal Orlando Theme Parks, we were greeted warmly by their team. Our initial night did not go as planned as there were a few minor hiccups causing us to (at first) title this A Very Ghetto Christmas. 

Quick Mention:  Apron arrival, 5 police officers arrived to speak with a young man whose phone was apparantly stolen outside. Not a typical occurrence according to the apologetic staff. Our initial suite had magnificent views from the top floor however, not quite as clean as it could have been. The hotel team quickly rectified the mishap and put us in a regular room for the night along with breakfast vouchers for our stay and a note for us to speak with Brian, the manager in the morning.  After a restful sleep, we found Brian and once again, he was just as wonderful as the rest of the Four Points Team. Without asking, Brian graciously moved us to their penthouse suite at no extra change. Wow!  What a spectacular room.

The service and hospitality of the Four Points Sheridan goes above and beyond. If anything does not live up to their top shelf standards, they will correct it or offer a solution. An entire uneasy situation was turned around, rectified, and enhanced to ensure our stay was beyond satisfactory. High praises for the team!

Day 2: – Thursday

We woke on our first full day in Orlando to bright sunshine and took in their excellent buffet breakfast (with the presented vouchers given upon checking). After getting settled in our new glorious suite, we decided to soak up the sunshine at their onsite pool. The warm Florida rays next to their heated inground pool was such a peaceful way to start a well deserved relaxation day. 

Around noon, we decided to relive some memories and head over to Disney’s Magic Kingdom. Another great Uber ride transported us there within an easy 20 minutes. Purchasing our tickets, we learned that the park was closing at 6:00 PM due to Mickeys Christmas party (a sold out separate event). We decided to still enter and we had a magical 4 hours taking in the sites, rides, Christmas decor and memories. 

Magic kingdom’s Main Street was like walking down Christmas Town. Every pole was lit and decorated, a magnificent tree in its centre square, and we happened to arrive just in time for the Disney Christmas parade. The whole atmostphere and event brought such warmth and emotion to our hearts as we took it all in. 

After the parade, we began to relive some memories by riding Space Mountain, It’s a Small World, walk through each land, as well as take in a couple new rides. When in line for one, we spotted this lovely elderly couple walking hand in hand adoring buttons stating ‘ First time at Disney’. Such an endearing site (and something to strive for)! 

We were told there was going to be a Frozen event just before the park closed for Mickey’s Christmas party, so we headed first to purchase a Disney Christmas shirt momento, then off to the castle to experience the Frozen celebration. All we can say is simply wow!  The 15 minute event was outstanding!  It was heartwarming!  It was spectacular!  It was remarkable!

They whole day we were there filled our hearts with so much Christmas spirit and joy that we left there smiling ear to ear. 

We were not ready to leave Disney, so we hopped on the mono rail to the Contempory Disney Resort where we could catch a bus to Disney Springs – formally called downtown Disney. Arriving there, we were again immersed into Christmas with a magnificant tree, carols playing and ‘snow’ falling onto the guests. We took in the area while we searched for a great place to eat. We fell apron Raglan Road Irish Pub and we were so happy we chose there to eat.

This pub was fantastic. Food was delicious, service spectacular and it also had free entertainment while you ate. We were delighted to enjoy a captivating performance of traditional Irish dancers paired with an incredible Irish band, creating a magical Irish Christmas ambiance as we dined.

Our first full day in Orlando was a definite 10 in creating a Christmas in Florida vibe.  

Day 3: – Friday

After a glorious sleep in our specular suite, we began our day once again with an enjoyable breakfast. The hotel offered quite a selection to choose from:

• Coffee and tea
• A variety of juice
• Yogurts
• Pastries and bread options
• Scrambled eggs
• Hash browns
• Turkey sausage
• Bacon
• French Toast
• Pancakes
• Waffles
• Fruit

The team who ran and organized this area were fantastic and were on hand for any extra want or need. 

We decided to start our day again with a relaxing lounge by the pool. This day was a tad bit cooler (Florida this week was not at its warmest, but it was still better than our foot of snow back home). After a relaxing pool side time, we decided to head over to the Orlando Premium Outlets. 

