When I checked the weather for the weekend of my birthday, I found out that the HIGH TEMP was going to be 33 degrees..uhhhh no thanks. I am a warm weather girl, and while I expect my January birthday to be somewhat cold, a high of 33 degrees is crossing the line. I got an email from Southwest advertising $50 flights, found one to Orlando for $100 round trip, and then rushed to my Hilton app to see if I could find a deal as good as my flight. **Fingers crossed!** I found a Hampton Inn right by Universal Studios for around $50 a night with tax/fees. By Monday night, I booked the flight and hotel and started dreaming about the 78 degree weather that was in the forecast. Our flight left PHL at 5:20 PM Friday afternoon, but we arrived at the airport two hours before takeoff because getting through security quickly and easily is always a gamble. Luckily, we made it through security in 10 minutes, had time to grab some food and drinks at Chickie’s & Pete’s (right next to the Southwest terminal) and then we were off to sunny Florida. The flight was half empty so the middle seat of my row was open–which who doesn’t love that, especially in a pandemic. The airplane was clean, the flight attendants offered water & a snack (modified in-flight service due to covid-19), and we arrived about 30 minutes early, so I couldn’t complain. The hotel was 20 minutes from the airport.
Short & Sweet Tip: They did not serve in flight alcoholic beverages. I am not sure if this is just a Southwest thing and/or has to do with the length of the flight–but just a head’s up in case you look forward to that in-flight beverage to calm the nerves. It was definitely an unpleasant surprise for me!!
Once we were checked in to the hotel, we headed to Ole Red (owned by Blake Shelton for my country fans out there). It was only about a mile or two away–definitely within walking distance, but we were hangry so we Ubered there (about a $10 ride including tip). Florida sometimes gets a bad rep regarding Covid protocol, but everyone who was not seated was wearing a mask and socially distancing. You can sit at a bar in Florida, and the tables aren’t all 6 feet apart like in PA, but I still felt pretty safe. Being that it was a Friday night, they had a live band on a big stage in the center of the bar/restaurant; they took requests if you Venmo’d them, which I also saw bands do in Nashville. The bar was two stories with an outdoor area as well. Pre-pandemic, I would assume the area in front of the stage is used as a dance floor. The bar was located in ICON Park, along with a few other restaurants, bars, and stores, and a couple thrill rides. It was a fun area to explore and so close to the hotel–a nice win and definitely an area you should check out! ICON Park also has a couple amusement rides if you don’t mind heights (they made me dizzy just looking up at them). One was a 400 foot tall ferris wheel, and another was a set of swings that takes riders 450 feet up. COUNT ME OUT!! But if you’re into that type of thrill, enjoy and I’ll live vicariously through you!
The next day it was a sunny 73 degrees, so I went to the Universal City Walk where you can find a movie theatre, restaurants, shopping, and bars. They have nightclubs but they were all closed, pre-pandemic life they looked like a fun place to hang! The walk wasn’t huge and I was in and out in about an hour mainly because I wasn’t hungry or in need of a drink..yet. This trip was planned last minute as well so I was also trying to do it on a budget which meant limiting my time spent in stores where I’d be tempted to buy all the things.
