We got in late Thursday night and, after being picked up by Brit's cousin, headed straight to an outdoor bar for apps and mango margaritas. Add in an eclectic band and warm weather, and I was pretty much in heaven. We spent the night with the cousins and woke up early Friday to catch a cab to our resort. Upon arrival we were upgraded to a two bedroom suite free of charge. Holla! We dropped our luggage and immediately headed out again for this glorious place:
We made a beeline for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and, after only knocking down two or three kids in the process, arrived at the magical world of HP:
It was everything I had hoped it would be. And more. It. Was. So. Cool. Props to the visual designers for this gig because it was fantastic. There were cute little details all throughout the park that really gave it an authentic feel. Way to go, Universal!
How realistic does this guy look?! AND he remembered us when we came for round two eight hours later. I'll attribute it to him being great at his job, rather than us standing out for being overly obsessed.
Yes, we were the only people above the age of 9 that got their picture taken with the HP characters. Don't judge.
You better believe I bought me some butterbeer while I was there. I almost broke down and bought the pumpkin juice, too...fortunately for my wallet, the $8.50 price tag held me back.
I really was uber impressed with the detailing they put into this segment of the park. Even the 'Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans' we picked up for our friend, Gretchen, at Zonko's (Yes, they had all the real Hogsmeade stores!) were true to story. They had flavors like earthworm and vomit and earwax and grass. And let me tell you how authentic those tasted...ick! But I appreciated the effort they put into capturing the true HP experience.
We eventually left Harry Potter world and ventured into the rest of the parks. It held some pretty awesome rides and some pretty great scenery (Who-ville anyone?!). And it was all around just great to let loose and feel like a kid again:
After the parks closed we headed to Jimmy Buffet's (overly-priced) Margaritaville for dinner and then to see one of my all-time favorite shows, The Blue Man Group. I saw this nine years ago in Vegas and it was literally the exact same show. Still great, though! If you haven't seen it - go! And if you're still holding onto your Student ID from college, use it, you'll get $60.00 off! Win.
The next day we woke up early(ish) again and headed to Epcot. That's one of the Disney World parks I had never been to and didn't really no what to expect (blame lack of research). What we discovered was pure awesomeness, though. Here's a little peek into what we did:
We started out with lunch in China, followed by a candy apple in Germany:
We then had to try a soda in Japan:
We stopped for a little photo shoot there as well:
We did a little shopping in Morocco:
And then just a tid bit of painting in France:
We watched some carolers, a patriotic marching band, and a spectacular holiday show in Old USA:
We finished up the night by riding the few rides they had to offer, dancing to a tribute band in London, and grabbing some authentic Italian dinner in Italy (duh). We even caught some of the fireworks as we were finishing up our food!
Going to Epcot and 'visiting' all the countries just reaffirmed my thoughts on traveling the world. There are so many places and so many things I want to see! I'm all for a 'Morocco 2012' trip but I can't go alone! Any takers?!
Sunday we got up, packed, and headed to a free breakfast at IHOP compliments of BCG. I love free food. From there we headed to Lake Jesup for an airboat tour:
It was absolutely beautiful and my pictures do not do the landscape justice at all! It was really neat going through the swampy parts of the lake. And, although they're camera shy so I only caught a few on film, we saw quite a few alligators on our trek!
It was a tad windy at some points...
Breath-taking. And this doesn't even do it justice...
Alligator: top right
After the tour we snacked on spinach dip and gator-bites in the park restaurant and even got to hold a baby alligator! Although this wasn't my first time to hold an alligator, I'm not sure I would exactly call this a 'baby'...
A quick trip to the Orlando outlets (and a little damage done to my bank account given the 70% off sale at Banana Republic) and we were en route to the airport, soon to be headed back to Dallas! It was, as you can see, a fantastic trip. It made me all giddy and excited, I felt like a kid again, I re-realized my dream of traveling the world, and I got to spend an entire day surrounded by nature. Not a bad long weekend if you ask me!
Looks like you had so much fun!!
ReplyDeleteJealous that you went to HPW!! Not jealous of holding an Alligator...
ReplyDeleteJealousy.
ReplyDelete