February 14, 2018

Our Magical Orlando Vacation

orlando-florida-universal-studios-disney-world-adult-vacation-photo_3325.jpgIf you follow me on Instagram, then chances are that you noticed we were in Orlando last week! And if you follow Branden too, then you probably felt like you were there with us! Part of the fun of this trip was how much we documented it on Instagram stories! This was Branden’s first time doing Instagram stories and he killed it! Everyone said they liked his stuff more than mine! Haha! 

When I was a kid, I begged my mom to take my siblings and I to Disney World. I was a total Disney princess girl and dreamed of meeting them! My mom always told me that when my youngest sibling finished kindergarten, we would go. But then she had two more kids and needless to say, we never made it there! 

So when we were trying to decide what to do with Branden’s week off in February, we knew we wanted to go somewhere warm, but didn’t want to spend thousands of dollars just to sit on a beach at a resort. We wanted to experience something. So when I saw that direct flights to Orlando were pretty cheap, I knew we had to do an Orlando trip! I have so many friends that are avid Disney World fans and even enjoy it themselves, not just through their kids. So I thought it would be fun for us to experience it together as adults before we have kids! 

We started off the week in Universal Studios. We had been to Universal several years ago right after the Harry Potter world opened, but hadn’t been back since they expanded it, so we knew we wanted to have a Universal day to see it! So we stayed at the Cabana Bay Beach resort to start. It was so fun and had tons of indoor activities to do when our first day there was pretty rainy! 

Then we headed to Disney! We decided to splurge on the resort a little bit and stay at the Port Orleans resort! It was so beautiful! And kind of felt like summer camp! While there, we did three park days. Magic Kingdom, Epcot and Animal Kingdom. And yes, they were all as wonderful and magical as I dreamed they would be! 

So in case you missed the play-by-play of our trip in Instagram, here it is again! Complete with a video! Haha!

