Orlando Day 4: Leaving already?

Our flight wasn’t until later in the day, so we spent the morning driving to see the Orlando temple, and visiting some of Florida’s more natural attractions. 

Aubree at the Orlando temple.

Wekiwa Springs State Park wasn’t too far away and was wonderful!  Under the hanging Spanish moss was a swimming area of clear water coming from the springs.  It was a bit brisk at first, but once you started moving it was refreshing.  Thankfully I didn’t see the sign about alligators until afterward, and I’m pretty sure those boards under the bridge were enough to deter them, right? 

enjoying nature's theme park

with our faithful rental car

I frolicked in the water as long I could before we had to leave for a lovely lunch and heading to the airport.  As we headed to our gate inside the terminal, we looked out the window and saw an alligator in a pond and darkening skies.  Sure enough, the heavens opened for a massive downpour just before our flight.  The lightning delayed us a bit (something about not letting us walk through metal tubes to the plane), but we were just grateful it only poured once we were inside an not while we were at the parks.  All in all, a great time!

Orlando Day 3: Harry Potter

Today was the part I was most excited about:  the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios.  Aubree and our hostess, Kim, were all about the roller coasters, so this was a pretty tall order given our limited time.  Our solution was to splurge on Park Hopper passes with an option to shortcut in most lines.

About to enter!  The sign says "Please respect the spell limits."

 As we entered “Hogsmeade”, I couldn’t stop smiling and was blown away by their attention to detail and how much it felt like we were in the movie…if the movie had hundreds of American tourists as extras.

So excited!

The castle...and lots of other excited people.

We rode the roller coaster and decided to come back later to explore more.

With Aubree in line, and in front of Hagrid's cabin.

From there, it was on to a slew of roller coasters.  They were fantastic, but I sadly discovered that my body doesn’t like going upside down like it used to.  So much for being a stunt pilot or astronaut.  After lunch, we went to the other park and enjoyed a few more rides that mostly stayed upright. Just the walking was good for me, and I was a little relieved when I “needed” to hold everyone’s bags for a final coaster.  From there, we returned to HP World so I could go inside the castle.  The line was still long, but once you were inside there was so much to see that it actually moved too quickly before bringing you to the terrific ride you were technically waiting for that whole time.  We were actually able to ride it a second time before calling it a night, and I celebrated by buying several kinds of sweets at Honeydukes.

Like a kid in a...

Exhausting to have 2 days of intense walking back-to-back, but so worth it!

Orlando Day 2: Epcot

Growing up in the shadow of Disneyland, I was well versed in the Magic Kingdom (and was a little obsessed for some time).  So the Disney theme park I wanted to see the most in Orlando was the one least like what we have in Anaheim:   Epcot.  I’d always heard about it, and couldn’t wait to see it in person.   Disney + world travel = happy Kellee. 

At long last!

It was so interesting to see their take on places I’ve been or would like to visit, and when they strayed from authenticity it was only to make it better.  I wasn’t hassled in the markets of Morocco, I drank the tap water in Mexico, and there were no pigeons in Venice. Plus, no jet lag! 

Relaxing for a moment in Morocco.

 Naturally, Germany was one of my favorites. 

I loved watching the clock tower while eating chocolate...

For a girl whose last name means "king" in German, tiara shopping just felt so...right.

When it came time for eating, with all those choices I actually opted for a giant Turkey leg from the colonial America section.  Unique to me and quite filling. 

I’d expected a few more rides, but what I went on I enjoyed (like the ride inside Spaceship Earth).  The a cappella singers in the America’s showcase were also a highlight.  Aubree was kind enough to indulge my need to explore everything, including a ride on the Monorail so we could ride through the hotel, just as I’d seen on TV as a kid. Incidentally, as a kid I’d time how long we’d wait in lines for rides at Disneyland.  Now I just measure how long we walk in a day; in this case:  over 7 miles.

Orlando Escape

My friend and housemate’s suggestion of a weekend in Orlando to escape winter was an offer too good to refuse.  Never mind that DC’s winter was the mildest I could recall; it was still a chance to visit a new state and long-overdue trips to amusement parks.

We arrived Sunday morning just in time for church before heading off to Cocoa Beach.  I could practically hear the “I Dream of Jeannie” theme song as I pictured crowds gathering to watch the shuttles launch from nearby Kennedy Space Center, and the NASA guys being the local celebrities.  Our attempt at napping on the beach failed to take the breezes into account, and I brought a bit of the beach home in my scalp, as well as my heart.  We drove back to Orlando and home of some of Aubree’s family friends; gracious hosts in a beautiful home.  It was such an oasis of calm and relaxation that it would’ve been easy to spend the whole trip there, if there weren’t those amusement parks…