Florida Trip

2020 was a long, hard year due to COVID. The kids did a wonderful job transitioning to homeschool and adjusting to all the craziness thrust upon them, but when Christmas rolled around, we were all so ready for something to look forward to. Jonathon and I made the crazy, spur of the moment decision to give our kids a trip to Universal Orlando for Christmas. We scheduled it for late April so that Jonathon would be done with school and hopefully, the pandemic would be at a better place for travel. Homeschool actually made it super easy to plan because we didn't have to work around any school schedule or assignments.  

To make it even better, Joe and Kym's family decided to go with us! We were so excited! A nice perk was that Kym's brother and sister both live near Orlando and were willing to let us stay with them. We spent months planning and preparing for our big trip. It really did make the struggles of the pandemic better to have some hope and excitement about the future. 

Before we left, we made Harry Potter shirts for everyone using freezer paper and gold spray paint. They turned out so cute! We also made wand holders and fanny packs for the parks. We were all decked out and ready to go when April rolled around. 

I had done a lot of research beforehand and found out that if you booked a premier hotel for one night, you would get 2 days worth of Express Passes (a $1000 value) for free! The lure of the Express Passes was enough for me to look into it more, even though we had a place to stay. Hotel rooms for annual passholders were discounted almost 50%, so for a small upgrade fee, I could get an annual pass, a discounted hotel rate, and 2 days of Express Passes. It was a no-brainer. So even though it felt silly for a Utah resident to get an annual pass, I did it. We also booked a night for Kym and Joe because we didn't want them to miss out either. It was the best decision ever, and now that we have had express passes, I don't know how we will ever go back!

We left early in the morning on April 26th. We used our miles on United to save some money. Our flight had a layover in Houston and landed in Orlando in the afternoon. Everything went smoothly, we picked up our rental car, and headed to Josh and Bri's house for the night. {Just a side note on rental cars... There are a lot of discount carriers at MCO, but we opted to go through Alamo. It was more expensive, but we wanted a trusted name. It was such a good decision. The line at Thrifty was at least 2 hours long, and there were so many frustrated people waiting. We zipped right in and out and were given our choice of cars (Pacifica). Alamo for the win!}

Day 1: Islands of Adventure

Early the next morning (6:30AM est!) we left for the parks. We all wore our HP shirts, our fanny packs, and our lanyards for the express passes and admission tickets. It was about a 45 minute drive, but we wanted to check into the hotel asap so that we could enjoy early entry to the park, which opened at 8 am. We arrived at Royal Pacific, checked in, and received our express passes. Then we walked to Islands of Adventures. The line to get in was long, but it moved quickly. We had planned out our day and knew that we wanted to go to Hogwarts first to ride Forbidden Journey. The early admission was awesome because the crowds weren't very big, and we were able to move through everything very quickly. We loved Forbidden Journey and decided to do it again immediately after exiting. 

We did a couple more of the rides in that area and then headed to the Jurassic Park area. It was so awesome having the express passes. We cruised through every line and rode every ride to our heart's content. We did the Jurassic Park river ride twice and then hit Pteranodon Flyers. The kids loved being with their cousins, and I think it helped them to be a little more brave than they might have otherwise been. By that time we were ready for lunch. We found an empty table and got out our picnic lunch that we brought into the park. I stayed with the kids and let the other adults ride The Incredible Hulk. I'm not a huge thrill seeker, but the rest of them loved it. 

After lunch, we got a virtual time to ride Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure. It is a brand new ride at Universal and is so popular that you have to sign us for a time to ride on the App. We were lucky enough to snag a couple times. Even with the reservations, the line was still pretty long, and express passes were not accepted. It was worth the wait though. It was the best ride I have ever been on! The wait didn't feel too long because the queue was interesting too look around. When we finally wound our way through the forest and ruins of an old castle, we got to choose whether we wanted to ride on the motorbike or in the sidecar. I chose the motorbike, and Hyrum got the sidecar. Everyone rode except for Christian, who was too scared at the moment. It was the fastest ride I have been on, but it was smooth, and the restraints made me feel very safe. During the ride you sail over the lake, see Hagrid and some of his magical creatures, go up a big hill and then go in reverse, and then enter a dark area where the track drops out from under you and you fall for a few seconds. It was exhilarating and so much fun! We couldn't stop talking about it when we got off. For the next two days, we made it our mission to ride it as many times as possible. 

After Hagrid's, we got some butterbeer and giant Simpson's donuts to hold us over until dinner. It was very hot and humid, and wearing face masks wasn't the most pleasant experience, but it was doable. We just made sure to stop for lots of water and food breaks throughout the day. We did a few more things and then headed back to the hotel for dinner and swimming. The hotel itself was nice, but nothing too special. If it wasn't for the express passes, I think I would have preferred Cabana Bay, where we stayed last time. The pool there was more fun, but not much to complain about.

Kym's sister and her husband brought us some yummy food from their restaurant, and we spent the evening by the pool. We went to bed early that night so that we could have another early morning. 

