A Last Min Trip to Forget PTR and TR

So warning sad story first:

Well this year the plan was not to go on a trip to Orlando. We love Orlando (Love Disney, Star Wars and HP) and recently we have been going every year. But we were trying to have a baby and saving money for that. I was able to get pregent and for 10 weeks everything looked good but then on Friday I had a miscarriage We were/are crushed.

We had plane tickets for Baby shower already booked during Thanksgiving week. We live in Colorado and family and friends are in Virginia. The last thing I wanted was to go on that trip and be reminded that this was suppose to be for the baby shower. We called Untied explained the situation and we were able to change our tickets to go to Orlando on Oct 27th to Oct 29th. I am a teacher and this week is our fall break. It only cost $50 and because our baby shower tickets was so expensive we actually got first class tickets. Also may had help I was crying on the phone. My husband is on a separate flight to get there though we could not get something on the same flight. But we are together on the way back.

I looked at Disney and Universal for options. I always wanted to do the Halloween Party at Disney but it was sold out. Then checked out Universal because I have not seen the new HP area.

We were able to book a package deal with Cabana Bay and 2 day hopper tickets and the Halloween party ticket.

We are just looking forward to forget about our troubles and spend some time together having fun and of course we are looking forward to HP!





So I hope you can join us

So sorry for your loss

You will love HHN and the new HP area...so much fun. I hope you and DH have a blast. Cabana Bay is a great place to stay...we enjoyed the lazy river and refillable pool cups and the buses are always ready to take you to the parks with no waiting.

So sorry for your loss.

I think you had a great idea and I hope you both have a great time

Hope you have a lovely trip.......

Sorry to hear your news.

Hope you guys are having a great time

Hope your trip is everything you hope it will be........

We are officially back. It was a blast and such a great way to take our mind off of stuff. Now time to start the Trip Report. (Also another good way to distract)

Overview:
Oct 27th, Tuesday: Flying in on United First Class(we were on separate flights since it was last min)
Oct 29th, Thursday: Flying out on Untied First Class (same flight)

Hotel: Cabana Bay for 2 nights

Tickets: 2 day hopper pass and Halloween Horror Nights

((HUG)) So sorry for your loss! I look forward to hearing about your trip and your time together!

So our day first starts the day before we leave. We are up at my parents house since it is closer to the airport and mom decides lets get a pedicure. Yeah! I got Harry Potter themed nails. It was funny trying to explain it the lady since she did not speak a lot of English and did not know who harry potter was. So did red and gold nails, with gold lighting.



With the rest of the day we finish packing up last min things. We go to bed early excited for our trip to the Dark Side!!

Nov 27th, Tuesday

The Plane Trip

We get up at the crack of dawn, 4:30 am. My husband is not a morning person. We pack up the car say our goodbyes to our dog and my parents.

We get to the airport it is still dark. We park in the economy parking lot and catch the shuttle. Well while sitting on the shuttle I realized I forgot the folder which has all our info in!! Eeep!!!! So I quickly jump out and tell my husband I will meet him at the airport. I walk a ways down and grab the folder and grab the next shuttle. That was a close one. I meet up with my husband at the airport and we check in. I love checking in with First Class, it is a a short line and they are nicer

We head over to security line where we get to cut the line because of being first class. Man I could get use to this...

We get breakfast at McD and we wait at the gate.





My husband leaves on his plane. We had to get separate flights since we booked at the last min. Then I wait for my plane that leaves an hour after his.

Then next me up!
I get seated in and they ask me what I want, I start off with a mimosa


I spend my time reading my book of my kindle.
Then I have lunch, I got the cheese burger, there burgers are pretty good for being airplane food.

Next the pass out warm cookies.


Then I land, yeah!

Now we booked with Universal with their new shuttle program. $35 round trip, still wish they made it free like Disney. We were told to go to the Universal store next to the security lines, so I head that way. I check in with the store they give you this cute little booklet with all your tickets and info you will need.