Next up was Disney Springs. This place was twice the size of Universal City Walk & there were a TON of shops, bars, bowling alley, and unique restaurants like one that was on a boat. Part of Disney Springs sits on a lake with a lego dragon in the water which makes for a great selfie 😉 A few stores in, thirst set in and I opted for a $16 margarita, a little overpriced but expected as it is Disney territory. We continued to walk through and found a cute coffee shop called Joffery’s that had a spiked tea for $12 and the kid working there offered me an extra shot for $2 so I obliged. It was actually really good and $2 cheaper than my earlier beverage with more bang for my buck. Each place I found after the $16 margarita was a little less $ than the last. The next place on the impromtu bar crawl through Disney Springs was a bar called Paradiso with a $7 margarita during happy hour! It was only around 2 pm so a nice option for an early Happy Hour on a Saturday, a rare finding in itself. We had a few margaritas here (domestic beers were also included in the $7 special) and split the poutine which was around $18 but really filling. Next up we headed to the boat launch and watched boats, that looked like cars, launch into the lake. Everyone on the boat seemed to have a blast and it makes for a good selfie and story to bring back home if you decide to take a ride. As far as shopping, I went into the Love Pop store and bought a really cool card; these cards are expensive but are more like a piece of art, worth a google search if you aren’t near a store front! After this, we went to Terralina for a 4-6 happy hour that offered take out beer at a small, outdoor bar for $5 so happy hour number 2 was a success! They are an Italian restaurant that have more to offer than $5 beer, but we had already eaten and grabbed a cupcake at a CUPCAKE ATM. Yes you read that right; you freakin order a CUPCAKE from an ATM and out it pops out 3 seconds later, it’s legit magic.
Saturday evening was uneventful as we had a nice buzz going so we ended up ordering pizza from PAC pizza and grabbing a 12 pack. The pizza was way too cheesy for my liking and not enough sauce; it was good but just not my style.
Downtown Disney- in front of the lego store on the left and $7 margarita on the right from Paradiso 🙂
Short & sweet tip for beverages: While the margarita’s at the beginning of Downtown Disney are delicious, save yourself $9 and opt for the margaritas at Parardiso during Happy Hour or Terralina’s for $5 beers.
Sunday was the warmest day yet with a high of 78 degrees so we opted for a budget-friendly pool day. I had leftover beer from the night before so I filled up an ice bucket from my room and filled it up with my beer (pro tip right there!) This afternoon, we found out the flight home was cancelled due to a major snowstorm at home which was great news! In the evening, we went back to ICON park to a bar called Tin Roof. They had two sides to the bar/restaurant, one side was a piano bar (think Howl of the Moon) and the other side had a live band. There were outdoor and indoor bars but it was a warm night so we sat outside and were able to watch the show from outdoors. The drinks were good and strong and the bartenders were friendly; they were also able to make my go-to cocktail, a Mojito, so brownie points for that.
The next day we decided to go to Universal Studios-Islands of Adventure with the extra time in Florida which was a bit of a splurge. I was checking the wait times the day prior and some rides were up to 80 minutes on the weekend but today they were all within 30 minutes so I was hopeful. The park hours were short (10-6), so you’ll want to get an early start on the day if you are going in January. I was SO impressed with the way the park was run. Park staff were constantly cleaning hand rails, they helped to make sure everyone stayed 6 feet apart, pumped hand sanitizer into each guests hands right before boarding a ride, and also had sanitizer machines when you exited each ride. I’m pretty sure I had a coat of sanitizer on my hands that day that was 20 coats thick, but it was totally worth it. I didn’t wait more than 15 minutes for a ride and most of the time spent in line was actually walking to the ride. The lines are scenic with the movie theme throughout them; I was terrified in the Kong ride, I felt like a toddler but it was dark and scary music was playing loudly. For reference, I have to mute scary movie commercials so I may not be a great point of reference but I think any kid would be a little scared; or at least that is what I tell myself to make myself feel a little better. I got through all of the major rides that I wanted to go on within 3ish hours! Most of the wait times were less than they estimated; the park was THAT empty. It was a chillier day for Florida at a brisk 63 degrees as well as a weekday, sothat is something to consider when picking a day to attend if you want to avoid long wait times.
