We had an easy flight down to Florida. I opted for convenient travel times instead of bottom dollar prices for this trip, so we flew out of Logan around noon and landed in Orlando around 3pm.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/familyblog.datdec.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/img_20190618_0809173334208643070582466.jpg\")
<\/a>The first of many attempts at a nice family picture. Eve is less than cooperative these days.<\/p><\/div>\n
We took a Lyft from the airport to our hotel. As we drove past the Universal sign I told the driver to pull-over! He said ok!\u00a0 Turns out he was stopping for a red light anyway. :)<\/p>\n
<\/a>We have arrived!<\/p><\/div>\n
We stayed at the Loews Royal Caribbean Resort on the Universal Studios campus. They gave us red carpet treatment the whole time.<\/p>\n
After checking and stowing our stuff, we ventured out to find dinner.\u00a0 What better place for dinner than The Chocolate Emporium!<\/p>\n
<\/a>The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium & Savory Feast Kitchen™<\/p><\/div>\n
The had some pretty crazy desserts, especially these “milkshakes” that had chopped up stuff mixed in and full-on desserts on top!\u00a0 We all shared one for dessert and it was delicious, but more than enough.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Milkshakes on display<\/p><\/div>\n
Alan and I split an amazing appetizer (Avocado Bruschetta:\u00a0<\/span>Fresh avocado, fried avocado, avocado crema, tomatoes, balsamic reduction, toasted ciabatta) and were duly let down when the meal came.\u00a0 Lots of “meh” feelings all around.\u00a0 We got a chocolate brownie milkshake so we could end on a high note. :)<\/p>\n Penelope came to chat with us. The restaurant has a whole backstory that somehow combines chocolate with steampunk. It didn’t make a lot of sense, but Penelope was fun to chat with.<\/p><\/div>\n Day Two: Universal Studios, Diagon Alley, Hogsmeade, and a Tornado warning!<\/strong><\/p>\n On day two we were ready to go into the parks!\u00a0 We started at Universal Studios and headed straight for Diagon Alley. We had early park admission as well, so we got up early and got in before the crowds.<\/p>\n Another attempt at a family photo.<\/p><\/div>\n Diagon Alley was pretty cool. Tons of little shops on the outside, many of which weren’t real stores or connected together on the inside.<\/p>\n Diagon Alley<\/p><\/div>\n There’s also a dragon sitting on top of Gringott’s.\u00a0 Sometimes he roars fire!<\/p>\n Beware the dragon!<\/p><\/div>\n We went to Ollivanders and saw the wand ceremony. My kids were happy to not have been chosen for the ceremony. :)\u00a0 We watched another kid go through it though and then we purchased wands. The decision was a tough one! So much for the wand choosing the wizard!<\/p>\n Ollivanders Wand Shop<\/p><\/div>\n Outside there are a bunch of areas that you can perform a magic spell and make something happen.\u00a0 They are embedded into the brick walkway. We had fun finding the places and making magic happen.<\/p>\n Eve, preparing to cast a spell.<\/p><\/div>\n It was fun seeing all the treats that they talk about in the books. No Melt Ice-Cream made me laugh. It looks like a cup full of frosting.\u00a0 Yum!<\/p>\n Yummy!<\/p><\/div>\n We had brunch at The Leaky Cauldron Pancakes for everyone, four little trays of breakfast meat for Alan. :)<\/p>\n Brunch at The Leaky Cauldron<\/p><\/div>\n We realized pretty quickly that we are not theme-park people. We did one ride (Escape from Gringott’s) and by early afternoon when the sun was hot and the streets were crowded, we decided to make our way home, with a short detour through Springfield.<\/p>\n The Night Bus<\/p><\/div>\n Hot and tired and refusing to take off her robes. Also refusing to talk to the shrunken head (which talks back!) because it isn’t a true part of the Harry Potter story.<\/p><\/div>\n We swung through Springfield, ate some churros, rode the Simpson’s ride (fun!), rode an alien ride (kids only), laughed at Moe’s Tavern, and moseyed on out of town. It started to rain during dinner, so we headed back to the hotel for a little while. The goal was go to back out after the rain, but the weather decided not to cooperate. Oh well.<\/p>\n It started raining just as we were approaching the hotel, so we got soaked, but not for long. Back at the hotel we changed and settled in for an afternoon break.<\/p>\n The view from the bridge we crossed to enter the hotel.<\/p><\/div>\n We ended up with a tornado warning, lots of rain, and high winds… so we stayed inside and played cards instead.\u00a0 :)\u00a0 Alan’s family always loved playing Spades, so he took this opportunity to teach the kids how to play. They loved it too!<\/p>\n A lovely afternoon to be inside!<\/p><\/div>\n As much fun as we were having, I was antsy and wanted to get back out there, so when the storm cleared we decided to head back for dinner and to catch the light show at Hogwarts. We had a fun dinner at Cowfish, a restaurant that specializes in sushi and burgers. They even have PB&J sushi for the kids. Then we headed back into Universal Studios to take the Hogwarts Express to Hogsmeade.<\/p>\n King’s Cross Station — heading to Hogsmeade!<\/p><\/div>\n The train was a ride in and of itself, with the windows being screens that showed HP characters along the way, and some dark happenings in the hallway. We were all safe inside our cabin though. When we got to Hogsmeade we discovered it was winter there! Everything was covered in “snow.” It was very cute, especially at night.<\/p>\n Honeydukes… because what else is there to do at 9:45pm!<\/p><\/div>\n They have a whole light show on the castle each night. It had a part for each house. There are some videos in the Google album<\/a> if you want to see it.<\/p>\n Hogwarts!<\/p><\/div>\n With the parks being officially closed after that, we walked out, with the throng of other park-goers, through Suessville, and other areas, discussing what we wanted to come back for the next day.<\/p>\n Our first day was spent in Universal Studios, but the Hogswart Express goes from there to Islands of Adventure (another park) where Hogsmeade is located. We spent the next day exploring Islands of Adventure.\u00a0 Stay tuned…<\/p>\n Days three through eight.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Hey all. I know you’ve been waiting with bated breath for a blog update. :)\u00a0 When we got back from vacation I had to get caught up on my capstone research project, plus prepping for the tech camp I’m running … Continue reading <\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>