Shereen Rayle's Blog, page 117

Jet Lag Is The Worst, So Don't Get It

If you're traveling across the country for the holidays, there's nothing worse than suffering from jet lag. It can ruin a day or more of your trip. It can also make you cranky when stress is already running fairly high. Here are some ideas on how to combat the dreaded jet lag, so you get to your destination bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, or sleepy and ready for bed if you get there at night. It can be hard getting into the swing of things at first, but if you get your internal clock on your ne...

How to Buzz Through TSA During the Holidays

The holidays are officially upon us and that means more travelers hitting the airport to visit friends, families or possibly just take advantage of a rockin’ travel deal. There’s no doubt that the airport will be crowded with travelers and lovely people picking up and saying goodbye, but the busiest place won’t be the stores or eateries, or even the waiting room, but the security line. No one likes to wait in it and everyone thinks it’s a hassle, even though it’s kind of exciting, because you...

Eating at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter

By now you've read all about my visit to to Hogsmeade, Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando. I saved the best for last, because the food is actually really delicious. I don't mean in comparison to theme park food. I just mean in general. Of course, most people come to Wizarding World with a singular food goal: Butterbeer. 
Butterbeer is the iconic Harry Potter beverage. Despite popular belief, it is non-alcoholic (I mean, kids d...

Visiting the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Knockturn Alley

Okay, so we're onto part 3 of my trip to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando. If you missed the others, check out Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley. After walking around in the blazing hot sun of Florida, even in September, the dark and cool Knockturn Alley seems like a great place to hide for a little bit. If you have an interactive wand, you can spend even more time here, as there are quite a few place to use it and use magic. Knockturn Alley, like you might expect from reading abo...

Visiting Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Diagon Alley

Last month I was in Orlando and we visited Universal Studios for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter expansion. Diagon Alley is really exciting in the books and I wish we got to spend more time in it. Luckily, Universal knew this and the expansion did not disappoint. In fact, we spent almost an entire day at Diagon Alley, even though there is only one ride. There is just so much eye candy everywhere for the Harry Potter fan that you can be there for hours and feel like you've not seen much. {...

Visiting Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Hogsmeade

As you all know by now, I'm a crazy Harry Potter fan. I throw a huge party every July for Harry Potter's birthday and my house is decorated like Hogwarts from then through January 1st. That said, we finally made our way back to Universal Studios Orlando to check out the expansion to Wizarding World. This is the second time we've been since they opened Hogsmeade and the additions were something to behold. Obviously, you want to start there, because that's where Hogswarts is. 

The castle lo...

Dressing Up With Mickey & Friends

Happy Halloween, everyone! I hope you're all out being someone, or something, else while it's acceptable, getting your candy on. I know I am, for more than the first time this season. My first Halloween outing was earlier this month at Walt Disney World. There's nothing like a Disney party, because everyone's a kid, whether you're 2 or 102. As you know, barely a year goes by without us making some pilgrimage to some Disney park and this year, Orlando win out. It was 100% so we...

Maryland On The Cheap: Inexpensive Events in Ocean City

Ocean City, Maryland is among the leading resort towns on the east coast. It features a busy boardwalk, a close to 10-mile long beach and loads of family-fun activities including an ice-skating rink and amusement parks. Whether you are out for a family getaway or a weekend with friends, Ocean City has you covered. And if you are traveling on a budget, here are some inexpensive or free fun activities that you can find exhilarating as well as gratifying.

Family Beach OlympicsFamily beach Olympic...

The Real Halloweentown

If you watched Disney Channel in the late 90s, you may remember the cult movie Halloweentown. It starred Debbie Reynolds and spawned three, just as cheesy, sequels (Halloweentown II, Return to Halloweentown and Halloweentown High). It's recently come to my attention that this was filmed in a real town, one that isn't too far from where I live. St. Helens, Oregon is a little town about 45 minutes away and each October they go all out to decorate the town like the movie. What?? How did I not kn...

Stay Overnight in a Real Ghost Town

With Halloween coming, it's hard not to have your mind on ghosts and goblins. I had the opportunity to meet with some reps from Montana's visitor board this week and learned about a fantastic little ghost town that is very unique. One, they let you stay when the sun goes down. Two, if you visit when there's snow, you can only reach it by skiing or snowmobiling in. That's pretty cool, right?

Garnet, Montana used to be a thriving gold mining town and now it's the state's most intact ghost town t...