They're Back: An English Encounter (Day 7)
So, today we're going to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter! We got up around 8:30 and had breakfast at the restaurant. It was all you can eat for about eight dollars! So not a bad price at all. We were told there was a shuttle that ran twice a day to and from Universal Studios and went outside to wait. It became apparent as it pulled up that it was very crowded (they stop at about two other hotels) and we weren't too thrilled when they hardly let anyone on. Thankfully the hotel decided to call for another shuttle and the man on there was SO nice. The ride wasn't too long and I was super excited when we got into Universal! :D I knew it was going to be crowded trying to get into Harry Potter, but it wasn't nearly as long as it would have been had I not bought the tickets online! There was a waiting period to get in as they didn't want it to be more crowded as it was! I was so glad I wore shorts and a tank top there as the heat and humidity was insane. We hung around in Jurassic Park (as you do) for a little while, we could have even gone on the rides with our ticket as the ticket worked for several locations in Universal! :D But we mainly just sat around and got some slushies from a stand near by. We could finally get in at 12:20 and let me tell you, does it look so realistic in there! I was in awe! It looked just like Diagon Alley! The first thing that caught my attention was the train that looked like it had crashed through the wall! They had a conductor there that you could take pictures with, but I felt like they might charge us so I skipped that!
We walked around for a bit, having to squeeze past people as it was so damn crowded. Since we knew the line for rides would be long, we decided to get them out of the way first. The first one we went to was Forbidden Journey. Which takes you inside Hogwarts. The wait time on the sign said an hour and twenty minutes! But thankfully the more the line moved up, the more it started to feel like you were in Hogwarts. They even had the Herbollogy center and once we were inside it felt like I was actually in the school! They even had moving portraits and a hologram of 'The Trio' which looked soooo realistic! We got to see Dumbledore's office! :D He showed up in his portrait and talked to us which was so cool! When we were very close to getting on the ride my sister started getting nervous and backed out. I wasn't happy about that especially since my dad stayed back with her. So Nic and I went on and it was hilarious even getting into our seats. It was a moving walkway and the chairs continued to move so you had to like run and jump into them! I have to admit, I was a little nervous, as it took you into the underground part of Hogwarts. I had been wondering why the handle on our seats were wet and soon found out why! There were spiders that spit 'venom' at you! I screamed and closed my eyes and pretty much reacted that way throughout the entire ride. It was part virtual and part animatronic.. I was stupid and opened my eyes when there was a Death Eater, probably about eight feet long, RIGHT in my face. It's safe to say that most of the ride was me screaming! LMAO When we got off we went over to my sister and dad. Both of us laughing uncontrollably from the adrenaline rush. My sister still didn't want to try but my dad did and the people letting people on and off were nice enough to allow him to cut into the line. He looked so happy when he got off! LMAO After that we went to the gift shop. I didn't get anything personally as I normally don't. Things are WAY too over priced.
Once we got out we went and tried Butter Beer. It was so damn delicious! Definitely filling, though, and I couldn't finish it all. It tasted like cream soda and the froth on top tasted like butterscotch. We sat for awhile, definitely feeling the strain of walking/standing for so long. Once we felt better we practically ran to go see the dancers performed. They had the ladies of Beauxbatons and the guys from Durmstrang Institute. They were really good and I'm glad I ran over as people were quick to crowd around and I'm short, so I wouldn't have been able to see at all. We caught up with my dad who kind of hung back as I promised to record the whole thing for him and everyone back home. We decided to try the Flight of the Hippogriff. The line wasn't nearly as long as it had been for the Forbidden Journey ride. They had the area surrounding the ride set up like a lead up to Hagrid's hut. They even had his little hut and you could hear 'Fang' barking inside! The ride itself I felt like was a little more geared towards younger people, but it was still fun! As you start to ascend you have to bow to Buckbeak who's in a nest. And then you pretty much shoot off. I sat with my sister for this one and was screaming and laughing, it was so much fun, but also pretty short! :( I would have gone again but the line was a bit too long. There was a dueling dragon ride that I was considering going on with my dad but then I saw that you hang upside down for a good twenty or thirty seconds and all of my stomach contents felt like coming up just looking at it! We had wanted to go to the Owelry and Ollivander's but the lines were INSANE for both and we were already feeling pretty tired so we opted out of both.
