It's been more than a year...
since I've posted anything but birthday messages here. It's also been just about exactly a year since we arrived here in Florida. We've had a great year and settled in quite nicely. The town we live in is great for families, lots of parks, walking/biking trails and other free things to do. Everyone has made new friends and we are getting used to the weather. Just hoping that the hurricane season won't be too bad. I really don't know how to condense a year of living into a short post, so I'm not even going to try. Just know that I've tried to keep up with everyone's news but have been not commenting as I should.
I will say that I am very envious of you all getting together this week at Infinitus. I would love to meet you all and go again to see The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. And yes I do mean again. We surprised the boys with a whirlwind trip to Orlando July 1st. The 3 small pics below are not too spoilery but I didn't want to ruin anything for anybody.
The park says it opens at 9am but we found that they let you start lining up at 8am. Very organized line for the WWHP which winds about for a bit. Very sunny and hot even that early. Bring lots of sunblock and water if you can and comfy walking shoes. You are allowed to bring water and snacks, but keep in mind it feels heavy after a while. Also the Forbidden Journey ride does not allow any bags so they provide lockers as you enter the castle(free for the first hour and that's all we needed even with the line). Long lines for everything out in the sun and only son2 was willing to stand for more than an hour for a wand, though son1 put in his request. There are actually two lines for Ollivander's/Dervish and Banges, as they are all one connected shop. The line by the Dueling Dragons ride was shorter. The shops were out of some merchandise(like wands belonging to Harry Potter and Voldemort) but were great otherwise. Our family of four ate lunch for $44 at The Three Broomsticks and the frozen butterbeer was very good. The only other piece of advice would be to perhaps invest in an inexpensive rain poncho at a local dollar store. It rained from 5pm to 8pm in buckets but we were lucky we had rain gear. Whether this drove people away I don't know but we were able to go back through the castle fairly quickly for a second tour and ride between 8:30 and closing at 10. Next time we definitely will stay for longer.
I hope you all have an amazing time here in Florida.
I will say that I am very envious of you all getting together this week at Infinitus. I would love to meet you all and go again to see The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. And yes I do mean again. We surprised the boys with a whirlwind trip to Orlando July 1st. The 3 small pics below are not too spoilery but I didn't want to ruin anything for anybody.
The park says it opens at 9am but we found that they let you start lining up at 8am. Very organized line for the WWHP which winds about for a bit. Very sunny and hot even that early. Bring lots of sunblock and water if you can and comfy walking shoes. You are allowed to bring water and snacks, but keep in mind it feels heavy after a while. Also the Forbidden Journey ride does not allow any bags so they provide lockers as you enter the castle(free for the first hour and that's all we needed even with the line). Long lines for everything out in the sun and only son2 was willing to stand for more than an hour for a wand, though son1 put in his request. There are actually two lines for Ollivander's/Dervish and Banges, as they are all one connected shop. The line by the Dueling Dragons ride was shorter. The shops were out of some merchandise(like wands belonging to Harry Potter and Voldemort) but were great otherwise. Our family of four ate lunch for $44 at The Three Broomsticks and the frozen butterbeer was very good. The only other piece of advice would be to perhaps invest in an inexpensive rain poncho at a local dollar store. It rained from 5pm to 8pm in buckets but we were lucky we had rain gear. Whether this drove people away I don't know but we were able to go back through the castle fairly quickly for a second tour and ride between 8:30 and closing at 10. Next time we definitely will stay for longer.
I hope you all have an amazing time here in Florida.