The Simpsons & Springfield In Real Life #FamilyForward

I have seen some cool things in my life but The Simpsons very own Springfield USA at Universal Studios Florida takes the cake.  It is a work of art.  The thing I love about The Simpsons is that they aren't a perfect family but they love each other.  The Simpsons (the whole lot of them) are thee epitome of an American family, much like my own.  It takes an involved community to grow and progress. I started a few blog posts (still in perpetual draft status) about the state of some bloggers showing their lives as too perfect, too sanitized...  I am not one of those bloggers.  What you see is what you get with my family - we don't strive for perfection and in that, it makes us perfect?  No wonder I felt so at home in Springfield.      

  
Krusty Burger $9.99

The Ribwich $11.99

Clogger Burger $12.99

Chicken & Waffle Sandwich $10.99 (With Maple Syrup Mayo - not too sweet)


I intentionally didn't put up all my pictures from Springfield because you have to see it for yourself!!! I also used the Yearbook filter from PicMonkey to give it a different feel.  

You have questions, I have answers:
Fast Food Blvd. is where you can find Cletus' Chicken Shack, Moe's Tavern, Krusty Burger, Frying Dutchman and Luigi's Pizza.  Not on the show but a necessity for those healthier eaters is Lisa's Teahouse of Horror.  The setup is food court style - you get in one line and order from the restaurant you want, get in another line to pay and are greeted by staff to seat you.  It looks overwhelming but it was a breeze.

You can enter the "food court" via Moe's Tavern or Krusty Burger.

The inside of Moe's Tavern looks incredible.  There is a real bar setup where you can order a Flaming Moe. There is also a pool table and Love Tester game.  Looks like the real deal!

There are two rides in Springfield - the newest being Kang and Kodos Twirl 'n' Hurl.  The other ride is The Simpsons Ride.

Krustyland is the midway section of Springfield, you can play your heart out at carnival style games.

The area between The Simpsons Ride and Kwik-E-Mart is where you can meet The Simpsons.

Bumblebee Man's Tacos, Lard Lad Donuts and Duff Gardens are all standalone food offerings.  Duff Gardens has Squishees, Duff Beer (specially brewed for Universal Studios Florida).  Lard Lad Donuts has Homer's favorite pink donuts - they are ginormous and only $4.99

Kwik-E-Mart has everything from t-shirts, comic books, skateboards... definitely worth a visit.

Springfield is truly one of a kind, I felt like an excited little kid.  Our family absolutely loved visiting!  I'm not spoiling everything because you really should experience it for yourself :)   

Disclosure:  This is not a compensated or sponsored post.  We purchased a heavily discounted family pass to Family Forward.  All thoughts are my own.

We're Going To Orlando For #FamilyForward

Two more sleeps and we'll be heading to Orlando, FL for Family Forward.  Yep, all 6 of us.  It will be our first real family vacation.  We've gone on trips before but mainly to visit family and I don't think our staycations really count.  I can't express via text how excited we are.  Just take my word for it.  The trip itself was a hard sell to my husband because we were initially planning on going on a road trip to Austin, TX to meet up with our families but I convinced him that our family needed to do this.

We had a general idea of the schedule and sponsors so it was a big leap of faith for us to secure our family pass and book our flights.  And earlier this week, the schedule, speakers and sponsors were finally announced and I am blown away at what's in store!  But like I said, I had faith.  The ugly truth (& somewhat of a downside) to blogging is that sometimes events aren't family friendly.  There are some things that should be experienced together as a family.  Most press trips are out of the question for the whole family so for a unique social media influencer conference to be totally geared towards families is dreamy!

All the family knows is that we're going to the Universal Orlando Resort but they don't know what's in store - my husband is going to flip out when he finds out he can get a Duff Beer from The Simpsons' own Springfield.  The teens are going to love The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and I know the littles are just going to love every single thing.  To kick off some of what's in store, here's some pictures!

We're huge Despicable Me fans - can't wait to hug some minions!
Image Courtesy: Universal Orlando

Hogwarts Castle!
Image Courtesy: Universal Orlando

I'm really excited for Seuss Landing!
Image Courtesy: Universal Orlando

Thank you Mom It Forward for being forward thinkers and putting this together with Universal Orlando Resort, Loews Royal Pacific Resort, Southwest Airlines, Cricut, Duck Tape and National Geographic Kids!  We can't wait to create meaningful moments with all of you!  You can follow all the fun on my Twitter and Instagram or by checking out the hash tag #FamilyForward on all your favorite social networks!

Additional thanks to: McDonald's, Kia and The Parking Spot.