PSF - Universal

Some inner monologue... vacation style! And more photo overload.

On our sixth day in Orlando, Jon and I went to Epcot, his favorite Disney park. Unfortunately, I have ZERO photos from that day. I had my camera plugged in all night to charge, but apparently half of the outlets in our villa/condo didn't work because my battery didn't gain one ounce of power, and neither did his cell phone. We walked through the gates, he went to buy tix, I almost got attacked by a bee, I ran away, I pulled out my camera to get a picture of the entrance, the battery blinked red angry pulses, I cursed at it... It really almost ruined my day. Jon offered to buy me a disposable camera, but I couldn't justify the $15 to take some grainy, out-of-focus shots that I would have to later get developed for another $15. Oh, the horror!

[End of pity party.]

It was a great day, though. When Jon bought the tix, he mentioned that we were celebrating our engagement. They gave us these bright pink buttons that say JUST ENGAGED, which meant that every single Disney cast member congratulated us and asked when the wedding will be and how long have we known each other and when did we meet and I'm so happy for you. Yes. Every. Single. Cast member.

That, and we didn't do drinking around the world, because, well, it was just us. Not exactly the same experience without his family. Besides, they raised the prices of all the drinks. My favorite is the Italian Bellini, which is peach puree and prosecco. $10 for one drink! Ugh. Next time, we are forking over the extra cash ahead of time to get the dining plan. I'm thinking it will really be cheaper in the long run.

On our seventh and last full day in Orlando, we went to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. We bought the 2-park ticket so we could go back and forth, which is usually a great deal except that A, it was 107 degrees out, and B, some of the rides we wanted to go on were closed, or the wait was just unreasonable. An hour and a half for Jaws?!? SO not worth it, especially when it's 107 degrees out. The crowds everywhere were kinda unexpected, considering that school had already started in FL and, if I haven't mentioned, it was 107 flippin' degrees out.

As we were driving there, we got free admission to a cool show - a sky writer! He just kept writing God=Love and Love=God, but it was still pretty cool.



So, the main reason we went to Islands of Adventure was The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Yes, I am a Potthead, and I am not afraid to admit it.



Once you enter Hogsmeade, you are immediately transported to the movies. Everything looked so real.







Because this part of the park just opened a few weeks ago, it was packed. As in, the lines for the rides were over an hour and the lines to get into the stores were even longer. Yes, there were lines to get in the stores. Jon and I went into Honeydukes and Zonko's because that line was the shortest, but the other lines were just too long. So we skipped everything else - Ollivander's, Dervish & Bangs, and even The 3 Broomsticks.



The castle houses the new ride, which is a combination of a sideways roller coaster and 3d movies. Jon wasn't too thrilled, but I loved it.



The best part? Butterbeer. Easily. The lines for the carts were loooong, since it was so hot out, but it was totally worth it.





Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

*Today is my fiance's birthday! He's 25, time for a quarter-life crisis! Just kidding... He's much more patient than I am. We share the same dreams, but he is a lot more willing to wait and work for them. He is the practical voice to my foolish thoughts. I know I'd be lost without him. ♥