Exploring Universal, Day 2!

     This morning both Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure had early entry, so we took advantage of that to run to Forbidden Journey and ride it again today! We then rode both the Chinese Fireball and the Hungarian Horntail on Dragon's Challenge, which I think is the most underappreciated ride at Universal. Both tracks are great, with plenty of speed, twists, and turns! The Hungarian Horntail (formerly known as Ice, from when the ride was called Dueling Dragons) is my personal favorite, as I prefer corkscrews and loops. Inversions are friends, not scary :) Fun fact: The queue for Dragon's Challenge has some excellent spots to take pictures of Hogwarts!

In the queue for Dragon's Challenge, a perfect spot to make some memories!

Again, what a great view!

     Next up was Jurassic Park, and my mom and I both got a little wet. Basically, by 9 in the morning, my hair was totally ruined. It was pretty fun though, and I like how solid the storyline is. Next up was Marvel Super Hero Island, which is always a blast. Spiderman and Hulk were AWESOME as usual (Hulk is my favorite coaster), and Dr. Doom's Fear Fall was really fun and surprisingly gentle. The view from the top is quite spectacular. Finally, my mom and I were pretty hungry, and we'd been looking forward to Three Broomsticks! I love their chicken, and the roasted potatoes were delicious. After food, we hopped back on the Hogwarts Express for a quick and fantastic ride to Diagon Alley. It was really neat to see it again today, as it's so much easier to take in more detail the second time around. Our compartment buddies were also pretty cool.

Gringotts, the safest place on Earth... except for Hogwarts!

     Once back in Diagon Alley, we waited for a few minutes to get a picture of the dragon spitting fire. Listen for the growl, that's how you know the fire is imminent! The line for Gringotts was decently long, so we went for the Single Rider line this time around. I would absolutely suggest going through the main queue the first time, as you don't get the same story development in the Single Rider line. Just like with the Hogwarts Express, Gringotts is also a good one to ride multiple times! After that, we finally tried Butterbeer ice cream! It wasn't what I was expecting, but it was still delicious. Next time, I want to try the Strawberry and Peanut Butter!

Butterbeer ice cream, yum!

     We just couldn't resist going on Mummy and Rip Ride Rockit again, so we headed in that direction. Mummy was great, and then on the way to Rip Ride Rockit we passed the entrance for the Harry Potter Expo, so we decided to go inside! For the weekend Celebration they're doing various events and things that require a separate ticket, but getting into the Expo is open to all guests. Inside, we saw some of the props from the movies, such as all 6 of the intentional Horcruxes and Harry's outfit from the Chamber of Secrets. It was a neat experience, and we didn't stay long but I enjoyed stopping in to see it. Rip Ride Rockit was also great, and my only advice here is to make sure you choose a fun, fast song!

I never thought I'd stand this close to the sword of Gryffindor

The rest of the intentional Horcruxes

Harry's outfit from the Chamber of Secrets. It got a little messy!

     Finally, we went to the Horror Makeup Show, which was hilarious! Our last stop of the day was at Guest Relations, where I officially became an Annual Passholder. Overall, it was a great day at Universal. That's all for now, thank you for reading and have a magical day!

-Christie

The Adventure Begins!

     After waiting for so many long months, my Disney adventure is finally almost here! I check-in on Monday at 7:45 am, so getting here early was a way to avoid any possible delays from car trouble and have a great time before starting the College Program. My mom and I got here on Wednesday evening and checked into Cabana Bay, one of the hotels at Universal. After a very long drive, we were pretty excited to get here! Although at the time, I think we were mostly just relieved to have finally made it. Cabana Bay is a fantastic resort, and I am very impressed by the theming, and the quality and cleanliness of our room and the hotel in general. It's rocking a fun 1960's beach vibe, with all of the colors, designs, and toiletries of the era. My mom especially enjoyed seeing the Zest soap.

Finally, the turn off for Orlando! Only a few more hours in the car...

So nice to see our hotel entrance after two days of driving!

    
     One of the main perks of staying on property is early entry times, so this morning we were able to go in Islands of Adventure at 8 am. We hurried straight to Wizarding World of Harry Potter and enjoyed what was probably a 20 minute wait, max, for Forbidden Journey. It was so wonderful to see Hogsmeade again, and it felt a little more realistic with the slight chill in the air on a January morning. Although we didn't spend a lot of time exploring, just walking in brought me right back to when I saw it for the first time 4 years ago. I could barely process it then, as I was too busy dancing on air because my favorite books were truly coming to life around me. After Forbidden Journey, it was time to ride the Hogwarts Express. It was incredible!!! I don't want to say too much because it's definitely a better experience when you don't entirely know what to expect, but Universal got it right. It's incredibly realistic, and the path they went with it is perfect. Fun fact: the train does not turn around on either end, so when going from Hogsmeade to London it appears to be going backwards!

Right outside the Hogsmeade station for the Hogwarts Express!

     The rest of our time today was spent in Universal Studios. After arriving in Kings Cross Station, we  made our way over to Diagon Alley in order to ride Escape from Gringotts, preferably before the line got too long! First off, I was absolutely blown away by Diagon Alley! Just like with Hogsmeade, you feel as though you must have jumped straight into the books themselves. It's so fun watching all of the surrounding witches and wizards using their interactive wands throughout the area. The buildings are incredibly colorful and tall, and all mashed together with various wizarding messages and ads. The streets are winding, with very few straight lines. With enough time, the layout starts to make sense, but it's all a little confusing at first! Of course, I might have just been too overwhelmed to really comprehend anything. The main focal point when you walk in is Gringotts, with the pale, emaciated guard dragon perched on the roof. Watch it closely, as it breathes fire every so often!

Finally, freedom!

An excellent picture of the dragon breathing fire, taken by my mom. The warmth feels good on a crisp January morning!

     The Escape from Gringotts ride was amazing, I only wished it could have been a little longer! It really combines classic theme park mini coasters and the screens (like in Spiderman) well, and I loved it! We spent a decent amount of time just wandering through Diagon Alley as well. The shops are very impressive, and they even included Knockturn Alley, which is a must-see. Completely by accident, we managed to see Celestina Warbeck and the Banshees perform. It was hilarious! They brought one of the audience members onstage, and thankfully he was a good sport about it. They sang, they danced, they rocked! We also watched the performance of the Tale of the Three Brothers, and that was really neat as well. They used puppets and real people, and it was just fantastic. I highly suggest seeing both of them. Besides that, we went to the show in Ollivanders, where they picked me to find a wand!!! I'm no longer young and cute, so it was incredibly exciting and I really enjoyed the opportunity!

The wand chooses the wizard :)

    Besides the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, we also went to the Simpsons area, which was excellent and had great food with an awesome atmosphere! After the Simpsons ride and a food encounter, we rode Mummy's Revenge, Men in Black, and Rip Ride Rockit, which apparently has a secret playlist of songs. Before walking back to the hotel, we rode Gringotts one more time and took the Hogwarts Express back to Hogsmeade. It's a different ride each way, which was super cool to see. Tomorrow we are off to Islands of Adventure, I can't wait! Have a magical day, and thank you for reading!

-Christie