Orlando day Four & 5

We knew we wanted to do a water park day. Volcano Bay was a two foot walk from our hotel door to the entrance. Thursday, it was going to be cloudy but 87 degrees so we decided it would be great. We got in an hour early and rode almost every waterslide before the park officially opened. It was a little chilly but not crowded and the water was heated. Mc could have stayed in the wave pool the whole day. We headed back to the hotel to have lunch and shower and decided to stay in the park late to watch the lights on Hogwart's at night. Mark had bought a drink cup that was refillable at the hotel- Mc got a hot chocolate and snuggled into bed one more night before we went home. 

Friday morning I woke up feeling horrible! I think it was because on Thursday, it was 87 degrees and overnight, it dropped to 65. It was super windy and chilly. We decided to head back into the park to gather our souvenirs  and spend the last few hours before we flew home. My sweet friend Alli from work had a $100 gift card she couldn't use- with a few creative customer service people we were able to use that. I was grateful to just sit in the sun as Mark and Mc rode the Mummy a few times. We had warm pretzels, one more frozen butter beer and got ready to head back to the snow. 

Mc and She-Ra

Orlando Day 3

Day three was our day of brave- Mc (albeit crying) rode the Hulk coaster and was so thrilled with herself (not enough to ride again).  We saw Transformers, had more butter beer and stayed later in the park. We rode almost every ride with the exception of the Rockin Coaster, all of Simpsons land, Seussland, and the wet rides. The Jurassic Park ride looked awesome but with an 80 foot drop AND 15 people dryers all full of soaking wet people, we opted out. I think that was a good choice. 

We spent more time just looking around Diagon Alley- they spared no expense on making this such a magical part of the park. Every store had "magic" happening- creatures, moving photos- all of it was so much like being in the book/movie. 

We came back to dinner at the hotel- the ala carte options were great and went to bed watching Live PD. Mc's choice. 

us and Bumble Bee

Mc and the Pygmy Puffs- her chosen souvenir. 

Jaws

Orlando Day 2

Two of my favorite ladies. 

Dragon on top of Gringott's 

Because we stayed at a Universal resort, we got into the park an hour early. Only a few of the Harry Potter rides were open but we knew we wanted to head to those first. We almost missed the entrance (you walk behind a false wall).  After figuring out the ticket/locker system, we rode Escape from Gringott's (twice), the Mummy, and started our day in the park. Once again, the weather was warm and awesome- still snowy in Utah. The park was in "slow" season so we hardly had to wait to ride anything. We got off and back on whatever we wanted. The Mummy, still an all time favorite. 

HOGWARTS

How I have missed those Voodoo doughnuts. 

 We had a delicious lunch at the Three Broomsticks. Mc had her first taste of frozen Butter Beer and fish and chips. Both of which she loved.

Platform 9 3/4

 We rode the Hogwart's Express between parks- so well done! We got our bearings pretty quickly and got excited about having a few days to experience everything. The most amazing ride of the day was the new Hagrid's Motorbike ride! We waited two hours to ride but it was SO worth it. So much fun.

Mc was living her best life- both parents 100% dedicated to her every whim and a vacation that was run exactly how she wanted it to be. 

Orlando- Day One

We finally made it to our Florida, 10 year old trip for Mckinley. We picked THE best time to go. We took the red eye out of Salt Lake and left in a blizzard. We got to FL at 5 AM, ubered to our hotel (let us never forget the song that was playing in the car that was SO disturbing). We went to the hotel and took a nap (three hours) only to wake up and find out that back home, school was canceled for a SNOW DAY. Mary Ann was home with the boys and I am sure that made a long day for her but the boys had a blast playing outside. Not nearly as much fun as we had sitting by the pool- they played music underwater) and lounging in the sun. It was sheer heaven. I needed some Vitamin D. We had a cafeteria in our hotel so we had some lunch and then took an Uber to downtown Disney to just walk around. 

Sunshine girl