We extended the girls fall break a little this year and went to Universal!!! We've been promising the girls for years that when they were 8 and 11, we'd take them to Universal. We figured fall was the best time to go to avoid the larger crowds and the heat. It was a wonderful trip! We arrived at the Hilton Grand Vacation Club at Sea World on Thursday, Oct. 8. and left Tuesday, Oct. 15. We got one of those packages where you pay $150.00 and stay in a luxury hotel, but one day you have to listen to a two hour sales pitch. On the first night we just unpacked and relaxed in our spectacular room (which felt more like an apartment than a hotel.) It had a kitchen, breakfast area, family room with a fold out couch, a master bedroom, and a screened in porch with a table and chairs off the family room/master bedroom. The bath had a nice big shower, 2 sinks, and a huge jacuzzi tub, which each of us took advantage of at some point during our stay. After such a long drive that day, we decided to stay in that evening and order pizza, play games and watch movies.
The next morning, we went to Universal Islands of Adventure. (Just like Disney World is made up of 4 parks... Magic Kingdom, MGM, Epcot, and Animal Kingdom, Universal is now made up of 2 parks... Universal Studios, and Universal Islands of Adventure.) Universal Islands of Adventure has The Wizardly World of Harry Potter there. Ellie is the number one fan of Harry Potter, and Emma is number two. The girls both got a sorcerer's wand from Ollivander's and a chocolate frog from Honeyduke's. It looked like you were walking into the movie itself. Our favorite ride in that park was definitely Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey! Our second favorite ride at Universal Island's of Adventure was Spiderman. The Cat in the hat was a story book ride that reminded me of Magic Kingdom's, It's a Small World. It was pretty impressive. As we walked around, we discovered a talking fountain. She started a conversation with the girls. I stood back because I noticed that she would squirt people when they got close. She asked the girls who their mother was. They pointed to me. She said, "She can't be your mum, she's too young." Then she started singing, "She wears short shorts". hahaha. There were several water rides, which I tend to avoid, but Keith doesn't mind them. I brought the girls rain coats, but poor Keith got soaked. I love the swirly rides and Keith loves the fast and high rides.
When we got back to the hotel, Keith told the girls to grab their sticks. Emma said, "Dad, they're not 'sticks' (and she used air quotes), they're wands!" Keith said, "Well, excuse me, grab your wands." Then Emma said, "Dad, do you even know what "this" means??? (and she did air quotes again.) We just laughed and then Keith broke him off a "wand" from a branch in the tree. The 3 of them carried their "wands" everywhere we went and cast spells on everyone and everything. They did amazing tricks like making the elevator door open. The girls used spells from the movie, "la guardian levioso" or something like that... Keith made up his own spells, "asparagus cassarolas". We were dying laughing!
On Saturday, the girls slept in and recouped from the park, while Keith and I got up early and did our tour and listened to the time share pitch. We didn't fall for it, and frankly, weren't tempted in the least. When we got back the girls were still laying around playing their games and watching movies, so Keith and I went to the courts and played tennis. After that we all went out to the pool and had lunch and swam. There was live music, a tiki bar, a nice outdoor restaurant, several pools with waterfalls and jacuzzi's. There was also a pond around it with a dock and a gazebo. The girls fed the huge turtles and played in the wonderful shaded playground. That night we went out for seafood and then hit the sack.
On Sunday, we checked out to that hotel and checked into another one down the street. Keith had enough points for the Doubletree by Hilton Orlando. The room wasn't nearly as nice, but the outdoor activities were very comparable. When we got there we walked all around the grounds to see what they offered. There were 4 pools all in different locations. One was the serenity pool where they had soft music and fountains. One of the pools had a waterfall and a tiki bar with reggae music, and another a ship for kids to climb on and squirt water from. The hotel had lots of outdoor nooks and cranny's with benches and tables and hammocks. Keith and I worked out in the workout room, while the kids played in the game room. Then we ate a delicious lunch at the outdoor restaurant and played some of the outdoor games. The girls discovered they love to play pool. Later, we got on our suits and hung out at the different pools until dinner time. We ate out at a family restaurant that night. We were all craving vegetables.
Monday morning we went to Universal Studios. Of all the Disney and Universal and Sea World parks, this is absolutely the best in our opinion! It had great simulated rides with amazing effects. It was small enough that you didn't get completely exhausted, but every ride was phenomenal! The Simpsons ride was awesome! Also, Dispicable Me and Transformers were fantastic!!! Shrek 4-D was great! Men in Black and Twister was cool. Keith and I rode Revenge of the Mummy, an indoor Roller Coaster/Simulated ride. That was Keith's favorite, but almost too scary for me. Unfortunately, Terminator was closed, so we didn't get to ride that one. At Fieval's playland, the girls absolutely loved the water slide!!! We closed down the park and grabbed a bite to eat on the way back to the hotel.
Tuesday morning we headed back home. What an amazing vacation! I remember when the boys were little, we did 3 of the Disney parks, one Universal park, and Midevil Times all in a week. Keith and I were wondering how we had the energy. We had to break it up with the girls. A few years ago we did one of the Disney parks and Sea World with the girls and this year we did the 2 Universal parks. I think we made some wonderful memories that the kids and Keith and I will treasure always!!!
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