Holiday Fun With the Family At Universal Orlando

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, smells of cinnamon apple fill the air, tinsel and beautiful Christmas reefs cover each door, cookies are being made, trees are being decorated and most importantly, friends and family are coming and spending time together. My aunt came down to visit from New York for the holidays. She helped us bake cookies, and decorate the tree, for all she did during her stay with us I decided to take her to the 2014 Holiday Celebration at Universal Orlando Resort. She had never been, and this was the perfect time to go of course because of the holiday season. 

 

 

Every year at Universal Orlando Resort beginning December 6 all the way through January 3 friends and families can come together and watch the Macy’s Holiday Parade that fill the streets of Universal. People of all ages can watch and enjoy the larger-than-life balloon floats, and listen to holiday classics performed by Christmas sensation Mannheim Steamroller. 

 

 

I enjoy going to Universal with my family, it’s a great way to create memories that we can reminisce about for years, and every thing is just so amazing. It was our first time going during the Christmas season, and the park was beautifully decorated, red bows and reefs were every where, bright lights and bulbs.

 

 

Not only were stores decorated but characters like Homer and Bart Simpson and Shrek were dressed for the season as well! My family and I were so excited to see the parade, the balloons are the same ones seen in the famous New York City Macy’s Parade.

 

 

 

 

 

 

To see the parade we went to the New York area, I went to one of my favorite places; Starbucks, grabbed some hot coffee and watched the parade floats and dancers, and listened to holiday music. They had balloons of Cat in the Hat, the Coca Cola Polar Bear, Elves and more.

 

 

 

 

When I say these balloons were larger-than-life I mean it! They are huge, bigger than some of the buildings! Spongebob, Shrek,  the Simpsons and even the Minions had their own decorated floats. There were performers dressed up as candy canes on stilts, others dressed in holiday costumes like Christmas trees, or like Santa Claus they were dancing along with the music.

 

 

 

 

There was even a drum line too! Everything was just so cool and I’m happy I could capture these moments. My youngest son enjoyed it so much. Along with the big balloons and holiday characters, there was a tree-lighting ceremony with guess who? Santa Claus! The tree was so big and bright, I love the Christmas season and seeing all this made me want it to be Christmas day already!

 

 

 

 

Then we headed over to the Music Plaza stage because following the parade was gonna be a performance from the musical group Mannheim Steamroller, giving a twist to old holiday classics. This performance will be on select dates; December 6,7,13,14,20 and the 21.

 

 

Next we went to the San Francisco area to my son’s favorite place; The Candy Shop, we all grabbed a sweet treat. Next to The Candy Shop is a Jaws photo op, my husband and son took a picture next to it, my son being put up to the shark as if he were in his mouth. As a family we always like taking a picture next to it, its very fun, and something cool we can show our friends.

 

 

Then we made our way through the park to Islands of Adventure. There, you can come face-to-face with the Grinch of Grinchmas! Catch him in Suess Landing where a heartwarming live show called, “Grinchmas Who-liday Spectacular,” featuring the green Grinch himself and the Whos from Who-ville! Sadly for us so much was going on we couldn’t make it to to Suess Landing in time for the live show being performed. The performance is on select dates so you can plan ahead to catch it. 

 

However, besides the amazing holidays performances we did ride a few rides of course. We all rode Disaster which is a major motion picture ride, it is so nerv-wracking in a fun way. Disaster! is one we’ve rode before and it’s so enjoyable we had to again.While waiting in line, the ride and everything that is about to happen behind a set of doors is explained by a hologram of the wonderful Frank Kincaid. 

 

I can’t wait to go again and catch some holiday things that I didn’t see this time around. I highly recommend Universal Orlando Resort for a family fun vacation, especially during the holidays. 

Be sure to connect with Universal Orlando you can find the holiday event page here. 

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Twitter: @UniversalORL
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