Then I had down to pick up my luggage and meet the shuttle.



I happen to be the only passenger on the shuttle.



The shuttle was very nice. I got to pick my own movie which of course was Harry Potter!



Next up I arrive at the Cabana Bay.

That shuttle service looks really good. I'll get that next time we are there (flying).
Lookin forward to the rest of the trip. Your photos make me really excited for you!

(Sorry about your loss and thanks for sharing with us why this trip came about, I think it makes a lot of sense).

I wanna go to universal again. Loved the first Harry potter section. But for us to go one day during our disney week would be almost 700$ for the 5 of us. Crazy.

Maybe another time.

I went up to check in, it was very quick.


The lady I talked to was very friendly and asked if I had any room preferences and I said near shuttles. She put me in a great location in the first wing of Americana. We can walk right out to the buses, lazy river or cafeteria.
I asked if there was any packages for me, some family was going to send us flowers they send no. So I head up to my room.
The room is fantastic, the colors are wonderful. Bathroom is a nice size too.






I love that they have a fridge too.



A nice little seated area.



So while checking out the room, I noticed there is a message. The message said luggage has the flowers. Errg... so I have to go all the way back down to the lobby which is a bit far. Not too happy about that.

I decide the best course of actions is to just go down to the lazy river and relax for a bit.

Next up pool.

The pool area has a cool sandy area.


They have a walk in pool.



And the the cool lazy river!

I went over to the shack and they blow up my inter tube for free!

It was not crowded since it was cloudy outside. The lazy river is quite big for being in a hotel. It also has waterfalls and water the squirts over the river. I was not happy with the water squirting out at me which made me cold. I went over to the Jacuzzi. The jacuzzi was nice, helped warm me up and get some of the knots out of the back. I had some fun conversations with other people in there, including that we should do the holding pen over in the Simpsons area since that has the most crowded haunted maze. This tip ended up being great. My phone rang and I found out my husband just landed on his plane. So I went back to our room and started to get ready for our night out at the City Walk.

After I get changed I head down to the lobby to the bar to wait for my husband.



I came just in time for happy hour.


But they did have some cool themed Halloween drinks.


I went with house white during happy hour.


Here is the bad selfie.


And then my husband arrives, yeah!!! I take him up to our room and then we head out to City Walk!

Oh my goodness - infertility sucks so bad.

We went through it for years. The only thing I heard that I held onto for deal life is "if you want to be a mother, you will be." Now it may not be the more traditional route but you will get there sis. Doesn't mean it won't consume your every waking hour and hurt your heart like its never hurt before but you will get there.

We adopted our three children after they lived with us as foster children for two years.

You are in my thoughts.

So my husband unpacked and we went to the bus stop to go to city walk. When we walked out there was a bus there loading of people. This was one my fav features of our hotel, we never had to wait for a bus. Unlike when I stayed at Pop were we had to wait for buses. Also we always got a seat too, which is unheard of in Disney Buses. So it takes about 5 mins to get to City Walk, super easy.



The City Walk looks really cool at night.





It started to rain hard, so next we went to dinner, we went to Red Oven Pizza. I read on the reviews the food is good and it is affordable. I like you can see them working on it.



We got a pizza to split. We got the FENNEL SAUSAGE pizza for $14.


It was a little crowded in there, but luckily the staff finds you a table. The pizza was yummy.

The rain died down, we wondered around a bit trying to figure out what we wanted for dessert. I was having fun taking pics of everything.





It is fun trying to get the Universal name in the right spot while trying to take a pic, this took us a couple tries. Tried to get my husband in a pic but he did not want his pic taking.



So we after checking everything out we decided to head to Margritaville, we picked it out since it has been on our mind to do since Jurassic World came out.
I figure dessert and margaritas sounded perfect. It is amazing how lushy you get after not drinking alcohol for a couple of months does to you. When looking at the menu I thought man all the drinks sounded soo good, what should I choose,I thought lets go for the Margarita flight, that way I get everything


While waiting for the drinks it was a nice atmosphere, they had live music going on and they had this guy on stilts making balloon animals for the kids.




