{"id":10095,"date":"2022-08-28T20:44:47","date_gmt":"2022-08-28T20:44:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eaumaison.us\/?p=10095"},"modified":"2022-08-28T20:44:47","modified_gmt":"2022-08-28T20:44:47","slug":"universal-orlando-family-vacation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eaumaison.us\/index.php\/2022\/08\/28\/universal-orlando-family-vacation\/","title":{"rendered":"Universal Orlando Family Vacation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

After months (years!) of no travel, and a canceled anniversary trip to Japan, we indulged in a family vacation to the Universal Studios Orlando Resort in Florida. We decided to travel in August close to our anniversary, knowing full well that the crowds and weather would be peak uncomfortable. So we went all out for the trip – a five days vacation, three full days in the parks, staying in a premier resort close to the park, and with Unlimited Express passes. I did my best with planning the trip to be comfortable and fun with minimal standing in the hot sun. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’ve been wanting to visit Universal since our Disneyland trip in 2020. Now that we are all vaccinated and boosted, it seemed safe enough to travel so long as we only ate outdoors and masked indoors still. It worked! We all stayed healthy during and after the trip. The masks were mildly annoying, but we are all experts at wearing them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So Friday morning we said goodbye to the kitties and headed to the east coast! The flight was delayed, but we still got to our hotel with plenty of time to explore. We stayed at the Loews Royal Pacific<\/a> resort. The hotel was beautiful, with crazy jungle foliage surrounding and Polynesian style art throughout. Our room looked out over the moat with lily pads and other exotic flora.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Our room at the Royal Pacific<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Masks and hats to hit the park!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When I purchased the trip the ongoing ticket deal was buy a 3 day pass, get 2 extra days free. This was perfect for us, because it gave us the option to pop in the parks on our days traveling into and out of Orlando. After gearing up with hats, sunscreen, and fanny packs we took the water taxi to Universal Studios.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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One of the few group pics with Sam smiling. He had a great time, but decided he doesn’t smile for photos anymore. The stinker.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Our goal was to immediately soak up some Harry Potter vibes. The kids wanted to buy wands at Ollivanders and wander Diagon Alley. This land really was incredible. They did an amazing job bringing the movie world to life. Even with the crowds, the boys were able to do all the spell locations they wanted over and over. The dragon on Gringotts was truly impressive. And the best part? Diagon Alley is AIR CONDITIONED! No joke, you can feel the breeze pushing out from the London area, and inside it feels at least 10 degrees cooler. Want to be even cooler? Sit in Knockturn Alley. That dark corridor was my favorite place, it was almost chilly. Anyway, lots of pictures incoming:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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First things first: Diet coke!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Looking for Kreacher at Grimmauld Place<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Kreacher watching them knock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Thanks for trying, Jack<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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They were too shy to get pictures with the Knight Bus<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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You can hear the bricks tinkling<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Amazed!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Overwhelmed!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Sweet breezes!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Had to pop in the shop first.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Jack pointing out all the hidden gems<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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He’d been studying the secrets of the parks for months<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We found our way to the wand shop. It was confusing to find the wands, we sure felt like muggles! Eventually the boys found their perfect match. I’m so glad that I sewed wand holsters before our trip. It was very handy to have a safe keeping place!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Such serious posing!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Spells galore! There’s a learning curve. By the end of the trip they could reliably conduct the spells. This first day was a bit tricky. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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