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Virgin Atlantic's fabulous Pride Flight

Virgin Atlantic’s fabulous Pride Flight

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I’m SO up for good news, aren’t you? There’s such a lot of doom and gloom right now, that when something fabulous and positive happens, I’m all over it! So, you’ve heard of Pride in London, right? That wonderful, colourful coming together of everything that’s fabulous about the LGBT+ community. Last year, I watched my social media with envy as friends from Disney, the guys at Virgin, and many more (remember all the brands and companies that changed their logos to incorporate rainbows during the festival?) joined in the celebrations. London friends have told me that it’s a brilliant family day out. Of course, it’s not just a celebration. It’s a way of raising awareness of LGBT+ issues, and giving those that some people want to silence a voice. Of course, there are some countries where a celebration like this just wouldn’t be possible, and that’s where World Pride comes in. It’s an international celebration where people from across the globe gather to celebrate. It’s previously been hosted in London, Rome and Toronto, but this year it’s in NYC, and Virgin Atlantic’s fabulous Pride Flight is going to get people there in the most wonderful way! Read more

10 reasons why Universal's Aventura Hotel could be my new favourite

10 reasons why Universal’s Aventura Hotel could be my new favourite

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I’ll admit it - I’m biased. I love Loews Sapphire Falls Resort at Universal Orlando with all my heart. I adore the colourful lobby; the gorgeous pool area; the bright, tropical rooms and the fabulous food at the Strong Water Tavern, plus the fact you can hop on a river taxi and be right at the park gates in no time make it a no brainer for me. However, while we were at Halloween Horror Nights, we were lucky enough to stay at Universal’s Aventura Hotel, their beautiful, modern new hotel right next to Sapphire Falls, and I have to say, I was mightily impressed. It could even be my new favourite. Here’s why:

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Gorgeous new California adventures from Virgin Holidays

Gorgeous new California adventures from Virgin Holidays

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Well, hello October! I was just saying over on Instagram that I’ve got a very mixed (and very lovely) month coming up, with some exciting travel plans, plus some time at home set aside for baking, drinking red wine and planning future trips, of course. Talking of wine and trips, I attended a really lovely lunch last week in London, especially to hear about Virgin Holidays’ exciting plans for some really special new Californian tours. I think California can be a bit daunting as a holiday destination. We Brits head off to Florida without a second thought, but with California, I think maybe we’re a bit more hesitant when it comes to planning a holiday there: it seems huge, potentially expensive and terribly far away, somehow. Happily all that’s going to change (the hesitant bit, not how far away it is - even Richard Branson’s not that good), with the introduction of a really lovely new trio of one-off, personalised California adventures from Virgin Holidays that will really help you to get under the skin of this beautiful, diverse area.

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Five reasons why you need to visit new Toy Story Land at Walt Disney World Resort, Florida

Five reasons why you need to visit new Toy Story Land at Walt Disney World Resort, Florida

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If you follow me on any form of social media, I’m pretty sure that you won’t have missed the fact that I was back in my favourite place on earth recently for the opening of brand new Toy Story Land at Walt Disney World Resort, Florida. First up, I’ve got a video we had great fun making, showing you all the highlights of this incredible new addition to Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and then I’ll tell you five reasons why you need to visit new Toy Story Land at Walt Disney World - the largest expansion in the history of the park!

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The free Disney dining offer is back for 2019 holiday bookings!

The free Disney dining offer is back for 2019 holiday bookings!

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I honestly don’t think there’s a bad time to visit Walt Disney World resort in Florida (incidentally, for a heads up on the best times to go and loads of other info, visit my My Walt Disney World top tips post here), but the free Disney dining offer makes a family holiday at Walt Disney World considerably better value. I always recommend you stay at a Disney resort hotel if you’re visiting Walt Disney World (I think all the perks like Extra Magic Hours and free Disney’s Magical Express airport transfers add significant value), but now it’s even better value. If you’re a bit confused about what free Disney dining would mean to your family holiday booking in 2019, read on. I’ve got all the info on how the offer works, plus some top tips on the best places to book, too.

