Universal Studios & Islands of Adventure

We had an early start and were still late getting into Universal Studios. We had early access into The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley which was a huge bonus.  We probably would have not gotten through 90% of the two parks if we hadn’t had that.  Note for next time: 2 day passes! (Hard call as we really needed the pool day!)

After entering the park, we quickly consulted our game plan and ticked off Despicable Me Minion Mayhem within 5 minutes.  Then bee-lined for Diagon Alley; we were blown away by the detail!  The main ride in Diagon Alley is Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts and has long wait times any later so we ticked that off then checked out the wands at Ollivanders.

Inside Gringotts Wizarding Bank

We decided to stop at Starbucks for breakfast and to rest our already weary feet.  While MissE and MrE ate their breakfast, MrH and I took turns on Hollywood Rip Ride Rocket (a roller coaster where you select your own soundtrack – Sabotage, Beastie Boys) and on Revenge of the Mummy (one of our favourites from the last time we were here).  When we finished breakfast, we rode Transformers: The Ride 3-D and Men In Black Alien Attack.  MrE gave both of these rides big thumbs up!   

We were able to completely bypass Woody Woodpecker’s Kidzone with the exception of E.T. Adventure which is mandatory.  We finished our time in Universal Studios in Springfield, USA. 

Chief Wiggum, sharing is caring!

We met Krusty and Sideshow Bob

We took the Hogwarts Express to Hogsmeade (Islands of Adventure).  This was a fun experience, we went through the wall to Platform 9 ¾ and it’s also a ride!  We made sure to take it both ways as we heard it was different each way.

Hogsmeade

It was now lunch time so we stopped at Three Broomsticks.  There was queue just to order but I saw the method in the madness as we were guaranteed a precious seat.  It was surprisingly really good!  This was also our opportunity to try both Frozen Butterbeer and Pumpkin juice.  The pumpkin juice was a bit weird.

MrH and I took the opportunity to switch off riding Dragon Challenge where you can select .  After lunch, while MrE and MrH watched the Mandrakes (his favourite) in the store window in Hogsmeade, MissE and I rode Flight of the Hippogriff.  This was MissE’s favourite; she insisted on riding again with MrH later in the day.  Our final ride in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was my favourite, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.  The queue takes you through Hogwarts.  It was the first time I was complaining about a line being too short as we were rushed through the castle.

Welcome to Jurassic Park!

MrE was so excited for this portion of the park.  He raced through, checking out all the dinosaurs.  It did slightly confuse him though.  The park staff walks around with dinosaur “puppets” that they treat as real.  He had the opportunity to pat a baby Stegosaurus and was full of questions after... and especially after we met Lulu, a 7 month old Velociraptor.  This was one of the experiences I was most looking forward to here.  It was fun and definitely worth the wait!

It was time to ride Jurassic Park River Adventure!  He was brave and happily boarded the ride.  He didn’t fare so well at the end. SPOILER ALERT* He had his head forward and the surprise drop caused him to bang his head on the back of the seat.  This was not going to be his first time doing that either.  We had to remind him to keep his head back on each ride!

Finally to beat the heat (and resigning that we were not going to get onto Skull Island Reign of Kong, it only just opened) we rode Popeye & Bluto’s Blige-Rat Barges and got absolutely soaked!

We only had an hour before Universal Studios closed for Halloween Nights, so MrE and I took the Hogwarts Express to Diagon Alley to select our interactive wand and do some magic in Knockturn Alley.

Once the park closed, we went back into Islands of Adventure to finish the day on The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man.  The crowds were pouring in as the other park closed so we decided to call it a day.

* Did you notice our outfits today?  I do love matching tee's!  Ours were not obvious but we each had a different "house"!  MrH was Slytherin, I was Ravenclaw, MissE was Gryffindor, and MrE was Hufflepuff.  We got lots of comments on our tees!

Disney World or Bust!

These gates feel like "home"

We picked up our luggage from the hotel, called an Uber (conveniently she was dropping off someone else) and we were off!  Universal and Disney World are approximately 20 minutes away from each other, and during that time both exhausted children fell asleep!  MrE was so exhausted we had to carry him out of the car and he slept on the bench as we unloaded our bags.  We already had a text message of our room number and our Magic Bands were also the key.  We hit a small snafu here with a long wait for a porter.  We ended up making our own way to our room which ended up being quite close to the lobby!

Port Orleans Riverside Resort

Parterre Place

Finally in our room we freshened up and took in all the little details of the room, The Princess Suite.

Magic Bands are so awesome!
Room key, park entry, Fastpass, and credit card in the park

For dinner, we took the Sassagoula River Cruise (shuttle boat) to Disney Springs.  As it was a Saturday night, it was crazy!  Wait times were 2 hours at 9PM!  We ended up at Earl of Sandwich Deli & Café for a quick bite then headed back to catch our zzz’s… another BIG day was planned for the next day at Magic Kingdom.

Temperature: 33c/ 91F, 97% humidity

Heat index: 36.5c/ 98F

Step count: 31,375 (24.4km)