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Branden was a total instagrammer on this trip. He even took pictures of all his meals! orlando-florida-universal-studios-disney-world-adult-vacation-photo_3253.jpg
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So cool!! orlando-florida-universal-studios-disney-world-adult-vacation-photo_3255.jpg
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The interactive wands were so neat! But definitely tricky to get the spells right! orlando-florida-universal-studios-disney-world-adult-vacation-photo_3258.jpg
Hopping the train to Daigon Alley! orlando-florida-universal-studios-disney-world-adult-vacation-photo_3259.jpg
This place is amazing! So huge and detailed! You could spend an entire day in here. And kill a ton of frozen butterbeer! Yummmmmorlando-florida-universal-studios-disney-world-adult-vacation-photo_3260.jpg
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The entrance to the Gringotts ride is amazing! Looks just like the movie! orlando-florida-universal-studios-disney-world-adult-vacation-photo_3262.jpg
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Branden liked to hashtag all our meals. orlando-florida-universal-studios-disney-world-adult-vacation-photo_3266.jpg
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Just like I do at home, I had plenty of Caesar salads on this trip! orlando-florida-universal-studios-disney-world-adult-vacation-photo_3270.jpg
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Then we headed back into Universal for a Mardi Gras parade! It was actually really fun! And you may have even caught Branden’s live Instagram video of it! orlando-florida-universal-studios-disney-world-adult-vacation-photo_3272.jpg
Oh my goodness, this place. Plan to share these sundaes and milkshakes with someone. My strawberry cheesecake sundae literally has an entire piece of cheesecake in it! Wish I could’ve brought that home with me! orlando-florida-universal-studios-disney-world-adult-vacation-photo_3273.jpg
I couldn’t believe how much we walked during this trip! My legs and feet were still sore days after getting home!orlando-florida-universal-studios-disney-world-adult-vacation-photo_3274.jpg
Off to Disney! How cute is the Port Orleans resort??orlando-florida-universal-studios-disney-world-adult-vacation-photo_3275.jpg
One of the best parts about this resort is that you can take a boat to Disney Springs! So fun! orlando-florida-universal-studios-disney-world-adult-vacation-photo_3276.jpg
Oh, and did I mention that the weather was AMAZING?? Well, it was.orlando-florida-universal-studios-disney-world-adult-vacation-photo_3277.jpg
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Disney desserts and wine slushies?? Yes please!! orlando-florida-universal-studios-disney-world-adult-vacation-photo_3279.jpg
Branden was all about that insta content! orlando-florida-universal-studios-disney-world-adult-vacation-photo_3280.jpg
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We also met up with a local photographer, Jennifer, to do some pictures on our resort! I’m so glad we have some real pictures from your trip too! orlando-florida-universal-studios-disney-world-adult-vacation-photo_3282.jpgHere’s some of the pics from the session!
Then we did a horse carriage ride through the French Quarter side of the resort. So fun! orlando-florida-universal-studios-disney-world-adult-vacation-photo_3283.jpg
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I’ve never had one of these done before! Sitting in that chair while someone analyzes your face is so awkward! haha! orlando-florida-universal-studios-disney-world-adult-vacation-photo_3285.jpg
Magic Kingdom day!! Ahh!! orlando-florida-universal-studios-disney-world-adult-vacation-photo_3286.jpg
Dreams are coming true!! orlando-florida-universal-studios-disney-world-adult-vacation-photo_3287.jpg
Ice cream for breakfast. Don’t mind if I do! orlando-florida-universal-studios-disney-world-adult-vacation-photo_3288.jpg
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So when I told Branden that there were hidden mickeys throughout all of Disney, he became totally obsessed with finding them. And I think this one that he found in the line for the Buzz ride was his best find! Can you see it??orlando-florida-universal-studios-disney-world-adult-vacation-photo_3290.jpg
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Lunch at Be Our Guest!! orlando-florida-universal-studios-disney-world-adult-vacation-photo_3293.jpg
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Give me allll the sweets! orlando-florida-universal-studios-disney-world-adult-vacation-photo_3295.jpg
The parade was so cute! And I may or may not have picked our spot so that the castle would be in the background of our pics! orlando-florida-universal-studios-disney-world-adult-vacation-photo_3296.jpg
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So since Disney tickets never expire, we were able to exchange this 24-year-old ticket of Branden’s from when he was five!! Can you see the resemblance??orlando-florida-universal-studios-disney-world-adult-vacation-photo_3299.jpg
The castle is amazing from all angles and at all times of the day! orlando-florida-universal-studios-disney-world-adult-vacation-photo_3300.jpg
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Then we had dinner in Cinderella’s castle… during the fireworks… NBD. orlando-florida-universal-studios-disney-world-adult-vacation-photo_3302.jpg
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Guys, meeting these princesses was as amazing I hoped it would be! There may have been tears when Jasmine approached our table…orlando-florida-universal-studios-disney-world-adult-vacation-photo_3304.jpg
And the food was amazing! Definitely worth the splurge to do this at least once! orlando-florida-universal-studios-disney-world-adult-vacation-photo_3305.jpg
Time for Epcot! At this point in the trip we were really feeling the fatigue and struggling to stay in the parks past 4pm. But we did our best! orlando-florida-universal-studios-disney-world-adult-vacation-photo_3306.jpg
So in addition to finding real hidden Mickeys throughout the park, Branden also took it upon himself to create his own Mickeys! Hilarious! orlando-florida-universal-studios-disney-world-adult-vacation-photo_3307.jpg
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Margaritas and sangria before noon? Check! <- this may have also contributed to our inability to hang past 4pm. oops! orlando-florida-universal-studios-disney-world-adult-vacation-photo_3309.jpg
Eating around the world! orlando-florida-universal-studios-disney-world-adult-vacation-photo_3310.jpg
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Eating around the world for me is actually just desserts around the world! When on vacation! Also, the macaron ice cream sandwich… best thing ever. orlando-florida-universal-studios-disney-world-adult-vacation-photo_3312.jpg
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Last night at our cute resort! Wahh!! orlando-florida-universal-studios-disney-world-adult-vacation-photo_3314.jpg
Last day, last park- Animal Kingdom! orlando-florida-universal-studios-disney-world-adult-vacation-photo_3315.jpg
Pandora was so cool! If only the lines for the rides weren’t so long! The flight ride had a 3.5 hour wait! On a weekday morning! What???orlando-florida-universal-studios-disney-world-adult-vacation-photo_3316.jpg
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And we got to see lot’s of cute critters and animals throughout the day! Including these turtles enjoying their breakfast! Adorable! orlando-florida-universal-studios-disney-world-adult-vacation-photo_3318.jpg
Can you spot branden’s mickey creation?orlando-florida-universal-studios-disney-world-adult-vacation-photo_3319.jpg
The only non-selfie pic we got of the both of us! orlando-florida-universal-studios-disney-world-adult-vacation-photo_3320.jpg
The safari ride was so neat! Definitely do it! orlando-florida-universal-studios-disney-world-adult-vacation-photo_3321.jpg
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My favorite and last dessert of the whole trip! orlando-florida-universal-studios-disney-world-adult-vacation-photo_3323.jpg

And because we also did so much video via our insta stories, I had to put it together for us (and you!) to enjoy for years to come! Y’all, this thing is almost 30 minutes long. And it’s not even all our videos! We may have left the real cameras at home, but this was a very well documented trip! Haha! 

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