Pictures to take while you're in Universal

Like anything else that has to do with our vacation, I did a lot of research about what pictures we should take while we're at Universal. I used a mix of some ideas I saw online and things I remembered from when we visited 3 years ago. That is how I made our list to take with us. It served useful as we wanted to bring home some special photographic memories to display at home. Here's our list:

Click here to view as a PDF and download.

Pictures to take while you're on vacation

We just love to take pictures! And I love finding lists of things to take pictures of and then challenging myself to do them all! So my son and I decided to come up with our own list before we left for vacation to see if we could do them all. Here's our list:

Click here to view as a PDF and download.

Legoland Florida

Legoland Florida We decided absolute last minute (less than 2 days prior) that we were going to go to Legoland. We arrived shortly after opening (mostly due to the parking situation – it took us FOREVER to get through that line) and there were already a TON of people.

After we waited in the super long line to get in, we made our way to the photo counter to buy the photo package. I always think it's worth it for the ride photos. You can take as many pictures as you want, but you'll never be able to get those ride photos without buying them individually or just splurging to get the package and getting as many as you want. There are currently 5 different rides that have offer on-ride photos. Plus, there are multiple meet and greets. Times are posted in a pamphlet given to you when you first enter. However, they don't tell you who the meet and greet is with. We also saw a photographer at the very front before you enter to take a picture with the Welcome sign and one right after you enter. I'm not really sure what he was taking a picture with, but we were paying for those pictures, so we got them!

We walked straight to the back to Lego City where Tom and Owen rode the flight school ride. They seemed to really enjoy it and there was absolutely no wait.

Next up was Ford driving school. We waited about 15-20 minutes. They take your (kids only, aged 6-13) picture while in line for your license. Then you go into a room (with benches! Woo!) to watch a video about 'how to drive.' Then, you go outside and the kids get in their cars to drive. Owen loved it. And afterward, he bought himself a drivers license! Plus, it came with a lanyard. You get a couple different options for which kind of license you want. My son chose a firefighter license. It's pretty cute.

Also located in this area is junior driving school for younger kids, boating school, and Rescue Academy.

Then we headed over to the Lego Ninjago World. It's very neatly themed in this part of the park. There are a lot of cool Ninja training things you could do. We headed straight for Lego Ninjago The Ride. There was practically no wait which was nice. It was a really fun ride, but it was kind of weird because you use your hands and arms to shoot energy balls at things. I just couldn't seem to make it work, but Tom and Owen did. And we also looked like total doofuses in the picture!

Later in the day, this is also where we did the Kai meet and greet. That was fun, too. But I always think it's fun to take pictures with characters.

In the Land of Adventure, Tom and Owen rode Coastersaurus. They had a ton of fun. It's like your normal wooden coaster. Their picture turned out really well. They probably had to wait about 20-30 minutes in line.

We also really enjoyed The Lost Kingdom Adventure. We just love this ride. Apparently, we're big fans of shooting rides. It's so much fun.

Also in the part of the park are Beetle Bounce and Safari Trek.

We decided to walk over to the Great Lego Race and check it out. The line didn't look THAT long so we went ahead and got in it. Well, after we'd already waited about 20 minutes, they told us it was a 2 hour wait. Really? I mean, I understand that this is a brand new ride, but that just seemed crazy. But after we talked about it, we decided to go ahead and wait it out. After all, we'd never been on a VR ride before. We really missed those Express Passes from Universal though. We made the most of our time by having Tom get out of line to go get food and then bring it back. I know that's bad line ettiquette, but we were starving and we forgot to bring snacks. Luckily, there were also a couple places in line that had Legos to play with. The 1st time we rode, Owen's VR went black and the very beginning and didn't work so they let him go again. I decided I only wanted to go once so Tom and Owen went by themselves. The VR ride was so cool! You were completely immersed in the ride. It was a little freaky because you couldn't always tell where you were going next, but I understood why everyone was ok with the wait. It was a very slow-loading ride.

We walked over to Lego Kingdoms to ride The Dragon, but unfortunately, after about 5 minutes in line, they told everyone the ride was closed and they weren't sure when it was going to open. Also in this area is Merlin's Challenge and Royal Joust.

Those were all the rides we rode since we had a very limited about of time to spend at Legoland (only about 5 hours).

