When you think of Orlando as a vacation destination for your family, What automatically pops in your head? Ah, The infamous Mouse! Am I right? Now, from experience some times a trip to the kingdom of enchantment isn't as "magical" as we dreamed it would be. It starts out with a clear, organized plan of attack, lots of smiles, a packed cooler and your "comfy" shoes and somewhere along the way you look at your family, nearing the brink of a meltdown, covered in sweat, holding a deteriorating map and suddenly the only dream you can wish for is a pocket full of fairy dust to get you out of this madness with the quickness! This time we made up our minds, things were going to be different, this time we were going to spend less time waiting in lines and more time making memories. Dare I say, We decided to enjoy a Orlando getaway; without the Mouse!
We stayed at a wonderful, family friendly Avanti International Resort. I'll tell you what! Want to make your weekend really easy? Stay here! You literally don't have to leave! Huge pool with a zero entry kiddie play area, both sand and pool deck sunbathing , sand volleyball court, friendly staff and this place is steps from Icon Orlando 360 a cluster of popular dining options and attractions centered around an enormous Farris Wheel that gives you the most epic view of Orlando. A short walk either way will have you experiencing everything from Bowling, Indoor skydiving, some pretty extreme Swings and even Dinner shows! You'll be snapping pics left and right. Avanti International boasts 652 spacious, fresh guest rooms that are casual, comfortable and most importantly clean! A picture is worth a thousand words, right? So, here is a Gallery full of them! Oh! and ready for this? I don't think you're ready! No need to tug that Pac-N-Play around for the youngest members of the fam, this resort has mini cribs available! I think all of us would pay a small fee to not have to build that Pac-N-Play after a few hours in the car. Knowing that your Baby is safe, comfortable and getting a good nights sleep (less chances of a melt down the next day) will help you get a good nights sleep too (less chances of a melt down the next day).
Check in was a breeze, The front desk agents are trained, knowledgeable, kind and quick. its like a well oiled machine, there was a long line of guests checking in upon our arrival and I anticipated practicing my patience for a while but to my surprise in the time it took for me to scroll through my Facebook time line and check my email inbox it was my turn! Avanti International is located right off of International Dr. location, location, location. there is so much to do, see and eat within walking distance! Having the car there is great but who wants to spend their entire weekend locked in the car? They have a fitness center, game room for the kids (and your biggest kid, your husband) and everything is right next to each other, no trucking all the way across the property to get from one thing to another, which I thought was nice. Keeping an eye on everyone and staying in the same area while enjoying different things is a perk. Our big boy could enjoy some arcade time with dad while the baby and I hung out in the pool and I could see them, literally I could look through the arcade doors and we could see each other, every mothers dream, being in two places at once! More importantly Avanti has TWO yes TWO Starbucks locations. One is in in the lobby where they have a super sweet Concierge team that can help you with everything from tickets to your favorite attractions to dinner reservations and more. They also have a Starbucks in the resorts Café where they prepare fresh made to order Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner in their inviting open air kitchen. Need a sweet tooth after dinner or need a late night snack? The café is almost like a convenience store, offering pre packaged treats, snacks and a wall full of drink coolers. Speaking of coolers enjoying an adult beverage at the pool bar at Avanti is a pleasure with huge TV's perfect for keeping up with your favorite sports team and friendly bartenders!
After Breakfast we headed over to Top Golf Orlando. If you've never been, Think about your favorite Sports Bar with like 200 TV's and a top of the line driving range , having a love child, THAT would be Top Golf. Boasting 100+ climate controlled hitting bays, convenient hours of operation private meeting rooms, a kids zone, memberships and so much more its literally the perfect date idea, or fun family activity for your bigger kids for day or night, and a perfect place for any kind of party. its definitely a very family friendly place during the day they even have kid sized clubs and offer summer camps! At night it turns into more of an adult hangout with late night happy hours and live music. They have a full restaurant and bars on the main floor as well as on the upper levels, wanna take a break from perfecting your swing? Head over to the roof top terrace where they have a fire pit and a stage for the DJ's and live music. The food was amazing, drinks were ice cold and staff were all so upbeat and funny! The seating area is like on outdoor couch so the baby was comfortable and could enjoy watching us pretend to know what we were doing. An interactive screen kind of like something you would see when you go bowling. It keeps track of score, who's turn it is and also somehow knows exactly where your ball landed on the green (still trying to figure that one out). There are so many fun games to play and no lugging of ball buckets, you swipe your club across a sensor and out pops a ball. Jerry and I are both competitive people so we always have a blast, its not your typical driving range. We spent two hours playing, laughing and enjoying each-other. I would of had no problem being there a little longer.
Some little pool time, Lunch, Naps and a long shower later we headed out to cheer on the L.A Lakers as they played the Orlando Magic at the Amway Center. My advice arrive early. This arena is huge and they always have some fun sporting event or show to check out so make sure when you're in town you check their website. This was my sons first NBA game and it was Epic. He didn't stop smiling the entire time (except when he got shy and declined a picture with the cheerleaders) these people go all out with photo opps and interactive stations on every level of the arena. Even though the Lakers lost it was a time we will never forget and something completely out of the norm that we were do while in town. There is so much more to Orlando than the Mouse and this trip was one for the record books for my family. Next time your gang is itching to explore Orlando for the weekend think outside the ears, try something new, there is so much to choose from and you wont regret it! from one mom to another take my advice and stay at Avanti International Resort. Hands down best location, like ever, clean rooms with spacious showers, flat screen tv's, microwaves, mini fridges and they're budget friendly check out their special offers here! When we got home from this vacation I didn't feel like I needed a vacation from my vacation lol you know the feeling. Whatever you do get out there and make some memories. Till next time. Peace, Love & Macaroni!
