What We Did in Florida Before and After Our Disney Wish Cruise

Intro

✈️🗽✨ Hey guys! Just got back from an epic trip and I’ve gotta share all the deets! We did all these amazing activities before and after our 4-day Disney Wish cruise. Kicked off with a stunning view of the Manhattan skyline from Newark Airport, then flew to MCO Orlando. 🌴🚗

First stop, crossing the Dunlawton Bridge to Daytona Beach Shores and enjoying blackened salmon at Our Deck Down Under. Next, we savored mouth-watering braised pork at Sixty Vines in Orlando. 🌮🥳 Hit up Southern Nights Club for a fabulous drag show and had a delicious brunch at Peach Valley Cafe.

In New Smyrna, we spotted dolphins and a breathtaking sunset at JB’s Fish Camp. Also, saw a chicken chilling at an ice cream shop on Flagler Avenue. 🌅🐬

Post-cruise, we headed to Disney Springs, indulging at Gideon’s Bakehouse and The Polite Pig. 🍪🥩 Checked out Disney’s Contemporary Resort, admired the Disney Wish model, and enjoyed a gorgeous view of Cinderella Castle. 🌟🏰

Finally, we wrapped up with a scenic flight view of the New York City skyline from MCO back to Newark. What an unforgettable adventure! Hope you enjoy the pics and memories as much as I did! 📸💕

From Newark to Orlando

We took the PATH to go from Downtown Manhattan into Newark Penn Station, and then took an Uber to the EWR Newark International Airport. We almost never fly from this airport because it is so difficult to go there, and also because of the incident I had on the way to Guatemala, but it was the cheapest flight around this time on a Friday.

I really hoped that the weather in Orlando, was going to be way better than up here. It was my first time in the Disney Wish cruise!

Exploring New Smyrna and Daytona Beach

The cruise was not until Monday, and this Friday night when we arrived to MCO International Airport in Orlando, we were picked up and taken to New Smyrna Beach, a small beach town in the East Coast of Florida. It would be approximately one hour and a half from Port Canaveral where we would have to take the Cruise on Monday.

For now, this weekend we were just going to hang around and exploring this entire part of Florida, and a little bit of Orlando. I love these little picturesque towns by the beach. This county has the most Shark Attacks on this side of the country.

But years ago I had been to a restaurant by Daytona Beach, and I had to go back.

Our Deck Down Under is to not be missed while your stay in this side of the state of Florida. Wow. The food is really fresh. The blackened salmon and the shrimp and grits are from out of this world.

Party night in Orlando

It was one of my friend’s friend birthday, and we all drove to Orlando that Saturday night to Sixty Vines to celebrate. I ordered the Braised Pork Pappardelle and it was very regular and expensive. I almost had no pork on my plate, but the wines were good, and the ambiance of the place was great too.

Next up, we went back to Southern Nights, after having come here last February, and the club had way more people this time. Loved it a lot.

We stayed for a Drag Show, which as always, are phenomenal.

And it was Lesbian Night, so there was a special show for them as well. Overall very fun night at this spot, one of the biggest LGBT clubs of this side of Florida.

The next morning…

After a long night of partying.… we booked a hotel on the spot, for cheap, and we stayed in Wyndham Garden Orlando Airport. The next morning before heading back to New Smyrna, we went to this Southern style restaurant called Peach Valley Cafe, and got delicious brunch.

My Fiesta Rancheros was really yummy. I also got the very fresh orange juice.

Back in New Smyrna Beach

The Disney Wish cruise was the next day, and we were now back in New Smyrna Beach, where I was still to explore a little bit more.

After getting some Starbucks, we made it later to JB’s Fish Camp, a popular southern style seafood place just south of New Smyrna Beach. The place was popping and I was excited for all the fresh seafood.

We really all eat lol. We got hush puppies, crab cake, shrimp, Jumbo shrimp, scallops, oysters, fried mahi, fries, clams, among others. Wow. I really liked all this food, and now I was excited to eat the seafood on the cruise. Does this count as having eaten fish and chips??? Lol.

While having some beers after the big meal, we saw some dolphins on the Indian River, and reminded me of my adventures in Colombia, in Leticia and in Cartagena where I was able to see these creatures also in the wild.

The sunset just before we left was amazing, the next one would be at sea from the cruise.

The night we rested and got some ice cream while exploring the New Smyrna Beach Flager Avenue, the main one. I was surprised on how chill was this chicken just laying there lol.

And late night walk on the back are always the best, especially on a Full Moon. But it was time to go to sleep and have everything ready for the cruise tomorrow.

After the Disney Cruise, Disney Springs

I will be sharing more of my Disney Wish Cruise on this blog, but in a future post. For now, I wanted to share what I did after debarkation on the next Friday. We went of course to check in at the hotel. We stayed at Wyndham Lake Buena Vista Disney Springs Resort Area, and from there, we walked to Disney Springs.

Gideon’s Bakehouse is always my go to on this open shopping mall in Walt Disney World. The Peanut Butter Cold brew is just great, and of course the cookies are amazing. I always spend here at least $40 in all those deliciousness.

For actual lunch, we picked The Polite Pig, which we always see but never go in. I was actually surprised on how big it is and how good the food actually is.

The Low and Slow Brisket burger was very good.

We also went to The Basket at Wine Bar George for some appetizers, and it did not disappoint.

Longhorn Steakhouse

That Friday after the cruise, we met more friends once again, and that night we went to Longhorn Steakhouse. I really loved all the food from this trip. I feel like it was a foodie week for me, from the fresh food at New Smyrna, to the cruise succulent plates, to the Orlando options.

I was still full from earlier, so I just had some Firecracker Chicken Wraps which I shared. The next day we had to go to the parks, so I did not want to eat that much.

Steakhouse 71

Last day of this 10 day trip, and here we were on this Sunday, still exploring the Walt Disney World. We had a reservation later on Steakhouse 71, and the flight back to New York right after, so we arrived earlier to the Contemporary Resort where the restaurant is located.

We had just been on this cruise!!!

From this hotel, we could see the Magic Kingdom very clearly, and of course The Cinderella Castle.

Now, it was finally time for our lunch reservation in Steakhouse 71. I got the steak of course, medium rare, and lovedddd how pink the meat was. Everything was really good, I would definitely go back to this restaurant.

Back to NYC

10 days passed and even though I summarized the non-cruise and non-park activities on this blog post, I feel it does not really show everything that we did. But here we were on the MCO International Airport, ready to go back to reality in NYC.

We said bye to Florida, and with no plans to come back to this state until September, I was feeling sad this trip was over. It kind of remind me of the Alaska Cruise, and then coming back to work ugh.

But a good thing about coming to New York is that if you are lucky, you can see the beautiful skyline, and that always makes me feel better.

I was back in Newark International Airport. From here I would take an Uber and then a PATH back into New York City. MY Cruise Trip was over, but all the fun I had with all the people I met will always be remembered.