The next day we decided to go to Universal Studios-Islands of Adventure with the extra time in Florida which was a bit of a splurge. I was checking the wait times the day prior and some rides were up to 80 minutes on the weekend but today they were all within 30 minutes so I was hopeful. The park hours were short (10-6), so you’ll want to get an early start on the day if you are going in January. I was SO impressed with the way the park was run. Park staff were constantly cleaning hand rails, they helped to make sure everyone stayed 6 feet apart, pumped hand sanitizer into each guests hands right before boarding a ride, and also had sanitizer machines when you exited each ride. I’m pretty sure I had a coat of sanitizer on my hands that day that was 20 coats thick, but it was totally worth it. I didn’t wait more than 15 minutes for a ride and most of the time spent in line was actually walking to the ride. The lines are scenic with the movie theme throughout them; I was terrified in the Kong ride, I felt like a toddler but it was dark and scary music was playing loudly. For reference, I have to mute scary movie commercials so I may not be a great point of reference but I think any kid would be a little scared; or at least that is what I tell myself to make myself feel a little better. I got through all of the major rides that I wanted to go on within 3ish hours! Most of the wait times were less than they estimated; the park was THAT empty. It was a chillier day for Florida at a brisk 63 degrees as well as a weekday, so that is something to consider when picking a day to attend if you want to avoid long wait times.
For dinner that night, we went to Bar Louie for a happy hour that had a happy hour from 4-7 with food and drinks which is always a win. Needless to say, I went ham on martinis and beer, and was in bed by 8pm to watch the bachelor.
Hampton Inn lodging tip: Ask for a room on the opposite side of I-4. When I found out I was staying an additional two days I asked to change rooms because the noise from the highway was really getting to me. They upgraded me to a suite free of charge because it was the only room available with the same bed setup that I currently had; so nice of them! This hotel was really nice and accommodating. The water fountains were shut down and they gave me water bottles on two occasions which as a Hilton rewards member, is only supposed to be given at check in. They also had a hot breakfast which they served due to covid; this was great because other Hilton’s I have stayed at during the pandemic only offered pastries and yogurt. They were also really great about cleaning and wiping down the eating area during the morning.
My final day in Orlando was another budget friendly day. We went to Eola park which was about a 20 minute drive from the hotel near Universal. It was in the city of Orlando and there was a gorgeous large lake with huge, beautiful swans, various birds, and a walkway around the whole lake with photo opt areas everywhere. There were also restaurants and bars surrounding the lake, they were closed while I was there but it was a weekday and also a chillier day for Flordians so I am guessing that is why.
I wanted to warm up a bit after walking around the lake so we found a cute, small, hipster coffee shop named Deeply and I got a flat white; it was delicious and they made a pretty design in it; I’ve always wanted a coffee like that and it didn’t disappoint.
Next up we opted for another budget-friendly activity and headed to Disney to ride the monorail and take a couple boat rides; one from the transportation center to Magic Kingdom and another one from Magic Kingdom to Fort Wilderness. I used to come to Disney as a kid every couple months for my parents’ business trips and we would always camp at Fort Wilderness so I took a trip down memory hill. It was a fun, free way to spend the afternoon. The boats were at limited capacity due to covid and it was nice to have more space for myself. That night we went to Bar Louie again for a $5 burger night and another few cheap drinks. Afterwards, we went back to Tin Roof for their $4 Tuesday night white claw special and to check out their free comedy show. Typically you need a reservation but since it was a chilly night, the bartender said we could come in without one as the cold would probably deter people from coming out. The comedians were actually pretty funny and we had a great time!
That concluded my 3 day turned 5 day stay, (thanks snowstorm Orlena) in Orlando, Florida. The next morning we caught an uber back to Orlando international for about $30 and made it through security in about 15-20 minutes, still not bad for getting through security during a pandemic. For reference, it was a Wednesday afternoon so definitely not prime travel time.
All in all I was pleased with my last minute (mostly budget-friendly) trip to Orlando. I did splurge on the $16 margarita and a day at Universal, but that was only because my trip was extended. If you need a quick winter getaway from the cold, I would definitely suggest Orlando at the end of January. It may not be 80 degrees everyday but but a few days in the 70’s beats 30 degrees and snowy any day in my book!