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News: Virgin Holidays and North America's first dolphin sanctuary

News: Virgin Holidays and North America’s first dolphin sanctuary

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I’m sure I speak for many of us when I say that I feel really uncomfortable looking back to past holidays where we’ve interacted with captive dolphins. We all love dolphins (I spotted this one off the coast of Agadir from a cruise ship), and I’ll the be first to admit that the chance to interact with them was just too tempting, but I know I’m not alone in looking back now and feeling quite sad that we played a part in supporting an industry that, even at the time, made us feel uneasy. Now, I feel that times have changed for the better, and there really has been a shift in what we feel is acceptable with regard to the welfare of dolphins and whales in captivity (in fact, in a poll of 1000 UK consumers* last year, 95% wanted to see tour operators change the way they work with attractions featuring whales and dolphins). I wanted to be the first to tell you about a fabulous new initiative that’s going to make you love Virgin Holidays even more than you do already (if that’s possible). Yesterday, Virgin Holidays announced that they’re going to be investing into a wonderful new project: North America’s first dolphin sanctuary. I asked them all about it and here’s what I found out:

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Three new ways to fly economy with Virgin Atlantic

Three new ways to fly economy with Virgin Atlantic

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We love flying with Virgin Atlantic. And - not wishing to slate the opposition - but having had some not-so-perfect flying experiences with other airlines recently, we really think their service and attention to detail is second to none. Now, at a time when a lot of other airlines are cramming even more seats onto their planes, Virgin Atlantic are investing more money to make sure flying in economy can be personalised to suit you, so if you want to push the boat out and grab some extra legroom, you can, but equally, if you just want to get there and get the absolute best value flight, you can do that too. Read on to find out all about the three new ways to fly economy with Virgin Atlantic.

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Discovering Temecula wine country with Virgin Holidays Experiences

Discovering Temecula wine country with Virgin Holidays Experiences

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If you follow me on Vivino (if not, please do - I love to chat about wine), or if you’ve read any of my wine writing, you’ll know we’re huge fans of American wine. My obsession properly started after tasting the fabulous American wines available at some of my favourite restaurants at Walt Disney World, especially Citrico’s at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa where the award winning wine list runs to several pages and the Sommelier can recommend some really fabulous wines. It was at Walt Disney World that I first got a taste for delicious, medium bodied floral Oregon Pinot Noir; and rich, peppery, fruity Californian Zinfandel. From there, we went on to buttery brioche Chardonnays too. I love tasting and learning about wine and you can imagine my delight when I found out that during our recent foodie trip to LA, we were going to be visiting Temecula wine country with Virgin Holiday Experiences.

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New Virgin Holidays Experiences and a foodie tour of east LA

New Virgin Holidays Experiences and a foodie tour of East LA

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So you’ve booked your dream holiday: you’ve chosen a great hotel, maybe scoped out a couple of decent restaurants (you know how important this is to me) but what’s the best way to really get under the skin of your destination? Well, Virgin Holidays has come up with the brilliant idea of Virgin Holidays Experiences: a breathtaking range of over 300 experiences for everyone from foodies and shopaholics to the thrill-seekers and outdoorsy types, and even those in search of the perfect Instagram shot. These fab new experiences will enable all of us to create a bespoke holiday experience that truly reflects our interests and obsessions. So whether you’ve always dreamed of shopping with your own personal stylist in New York, fancy taking surf lessons in San Diego, a seaplane trip over Horseshoe Bay in Vancouver or discovering Chinatown in San Francisco, the world really is your oyster! I was lucky enough to travel to LA and San Diego with Virgin Holidays earlier this month to try out a few of the amazing new Virgin Holidays Experiences. First up, an incredible foodie tour of East LA.