We wanted to catch the 5:30 shuttle back so began to head out of the park. We got some churros, which were super yummy, and kind of slowly walked through the other areas of the park. We stopped at a Marvel store where I was hoping to find a Wolverine or Sabretooth shirt, but none of them were 'cute' enough for me. :) We got back to the shuttle area fairly early, which was fine as I wanted to sit down on the shuttle back! We had the same guy who jokingly called my dad 'dad', which was cute! Once we got back to the hotel we all raced to get into our bathing suits so we could go swimming. I had been picturing swimming all day purely because of the heat. My dad came out a little while later and went swimming with us! :D And then we got into the hot tub. I adjust well to hot water so I relaxed pretty quickly. I even wanted the water hotter! It was only at a mere 104 degrees :) (Fahrenheit!) Once we were done we went to a place called Broadway Pizza. I have to say, I wasn't too impressed with his place. There were bugs EVERYWHERE, which I can understand in a humid, swampy area, but it just makes a place look dirty. We had been thinking about going to this water park called Wet n Wild across the street for our second day, but plans changed and we decided on the Kennedy Space Center.
We walked around for a bit, having to squeeze past people as it was so damn crowded. Since we knew the line for rides would be long, we decided to get them out of the way first. The first one we went to was Forbidden Journey. Which takes you inside Hogwarts. The wait time on the sign said an hour and twenty minutes! But thankfully the more the line moved up, the more it started to feel like you were in Hogwarts. They even had the Herbollogy center and once we were inside it felt like I was actually in the school! They even had moving portraits and a hologram of 'The Trio' which looked soooo realistic! We got to see Dumbledore's office! :D He showed up in his portrait and talked to us which was so cool! When we were very close to getting on the ride my sister started getting nervous and backed out. I wasn't happy about that especially since my dad stayed back with her. So Nic and I went on and it was hilarious even getting into our seats. It was a moving walkway and the chairs continued to move so you had to like run and jump into them! I have to admit, I was a little nervous, as it took you into the underground part of Hogwarts. I had been wondering why the handle on our seats were wet and soon found out why! There were spiders that spit 'venom' at you! I screamed and closed my eyes and pretty much reacted that way throughout the entire ride. It was part virtual and part animatronic.. I was stupid and opened my eyes when there was a Death Eater, probably about eight feet long, RIGHT in my face. It's safe to say that most of the ride was me screaming! LMAO When we got off we went over to my sister and dad. Both of us laughing uncontrollably from the adrenaline rush. My sister still didn't want to try but my dad did and the people letting people on and off were nice enough to allow him to cut into the line. He looked so happy when he got off! LMAO After that we went to the gift shop. I didn't get anything personally as I normally don't. Things are WAY too over priced.
Once we got out we went and tried Butter Beer. It was so damn delicious! Definitely filling, though, and I couldn't finish it all. It tasted like cream soda and the froth on top tasted like butterscotch. We sat for awhile, definitely feeling the strain of walking/standing for so long. Once we felt better we practically ran to go see the dancers performed. They had the ladies of Beauxbatons and the guys from Durmstrang Institute. They were really good and I'm glad I ran over as people were quick to crowd around and I'm short, so I wouldn't have been able to see at all. We caught up with my dad who kind of hung back as I promised to record the whole thing for him and everyone back home. We decided to try the Flight of the Hippogriff. The line wasn't nearly as long as it had been for the Forbidden Journey ride. They had the area surrounding the ride set up like a lead up to Hagrid's hut. They even had his little hut and you could hear 'Fang' barking inside! The ride itself I felt like was a little more geared towards younger people, but it was still fun! As you start to ascend you have to bow to Buckbeak who's in a nest. And then you pretty much shoot off. I sat with my sister for this one and was screaming and laughing, it was so much fun, but also pretty short! :( I would have gone again but the line was a bit too long. There was a dueling dragon ride that I was considering going on with my dad but then I saw that you hang upside down for a good twenty or thirty seconds and all of my stomach contents felt like coming up just looking at it! We had wanted to go to the Owelry and Ollivander's but the lines were INSANE for both and we were already feeling pretty tired so we opted out of both.
We wanted to catch the 5:30 shuttle back so began to head out of the park. We got some churros, which were super yummy, and kind of slowly walked through the other areas of the park. We stopped at a Marvel store where I was hoping to find a Wolverine or Sabretooth shirt, but none of them were 'cute' enough for me. :) We got back to the shuttle area fairly early, which was fine as I wanted to sit down on the shuttle back! We had the same guy who jokingly called my dad 'dad', which was cute! Once we got back to the hotel we all raced to get into our bathing suits so we could go swimming. I had been picturing swimming all day purely because of the heat. My dad came out a little while later and went swimming with us! :D And then we got into the hot tub. I adjust well to hot water so I relaxed pretty quickly. I even wanted the water hotter! It was only at a mere 104 degrees :) (Fahrenheit!) Once we were done we went to a place called Broadway Pizza. I have to say, I wasn't too impressed with his place. There were bugs EVERYWHERE, which I can understand in a humid, swampy area, but it just makes a place look dirty. We had been thinking about going to this water park called Wet n Wild across the street for our second day, but plans changed and we decided on the Kennedy Space Center.