Winter Break: Universal Studios

 Marc and I haven't been to Universal Studies since high school, and the girls have never been.  We happened to be there the same day as PowerTaps, which was a little awkward since we didn't travel with them and perform.  Our school schedule is different from the local school system, and we just couldn't take off the whole week.

We were able to get into the park early because we were staying on property.  Velociraptor was our first stop of the day, and it did not disappoint. 

I didn't get many pictures this day, but the Andersons were spending their winter break at Universal as well, and they met up with us in the park.  Because they have season passes we were able to have our own personal tour guides. 

We decided to brave the 90 minute wait to ride Hagrid's. Unfortunately when we were so close to our turn to ride, it shut down.  You never know if you should wait it out or leave.  We opted to wait since we were so close, but we ended up waiting an extra hour in the end.  At least we were able to stay and talk with friends while we waited, and the ride was amazing.  I'm not sure it was amazing enough for that long of a wait, but we did enjoy the ride.

Brooke was intent on finding this chocolate frog, and then we headed out to drive a few hours towards home before stopping for the night.  It was a quick, busy, and fun trip that we were so glad we were able to take together as a family.

Winter Break: Disney Springs and Animal Kingdom Lodge

 We took a slower day today.  We weren't sure how much time Kayla would need to work on her college classes, so we decided to add in a day to take it easier.  We enjoyed breakfast before checking out of our hotel and heading to another one.

We made a stop by the Animal Kingdom Lodge to see the animals.

We had lunch at Disney Springs and found some more Disney treats.

We checked into a Universal resort, relaxed at the pool, and then Marc picked up Moe's for dinner.  

Winter Break: Hollywood Studios

 We haven't been to Hollywood Studios since all of the Star Wars things were added.  We enjoyed walking around this area. When we got to the park we took off for Rise of the Resistance.  It was in the back of the park, and poor Macy's legs were already hurting (more on that later). It was a fun ride.

Beauty and the Beast never disappoints.

We spent a lot of time playing Heads Up on their phones to kill the time.  I think we even got a few other groups started on the game throughout the week.

Waiting for the Tower of Terror.  We had a fast pass for this one as well, and we walked by SO many people waiting in the regular line. It was crazy, and we sure were glad we had the pass for this one!

2016 Version

Cream cheese pretzel #2.

Never a dull moment with these three.

It was another jam packed day, but we had the best time together.

Winter Break: Magic Kingdom

 The girls have mentioned wanting to go back to Disney again, so we decided to take our few days off for Winter Break and head down to Orlando. 

There is something so nostalgic about walking into the Magic Kingdom and down Main Street.

Things are always changing as far as fast passes go, and then you end up doing way more walking because of where you have to be at certain times.  We headed straight for the side of the park with Jungle Cruise and Aladdin's carpets so that we could be nearby for Pirates of the Caribbean fast pass. Even when you have teenagers you still get enjoy the little kid rides.

A quick stop for some sweet treats.  So yummy.

The snacks are always a hit.  Macy had a cream cheese pretzel, and she loved it so much that we had to search it out later in the week.

You can't come to Disney and not get a Mickey ice-cream.

It was such a fun day.  We were tired, but we enjoyed every bit of our day.

Valentine's Day 2022

 A little cheese fondue, some chocolate fondue, and lots of love for these people.