Ahh and the drinks come!!



We put in our order the dessert, it was a hard choice but we went with key lime pie, since we have not had one in a long time.

So I had a hard time picking my fav, I think I liked the pink one the best. I have to say this was a pretty good value, we shared it and it was the same price as getting 1 and 1/2 drinks.

Next up dessert!



The pic does not do it justice, it was yummy!

We sat there for bit listening to the live music and then went back to the hotel. We walk down to the bus stop and there was a bus there and we grabbed a seat. I really love there bus service at this hotel.

When we went back to the hotel, I finally remember to grab the flowers. Man were they really pretty. I love my family and friends they are so nice sending us flowers. The orange color really went well to with our room colors.



We decided to head for the Jacuzzi, no pics here since I left my phone. There were some people in there but it was not too crowded at all. My husband was just happy working out some of the knots in his back from the plane trip. It was fun listening to the conversations everyone was talking about the Halloween Horrors at Universal, everyone was loving it. It got me really excited for it, since we will be going tomorrow to it. And then after about 1/2 an hour we went back to our room and went to bed.

Next up Harry Potter!!

Next day we wake up. I get up around 6am and get soda with my refill cup. My husband is not a morning person but he was warned and knows the routine. We get on to the bus around 7am. Again we do not have to wait. It is still dark which is weird.



We are one of the first in line. I have my jacket tied around my waist since we looked at the weather report and they said it should rain in the afternoon.

Goal, walk as fast as possible to Harry Potter area and get to the gringots ride. When we finally get let in, they have me sign the back of the ticket, I was rather grumpy because I was waiting in line an half an hour, they could have told me this sooner. The pin of course was not working so I gave up and just said I did it. I started doing my power walking. One thing I love about being from Colorado, elevation change, everything is easier at sea level, including power walking. So I slowly start beating the other groups.I am slightly competitive but I never run.
We make into the ride, I really do not stop to take many pics, since my goal is to get through this ride as fast as possible to get a second in without waiting.

They had a cute pre show, looks soo realistic, loved all the details.



The ride was really fun, I think I still like Hogwarts ride more but still really good. This is pics I got on the second time through, we went single rider.I really love the lobby area, so much detail.


Next we head to choosing the wand, we can still walk in. Sadly we were not chosen, I wish they would choose adults some times, over kids esp when I am decked out in HP gear while the kid they chosen is not, but that is a whole nothing rant.


We head out of Diagon Alley, I plan on exploring the area more just not during the morning hours when lines are short.
We head out notice the Knight Bus conductor was out.



He is hilarious and the head was great too.

Looks like a great trip! I'm sorry for your loss. I've had five miscarriages myself and understand all too well how much they suck. How wonderful that you were able to do something fun!

Man I have busy with school and the holidays, sorry for not updating in a while.

Next we head against the crowds and ask CMs what else is open and they said the Minions ride at the front of the park. We walk right in!




I love the details in the waiting area.
This ride is fun, really a great family ride which are not many in the Universal. We saw the line get huge later on so it was worth getting on during extra hour.

Next we head over to Men in Black ride. I loove shooting rides, I am super competitive and want to be my DH. We walk right in.


Now I tried to take pics of the score, but it does not show up on in the pic. This ride reminds me of Buzzlightyear ride in WDW. I loved it so much we did it twice. We walk right on. Again we are competitive, we both got better scores the second time around but I still won!

Next over to the Simpsons ride, we had to actually wait! The 5 to 10 mins was just soo long.... It gave me time to take this pic of the view. The waiting area here is boring not much to take pics of.



We sat in the front, I love how it lifts you up to the screen. It felt like classic Simpson tv show, it felt like I was reliving my childhood when I use to watched the show all the time. A great trip down memory row.

Next up more rides!