When the reality sets in that you are about to hit a new decade, there are many emotions that you experience. I was certain that celebrating my big 4-0 was going to be on my terms. I wanted to play and feel like a child. I mentioned that I wanted to go to Universal Studios to experience the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and the hubs surprised me with a week’s vacation in Orlando. Not only did we get to celebrate my birthday but we also got to celebrate our 2nd anniversary!

I hadn’t been to Disney since my Up With People days but as a child, we went often. My grandfather lived outside of Orlando and I remember visiting him. I also remember my sister yanking my tooth out on the van ride to Disney World. Memories are funny. I remember the cinnamon rolls we ate before going to the park, I remember getting my tooth pulled out, I remember even what the tooth fairy brought me but I can’t remember the feeling I had first walking into the park. If was anything like it was during this trip, then my childhood was even better than I remember it.

I should be clear that I’m not a Disney fanatic but I do enjoy the characters immensely. However, our friend L is a total Disney freak. She and her husband also came along on this trip as we need a reliable tour guide. Since L goes to Disney more than once in a year and is a really cool person, we were thrilled they wanted to vacation with us! We aren’t easy to vacation with either for the record. I have energy through the wazoo and the hubs likes his leisure time. He needs to find the best tequila and I need my evening cocktail. When I’m tired, I need to nap. We are set in our ways and we know it. Luckily L and D are very go with the flow and they tolerated us beautifully.

This was the trip of a lifetime. The hubs did good. Although, I have nothing insightful or truly meaningful to say in this post. I think that is because it was an experience beyond words. Therefore, I wanted to share some photos of the vacation. It’s easy to see how much I enjoyed the trip. Some of the highlights were:

1. Meeting Mary Poppins!
2. Drinking around the world at Epcot. Take a look below.
3. Seeing the hubs on his first roller coaster.
4. Be Our Guest dinner with The Beast.
5. And of course getting my wand at Olivander

One mission… To drink around the world in one day. Challenge excepted. Mission accomplished. It wasn’t pretty but sometimes you have to take one for the team. #epcot #disney #drinks #champions

A video posted by Jodie Riccelli (@exponentent) on Nov 17, 2016 at 6:40pm PST

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