We recently took a trip to Orlando, Florida for a week for my daughter’s National Competition with her dance team. Which, was so fun. Competition takes a lot of preparation but, at the same time it’s fun and rewarding. Dance moms out there…you know what I mean lol. I decided to take the family (My two children, mom, sister, niece, nephews and myself) to make it a little vacation and, get everyone out of the house.
Where we stayed
The place that we stayed at was beautiful. It’s called Sunset Harbour and we booked with Floridaspirit.com. We stayed in a 3 bedroom, 2 full bathroom townhouse style resort and, it was decorated beautifully!
It included 6 beds so we had enough room for everyone to sleep. Full Kitchen, furnished sunroom, TV’s in every room, living room, a loft sitting area, and hot tub in the sunroom. The hot tub we were not able to use because, the facility doesn’t turn the hot water on (for the hot tub) in the summer unless you request and pay for it ahead. However, we did not figure that out until a couple days into the trip so we missed that experience, sadly.
The resort also included a small water park, ice cream store, pool and fitness center that we didn’t get a chance to enjoy. Hours were reduced for Amentities and it conflicted with the competition schedule. We did enjoy the home, it was very comfortable and relaxing and, that matters most right? Enjoying the included amenities would have also been nice but, maybe next time.
VIP National Competition
We arrived In Florida on Sunday and Competition started Monday. On Monday the dance team did conventions and that lasted a few hours. Tuesday-Thursday they did their group and solo competitions. My daughter had 4 routines: 1 Solo and 3 group routines therefore, their were a lot of costume changes involved.
You could only imagine all of the things we had to pack, lol. Incase you are not familiar with competition, we had to pack all costumes, accessories for each costume, make up, all of the different dance shoes, dance clothes for conventions and regular clothes to wear when not competing. Also, snacks because usually you’re there all day because with competition their are many different dance studios there and awards usually happen at the end of the routines. Let me tell you these girls did so AWESOME!!! All of the hard work pays off. Competition is a lot of fun especially for the Dancers!!!
On Friday, They had a red carpet event for the dancers and they were in the championship dance off, which they placed!!! Competition is a lot of work preparing and getting ready and staying on schedule but, it is well worth it! All of their routines placed and we are all proud dance mommies!!!
Activites we experienced in Florida
In Florida, we had to find activities outside of the resort because the amenities there had very strict schedules and it was hard to get to them with our schedule. Monday we visited Planet Hollywood in Disney Springs for lunch which, was a great experience and, the food was so good. We loved the atmosphere and the vibe we got in there. We also took the kids to Andretti Indoor Karting and games which was located in Orlando also. Well, my mom and sister actually took them while I got a little rest lol. Mama was tired! They had a great time and you can use their website andrettikarting.com to look at prices and buy tickets before you go which, saves some time.
Food we ate
As for food during our stay, we went grocery shopping so that we could cook meals inside most of the days. We would grab something for lunch though because we were at competition during that time. A couple of days we did eat dinner out. One of those days my family ate dinner at Andretti while they were there, We had Chinese another night but other than that we were cooking at the home. Oh yes and the lunch we had Planet Hollywood on Monday which was delish!
The End of our Florida the Trip
In Conclusion, Saturday came and our trip and VIP Competition week had come to an end. By this time we were all ready to get back home. We had a good time but were kind of upset that we did not get to go swimming or use the hot tub. My daughter enjoyed it the most because she loves dance and was very excited about her competition festivities, as for my son he was just like we could do this same thing at home so I’m ready to go lol, although he did enjoy his experience at Andretti and getting to go to Florida. I know he and my niece and nephews were all looking forward to going swimming while we were there. We’ll try again next time.
![Disney Souvenirs](https://i0.wp.com/andreachanise.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/IMG_3616.jpg?ssl=1)
This was our second time in Florida and it is so beautiful. I would love to go back there on Vacation when we don’t have any other engagements and visit some of the other fun things like Universal Studios, the Sugar Factory, Walt Disney world and a beach! Maybe do a little shopping also for a little selfcare! You know we could not leave without souvenirs so, before we got on the road to leave we did stop at a souvenir shop and purchased some Disney T-shirts, water bottles etc. for memories. Overall VIP National Competition week was GREAT and our stay at Sunset Harbour was relaxing although, I didn’t have much relaxing time LOL. It was great to get away from home for a bit and I’m so proud of our Dance team.
Let me know if you have been to Florida and some places that you’ve visited? Also, some other summer vacation spots. I hope you enjoyed, let me know your thoughts and ideas.
Xoxo,
Andrea