Vacation: "Showing off for your muggle admirers, Potter?"

I had this whole list of things I wanted to blog about and I made little notes of them on a note pad. Then my family came to town before I got to blogging them and now I have no idea what half of those little notes meant. Oh yeah, I guess I should mention that all of these were in regards to the Disney/Universal trip. It'd be a shame to completely skip that on my blog, so you're getting the mass dump here.

One: I miss vacation.

I'm ready to go back. It was beautiful and only one day was unbearably hot. The hotel (Hard Rock) was awesome and spending time with Sarah was a blast. There was a water shuttle and Disney has the monorail and the ferry. Plus, real life is boring (and scary).

Two: The surprise.

The first day we got there was, of course, exhausting. Travel and getting up early and the plane and shuttling and everything make me want to sleep all day long. I was so happy to see the hotel and our hotel room.

(please excuse how awful I look)

We did have one confusion checking in when the guy told us we were staying for seven nights (we thought it was four). Long story short, I called Laurel and she confirmed that our vacation did indeed go seven nights, which we had somehow missed. Cue freaking out.

Three: First day

Since we were so tired and it was late w decided to go over to City Walk and grab some food. Once we had eaten (Moe's, if you care) we thought we'd just walk around Islands of Adventure (one of two Universal parks) for a little bit and maybe catch a glimpse of Hogwarts. Once we saw the towers I started getting goosebumps and couldn't resist.

We, of course, had to go into Hogsmeade. Because it was getting late there was almost no line for Forbidden Journey so we went on the ride (we're Harry Potter nerds, there was no controlling it) which was AWESOME. Amazing first day.

Four: Side note.

A brief break from the narrative of the vacation for a comment. Disney and Universal do so many things in such a genius way! Universal is extremely shaded and amazingly well air conditioned. Both places have water misters all over the place. Popular rides have conveyor belts and are constantly loading and unloading people without stopping which obviously makes it so the lines keep moving (the longest we waited was 40 minutes for a safari which was SO worth it). The decor and the tiny details leading up to the rides (hello, all of Hogwarts castleincluding moving pictures) keep the visitors entertained. So smart, way to keep us happy at the happiest places on earth. That is all.

Five: "I'm drunk on butterbeer."

The food was great on vacation. Most of the time Sarah and I shared a plate between the two of us which was plenty and makes it not really that expensive. I have to admit I didn't love pumpkin juice or butterbeer (though Sarah did). I will say, however, that the cream on top of the butterbeer is absolutely DELICIOUS.

Six: The happiest place on Earth.

Seeing Disney for the first time is amazingly exciting (even as an adult). It's hard not to act like a tiny child and be insanely giddy all time time and want to take a picture with every princess.

I now have a slight obsession with all things Disney (and Harry Potter, obviously). Also, the fireworks and the Main Street Electrical Parade and all the nighttime events are definitely worth attending. I maybe cried a little bit. Hush and stop judging me immediately.

Seven: Rides that shouldn't be missed/favorites.

Forbidden Journey (obviously, it's freaking Harry Potter).

The random dinosaur ride in Epcot (I think Epcot in general is AWESOME).

It's a small world (class for good reason).

The tea cups (you get pictures like this).

The carousel of progress (old school and gets really bizarre at the end).

Space mountain (I'm unique NOT AT ALL).

There were about a million others, but I can't and won't list them all.

Eight: Closing thoughts.

This trip was absolutely amazing. It wouldn't have been near as awesome without a few people. Of course my parents and the Alveys that helped make it all possible. Laurel - she put it all together and had the largest hand in getting us there. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, Sarah. I wouldn't have had a fraction of the fun if I'd gone with anyone else. We had such a good vacation and she was even nice when I was sick one day and we stayed in the hotel room most of the day. To her, grat thanks and love. I could go on forever (or at least a really long time) about the nitty gritty details and happenings of my trip, but I'll stop. I'm no expert on Disney or Universal, but if you want my thoughts/opinions on something specific leave a comment or email me and I'll get at you. Also, go to Orlando. It's worth it.

Nine: Addendum

I don't know why the pictures are strange and varied sizes. It makes no sense to me as I stole them all from Sarah's facebook. She was the official picture taker while we were there and it was great because then I didn't have to take any (which I'm bad about). If you want to see more, go to her page.