Merry Grinchmas!

How do you follow up a holiday packed night of fun at Disney World?

Hop right next door and see what Universal has to offer!

The holidays are my favorite time to head to the theme parks! Each theme park has its own special way of making it feel like Christmas. The Magic Kingdom has the Christmas Party, Epcot has the candle light procession, Hollywood Studios has the Osborne Family Lights, Universal has Grinchmas, etc. etc. etc.

And not only do i love how each park goes all out every year spreading the cheer of the season, I also enjoy the fact you can make it through the day at the park with out feeling like you are melting in the process. 🙂 Love it!

Derek and I arrived at Citywalk right around lunch time and could hear Bubba Gump calling our names.

Bubba Gump has a special place in our hearts. After dating in college, losing touch after graduation and reconnecting at a FSU football game last fall (found here) Bubba Gump was where we had our first ‘date’ last January (found here) that renewed our relationship. There’s more to the story, but I will just leave it at that. 😉

Just as we did last January, Derek and I decided to split two dishes between the two of us.

We started with the Pear and Strawberry Salad with the dressing on the side.

Then instead of ordering my usual Bucket of Trash – which is all fried – we decided to go a little ‘healthier’ and order the steamed version of the shellfish medeley.

Of course the fact that it was all covered in butter totally dismissed any claims that it was ‘healthier’ then the fired version. Oh well. Live and learn. 🙂

The discarded shells from my half.

Some coleslaw.

Instead of the rice that came with the meal, we asked for fries on the side.

I had about 1/4 of the fries and Derek killed the basket. 😉

After lunch it was Grinchmas Time!

Islands of Adventure went all out decorating Seuss Landing in the Who-ville Christmas spirit.

I was really looking forward to the live musical version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

Featuring Florida snow aka bubble foam. 😉

Unfortunately after I switched lenses this weird line started appearing in all my photos.

After a mini panic attack that included some compulsive cleaning and lens switching, I discovered a piece of hair that had somehow got stuck in the shutter. I was freaking out and missed half the show as I tried to correct the problem. Luckily once the hair was gone everything was back to normal. The was a close one!

The best part of the day had to be meeting the green one in person after the show.

“He’s a mean one, Mr. Grinch”

We met my parents and sister right next door in Universal Studios to watch the Macy’s Holiday Parade.

Parade food was a given. 😉

Pretzel split 4 ways.

Popcorn

I had 3 or 4 handfuls.

Parade time!

I hate to say it, but if I had to compare parades I would say Disney’s wins hands down. Sorry Universal! I just don’t think you can top holiday Disney characters. 🙂

When the parade came to an end we headed to the Elephant Bar for dinner.

I ordered the Tomato Basil Bisque.

And split the Cobb Salad with my sister.

This was actually my half portion already preportioned on my own plate. If you can’t tell from the picture, my half portion was huge! I could only eat half of my half. 🙂

We said our good byes and Derek and I headed back to my place.

As I’ve been typing I have been nibbling on a Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Pretzel Cookie topped with some Egg Nog Ice Cream.

Yum!

Tomorrow Derek and I are both competing in the Dash of the Elves. He will be running the 5k while I am completing the 10k. I really want to set a new 10k PR. This is a small, quiet race that should be a good time!

I’ll let you know how it goes!

Good Night!