We took our first big trip and plane ride since Covid. Sadly, Quang was in the hospital with health issues and Hung was not able to come last minute. We really missed having him with us but the kids and I still had an AWESOME time.
We traveled to Orlando with Aunt KJ, Aunt Debbie, Uncle Nate and Grandpa. Aunt Maddie and Grandma T met us there. We spent day one in Magic Kingdom with Aunt KJ and were joined by the rest of the family in the afternoon. The new Genie+ pass was fantastic and we were able to hit every ride that we wanted easily. Thunder Mountain Railroad, 7 Dwarves Mine Ride and Splash Mountain were some of the favorite rides of the day. Tay was at the perfect age for the park and was just happy and in to everything we did. And Avery also loved it all!! We ended with a buffet dinner at Crystal Palace, caught some of the fireworks and headed home happy and exhausted.
The next morning we were off to an early start to Day 1 at Universal. The Donnelson's arrived the night before and we spent the rest of the vacation with them. Avery was in HEAVEN when we entered Diagon Alley - Legit happy tears were shed and she was truly breathless. We started with the mummy ride which unfortunately scared Taylor so he was skeptical of every ride that felt "dark and scary" after that LOL. But he started to trust us and he did end up loving the rest of the rides. The kids spent a long time picking out their wands (Avery chose Oak and Tay chose Vine) and Tay REALLY loved performing the Magic tricks throughout the parks. All of the HP rides were just amazing and SO well done - We all just loved it. We spent a long and full day at Universal and took full advantage of our Express Passes to get on all the big rides. Avery was just in her happy place!!
Friday ended up being SUPER rainy and windy so we decided to take a break from the parks and spent the day at the arcade and pool at Bluegreen. Avery, Nora and Tay also braved the outdoor slide in the rain and said the water was actually really warm! We ended with a family dinner at Benihana. Tay enjoyed watching the food being cooked but only ate some rice - So picky LOL. Avery also spent tons of time giggling with her Uncle Nate and Tay played a lot of the Nintendo Switch Harry Potter game with Aunt Debbie. It was nice to have a relaxing day after 2 full park days!
We spent our last day at Universal with the Donnelson's. We got to finally get on Hagrid's ride which was our favorite - Tay was about 1 cm too short but was a very good sport about it. Since we had hit most of the big rides on Day 1, we spent Day 2 wandering Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley. Avery chose a Hufflepuff Backpack and Hogwarts Phone Case and Tay chose a Gryffendor sweatshirt for their main souvenirs. We also tried the HP Ice Cream shop - After spending $35 on ice cream, Tay claimed he actually didn't want any and bottle flipped with a boy he met while Avery and I enjoyed our treats. It was nice to not be rushed and be able to explore and look at all the amazing details in HP land - Avery was truly in heaven and had a giant smile all day!
Our flight was at 6:20 am on Sunday and the kids were such troopers getting up and helping me get the car loaded, return rental car, check in and get through security. I felt so lucky to have such amazing kids!! They made a brutal wake up time much easier to handle. We were sad that vacation ended but happy to be home and see Daddy and Bingo and G. Tay - the boy of endless energy - played floor is lava with Hung for about 5 hours when we got home while Avery and I rested. Then he crashed at 5 pm LOL.
It was a magical and amazing trip with family and good friends!! We sure missed Hung but am grateful for all we got to experience.
Travel Day and Magic Kingdom
Day 3 - Pool and Benihana - Ended with Taylor Massages. He was giving everyone amazing massages and made $17 in tips over the vacation :)
Day 2 - Universal Studios
The Early Trip Home where Avery was SUCH a huge helper and Tay was a trooper - And SUPER Early Bedtime for Tay!
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