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