As our daughter has gotten older, instead of the usual birthday parties, we let her pick a friend and a place to take a little trip to…… well within reason, of course! For her 14th birthday she chose Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Florida. One of our favorite hotels in Orlando is Cabana Bay. Of course, Bella was on board with that as our hotel choice because she loves their pools AND you get in earlier to the parks!
You won’t be hearing about any mice or princesses here! She has outgrown that. Now her heart belongs Harry Potter! Our first evening at Cabana Bay, we just relaxed and enjoyed the hotel. Both pools are large with great music played. I love that each pool has different food options as well as adult beverages! We find them to be reasonably priced. There are multiple fire pits to enjoy. We packed our own s’mores ingredients but they also sell kits at the hotel. A huge plus for this hotel is that the pools stay open late! There’s nothing that frustrates me more than a hotel pool that closes early!
The next morning, we were up and at it at sunrise so we could take full advantage of the early park admission that is a perk when you stay at their hotels. I was so grateful for this later in the day when I saw how many hours we would have been in line for some of the rides. Now not every ride is open during the early park admission. There are a few in Universal and a few in Islands of Adventure. But the true perk was being able to get in line for the newest Harry Potter ride. As I get older, I embrace being everyone’s bag holder. So I cannot personally attest to just how marvelous this ride was but the rest of the group found it to be incredible! As long as the birthday girl is happy, right!
While the girls went on the more daring rides, my hubby was sweet enough to keep me company. And this meant one thing…. Eating! But then after eating, you need time to properly digest. This is where parade watching comes in handy. We just happened to be at an outside table at the Today Café. We were done eating as the parade was starting. What’s a girl to do but order a glass of wine and watch the parade!
We then headed back to the hotel for a good night’s sleep so we could do it all again! The next morning began with a sugar fix at Vodoo Donuts at City Walk. Talk about variety!! So many choices of differently flavored and decorated donuts. We especially enjoyed the rotating wheel of donuts that made it hard for us to choose from because they all looked yummy! The girls had a blast going on all the rides as the pressure of waiting in line for Harry Potter rides was conquered the day before.
While they were screaming their hearts out on the thrill rides, we had a lovely adult lunch at Mythos in Island’s of Adventure. We made a reservation a week prior as it is sometimes difficult to get a table when the parks are really busy. We had a few appetizers and enjoyed the unique building design and of course the air conditioning!
Mezze Platter
Spanakopita Dip 
Calamari
Later that evening, we had a carb loaded dinner at Antojitos at City Walk. There was a lot of walking so no guilt on the calories tonight people! Their ceviche was fresh and perfectly chilled. The burrito was the size of a small newborn baby. It was all very tasty but there was still one more food spot that had to be conquered!
Drumroll please…… Introducing the Chocolate Emporium! This place is all things sweets! Well I heard they serve “regular food” as well but we can’t be bothered with that! Bring on the chocolate!! And boy did they! This place was chocolate heaven right here on earth! I was overwhelmed by the delightfully sweet smells. Everywhere I looked, there was more sugar, more chocolate…. more happiness! The girls decided on a milkshake that looked too perfect to eat! I narrowed my choices down to 3 macarons. Macarons are my weakness. I am talking about macarons with 1 “o”. Not the coconut type of macaroons with 2 “o’s”! I am a firm believer that food tastes better when eaten while wearing pajamas. So I carried my macarons back to the hotel every so carefully and enjoyed every blissful bite while wearing my comfy pajamas. And that, my friends, is the perfect way to end a vacation!