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My top ten tips for visiting Halloween Horror Nights

My top ten tips for visiting Halloween Horror Nights

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So you already know that we’re all Halloween crazy, and last week - a dream come true - I got to take Mr E and Sam to Universal Orlando Resort, Florida to experience the amazing Halloween Horror Nights 27. I don’t want to be one of those people who give all the good bits away before you even get there, so I’m not going to go into huge detail about everything you’ll find at HHN27, just in case you’re due to visit. If you’re tempted to attend next year, though - and you really, really should - here are my top ten tips for visiting Halloween Horror Nights, plus a couple of my awful blurry pictures - you’re welcome!

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The Departure Beach from Virgin Holidays

The Departure Beach, Barbados, from Virgin Holidays

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We all know that feeling, right? After a gorgeous holiday, the last day is such a massive come-down: you’ve got to be out of your room by midday but your flight doesn’t leave until the evening, you don’t want to get sandy and have nowhere to shower, so your last day is spent miserably killing time, sweating in your travel clothes, before heading home. While I was in beautiful Barbados, though, Virgin announced a brand new concept that’s going to change all that, and I think you’re going to love it. Step forward The Departure Beach from Virgin.

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Singing holidays in Barbados: our Caribbean choir experience

Singing holidays in Barbados: our Caribbean choir experience

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A couple of weeks ago, I received a pretty fabulous invitation to Barbados. Flying out with Virgin Holidays for a week at The Club Barbados, right next to Sandy Lane on the gorgeous, calm west coast of Barbados - a no brainer right? Well, almost. The bit of the invitation that had me hesitating was this: ‘come and be part of an exclusive expert led “Caribbean Choir” singing workshop’. Singing? Me?! I mean, yes, I sing in the shower, but a choir? I was nervous, but in my positive life plan notes, I’ve definitely written ‘be brave’ and ‘do something that scares you’, so I decided to embrace the challenge and replied with a firm yes!

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With Mr E at Cinderella Castle

Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway at Walt Disney World - part one

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So if you follow me on any form of social media, you can’t have failed to notice that I’ve had a bit of an exciting - and emotional - week. It started off with a magical invitation to a British TV first that saw Mr E and I checking in for a rather special Virgin Atlantic charter flight to Orlando with the very excited winners of the ‘place on the plane’ tickets from ITV’s popular Saturday evening show. Follow me, then, for a little photo diary of our adventure to watch the live final of Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway at Walt Disney World!

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Free dining at Walt Disney World Florida

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Last week I was lucky enough to spend a few days at my favourite place in the world, Walt Disney World, with my friend Erica, who writes the splendiferous Edinburgh food blog, Foodinburgh. Virgin Holidays whizzed us over in style, challenging us to ‘seize the holiday’ and we certainly did that! I’ll have loads and loads of new content coming up, including a look at gorgeous new Disney Springs and masses of new dining features, but I wanted to give you the heads up about a great, limited time offer: FREE dining at Walt Disney World Florida, that’s going to save you a fortune if you’re planning a Walt Disney World adventure next year.

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Alternative Florida: Fort Myers

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If you’ve been following my Alternative Florida series, you’ll know that I spent a few days in the gorgeous south western coast of Florida, exploring with the lovely lot from Virgin Holidays. Waving goodbye to beautiful Sarasota, we jumped in our bus and headed down the coast towards Fort Myers. Here, we stayed at the Virgin Holidays 4V rated Pink Shell Resort, walked in the footsteps of Edison and Ford, and even went shelling!

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In a bikini at Lido Beach, Florida

Alternative Florida: Sarasota

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So as I mentioned recently, I’ve just spent several days with the gang from Virgin Holidays discovering the sunny south western coast of Florida. Our first stop after landing in Orlando was Sarasota. Sarasota County is a gorgeous destination on Florida’s laid back Gulf Coast. We stayed at two hotels here, the Virgin Holidays 5V rated Resort at Longboat Key and the 3V Sandcastle Resort (an old favourite of mine).

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