The rides in DUPLO Valley are DUPLO tractor and DUPLO train.

The only ride in Imagination Zone is Kid Power Towers.

We were disappointed that we didn't get to try Mia's Riding Adventure in Heartlake City.

The only ride in Fun Town is The Grand Carousel.

The only ride in The Lego World of Chima is the Quest for Chi. You will probably get a little wet on this ride.

In unspecified areas, there is also Technicycle and Aquazone Wave Racers.

We love visiting Legoland. And hopefully we'll be able to make it back at least one more time before Owen gets too old to really enjoy it.

Travel Snacks

I researched a lot for our road trip, especially since we were going to be in the car for approximately 40 hours total. One of the things that I probably read a good 10 blog posts or more about was Travel Snacks. I wanted to know what everyone else brought so that I could use their food/snacks as inspiration for what we should bring. I started making a list WEEKS before we left. My husband helped me come up with some ideas. I noticed that a lot of people that made these lists were really focused on healthy food items. And while I don't like to eat like crap on my vacations, I like to have a nice mix of healthy and junk foods. Otherwise, I'll be craving something sweet and end up buying something way worse than a cookie. Here's what we came up with!

Meats:
1. summer sausage
2. beef jerky
3. beef stick (slim jim)
4. pepperonis
Crackers:
5. Seasoned crackers
6. wheat thins
7. roasted garlic triscuits
8. chex mix
In The Cooler:
9. Veggies (broccoli, carrots, celery, cucumbers, red peppers)
10. Dill Dip (for the veggies)
11. Fruit (bananas, raspberries)
12. Go-Gurt
13. Laughing Cow Cream Cheese Wedges
14. cheese cubes
Desserts:
15. Milano cookies
16. zebra cakes
17. chocolate chip cookies
18. Pudding
19. Jell-O
Other:
20. applesauce
21. variety pack of chips

We also brought things to make sandwiches for when we were on the road during lunch. We didn't want to stop at fast food restaurants so we figured sandwiches would be cheaper and healthier. And these snacks lasted us our entire trip! We definitely didn't go hungry.

What are some of the snacks you bring on a road trip?

Universal Orlando Resort Hotel

Royal Pacific Hotel 6300 Hollywood Way

We arrived around 4:30pm. There was a line for check-in but it seemed to move pretty fast. Our room wasn't ready yet so they gave us a couple free drink/dessert tickets to use at one of the hotel restaurants. They also gave Owen a birthday button and a card with a free dessert ticket. We were also welcomed with some leis. That was a fun polynesian touch. We picked up our Universal tickets from the kiosk.
We also decided to go ahead and use our free drink and dessert tickets so we went to Jake's American Bar. It took a while and we didn't end up leaving until almost 6pm. I got a Blue Crush and Tom got a Ginger Crush. They were pretty good. They definitely give you that island feel. We shared a Jumbo Dark Chocolate cupcake with Nutella inside and cream cheese frosting. I felt like it was almost a little dry, but really good. And it was huge! Owen got brownies and a root beer float. Even though it took us a while to get out of there, at the end of the day, we only payed $4 so we made sure to tip well.
We did eventually get a text saying that our room was ready so we dropped some stuff off before going to CityWalk.
Our room was beautiful and clean. It was spacious and everything I could ask for from a hotel room. We had a great view of the pool. Plus, we were on the 3rd floor which was actually the lobby floor so it was very convenient.
The next morning, we had to check out very early so that we could get to the parks before early admission. Apparently, there are many ways to check out. I thought it was very cool that you could check out from your TV, but that wasn't available while we were there so we ended up calling. You just leave a message with your name and room number and that's it! You're checked out.
We will 100% be staying here again in the future! I just loved it! And next time, maybe we can stay even longer.

Roadside Attractions

We didn't hit nearly as many roadside attractions as we did last time, but we were also on the road a lot more so most of the time we just wanted to get to our destinations. But here are the few that we did stop at.

