Orlando Reunion: Universal and Disney

 Dear Soul,

 “Only a fool blames his bad vacation on the rain” 😊

It’s that time of the year, to keep the tradition of taking Christmas vacation with extended family going, this year to Orlando to explore Universal and Disney parks. This is very different from my usual Nature blogposts, but these Resorts and the Parks, albeit expensive, were quite exciting and inspiring, so I had to share. It was a completely different and wonderful experience in each of the parks. I hope you find this post helpful with the tricks and enjoy visiting these parks as much with your loved ones.

 Dec 20: In Paradise @ Loews Royal Pacific Resort

After a very exciting reunion welcoming those smiling familiar faces once again, had Thai lunch at our airport hotel and moved to Loews Royal Pacific Resort at Universal. The idea was to get early entry and fast passes the next day to Universal Island of Adventure by staying here. Very first thought: where am I? With the tropical plants and warm humid weather, I felt like we were back in Punta Cana. As I entered the resort, I was instantly transported to some exotic Asian paradise with the vegetation, entry lake with water lily pods, frogs, lit up Christmas tree, soaring wooden beam ceilings, water feature with Buddha, and the refreshing cucumber water drink. The most striking was the Sandalwood art pieces on either side of the entry, one picturing what I felt was a scene from Gita and the other with all the tropical animals. At check in, we picked up our individual room key cards with our names on it (excellent memorabilia and handy Universal fast passes) and Universal tickets for the next day. While kids swam in the pool, we took water taxi from resort to Universal City Walk, a magic in itself. Wrapped up the night with gigantic desserts at Toothsome Chocolate Emporium and walked back to the hotel along the well-lit waterway, once again making me forget where I was. Enjoyed quiet night at room for an early start the next day reading Gita, yes kids go to bed listening to it.

 Dec 21: First World Meditation Day @Cabana Bay Beach Resort – Universal Islands of Adventure

While kids enjoyed Universal with dads, our trio enjoyed a relaxing morning with breakfast at lounge and exploring around, lunch later at Madras Café and moved to Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort, our home for the next three nights. Unlike our previous one, this is extremely family friendly with a Pool and Lazy River, Bayliner diner, bowling alley and more. After Chipotle takeout dinner at the diner (our meet up place for breakfast and dinner for all days), we loved our time at Swizzle bar, enjoying live music and my DD2 dancing and giggling with Scooby Doo. And we had a change in plan to do Disney’s EPCOT the next day, with the Volcano Bay Water park closed due to weather.

 Dec 22: One World @ EPCOT

Breakfast at Bayliner Diner was very good, with yummy French toast and pancakes, with sides of potatoes and eggs. Ridesharing with Uber and Lyft was so cheap that we didn’t have to rent a car while in Orlando to go to/from Disney parks. EPCOT (stands for “Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow”, even the gate keeper didn’t know!), an unfinished dream of Walt Disney’s idea of futuristic city, is centered around our world and its people(cultures) and organized into four neighborhoods:

• 1.       World Nature: Enjoyed the Soarin’ hang-gliding flight, Awesome planet show on Earth as a valuable real estate, Living with the land: Ride along in greenhouses, Journey of water: an interactive outdoor trail inspired by moana.
• 2.       World Showcase:  Amazing with setting from 11 different countries around a lake (used for night time fireworks display). While I enjoyed it, it felt less impressive probably because of a lot of walking (especially for kids, unlike getting on/off the rides from the previous day).
• 3.       World Discovery: Guardians of the Galaxy gave the kids a much-needed adrenaline rush to end the day and totally did justice to the long wait!
• 4.       World Celebration: We trio ended the tour with Spaceship Earth, a slow train ride showing the innovations from the Stone Age to the Digital Age.

Met back at the diner for Indian takeout dinner and got Christmas Gifts from my dearest nieces, so blessed.

 Dec 23: Best for the last @ Animal Kingdom

Started the day with another sumptuous breakfast at Bayliner diner. Thanks to the lightning pass and efficient planners, we were able to plan the night before and have a productive day covering most of the park.

• 1.       Pandora: Avatar ride was exhilarating and with the scenery and company around, the 2.5hr wait tine felt like 25 minutes. Another breathtaking ride was Na’vi River journey, boat ride taking us through Pandora’s lit forests.
• 2.       Africa: Enjoyed the live musical show - Festival of the lion king, Kilimanjaro safaris- saw a real bare Baobab tree, Rhinos, Giraffes, Lion, somehow reminded me of Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad, India
• 3.       Asia: Enjoyed Anandpur setting, a fictional village in India and the rides Kali River Rapids and Expedition Everest
• 4.       Discovery Island: Located at the center is the “Tree of Life”, the park's sculpted, man-made baobab tree, where we watched a light show. Watched the show - it’s tough to be a bug.
• 5.       Dinoland USA: Everyone enjoyed the Dino-Rama Ride before

 Wrapped up the day and this part of the trip with celebrating our dear sis-in- law’s birthday early (coinciding with Santa Birthday) with dinner at Kavas. Looking forward to the next segment of glamping at Everglades National Park and meeting them again in FLL (next post).