Wands ready, we hit the parks. This time we started at Islands of Adventure to see Hogsmeade in the daylight. It was hotter and more crowded, I def prefer Diagon Alley. But there were three rides here, so they balance out.
Oh, by the way I purchased the Universal Photo Pass. Overall not great (compared to Disney): only one photographer at the front of each park and although ride photos are included, several times they weren’t working. Also, again, Sam pouted through all the group shots. Oh well. Here’s the set from arriving at IOA:
Time for RIDES! I convinced a very nervous Jack to start on Flight of the Hippogriff. It’s a “kiddie coaster” but packs a punch. The line is decorated with Hagrid’s Hut and there’s an animatronic Buckbeak at the start of the ride. They loved it and were primed for more thrills.
Next was Forbidden Journey. The queue was very cool, even with our shortened express pass line. The ride was amazing (and nauseating). The kids loved it. We rode it three times during the trip. Ride photos were broken this first time.
I wrenched the kids away from the wizarding world to explore other parts of the park. One of my favorites is the Jurassic Park River Adventure. I loved it when we went to the California park years ago and I told the kids not to worry, that’s it was pretty chill and then had a “little” drop. They were nervous again, but I won them over.
Mwah ha ha! They have no idea what’s coming!
Yisssssss!
I love this ride photo. Ben is trying to keep his glasses from flying off. Sam’s face is so precious! Contrary to his expression, he loved this ride and was ready for more.
We had lunch at Blondie’s in Toon Lagoon, then rode some mild rides in Seuss Landing.
It was hot, so I guided us to Poseidon’s Fury, and indoor walk-through show. I had low expectations but it actually turned out pretty cool (in a corny way) and we all enjoyed it.
Enough of this non-wizard stuff! With Florian Fortescue Ice Cream in mind, we boarded the Hogwarts Express in Hogsmeade to return to Universal Studios (USO). I rested in Knockturn Alley with a frozen butterbeer (less dairy than ice cream) and the kids cast more spells. They joined me on the bench and we watched the Dragon blow while we cooled off.
We left Diagon Alley to help Optimus Prime on the Transformers ride.
We were pretty tired after all that, so we walked back to the hotel for dinner by the pool. The kids swam a bit and then we called it a night.
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