Our Vacation!!

We had so much fun last week on our trip. For those of you who don't know, we went to Charlotte, NC to visit Aaron's parents. Jac stayed here with my parents because we didn't think he would handle the flights very well aaaannnnndddd he can be a handful. We spent a couple days in Charlotte, then Aaron and I flew down to Orlando for 4 whole days. Words can't describe how much fun we had. On day 1 in Orlando Aaron and I went to Disney World. With 4 parks to conquer, we started with The Magic Kingdom and Epcot Center. On Day 2, we went to Universal Studios and the much anticipated Wizarding World of Harry Potter (sigh). On Day 3 we went back to Disney World and conquered the Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. We had a little extra time, so we went back to the Magic Kingdom because we didn't get enough on day 1. On Day 4 we went back to Universal studios for another round. September/October is the best time to go! We practically walked on any ride we wanted and only had one really long wait time while we were there. It was fantastic. It was a jammed packed trip but it was a blast. It was hard leaving the boys behind, but it was so nice to get away together, just the two of us. The following 4+ (I lost count) posts are of pictures from our trip. Below is our top ten awesome and top ten lame moments of our trip. Enjoy :)

Lame! -

1. BAD LUCK WITH FLIGHTS. The way there was really smooth traveling but after that it was chaos. Our flight down to Orlando was delayed about 30 minutes due to weather. Once we boarded, guess what? another delay. We sat on the runway for another hour. Can you say numb bum? it was horrible. and on the way back home our flight from Charlotte was delayed, so we missed our connecting flight in Houston. We got home 3 hours later than expected. Blah!

2. WEIRD WEATHER. In Charlotte is was really rainy. In Orlando we got rained out our first day @ Disney World. Not happy!! Then the remaining time we were in Orlando it was extremely humid in the mornings, and sweltering hot in the afternoon. WEIRD!!

3. GIANT SQUIRT GUN! Ok, there is a ride at Universal Studios called Ripsaw Falls - it is a water ride. We weren't going to go on this particular ride because we didn't want to get wet and be wet all day (Florida is humid, things don't dry there). But, we had just gotten off the River Adventure Jurassic Park ride and were a little damp, so we decided to take the plunge (no pun intended). During the ride and the ending "huge splash" you don't get that wet. Little did we know that around the last bend of the ride you get completely drenched by these giant squirt guns. Not even kidding we were soaked head to toe. Later, we found out that people can pay 25 cents to spray other people on the ride with these squirt guns. Rude! (See awesome list # 8).

4. MONORAIL MAINTENANCE. One thing you find out really quick about Disney World is there is a ton of walking involved to get place to place. This particular day we were fading fast and our feet were hurting by noon. We wanted to head to another park so we walked the great distance to the monorail to hitch a ride. We waited for what seemed like an hour. When it pulled into the station we both could not wait to sit down. Hold it...they had to perform maintenance on the train for another 15 minutes. BOO!

5. SIMULATIONS. Just a word of advice - if you get car sick or suffer from motion sickness DO NOT ride any ride that is a simulation. We were not prepared for the side effects of these rides and it almost ruined Day 1. which brings me to #6.

6. SPACE ADVENTURE (it's an adventure in space;). We went on this ride towards the end of Day 1 @ Epcot. It looked like a lot of fun, but it ended up being horrible. They cram 4 passengers into these space chambers and bring the screen about 3 inches from your face. While you are watching this space adventure your body is going through and feeling all the motions. From G Force, to weightlessness, to a crash on mars. My stomach was doing flips from the word go. We had nausea and headaches for the remainder of the day.

7. THE FOREVER LUNCH LINE. Our first day @ Universal Studios we decided to eat at the Fantastic Four Cafe. We walked in and there was only one family in front of us. We thought, "Great, we'll get in and out of here in no time and hit the rides." WRONG! The cashier and the mom of the family had some kind of miscommunication and it took literally forever to get them checked out. It was horrible!

8. SPLASH MOUNTAIN TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES. We love Splash Mountain. I don't know why, but it is one of the funnest rides. It is very relaxing, a break from the hot weather and a little rush. Our first time going on the ride we were enjoying the scenery of Brer Fox and Brer Bear when we heard Mr. Frog say, "Looks like Brer Fox and Brer Bear are causing trouble up stream. Please be patient while we sort this out." We exercised much pateince and it took about 20 minutes for everything to get sorted out. At least we were on the water and inside while all this took place.

9. LOCKERS. Every time you go on one of the bigger rides @ Universal Studios you have to put your loose items, such as a purse, in a locker. Yes, the lockers are free but it is so inconvenient to take the time to get your stuff in and out of the lockers for each and every ride. Especially when things get busy. I thought I was going to get trampled during a locker trip @ The Forbidden Journey in harry potter world. YIKES!

10. LACK OF TOWEL RACKS. There weren't any towel racks in our hotel room!! What is that about?




AWESOME:

1. THE WIZARDING WORLD OF HARRY POTTER. This place was amazing and so much fun. I am a huge fan of the books and have read them all several times each. I was not disappointed at all and it looked exactly like the movie. Every ride, show, food, drink, etc was amazing and so much fun. From the cobble stoned walk ways, to the old charm of Hogsmeade, to the staff dressed in Hogwarts robes and class colors to our yummy breakfast @ the Three Broomsticks. It was just magic! It was the high light of the trip for me!! (We had a worker named Chad, working at Ollivanders the 1st day we were there. He was very much in character and he set the tone for our first visit there. So thanks chad - for making our first trip to Harry Potter start off with a bang.)

