Traveling (WWoHP Part 3)

The big day (November 4th) finally arrived! We had been dreaming about, researching, discussing, and planning this trip for so long that it felt a bit surreal. We had all of our preparations in place, and were ready to go have some fun!

One of the huge blessings that allowed us to take this trip was that Jonathon's mom agreed to watch Hyrum for us for the four days that we were gone. Originally, I wanted to take him because it was supposed to be a "family trip." Jonathon convinced me of the error of my ways though, and I knew that he would be well taken care of with Grandma H. Even though we were only going to be gone for a few days, it was actually really hard to let him go. Grandma was nice enough to drive all the way up to our house to get him because she figured we would be busy with last minute stuff. Boy was she right! We were trying to clean the house and get everything packed, so it was sure nice of them to come to us.

Hannah and Ben arrived on Monday, and we had to leave for the airport at 4:00 AM Tuesday morning in order to catch our flight. Our family actually flew separately because I found Hannah and Ben a much cheaper (and better) flight. Since they were paying for their tickets, I figured they would appreciate spending less money. Our flight ended up being much longer because we flew to L.A. and then to Orlando. Hannah and Ben left 90 minutes after us and arrived 45 minutes before us. In L.A. our plane had to return to the gate for a sick passenger, but other than that, it was a very smooth travel day. We met up with Hannah and Ben at the Orlando airport, got our rental car, and headed to the hotel. All of the pieces came together remarkably well!

So Excited to be at the SLC airport at 5 AM

Watching the airplanes in their new HP shirts from Auntie Hannah

We stayed at a Universal Studios on-site hotel called the Cabana Bay Beach Resort. It just opened this year, and it is considered a moderately priced family hotel. We got a family suite so that all six of us could stay in one room. It also had a little kitchenette with a refrigerator, sink, and eating area. That allowed us to buy some food from the local Walmart and eat several breakfasts and dinners in our hotel to save some money on food. It was a nice perk. Another reason we opted for the more expensive hotel was that it catered to families and especially children. It had park shuttles, several huge pools, a bowling alley, family movie nights on the lawn, and a food court. 

We arrived at the hotel at around 7 PM. We grabbed some dinner at Wendy's across the street and got settled in. We had been traveling all day, but our bodies were still on Mountain Time, so it only felt like 5 PM. We decided to unpack and then head out to the pool. The kids were so excited! It was only about 70 degrees by that time, but the water was heated to a nice temperature. We spent the majority of our time that night in the lazy river. We went around and around and around because the boys loved it so much. Uncle Ben and Aunt Hannah were so much fun. They played with the boys and helped keep an eye on them. Overall, I was very impressed with the hotel. The staff was great, it felt very safe, there were tons of things to do, and we pretty much had the pool to ourselves because it was the off-season. I am so glad that we decided to stay there.

The hotel was really cute. It was decorated in a 50s retro theme. 

The exterior

 The living space

 The beds (there were 3 queens in the family suite)

The kitchenette

The pool area

Some late night water sliding

Floating the lazy river

At around 9 PM, we headed back to the room. Jonathon and I got the kids to bed and then headed grocery shopping. We tried to make it quick so that we could get some sleep. We had early park admission (another HUGE perk of the hotel), so we were going to have to get up early the next morning. We were all pretty tired, but so ready to finally go to Harry Potter Land!