We’re back in the swing of things after Spring Break and we’re looking back at last week with fond memories! We truly had the BEST time in Orlando at Universal Studios with our friends and I’m excited to tell you all about it!
Our Spring Break started out ROUGH with most of us sick with the flu. I don’t know if your family has been hit with the flu this year, but MAN it wiped us out. Influenza B has been making its rounds here in Naples and even though we didn’t get tested, I’m pretty sure that’s what we had as we had all the classic symptoms our friends did who got tested. I NEVER get sick but I was down for the count, sleeping in bed for what felt like FOREVER. There’s nothing more frustrating as a mom when you want to get things done and you just don’t feel good! Thankfully we were all feeling much better by Wednesday, when we were supposed to meet a group of friends up in Orlando for a few days at Universal Studios!
Normally I like to be organized with my packing process, but this time around it was a dump everything in to the suitcase and go type of situation. I still swear by using packing cubes though, and once again they made everything easier. I handed out each family member their packing cube color and they were told to pack what they needed for the weekend. Our girls are better at this than the boys. Haha! Normally I double check the boys’ cubes (and have to make several edits) but this time I didn’t. Oops! Needless to say they had to rewear a few things twice, but all in all after how terrible we felt I’ll call it a win.
These are the packing cubes I use from Amazon! Each of us has a color, and this allows us to share suitcases without everyone’s clothes getting mixed up! It also keeps everything way more organized instead of a heaping mess! And you can fit more in and pack more efficiently! The only thing to keep in mind is that you have to fit everything back into the cubes when you come home, just a heads up! But it’s actually a good thing, because it helps us to sort the dirty and clean clothes before we get home and makes the unpacking process simpler.
This is from when we packed for Italy last summer – another trip recap I will post soon!
Okay, now onto our Spring Break trip!
We drove up to Orlando on Wednesday afternoon – it still blows my mind that living in Naples, we are just a 3 – 4 hours drive from Orlando (depending on traffic)! Living in Florida is definitely full of pinch me moments because there is just so much to see within a few hours drive. We’ve only scratched the surface! The only downside to traveling to Orlando is all the Disney traffic. We’ve been to the area several times and no matter what time of day you go, you always have to give yourself an extra hour just in case you hit standstill traffic!
But it’s always worth it when you get there! We stayed at the Loews Saphhire Falls Resort which is right on Universal property. We stayed there once before, a couple years ago for Case’s birthday. It’s a great family friendly spot, and so convenient!
After we checked in, we met our friends for dinner! We went with three other families from Naples, and it was a blast to do Universal as a big group. We hadn’t traveled with them before, and it was such a blessing to have quality time to get to know each other on another level. We are so blessed to have them in our lives! Here’s our table for 19! We ate at the restaurant inside the hotel, called Amatista Cookhouse, and it was delicious. We had some food sensitivities in the group, and they were able to accommodate those too! I had the salmon – highly recommend!
Here’s everyone in our group!
The pre-teen girls! Love them!
After dinner we all loaded up on the water taxi and took a five minute ride on the water to Universal Orlando CityWalk. This is an area that has lots of shopping and restaurants, and is open to the public. (Kind of similar to Disney Springs if you’ve been there.) This is also where the entrances to both of the parks is too! It was so nice being able to take the ferry back and forth from our hotel instead of driving. The water taxis go back and forth from the hotel every 15 minutes until 2:30am, super convenient.
The moms! Love these ladies! 🙂
We walked around, had a drink, and made pitstops where kids wanted to go! Frozen yogurt for these girls!
The next morning we had breakfast downstairs in the restaurant downstairs around 8 and tried to get to the park early. When staying at a hotel on property, you can get into the property an hour early! We didn’t quite make it for that, but I was still impressed we got there as early as we did with our big group!
Universal Studios has two main theme parks, Universal Studios and Universal’s Islands Of Adventure. (They also have a water park called Volcano Bay! We’ve done that before and LOVED it, but this time we did the other two!)
We spend our first day (Thursday) at Islands of Adventure! One of our first stops was a photo with the one and only Spiderman!
We waited in a lot of lines, but it’s so much more fun with friends!
The kids’ favorite part of Universal is Harry Potter World! I wouldn’t say we are like HUGE Harry Potter fanatics or anything, but we watched all the movies and the kids have read some of the books and it’s just SO FUN to see it all come to life. We went to Harry Potter World for the first time last year with them, and it was SO fun to see their eyes light up as they saw how it was all brought to life in the park!
We had lunch at Three Broomsticks in Harry Potter World, and I was actually pleasantly surprised that they had some healthy options on the menu. I had the rotisserie smoked chicken and it was really good!
We spent the afternoon at Harry Potter world!
Then we all headed back to the hotel to rest and hangout! The pool area at Loews Sapphire Falls is great! We ended up hanging out there for a few hours and ordered dinner poolside.
Later we met up in the lobby for some late night card games!
We ended the night outside and ordered dessert on the balcony that overlooked Universal!
We were all wiped from a full day and fell asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillow! How cute is this photo of Baylen and Bolden? Yes, we are those people who take our dog with us everywhere we can. This hotel actually makes it super easy because it’s very pet friendly! You pay $100 for the whole stay, and upon check in they give you a bag with dog bowls! There’s also a great dog walking area.
One more side note about the rooms. As a family of six with growing kids, we are past the point of being able to squeeze into one room, but they do have the option to add a kids’ suite to a regular room which we did last time we were there! This time they were all sold our so we just did adjoining rooms, but again everything about this hotel is very family friendly.
Friday morning we were up and at ’em for day two in the parks! Universal Studios!
The girls had a photo op with Victor form Minions – he was hilarious and made us all laugh!
This is just after we finished one of the intense roller coasters! Some of us in the group were all about the roller coasters, and others not so much! We all did what we felt comfortable with and it worked out great!
After a fun morning, we stopped for lunch and then headed back into Harry Potter World. Harry Potter world is on both sides of the park, all the way to the back. The cool part is that both sides are connected by the Hogwarts Express, that you can ride between the two!
In line at Escape from Gringotts. This was one of the longer lines, but worth it! Parent tip: Stop by the bar for a drink before entering a long line and it takes the edge off! Moscow Mule for the win! Haha!
Waiting before we went into Diagon Alley!
Also, don’t miss this! Before you go into Diagon Alley, you’ll see a row of houses. Go to door #12 which is 12 Gimmauld Place, the home of Sirius Black. When you knock on the door, Kreacher the house elf peeks out in the second story! Our kids thought this was so fun.
Aboard the Hogwarts Express! This is such a neat experience because you feel like you’re in the movie – you get to ride in a little train car and it tells us a story with an interactive screen while you ride from one park to the other!
We got to sit together for a ride! We were laughing so hard in these glasses – nerds at heart!
I can’t believe it, but we powered through the whole day, and stayed until the park closed at nine! We ended up being there from 9am to 9pm! Needless to say, we all our steps in that day!
Here’s a group photo of us as we’re leaving the parks. We will remember this trip forever, and I’m so thankful for these sweet friends who made the trip so much fun! If you’re thinking about going to Orlando with a group, I cannot recommend it enough!
I’ll be back soon with more trip recaps – I have a bunch to get caught up on! If you have any questions about Universal, don’t hesitate to ask! I’m not an expert but would be happy to share any helpful hints!
xo,
Amber