Day 2: Universal Studios

We were at the parks again by 7:30 am so that we could take advantage of the early park perk that came with the hotel. We did many of the same things for the first hour, and then jetted to the other park when it opened. We went straight to Olivanders to sign up for a time to do the wand ceremony. Due to COVID, they were keeping groups separate. That meant that the wait time was a little longer, but it also meant that someone in our family was guaranteed to get chosen for the wand ceremony. Hyrum got to do it and was so cute! He was so excited to participate. 

After that, we spent the majority of the day in Diagon Alley and Universal Studios. Since it was our last day with Express Passes, we rode a lot of rides. Gringott's was definitely a favorite, as well as Men in Black. Other rides that day were King Kong, Spiderman, Jimmy Fallon, Minions, the Mummy, and more. We also made sure to get ice cream at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream parlour. It was delish! After a long day, we headed back to Josh and Bri's house and went swimming in their community pool, which was amazing! We were all super tired and slept well.

Day 3: Pictures, Magic, and one last Hurrah

Day 3 was our last day at Universal, and we did not have Express passes any more. We all wore our HP robes and brought our wands that day to take pictures and do magic. The kids were cute as could be and went all over Diagon Alley doing magic spells. We love the interactive wands that allow you to do magic! Since they are quite expensive, we bought one for Andrew off ebay. It worked perfectly. Christian had a wand from our previous trip, but it was broken. We took it to Olivanders, and they gave us a brand new for free. That meant that everyone had their own wand. We took some epic pictures in Diagon Alley with our robes and wands. I love them so much!

 

For lunch that day, we ate at the Three Broomsticks. As we were walking over there, we noticed that the line for Hagrid's was short, so half of us jumped in the line to ride again. The rest waited in line at the restaurant. We had yummy British cuisine like chicken and fish and chips. We were seated outside and had an up close view of the Velocicoaster, Universal's newest ride that hadn't opened yet. It was doing test runs and looked crazy scary. Lunch was great, and we enjoyed resting our feet for a while.

When lunch was over,  we got on Hagrid's one last time. We finally convinced Christian to give it a try. I was worried that if he didn't at least try it, he would regret it for a long time. He mustered up the courage, and loved it. I'm so glad he had the chance to ride it before we left. By that point, several of the group were exhausted and ready to go home. Half the group left, and the rest of us decided to hit the water rides. We got on Popeye and Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges. We had a blast and got completely soaked. It was a good thing that was the last thing we had planned because it would have been miserable walking around wet for the rest of the day. We had so much fun that we did it one last time before leaving. 

Universal Studios was amazing, and we had the best time! It exceeded every expectation, and it was so much fun to go with Joe and Kym's family. I only wish we lived closer so that we could go more often.

Day 4: Kennedy Space Center

On Friday, we headed to Cape Canaveral to see Kennedy Space Center. We studied space as one of our homeschool science units, so I was excited to see the things we learned about. It was about an hour drive out to the center. We started outside looking at some of the rockets that are kept there. Then we boarded a bus to go see the Saturn V rocket and facility. The building was enormous so that it could fit the rocket. We watched a short introduction video about the Saturn V and then got to go through a museum area. The rocket was huge and filled the whole building. We ended with another video describing the difficulties involved in going to the moon. It was quite a patriotic experience to be there and see what people endured to accomplish that great feat. 

After that we ate our sack lunches and then went to learn about the Atlantis space shuttle. We went into a big room and watched a video that was projected onto the wall. It went through the history of the shuttle and the various missions that it flew. Then, the "wall" went translucent, and behind it was the actual shuttle. As it opened up, we got to walk into the area with the shuttle. There were a lot of different exhibits to learn about and interactive displays for the kids. Time was getting short, so we hurried to the launch simulator where we could experience what a launch would be like. It shook and tilted and gave us some g-forces. The kids thought it was pretty neat. By that time, the center was closing, so we had to hurry out. We had stayed the entire day from opening to close and only saw 1/4 of the center. We had a great day and learned a lot. 

Our next stop was supposed to be Cocoa Beach. It was about a 30 minute drive to get to the beach, and by that point everyone was so tired and grumpy because we had been in the sun all day. There was some fighting and a lot of whining on the way to the beach. I almost bagged the whole thing and went home, but we finally made it to the beach. I'm glad we persevered though because it was a good reset for everyone. The kids and Jonathon played in the waves, and I relaxed on the beach. The breeze cooled it down nicely and the sea air was refreshing. We stayed for about an hour until it started to get dark. The Atlantic ocean was sure nice compared to the west coast. The shore had a very gradual slope, so the kids could go out a long ways before it got deep. It was also much warmer and gentler than the beaches we were used to. We stopped at Wendys on the way home and got some dinner before heading back to Josh and Bri's.

We left the next afternoon after spending the morning cleaning up and one last stop at the pool. The plane ride home was quite turbulent, and the wind switched directions while we were trying to land in SLC, so we had to go around for a second approach. A similar thing happened when we were trying to land in Houston on the way there. We had a huge gust of wind hit just as we were about to touch down, so we had to abandon the try and circle around. It was kind of crazy that it happened twice. Luckily, everything worked out fine, and we got back home that night around midnight. It was a long travel day, but the end to such a wonderful trip. When we got home, I put together a video of all our adventures. What great memories!