Our Trip to Disney World and Universal Studios!

Ever since Alex and I found out we would be moving to Alabama, we have been looking forward to traveling and seeing more of our beautiful country! Turns out, flight school keeps Alex very busy, with not much time for leisure, let alone travel! We have jumped at just about every chance we have had to see more of the South and its surrounding areas. In the last year, we have seen visited the gorgeous, sandy Panama City and Destin Beaches in Florida, visited the Georgia Aquarium and Coca Cola World in Atlanta, Georgia, and Pebble Hill Plantation in Georgia. We still have on our list Nashville, Tennessee and Louisiana, but what we were most squirmy to visit was Disney World and the Harry Potter World in Orlando, Florida! It had been many years since either one of us had been to Disney Land, and neither of us had been to Disney World! Alex's only memory of Disney Land was their churros sticks (he would remember the food out of everything!) Alex found out his start date for his Blackhawk course was 2 weeks away, so we immediately put in for a long weekend leave so we could take our hopeful trip to Orlando and it was approved!
Since Orlando is 6 hours away, we brought along some study material for Alex and I quizzed him on his 5 & 9's (which is how they refer to chapter 5 and 9 in his training manual that he is required to memorize for every type aircraft he flies) and we had a great time driving to our destination!
We arrived at our hotel in the evening and relaxed at the hot tub before we started out for Disney World in the morning!

We took the shuttle to Disney World and decided to start out at Magic Kingdom (the most iconic of all the parks) with the castle and characters. We rode rides, watched a show, grabbed some lunch and then headed to the next park, Animal Kingdom. There I convinced Alex to ride the water rafting ride where the warning reads "You WILL get wet, and you MAY get drenched" Alex was very hesitant, since although the weather was beautiful and nice, (about 70) it would be cold in the water, but I convinced him to go and we did in fact get drenched. Actually, there were so few people going on that ride that the "cast members" (Disney calls their employees that) told us that if we wanted we could stay on for another round without any more wait. Again, I convinced Alex to go again! And we got doubly drenched! It was so much fun, but so cold too!

Next we went on the safari, which was neat to see so many exotic animals. After the safari, we were both still very wet and very cold, and since it was getting late, we decided we should get a cab to our hotel. We couldn't believe how tired we were! Later for dinner we went to Red Robin for burgers.

The next morning we headed to Disney World's Epcot Park. We loved getting to visit all the different "countries" they had and visiting all the cute little shops. Since it was Spring, Disney World goes all out with their flower and shrub designs. All shrubs were shaped like  different Disney characters, it was beautiful. In the evening we went back to Magic Kingdom and watched the electric parade, light and firework show- it was spectacular!

Our last day we went to Universal Studios and I was aching to go see Harry Potter World! It was better than I could have imagined! They recreated the movies sets and shops! It was magical and the rides were exciting and fun. Hogwarts was just like it is in the movie- with the paintings coming to life and all! It also inspired Alex and I to have a "Harry Potter" movie marathon when we got home:-) Oh, and the butterbeer was delicious! Tasted like cream soda and butterscotch and ice cream, but better and more buttery!

We had such a great time, and so thankful we were able to take a little vacation but were also happy to have such a nice home to come home to- our sweet home Alabama :-) One last picture of Alex getting a Churro! It cost twice as much as it did back when he last visited Disney Land, and was much shorter than he remembered :-) Also, you can probably tell that I convinced him to ride another water ride in Universal Studios:-)

I am going to post a recipe I haven't tried as of yet, but plan to for when Alex and I watch the final Harry Potter film! I can't wait to try! I found this recipe at The Huffington Post:

BUTTERBEER
Start to finish: 1 hour (10 minutes active)
Servings: 4
1 cup light or dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons water
6 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar
3/4 cup heavy cream, divided
1/2 teaspoon rum extract
Four 12-ounce bottles cream soda
In a small saucepan over medium, combine the brown sugar and water. Bring to a gentle boil and cook, stirring often, until the mixture reads 240 F on a candy thermometer.
Stir in the butter, salt, vinegar and 1/4 heavy cream. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
Once the mixture has cooled, stir in the rum extract.
In a medium bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar mixture and the remaining 1/2 cup of heavy cream. Use an electric mixer to beat until just thickened, but not completely whipped, about 2 to 3 minutes.
To serve, divide the brown sugar mixture between 4 tall glasses (about 1/4 cup for each glass). Add 1/4 cup of cream soda to each glass, then stir to combine. Fill each glass nearly to the top with additional cream soda, then spoon the whipped topping over each.