Orlando Trip 2014 {Part I: Island of Adventures}

Wow, this summer has gone just as quickly as it came. Well, technically Bridgette still has 3 more week of summer vacation, but with her sidekick Brianne back in Hong Kong now, the vacation mood has definitely subsided. Let me just start off by saying that this has been the most unforgettable summer for me in so many ways. There were the highest of highs, and the lowest of lows (passing of grandma), and so many adventures sprung up on us without any formal planning. The girls did not have any summer camps at all this year, and we had so much fun creating our own “camp” activities that ranged from hiking in the woods to biking across the Golden Gate Bridge.

We sent Mimi and Brianne off last night, and as I’m in my withdrawal mode, I decided it’d be a good time to start catching up on the blog. Let me start off at the very beginning of summer…..

Mimi, Brian, and Brianne arrived to SFO on June 15th, and together with Alan, Bridgette, and I, flew to Orlando on the morning of June 17th for our all-out Disney family vacation!

After our first amazing Disney Cruise experience, we knew we had to cruise again. We decided to do a Bahama cruise this time, which would allow us to piggyback a few days of theme park adventures in Orlando.

The last time that I was in Orlando was about 13 years ago, when Alan and I were still dating. We had a ton of fun on that trip, but what we also remembered most was how exhausted we were after multiple days of theme parks. And that was when we were 13 years younger and childless. So, when I planned our days in Orlando this time, I was careful not to pack too much into the 4 days that we had there.

We scored an amazing 3 bedroom house in a safe, gated community in Kissimmee, Florida, about 20 minutes south of Disney World. Besides the wonderful open floor plan that we loved, it also had a swimming pool with a lake view, and a garage fully equipped with a pool table, foosball table, and other games. Technically, we could’ve just stayed in the house the entire time and the girls would’ve been happy and content! 🙂

Day 1 was Universal Studio’s Island of Adventures, where we got to experience Camp Jurassic, the magical world of Harry Potty, and the whimsical land of Dr. Seuss, amongst other wild rides. The girls were pretty much tall (and brave) enough for all rides, which made it a lot more fun for all of us.

 To our surprise, it was not too crowded at the park at all. On average, lines were about a 10-15 minute wait. The weather was also surprisingly well–warm and a bit humid, but not in an unbearable way. We really lucked out….or maybe it was just great planning on my part. Haha. 🙂

Here’s a fun video I made recapping our whole trip, from Orlando to the Bahamas!