From Lillington, NC to Hilton Head Island, SC:
1. South of the Border
I-95 – US 301/501, Dillon, SC
This place is absolutely ridiculous. There are so many things to walk around and take pictures with. But what we wanted to do most was take the elevator to the top of the Sombrero and of course, it was closed. I'm not sure why. So we didn't get to do that. And honestly, it looked a little scummy so we didn't really want to go inside anywhere. If we go that way again, we'll definitely pass this up.
From Orlando, FL to Delray Beach, FL:

2. Manatee Lagoon
6000 N Flagler Drive, West Palm Beach, FL
This is an adorable stop that we want to visit again, especially if we can make it between November and March. When we stopped, the manatees were gone, but it was still a cute little stop with an adoroable manatee sculpture and lots of fun facts posted around the water. I think there was also a cute visitor's center (which we want to check out next time) that has tours Tues-Sat at 2pm.
From Delray Beach, FL to Nashville, TN

3. World's Largest Peanut
315 Whittle Circle, Ashburn, GA
This thing is basically just a huge peanut on top of a brick pedestal. We stopped to take pictures with it for a couple minutes. It was a great chance to get out of the car and stretch our legs. If you're not interested in stopping, you can still see the giant peanut from the highway.

4. Large Cow
2005 North St, Ashburn, GA
This big cow is fun to take pictures with and as a bonus, it sits in a Dairy Queen parking lot. I mean, what better way to take a break from the road than to get some ice cream and sit by a giant cow!

Like I said, we didn't visit very many roadside attractions this time. If you want to see our list from last time, check them out

Hilton Head Lighthouse

We ended up only having 1 morning in Hilton Head so we used that morning to visit the lighthouse. One thing that I never read anywhere was that the lighthouse was located in a community called Sea Pines. And in order to get into Sea Pines, you have to pay $6 per vehicle. I mean, this won't break the bank or anything, but it was a surprise and I definitely didn't budget for it.
Then, when we finally arrived at the lighthouse, it was a little before 10am so we sat on some red rockers that are placed around the base of the lighthouse facing the basin and waited. Well, apparently we also weren't told that they play fast and loose with their hours of operation, because they did NOT open at 10. We decided to walk around and saw that there was a pier we could walk down. As we got closer to the pier, there was a small beach that had a TON of shells so Owen took that time to collect some. We took some pictures and then headed over to the information booth to ask when the lighthouse would open. They said it would probably open some time between 10:30 and 11. We decided to walk past and it was open.
We entered around 10:15-10:20. It cost $4.25 per person. We walked up the 114 steps to the top stopping to look at pictures and random facts and to get some pressed pennies. It's pretty tight in there so if it's busy, I'd imagine it's not too easy to navigate past people.
When we got to the top, there was a cute little gift shop. You could go outside to see the views on a deck that wrapped around the entire top. After we did that, we came inside and Owen bought a lighthouse snowglobe.
And that was our trip to the lighthouse! We really enjoyed it, but definitely wish we had known a couple of these things before visiting.

Hilton Head Island, SC Hotel

Holiday Inn Resort Beach House 1 South Forest Beach Drive

For our second destination, we chose Hilton Head Island in South Carolina. I looked at a couple of places and decided it would be worth the money to stay on the beach to save time. Since we were only planning to stay for one night, it just made sense so that we could wake up and head straight out to the beach and then come back to wash up with plenty of time before check-out. After looking at pricing, we finally settled on the Holiday Inn Resort Beach House.

We check in around 5:30pm. My husband got a text after checking in to inform him that he could text the front desk with any requests or issues. I think this is a great feature that a lot of resorts are adopting.
The room was nice. It was your typical hotel room; nothing special. Unfortunately, there was a problem with a pipe or something so they had to turn off the water for quite a long time to fix it. It was very inconvenient for us. However, we understood there wasn't much they could do about it.
The bar next to the pool was very active the night we were there. Plus, outdoors there is a firepit (only 1, but it's a big one). You can probably fit a good 6-10 chair around it depending how close you sit.
When we woke up in the morning, it was a very cloudy day so we weren't able to see the sunrise like we had hoped. Luckily, we brought our own breakfast items since it's not included with this hotel. We made our way down to the beach after we packed everything up. It was unseasonably cold that morning so there was no way we were getting in the water. However, we were still able to take some pictures and play in the sand a little before we left.
Unfortunately, our stay at this hotel wasn't what we were expecting, but we could tell it was still a great hotel that we wouldn't hesitate to book again.