This outlet mall has many of the same great stores those in Canada offer at the Tanger Outlets, however it does offer you with some other fantastic choices like:

• J Crew
• Armani
• Psycho Bunny
• Cole Haan
• Lacoste
• Hey Dude
• Vineyard Vines

We found a few great deals and then headed over across the street to the Bahamas Breeze restaurant for lunch. Walking up to this tropical restaurant, we were greeted with a sign that said, “Come in for some happiness”. Well, rest assure – our experience within this tropical establishment was certainly happy.

Our experience at Bahama Breeze was fantastic. The food was delicious. The service was outstanding and the energy set the tone for a great tropical experience. 

Since our tummy’s were satisfied, we then headed back to our hotel to rest for a few moments before we would head over to Icon Park to take in their Christmas festivities and dinner. 

Icon park was a short 7 minute Uber drive. We arrived yet again to a picture perfect Christmas tree with Dickens carollers gracing their beautiful voices for its guests. Sparkly Christmas photo-op decorations lined the walkways while live music filled the air at each restaurant. We decided on eating at Blake Sheltons Ole Red restaurant and it did not disappoint. A great band – Michelle Marie – was playing and their song choices were fantastic. Originals, covers, as well as Christmas carols graced our ears as we ate our delious meal. 

Our last free day in Orlando couldn’t have been better. 

Side note. Michelle Marie was once on American idol. Season 15.  Our family watches that program each year so it was a special moment for us to experience that.

Day 4: – Saturday:

Seminar day

The seminar we attended was such a inspiring and fulfilling day. The hotel was fantastic with their organizing and it went without a hitch. It was a health seminar with each speaker pouring out insight and inspiration to not only better your business, but also better yourself. We were so thrilled to be a part of this excellent event.

That evening, we decided to have a fun date night at the Congo River Golf Mini Putt. What an amazing place. They have live Gators where you can feed or hold if you desire (for an extra fee). We chose not to choose that option, however – their mini putt course was fantastic. Each hole had an interesting aspect or challenge as well as a few holes had an extra spin challenge where you spin a wheel to add a difficulty to your hole. For instance – on one hole, I had to hit the ball using the other end of my club and on another, you could move your opponents ball a club length away. What a great added concept. We had such a fun last night filled with much laughter. A perfect evening.

Day 5 – Sunday:

Departure day.  

Our mini work/personal vacation had come to an end, but we were not only filled with Christmas joy and career fulfillment, we felt like kids again experiencing those childlike wonders as a couple. Experiencing Disney again – together with my husband – brought out so much love, joy and fun within our souls.

Our flight home with Air Canada was smooth (although, we did prefer our Porter experience better) and we arrived home earlier than expected. 

Highlights:

• Experiencing Disney’s Magical Kingdom was such a highlight for us. Not only did we relive all of those old childlike memories, it also tapped into the Christmas spirit we were longing for – filling our souls with such childlike wonder.  Disney has a way of providing its guests with an overwhelming sense of awe that leaves you with a heart filled with joy at every visit – young or old. 

• If you have the chance, fly Porter. Their service exeeds any airline we have travelled with.

• Research Christmas events prior to arrival. Our original idea we had wanted to do prior to arrival was Sea World. We did not end up going there due to switching to Magic Kingdom at the last minute. We had not looked up Disney prior,  if we had, we would have known about the park closing early and could have possibly purchased tickets to Mickey’s Christmas Party. However, we do not regret even the short time we experienced at Disney. Every minute was magical.

• Log into wifi anywhere you can.  Most establishments have complimentary wifi, so there is no need for data usage if you can help it.

Overall:

We loved our time in Orlando and our Christmas in Florida adventures. If you have the opportunity to travel to Orlando prior to Christmas, you will not be disappointed. Each park – Disney, Universal or Sea World all offered Christmas events, decorations, and experiences. With so many options, you certainly would have an abundance of opportunties to be filled with the Christmas spirit.