So after a long 5 1/2 hour flight, we arrived in Orlando. I will save my strongly worded opinion of Frontier Airlines for another time. We arrived safely ready to start our vacation. 9 of us made the trip ready to meed up with the other 4 that were waiting for us in a vacation home we rented in Kissimme, FL. This was definitely the way to go for our group as it was cheaper than arranging a bunch of hotel rooms. The house had 8 bedrooms and 6 bathrooms. It also came with a full kitchen, dining room, 2 living rooms, and a game room. It also had a covered pool, hot tub, patio, and grill. The property was part of a larger group of vacation homes called Windsor at Westside. The Windsor also provided a large outdoor public pool complete with a lazy river, bar and grill, and lounge. Please believe we made good use of this feature on day one. Our only regret is that we didn't make this leg of the trip longer...
Day 2 saw us load up in the car and head over to Universal. Believe it or not, none of us had ever been. Most of the party wanted to go see Harry Potter attractions. I personally looked forward to the City Walk for dining an drinking. I have never been one for theme parks. I have been to six flags, Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom in Disneyworld, as well as Epcot. I walked in expecting more of the same. I'm happy to say I was wrong. With the sheer amount of rides, simulations, shops, eateries, and bars Universal most definitely lived up to the hype. The only negative was that we planned to go to the Bob Marley restaurant, but it was closed for the night, along with other venues, for an event scheduled that night.
Day 3 was a relax day, again, as we visited Disney Springs. Every time we visit Orlando we always make it a point to visit Disney Springs. While there are no rides or real attractions, outside of the massive arcade, it is a good area to shop, eat, drink and relax. It is also home to probably the best bread pudding we have ever had at Raglan Road. Raglan Road is an Irish pub that serves fantastic food, entertains diners with live Irish music and dancers, and runs 3 full bars. It is a bit of sensory overload at first, but definitely recommended should you find yourself looking for a bite and a pint.
We closed out the night by heading back to our massive vacation rental to clean and pack our bags. Our ride to the port was arriving early in the A.M. and we had a lot to get done.
In the next post - It's embarkation day!
Until then, safe travels!