Dayton, OH Hotel

TownePlace Suites Dayton North 3642 Maxton Rd

We didn't stay here very long. It was basically just a stop on our way to our next location. We checked-in around 8:30pm. The room itself was great with it's kitchenette when you first walk in and the large open living space by the couch! I wish we could have taken this room around with us to every hotel we stayed at. There is tons of storage in the desk area and in the closet that connects the entry and the bathroom.
The breakfast selection was okay, but there was no meat or any hot items other than the gravy to go with the biscuits (which were cold). In fact, we took the biscuits back to our room to microwave them first before adding the gravy. There was also 1 waffle station which caused quite the backup. There was a long line for that one. Plus, all the tables were taken because there was a large group of college kids talking (not eating).
We checked out and left around 8:30am. Our 12 hours in this hotel were decent. If we ever stay in Dayton, OH again, we'll definitely stay here.

Roadtrip Roundup

We went so many places and had so much fun on our road trip through the Southeastern quarter of the United States. Here is a roundup of all of my posts.

Day 1: Bloomington, IL to Sikeston, MO
Day 2: Sikeston, MO to Memphis, TN to Dallas, TX
Day 3: Dallas, TX
Day 4: Dallas, TX to Baton Rouge, LA
Day 5: Baton Rouge, LA to New Orleans, LA
Day 6: New Orleans, LA to Gulf Shores, AL
Day 7: Gulf Shores, AL
Day 8: Gulf Shores, AL to Panama City Beach, FL
Day 9: Panama City Beach, FL to Nashville, TN
Day 10: Nashville, TN to Bloomington, IL
If you visit any of these places that we traveled to, you will have such a great time because they're all such fun locations.

Roadtrip: Day 10: Nashville, TN to Bloomington, IL

We woke up this morning and ate a huge breakfast at our hotel, ready for the last day of our vacation.

We figured we couldn't come to Nashville just for a concert and not see anything while we were there so we headed to The Gulch to check out a few things. First, we went to Biscuit Love to see what the fuss was all about. Now, just a warning to anyone that is visiting, from the time that we got in line to the time when we got our food was literally about 1 hour 15 minutes, and we got it to go. The line was huge and wrapped around the sidewalk outside. I know this was a Sunday, but just keep that in mind if you plan to get some delicious bonuts!

While my husband waited in line for us, my 7yo and I decided to walk around the corner to see the beautiful #WhatLiftsYou wings that are painted on the side of a wall just ½ a block from Biscuit Love. They are so beautiful! And I love that there is a huge version and a tiny version. And, there was a nice little line that had formed before we got there. Everyone was so polite and took turns taking pictures. It was very organized for a random line that no one was in charge of. I love seeing that!

After we got our bonuts, my husband bought me a flower from the most adorable little flour truck across the street! I had never seen anything so cute in my whole life. I could just picture a couple taking their engagement photos in front of this truck. Ah! I just love it.

After our adorable little morning in The Gulch, we had to be on our way home.

Roadside Attractions:
1. Superman Statue
517 Market St., Metropolis, IL
I love this statue. First of all, it's huge. Second of all, it's all fenced off with walking access so it's easy to take a picture with. And finally, because there are a couple other photo-ops within a hundred feet of it. My husband had always wanted to stop here, but I wasn't about to drive all the way there just for a photo. But since we were driving right past it, why not? It was awesome.

2. Road Sign Art
200 Potomac Blvd, Mount Vernon, IL
This is a very interesting art piece that sits outside of a visitors center. It wasn't open when we drove past, but we were still able to get a couple cute pictures with this sign.

Bonus: We noticed on our drive that there was another big cross (not nearly as big as the other one, but still cool) that you could see from the highway in Effingham, IL.

We finally got home and went straight to bed. We were completely exhausted, but we had an amazing trip! And we visited a lot of places that we'd never been before.

Roadtrip: Day 9: Panama City Beach, FL to Nashville, TN

We took our time getting out of bed this morning since we knew we had a big, long day ahead of us. We took a couple pictures by the beach before we left the gulf for our trip back up North. Then we got in the car.

We stopped at a couple roadside attractions along the way:
1. Big Peach Statue
2300 7th Ave S, Clanton, AL
This is actually in a little park at the end of the parking lot between a gas station and a market. It's a pretty cute little statue. And the park is a small little area to stretch your legs.

