Never have I ever had a getaway during Spring Break. Usually, I just use this time to sleep-in and to hangout with friends at local places. Last week all of that changed as I embarked on a five-day journey with my boyfriend and friends. Being a California native, I’ve been to Disneyland, but never visited Disney World or Universal Studios. Since Florida is such a warm and tropical destination, we figured that it’d be the perfect place to spend break. Amusement parks and beaches were the perfect combination, and here’s a recap of our day-to-day itinerary.
Day One | The Poolside / International Drive
After waking up at 2:30am for an early flight, the first thing we wanted to do upon arrival was relax. Sipping on cheap wine and beer and napping by the pool were great cures for our jet lag. From the pool we could see a large pond full of ducks and small clusters of palm trees. We didn’t want to end the first day without doing anything eventful, so afterwards, we drove down to International Drive to see the Orlando Eye.
Day Two | Disney World / Disney Springs
For day two I got to experience The Happiest Place on Earth with my favorite person. Although I didn’t beat my goal of going on ten rides, I got to go on the best ones. Standing in that two-hour line for Space Mountain was definitely worth it. After seven rides later my boyfriend and I met up with our friends for dinner at Disney Springs, which is a touristy shopping center.
Day Three | Universal Studios
After a day of cute, family friendly rides at Disney World I was more than ready for the roller coasters at Universal Studios. Sadly, The Incredible Hulk, which happens to be the best one, was closed. As disappointing as that was, we still had a blast experiencing Hogsmeade and Seuss Landing. After going on a bunch of rides we ended our day exploring CityWalk and getting dinner at a Mexican restaurant, called Antojitos.
Day Four | Cocoa Beach
On our last day we drove an hour outside of Orlando to visit Cocoa Beach. After long waits in line, the first few days, it was nice ending the trip with napping and cruising along the beach. At 77 degrees, this was the hottest day during our stay, so it was perfect for a beach day. Before going to the tourist-filled boardwalk, we spent the morning on the secluded end of the strip. Aside from us, there were only three other groups of people there. It was as if we had the entire beach to ourselves, since all we could hear were seagulls and waves.
After our naptime on the beach, we drove down to the Cocoa Beach Pier, which was the complete opposite of our previous hideaway. Large crowds, loud music and pop-up shops surrounded the beach. Since it was a beach day, we obviously had to have seafood, so we had lunch at The Boardwalk Bar. After our big lunch we had to walk off our food babies, so we walked to the end of the boardwalk for a nice view.
Traveling to a new destination has taken my mind off of stress. It gave me time to catch up on the things I’ve been missing, like nutritional meals and sleep. I’ve come back from Spring Break more relaxed than ever, and am so ready to tackle my last quarter of college.
Photography | Dana Nguyen
xx
Dana