2. FROZEN BUTTERBEER. OMG! This stuff was amazing. I was so excited to take the first sip of butterbeer, I was like a kid in a candy store. It was so good. It tastes like cream soda, but they put this yummy cream stuff on top and it is to die for! Yes, we had more than one and yes, they were as good as the first. YUM!!

3. AEROSMITH'S ROCKIN' ROLLERCOASTER. This was by far the most fun of the roller coasters! You get to listen to Aerosmith music while you are in a dark space with black light street signs all while twisting and turning on the coaster. The cart of the roller coaster looks like a purple limousine too. It was great!

4. MONSTER'S LAUGH FLOOR. We were not expecting this show to be so such fun. As a matter of fact we bypassed it the first day. On our last day @ Disney we needed a a little break so we went on in. This show is unlike anything I have seen. You go in and you actually watch a screen with the character's from the Monster's Inc. movie. But the dialogue is all LIVE. So each showing is different! They show audience members on a side screen and make fun of them while asking questions. It is hilarious. This is not just for kids :)!

5. TOY STORY MANIA. This is one of the rides we had to wait a while in line. I think we probably ended up waiting for like an hour, but it was totally worth it. This place is decorated like a little kids toy room with jumbo sized toys that make you feel like a toy yourself. The ride is a bunch of 3D carnival games with the characters from Toy Story that you actually get to play from your cart. It is great!!

6. DISASTER CASTING. During our Universal Studios trip by hubby got pulled out of line during one of the shows and starred in an action flick they put together right in front of you. It was so much fun to see Aaron in front of a green screen screaming in terror. It was great!

7. TEST TRACK. At Epcot Center they have a ride called the Test Track. It takes you through all the different tests they give automobiles before they sell them on the lot. From a crash test, brake test, climate test, and speed tests, it was all so much fun.

8. GIANT SQUIRT GUN! As you read above in #3, when you get squirted by this Giant Squirt gun it is no fun at all. But it was a blast to squirt other people while they were going on the ride. It was hilarious to see their reactions when they thought they were done with the ride and then Wham! tons of water right in the face. It was the best 25 cents we spent I think. :)

9. UNINTERRUPTED SLEEP. I love my sweet boys to death, but it was soooooo nice to get a full nights sleep 4 nights in a row. And on top of that, our hotel room had 2 queen beds which meant Aaron and I each got our own bed. An even better nights sleep.

10. FREE DINNER @ OLIVE GARDEN. We stopped to eat at Olive Garden before we caught our plane back to Charlotte. I ordered a panini and was later told by our waiter, Marc, that they were out of paninis. Which was no big deal to me. When he brought us our check, he told us our meal was on the house. SCORE!! He didn't tell us why our meal was free, but we loved it. Thanks Marc- you're the best!!

All in all our trip was amazing, and we even had a hard time coming up with 10 lame moments. Below is a few of our pictures from the trip. Check my facebook page for all the pictures!

Grady and Jac's Vacation

Even though Grady and Jac didn't come to Orlando with us (it was really hard to leave my boys!!) they had tons of fun getting spoiled and playing at Grandma's house. Here are a few pictures from their week.


Getting ready for church:


Jac loves Phineas and Ferb. He will sit and watch it all day if i let him. I love his feet in this picture:


Baby Got Back:


Playing at the Discovery Zone in the water:


Trying to Hoola Hoop:


At the Petting Zoo:


Tuckered out after a fun day

Universal Studios

Universal Studios was so much fun. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was the definite favorite (see post below). But this place is so much fun and has ton of popular rides that are a blast. If you have the chance you should definitely go.

Entering Jurassic Park


This is the huge splash from the River adventure in Jurassic Park. Yep, you don't just get wet - you get soaked!!


Watch Out!




The Hulk Coaster (with some random guy who jumped in my shot.)


The Jaws Ride:


Ripsaw Falls:

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

This was the the park I was most looking forward to and it did not disappoint! Every square inch of this place is pure magic and fun. I absolutely loved it. And even though it is a small corner of Universal Studios, it deserves it's own post. Here goes!

Here we are in front of Ollivander's with the gate keeper Hugh. He was a lot of fun.


Inside of Ollivander's with wands galore. They put on a little presentation/skit before they let you shop. The guy who played Ollivander was spot on! He was so good we waited in a very long line and watched it twice. If you go, you have to take the time and see this skit. It was awesome!


Hogwarts. The best ride was inside the castle. Loved it. And as you can see from the following pictures it was like walking into the movies.


Dumbledore's Office:


The Greenhouse:


Hogsmeade with Hogwarts in the background:


The Three Broomsticks:

Disney World - The Happiest Place on Earth

First off, Disney Land and Disney World are completely different. I was not expecting it. Disney World is made up of 4 different parks: Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and Epcot. So it is like 4 Disney land size parks put together and spread out. SO MUCH WALKING!! It was a blast though. Here are our Disney World adventures.



Buzz Lightyear Astro-Blasters:


Waiting in Line for Splash Mountain:


Monstrous Tree of Life @ the Animal Kingdom




Honey I shrunk the kids playground:




Epcot Center: