A day at the park….more like six hours on our first port stop to Port Canaveral

Today is our first port day and we are in Port Canaveral. This is about one hour from Orlando and the theme parks we all know and love. We purchased one excursion the entire time and it was for today. Roundtrip transportation directly to Universal Studios.

This happened to be another surprise for the kiddos. Their Aunt works for Universal so we got to see her briefly while there. However, their Uncle and cousin surprised them and spent the day…neigh six hours riding rides and catching up.

Thankful for NOT going to Disney
The day started as we arrived into port half hour late and that set us back. I had originally looked into tickets to Disney for the day. That would have run our family of four $509 and I would have been ticked off with the limited amount of time. This tour was booked through Royal but run through Sunward Tours and they were fantastic.

Our meeting time stated 9:45am in the theatre. Actual time left: 10:45am. Be prepared to sit and wait if you have a tour first thing and are docked late. There were 51 who purchased this particular excursion. They gave bracelets, like the ones to show you are over 21 at a festival, for us to wear to easily spot as we left the park.

Our passes included Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios. There were quite a few rides the little little couldn’t do. Before leaving I printed the park maps and highlighted what I knew we could do. I definitely plan ahead and encourage you to do the same!

Seuss land is a favorite. There were at least five rides all in one location which helped with our time constraints. Not to mention the holiday decorations are up and that just made me so happy! There is something so exciting about holiday decorations at a theme park!

Barely made it in time
We barely made it back to the ship in time for dinner! Kid you not. We knew we’d miss our seated dinner time so planned to go to the buffet. We returned shortly after 8:00pm and by the time we got upstairs it was 8:15pm. Buffet closed in 15 minutes.

We ate and hit the sack. The kiddos were so tired from the day and we were too! I will say the weather has been amazing it was the perfect day to be at a park. My brother in law said “you’re welcome” and to that, I say thanks!

Smooth Sailing