09/10/2026
A few days into our Orlando getaway, and apparently we have absolutely no idea how to take a relaxing vacation. ๐คฃ
We came down here for our annual anniversary trip, and I suppose technically there HAS been some romance.
Our first night started with fresh pasta at Mama Dellaโs at Portofino Bay, where we were surprised with a special anniversary dessert and serenaded by the opera singers and accordion player. Afterward, we walked over to Aventura to meet up with one of my good friends for a drink at Bar 17 Bistro.
Very romantic. Very relaxing.
That was apparently enough of that. ๐
Since then, we've been averaging somewhere around 47,000 steps, two theme parks, three modes of transportation and at least one torrential downpour per day.
Tuesday took us over to Disney, where we checked into Caribbean Beach Resort and spent the day hopping from Hollywood Studios to EPCOT. We rode some of our favorites, ate our way around the world at the International Food & W**e Festival, shopped in multiple countries and trudged through enough puddles that dry socks became a distant memory.
Also, I would like it officially noted that the caramel popcorn in Germany is worth getting rained on for. ๐
We made it back to Caribbean Beach just in time to watch Luminous: The Symphony of Us from the deck near Banana Cabana while eating a very late dinner from Centertown Market. By about 10:30, we finally collapsed into bed.
Surely Wednesday would be easier.
It was not. ๐
We were back at it around 8 AM, fueled by an iced latte and a cinnamon roll approximately the size of my head, and headed to Magic Kingdom.
Our first priority wasn't a ride at all. We wanted to meet Goofy, who was Scott's grandfather Nanu's favorite character. That was one of those little moments that meant more than checking another attraction off a list.
After that, however, we returned to our regularly scheduled chaos.
TRON. Winnie the Pooh for the first time. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Shopping. And finally, lunch at Skipper Canteen, which was AMAZING.
It was actually my first time doing table-service dining inside a Disney park. After seeing the bill, I also suddenly developed a much deeper appreciation for the Disney Dining Plan. ๐
We eventually made our way out of Magic Kingdom, took the boat over to the Grand Floridian, wandered through the beautiful lobby and watched an incredibly talented Cast Member create artwork with nothing but water while we waited for our ride.
And that concluded the Disney portion of our day.
Yes. There was another portion. ๐คฃ
We headed back to Portofino Bay, checked into our room in the West Wing, dropped our bags and immediately caught the water taxi to CityWalk.
Because resting would have been ridiculous.
We made a beeline for Islands of Adventure and put those Express Passes to work on Hulk and VelociCoaster, grabbed a Butterbeer at Three Broomsticks, wandered through Hogsmeade and Toon Lagoon, and eventually claimed a spot on the bridge overlooking Hogwarts to wait for Dark Arts at Hogwarts Castle.
Naturally, another rainstorm rolled through while we waited.
But Hogwarts eventually went dark, the show was absolutely worth getting soaked for, and we're already planning to watch it again tonight from a different perspective.
By the time we walked out, Lost Continent and Seuss Landing were almost completely empty. We stopped to chat for a few minutes with a really sweet Team Member named Christian before realizing it was nearly 9 PM and we had somehow forgotten the very important task of eating dinner.
One emergency stop at Red Oven Pizza and a couple more downpours later, we finally caught the water taxi back to Portofino Bay.
Bedtime: approximately 10:30. Again. ๐
Thankfully, I maintain that Portofino has some of the most comfortable beds of all the Universal resorts, and after the previous two days, we put them to VERY good use.
Which brings us to this morning.
For the first time all week, we actually slept in.
Until 10:15!
Practically a spa retreat. ๐คฃ
We eventually dragged ourselves out of those cloud-like beds and made our way over to Cabana Bay for my favorite Bayliner Diner breakfast: French toast. Then it was a quick walk over to Sapphire Falls to catch the water taxi, which is where we are now.
Today's "relaxing" agenda?
A few hours at Universal Studios, dinner at Bigfire, Hagrid's, VelociCoaster around sunset and another viewing of Dark Arts at Hogwarts Castle.
So yes, we're apparently going to need a vacation from our vacation.
But we're having an absolute blast, we've laughed our way through the rain, eaten entirely too much good food, ridden some of our favorite rides and made a whole lot of memories along the way.
And tonight, we're REALLY going to try to be in bed before 10:30.
I'll let you know how that goes. ๐คฃ
