Spring Break - The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

(Please excuse the lengthy posts that are coming - but I want to journal everything that happened over spring break).

We just got back last night from a "Dream Come True" vacation!   I am so excited to put pictures on the blog because we had an absolute blast!  For years & years, I've wanted to take our family on a Disney Cruise.   It wasn't even close to a possibility during medical school & residency and really even the first few years after we finished.   There were times during the long hours, days, weeks & months of our 7 years of school (and the 4 years before) when Jon was gone and I was often times a single mom, that I would think to myself  "Someday, as a reward, we will go on a Disney cruise." 

Well - Jon & I started talking about the possibility last fall.   We had been saving for a long time and decided that spring break would be a good time to go - IF we could have it all paid for before we left.  Jon worked extra shifts and we tried to be careful and sure enough, we were able to do it.   We decided that we'd surprise the kids on Christmas.  It was so hard to wait to tell them because I knew how excited they would be, but it was so worth it.

We had also decided that since we'd be leaving out of Miami that we may as well go a couple of days early and go see Harry Potter World.  Lindsey has read all the books a couple of times and Jack is working his way through them now.

So - we left on Friday, March 28th and flew to Orlando.   The kids were superstars on the flights and we got to Orlando about 10:00 at night.   We took a shuttle to pick up a minivan (which we had to rent a carseat for Hailey and strap it between the seats) and we drove to our hotel.   We (well, actually Jon) decided to go cheap on the hotel and it was cheap.   Thankfully, it didn't smell bad and it seemed mostly clean, but packing 8 people into a teeny room, with one bathroom (with a tub that didn't plug for a bath and a toilet that overflowed that night) made for a frustrating hour or two to get settled. 

It was so late by the time we crawled into bed, but we wanted to be at Universal Studios first thing in the morning because it was a Saturday and because we knew it was spring break for a lot of people.  We woke the kids early and drove over.  We were only about a 10 minute drive away and the parking was quick & easy.

At the SLC airport - electronic babysitters at work!

 Waiting to get our rental car

 

We headed straight for Harry Potter world.  (Universal Studios Florida as 2 parts - Universal Studios & Islands of Adventure).   Since we were only there for one day, we just got passes to the Islands of Adventure part, which has the HP world.

There were a couple rides there which were great!

 

Hailey was already so tired that she fell asleep in the line of the first ride.  They do a "kid swap" system so we all waited in line, then I waited with Hailey while Jon and the other kids (except Hannah who was too short) rode and then he watched Hailey so I could ride it.

 

Backing up just a little - I had realized back in the fall that one of my friends was actually surprising her family with a cruise & a trip to HP world too - the exact day we were going.  Jen is my PTA Co-President and has just been amazing!   Her little boy is Bowen and he is one of Jack's best friends. Right after the school year started, she was put in as Young Women's President in her ward, so she is really, really busy.    I have loved working with her and she is so, so fun!

Anyway, they weren't going on our same cruise, but since we both were going to HP world the same day, we wanted to meet up for a few minutes.   They have the nicest, friendliest kids.  I'm always so impressed by them.  It was fun to see them, let the boys ride a ride together and then run into them throughout the day.

 

 

 The Davies family -  R2: Craig, Caden, Jen & Lexi

R1: Bowen & Ethan

 

 I wish Lindsey's eyes weren't closed in this picture, but this is outside the "Forbidden Journey" ride.

 

 Hannah watching the Hogwarts choir

 

 Butter Beer! 

This was sooooo yummy!  It's a cream-soda tasting drink.  We got the slush version and it was delish!

 

 Honeydukes candy

 

The Bowen Family in front of Hogwarts Express

 

 

After doing the Harry Potter section, I took the 2 little girls to Dr. Suess land and Jon took the other kids on a different ride.  (There wasn't a ton of rides for Hannah & Hailey so we definitely did the ones that we could).

 Jack & the Grinch

 

After this point - our day took an interesting twist!

I stayed with the little girls and Jon took the oldest 3 to the Incredible Hulk roller coaster.  After our rides, we waited for them - knowing that they'd be a little while in line.   After awhile, I noticed that the coaster wasn't running any more and after waiting 20 minutes or so after that, I called Jon.  He said that yes, the ride was broken, and they were trying to decide about whether to stay in line or not.  Jack was absolutely falling apart by this time.  He was so frustrated and hungry, so they came out of line.

The skies were cloudy all morning (we knew there was a 50% chance of rain), but it had started to sprinkle.   We were right by a place that had pizza and pasta and a covered area with tables, so we ate lunch there.   A few minutes into our lunch, Emily & I both got a text to our cell phones indicating that there was a tornado warning in the area for the next hour and to get to shelter.   It was raining, but not the least bit windy.

Well, sure enough, over the next 1/2 an hour, the rain got heavier & heavier and the winds picked up and got stronger and stronger.  We huddled under the cover for as long as we could and then finally had to go inside to not get soaking wet.  There was also a ton of thunder & lightening. 

After waiting for a total of about an hour and half, and seeing that the rain had died down a little, we decided to leave and go back to the hotel and rest.   No rides were open any way and we knew we could come back once the weather passed.

So, sure enough, we went back to the hotel, rested and came back around 6:00 for the last 3 hours that the park was open.   Absolutely crazy!

 Kate, Hannah & Hailey played on this Popeye boat for a good 45 minutes or so.

 

All in all, it was a good day!   The storm was unfortunate, but at the same time, it was nice to take a break during the day and then come back refreshed for the evening.  With the cloudy skies, we never got too hot during the day and the kids were really good sports.