2. 125-foot-tall Cross
316 Mountain Crest Parkway, Gardendale, AL
So, we didn't actually stop for this one because we just wanted to get to our destination. But you can see it very clearly from the highway so stopping isn't entirely necessary in my opinion. It is absolutely huge and very cool to see though.

Bonus: You can see a very cool rocket at the side of the road on your way near Elkmont, AL.

3. Giant Chicken with Chef Hat
1371 Bryson Rd, Elkton, TN
Now, this one was a pretty good stop. It's right outside of a gas station. There's food, gas, restrooms, and a cute photo-op. How can you go wrong?

After our huge, long 7-hour trip from Florida to Tennessee, we were exhausted so we just checked into our hotel. But we didn't have any time to hang around. We were off to our next adventure. We decided to take our son to his first concert: Dashboard Confessional and All-American Rejects. Now, he wasn't overly interested in this, but he did enjoy himself. Ascend Amphitheater is actually pretty nice! There were a couple food trucks (which was awesome since we didn't have time for dinner beforehand). We sat on the grass in the back of the amphitheater. However, we got there early so we were able to get a spot right behind the break between the grass seating and the reserved seating. That was pretty cool. We were able to see pretty well. And of course, we really enjoyed when they played their old, nostalgic music. We did end up staying for the entire concert, so by the time we got back to our hotel, it was pretty late, especially for a 7yo.

The Hotel: Drury Inn and Suites
555 Donelson Pike, Nashville, TN
So this hotel wasn't really close to anything (except the airport), but we looked and looked and everything in the heart of Nashville was ridiculously expensive. So we figured we would pay half the price and stay a little outside of the center. We were only there for 1 night anyway. The parking was really stupid. There were a ton of people there apparently and we ended up parking as far away from a door as you could get. Oh well. Breakfast was pretty good. I would call it slightly better that your average hotel breakfast. Everything seemed clean and modern so I really can't complain.

Overall, we had a pretty good day.

Roadtrip: Day 8: Gulf Shores, Alabama to Panama City Beach, FL

We only stopped at 1 roadside attraction on our way from Gulf Shores to Panama City Beach.
15-foot tall Coca-Cola bottle
152 Miracle Strip Pkwy SE, Fort Walton Beach, FL
This one is behind the building. We parked in the parking lot next to strip of buildings and walked behind them to take our picture.

So I had read multiple places online that we should go to Shell Island. So that's what we did. We took the Shell Island Shuttle (which departs from St. Andrews State Park). We were originally planning to snorkel, but they said that it was low visibility while we were there because the current was a little strong, so ended up not doing that. So in the end, in my opinion. It wasn't worth it. We paid over $50 for the 3 of us to take a boat to an island where all we did was sit on a beach. They don't have a lot of shells, we didn't get to snorkel, and you have to pay just to get into the State Park. The whole thing just seemed incredibly unnecessary. If we ever go back, we'll make sure to check the snorkel conditions before wasting our money. Oh well. My son still had the time of his life playing in the water.

Dinner: I was really craving a buffet so we went to Captain Jack's Family Buffet.
8208 Thomas Drive, Panama City, FL
It was stupid expensive ($100 before tip) for the 3 of us, but it was at least delicious and I think my son ate more here than he did anywhere on this whole trip. At least there's that! Plus, our waitress was so friendly and attentive. If you get the chance to eat here, do it during lunch. Unless you're going for the crab legs, lunch is a way better deal.

Hotel: Boardwalk Beach Resort Hotel & Convention Center
9600 S Thomas Dr, Panama City Beach, FL
I wish I could say that this was a great hotel. But honestly, it's not. First off, I just hate any hotel that has 2 double beds instead of 2 queen beds. But beyond that, they allow dogs which means at some point, you're bound to hear some yippee dog barking for a long period of time. It is right on the beach, which is clearly the main draw to the hotel. There is no breakfast. It mostly seemed clean. The door to the bathroom looked like it had been eaten apart by a dog, but for one night, the hotel did it's job in providing a place to stay. There was an abnormally early 10am check-out time, though.

Overall, this was probably my least favorite day of our entire trip. Everything was unimpressive and over-priced.