Untangling Life: Winter Break in Orlando

I am done with Winter.

I thought living in the South would be warmer but apparently I need to go Souther.

Like to ORLANDO for Winter Break!

(I wouldn't want to live in Orlando but perhaps a nice little city on the Gulf.)

Since the kids were out of school for a week we left the 30 degrees and drove straight to the 70s!

We didn't stop until we checked into the Nickelodeon Suites Resort.

The room was a little bit run down but decent enough and spacious.

One bedroom for Matt and me, and a fold-out sofa for the kids in the main room.

My main gripe was the kitchen. We normally stay at condos on vacation because I prefer to cook most of our meals. Part of the reason I chose the Nick Hotel was that it came with a kitchen. I was a little dismayed to find that I didn't get an oven in my kitchen. Where's the oven? Nor did it come with many utensils and cookware. We had 2 spoons, 4 forks, 5 plates and 3 wine glasses. No knives and I had my choice of three sauce pans to cook with. Since we had to get groceries anyway we went to Walmart and I bought a frying pan, sharp knife, spatula and colander to get us by. (and to go into the Condo supplies for later trips.)

None of the above is important because this was a vacation for the Children.

Lauren and Tyler said this hotel was the best hotel they've ever seen.

Here's why.

The Lagoon Pool

The Oasis Pool

Happy Happy Happy

We spent a lot of time at the pools and everyone had a blast. Kids swam and played like crazy, I soaked up as much sun as I could and Matt went back and forth between the pool and lounging with me. There are lifeguards every 20 feet or so and they did a great job watching the guests. I felt safe letting L and T go into the water and down the water-slides by themselves.

Once or twice everyday there is a mass SLIMING.

Here is Lauren after being slimed.

Mass Sliming in Action

The highlight was the pools but there is plenty of other things at the hotel to keep us occupied.

(clockwise from the left: fun in the gift shop, 4D movies, character meet and greets, exploring the resort)

The ARCADE!

We cashed in our points for a ton of prizes. Just dollars on the penny! ;)

Double Dare Live

This is a nightly game show staring resort guests as contestants.

Hair Wrapping!

Looks good Lauren!

The kids thought the hotel was fun enough but since we came all the way to Orlando we had to visit a theme park.

LEGOLAND FLORIDA

Neither L nor T are into scary rides. L not at all so we thought LegoLand would be the best bet. It is geared toward ages 2-12 and mainly has smaller rides. It does have 4 smallish roller-coasters though. We made them go on 3 of the 4. (The 4th was a wooden roller-coaster and I don't do the wooden ones.) Lauren cried in every line and screamed louder than I have ever heard but at the end she admitted it was not that bad and it did indeed feel good to let loose her fears and frustrations in the form of a primal scream. I think Tyler decided he was a roller-coaster junky after all because at the end of the day Daddy and T went on a roller-coaster three times in a row while Lauren and I checked out the gift shop.

Here are some LegoLand highlights.

DAVE & BUSTERS

One night we spent a few hours at Dave & Busters in Orlando. Lauren and Tyler said it was the best restaurant ever. We spent a lot of time at the arcade and racked up those tickets. We cashed them in for some pretty cool prizes. Again...dollars on the penny but worth it in FUN.

Some of the souvenirs and prizes.

Before we left I did a search for "Free things to do in Orlando" and Fort Christmas was on that list. It sounded educational and Little House on the Prairie like. Lauren has read every Little House book and I knew it was a must see.

FORT CHRISTMAS

(l-r: in front of the fort, in front of a house with a lean-to garage)

I highly recommend a visit to Fort Christmas if you are in the Orlando area. It's on the way to the beach which is also a must see on any trip to Florida.

COCOA BEACH

After Fort Christmas we headed over for an afternoon at the beach. Beautiful Day!!

(clockwise: Tyler and Daddy at lunch on the boardwalk, Momma and her babies, petting a pelican because it thought it was a cat, ahhh the beach.)

We couldn't stay all evening at the beach because we had plans to visit City Walk at Universal Studios for dinner.

We ate dinner at Antojitos and Lauren fell in love with Mexican Fanta. It's her new favorite drink. (I guess I'll have to have some shipped in...or better yet go get her some in person. I'm sure they sell it in Cabo.)

This wasn't my first trip to City Walk. Back in 2002 Matt had a work conference in Orlando (we still lived in Eugene, Oregon at the time) and I got to go with him. Back then I posed for a picture on a surfboard outside the Cinnabon restaurant. I decided to recreate the pose as best as I could remember.

The surfboard and wave have been replaced but, besides the addition of two ~~rugrats~~ absolute blessings, I think I still look the same.

More surfboard fun.

Lauren must have been knocked off by the massive wave.

As all good things must eventually come to an end so did our Orlando Vacation.

On the way home we broke up the trip and stayed the night in Lake City, Florida. Our plan was to visit the Ichetucknee Springs but as we were driving there a massive thunderstorm went through. I guess Florida was crying because we were on our way home.

Instead we ate dinner at Lake City's #1 restaurant according to TripAdvisor and played endless screen time at the hotel.