Meghan Strickland

After all these years, we finally made a trek to Universal Orlando during the holiday season. Stunning, detailed, festive, HUGE - those are the words rolling around in my brain. 

Now that we were finally back in Ottawa, we had so many more flight options. And we chose Ogdensburg, NY, a quick 40 minute jaunt down the 416. A far cry from the 2 1/2 hours to Edmonton, or the 5 hours to Calgary!

This is far and away my favourite airport for Universal/Disney. You fly into Sanford, which is only about a 30-40 minute drive to the parks (depends on your Uber! LOL), Universal has a shuttle service for $10-15pp, and the lines are incredibly short!

Now, for the actual "being there":

#1 - it is absolutely gorgeous! The trees, the lights, the characters, the FOOD! 

#2 - The weather was practically perfect in every way (pardon my Disney reference!) Weather was approximately +15-20 for the week. Not swimming weather, except for the most hardened Canucks, but definitely a nice break from the -10 in Ottawa that week. And we all agreed that it was a nice change from the +35 - +40 we usually encounter in the summer - that "break a sweat while tying your shoes" weather.... 

#3 - the crowds were GREAT! Timing is everything! Going before Christmas gave us the opportunity to experience all the parks had to offer during the holidays *without* the holiday crowds. With bellies filled from the complimentary club level breakfast, and armed with our Universal Express Unlimited Passes from Portofino Bay, we didn't wait more that 10-15 minutes for any ride. We just had to decide which one we wanted first!

Please note the popcorn bucket and Freestyle cup on my purse. Best ideas ever! $8.99 for your popcorn bucket and first fill-up, and $1.99 for refills --- FOREVER! The freestyle cups are $15.99 for 1, down to $12.99 for 4+. First day includes your refills all day, subsequent days are $8.99 -- FOREVER!

** PSST - check out your local Value Village. Lots of people bring them home, to realize they won't return, and $1.99 at VV got me a limited edition Halloween Horror Nights cup, plus another day, I scored a Cirque du Soleil Disney popcorn bucket! Plus you can ask for a replacement Freestyle straw at any kisok, or don't use one at all - they have a flip top lid as well!

#4 - Since this was our 5th trip, we focused more on the food and experiences over the rides. My goodness, the food! We challenged each other a few times, we hit a few of our favourites, and we wandered into some new venues and found some food that really filled our souls. The hummus and pita at Confisco Grill is to DIE for - AND you can get it gluten free with corn chips instead! the margaritas at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville are (of course) spot-on, and the Hot Dog Hall of Fame quickly became our new go-to after 4 years of overlooking "that place behind the Universal Store". 

#5 - All in all, I'm still a summertime girl (I soak up the sun like a salamander!), but my boys loved the spring-ish weather in December, and I'm sure we'll venture back again to see the spectacular Walt Disney World in full swing for the holidays, and the Epcot Food and Wine Festival ... and Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party ... plus Halloween Horror Nights at Universal -- uh oh, thank goodness we have our Annual Passes! ;-)