Cross Country - Day 1, Orlando

Marissa, Whitni and I flew out of Seattle to Orlando, Florida for a few days with Lindsea.  I was quite impressed with Lindsea's driving skills through the airport and Orlando.  

Our first big event was Universal Studios, aka Harry Potter World.  After over an hour waiting in the hot humid sun we were excited to share in the wonder of Hogwarts and Hogsmeade.

Viewing Hogwarts is actually part of a ride.  It also included an incredible amount of time waiting in line, but it was worth it to see talking pictures, be in Dumbledore's presence as he greets us, watch Hermione cast spells bringing snow to the room.  The ride?  I heard the girls scream next to me and enjoyed their enthusiasm.  The ride for me?  Simulators and me don't quite mix.  Halfway through after following Harry on his broom by dementers and spiders I closed my eyes and prayed for the ride to be over.

Hogsmeade, lots of fun shops from the books and movie.

Butterbeers!  Delicious!\

An upward glance at Hogwarts.

Hagrids house on the way to the Hippogriff ride which was a small, but enjoyable roller coaster.

Yes, there is more to Universal than Harry Potter.  We did Jurassic Park, which was a blast and a splash.  It freaked Whitni out a bit.

Dinner was at Ohanas.  This is a fun, delicious buffet.  The great part is that they bring the food to you and you eat buffet style.  Korean wings, Wontons, noodles, great pineapple bread, and then meats of all kinds on the skewers as shown above.  Dessert was pineapple bread pudding with vanilla bean ice cream and a caramel sauce dripping over it.

You all need to get reservations!

Our next activity was Fantasmic.  The best part was no lines, we just walked in and sat down in great seats.

This was a lot of fun with great special effects.

Good beats evil again.  Our first day is over.  We are all exhausted and sticky.  Back to the condo for great air conditioning!