This entire week I wake up hoping that I’m still in Orlando. But alas, I am back in Maryland where the real world resumes. Total Bummer!
My trip to Orlando was one of my favorites. It was a short trip, and something totally different then other vacations I’ve taken, but it was just plain fun.
I’m going to save all the details about the Epcot Food and Wine Festival for another post because it needs an entire post to itself.
And in the mean time I’m going to share some fun pictures from the other two days at The Magic Kingdom, Universal, and Islands of Adventure.
Our trip started at The Magic Kingdom, one of my favorite parks.
I honestly love the innocence of it all. I’ve always been a Disney fan, and I just like to pretend I don’t have a care in the world and enjoy everything there is about being a kid again.
Luckily the people I was with couldn’t agree more.
We took advantage of the entire day and did as many rides as possible, enjoyed surprisingly good park food (I ordered the veggie burger, which I piled high with sauteed mushrooms, onions, lettuce, tomatoes, and mustard), and of course watched the Disney Wish Parade.
When I was in high school my Marching Band performed in the Disney parades so it was fun to bring back the memories.
I love how the entire park was decorated for Fall and Halloween!
After a full day at Magic Kingdom we were pretty pooped so we headed back to our condo with a quick stop at the grocery store to pick up some items for the next 4 days. We figured it would be cheaper to make our dinners and lunches since we had a full kitchen in our condo. This was a great idea because we each spent around $40 for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, AND alcohol for four plus days. We ended up having so much food that we had to take some home with us on the plane. There’s nothing like having zucchini in your carry on bag.
Once we got back home, we made a family style dinner and invited 2 of Chris’ friends from high school that live in the area now. We started with my famous guacamole and salsa.
And for dinner we enjoyed pasta bolognese with vodka sauce instead of straight marinara, and some salad.
Oh, and lots and lots of wine. What is a dinner with friends with out wine?
The following day, BRIGHT AND EARLY, we headed to Universal Studios with one mission in mind… TO SEE HOGWARTS! I’m not a huge Harry Potter fan, or a fan at all really, but the rest of the group was, and they were so excited! Even though we got there super early, the park was still packed.
The Harry Potter part of the park is actually located in Islands of Adventure, which is different from Universal. This was good for us since most of the things we wanted to do were in Islands of Adventure.
We enjoyed Harry Potter for the entire morning, rode the incredible rides (YOU MUST RIDE THE CASTLE RIDE!!!), and of course drank some of the famous Butterbeer.
The rest of the day was spent riding rides and getting wet at Islands of Adventure.
That night we decided to partake in some Margaritaville shenanigans and just relax on the steps in front of the Hard Rock Cafe.
This is one of my favorite spots in Orlando, and I was excited to just unwind from the day, listen to live music, and hang out with my friends…while drinking a really strong Margarita. 
Yea…as you can tell we got soaked. But nothing a little margarita can’t fix. 
The next day was all about Epcot…and well…it was incredible. My dream come true…eating food from around the world, with friends on a gorgeous day. But that will be another post.
This leads me to the last day in Orlando, which was spent hanging by the pool, outlet shopping, and spending our last few minutes back at my favorite spot…on the steps in front of the Hard Rock Cafe.
It was bittersweet, but we all sat there on Sunday afternoon sharing a pizza and just taking in all the memories we created in the last few days. I know it sounds a bit corny, but it really was surreal. I remember loving the big lake in front of the Hard Rock Cafe when we would come down with the Marching Band, so the chance to sit here with my friends and boyfriend and enjoy it again was awesome. Bittersweet since it was so wonderful, but also because it was ending. And now it’s back to the real world.
This is a trip I will not forget!
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Two words: Total Blast!
I love Disneyland
looks like so much fun! we’ve been during food and wine and it is a blast. did you do any sit down meals in epcot? we were just there for a week and since we did the dining plan we had 8 different ;unches/dinners. we were stuffed, happy and pleased with the quality of the food and experience of the various restaurants. looking forward to your next update!