Orlando Vacation Recap: Day 1

JC turned 30 on July 16th and I wanted to make his birthday extra special. I've mentioned before that he has never been to Disney World and I thought a surprise trip up to Orlando would be a great gift. Keeping a surprise trip from him wasn't easy but the kids were amazing. They tried their hardest not to spill the beans and they didn't. I took the week off work, spent time with the kids and then on Thursday (JC's birthday) after I dropped him off at work, I raced home to start packing. Our plans were to show up at his office around 2pm with a birthday cake and then his bosses (who were in on the surprise) would send him home early. Then we would pile in the already packed van and take off to Orlando. Well at 2pm, the kids and I were at McDonald's getting lunch because it took me all day to pick up the house and pack!

We picked up a cake and headed to JC's office. He was so happy to see us and have all his co-workers sing Happy Birthday. Then Gian and Adrian told him "We are going to Disney!" I expected a big smile and happiness, we got shock, confusion and brooding! He was upset because he had alot of work to do. One of his bosses realized this and told him to just leave and enjoy his vacation. It took some negotiating but about 1/2 an hour later we were in the car and on our way (with major traffic!)

The kids had packed a bag each with their tablets, toys and a pillow. They did so well on the drive up. It took about 4.5 hours to get there and they rocked the entire way. JC was still upset! By the way, I have to share this picture of Adrian. This child can make himself comfortable anywhere. He loves road trips, stays awake the entire time and in a good mood!

We stayed at the new Cabana Bay Beach Resort at Universal. I wanted to stay on Disney property but this hotel got so many good reviews, we had to check it out. We were not disappointed. It was so great!! Well, when we got to our room, we finally got a smile from JC!!

The kids were in awe! This hotel is massive! We arrived late at night and by the time we got to our room it was almost 10pm!


Ivanna joined us on our trip. These two are like brother and sister!

These two were doing some sort of "bro" handshake they came up with so the picture is blurry at their hands but I love the way Adrian is looking at Gian!

A pool with two pools, a waterslide and a lazy river can only mean one thing: nighttime swimming!

Lucky for us, the hotel is themed as a 1960's roadside hotel so there was lots of amazing architectural features to keep JC entertained!!


The kids swam for about an hour and after showers for everyone, we were finally in bed by midnight. The rooms at the Cabana Bay Beach Resort are family suites so we had 2 beds and a sofa bed. The 6 of us were perfectly comfortable in our room!


It was a little hard to get everyone to actually fall asleep because the next day we were heading out to Magic Kingdom!!!
Stay tuned!!