buzznwoodysmom
02-26-2012, 05:18 PM
Going Home for the Holidays – Universal Day 2
Cast:
Me – Denise – 34
DH – Kevin – 38
DS – Collin – 11
DS – Landon – 9
Today was one of those days that just seems to go on and on. By the end of the day we couldn’t believe that what we had done that morning was in the same day.
We started out early walking to Islands of Adventure for our hour early entry into WWOHP. This is such a time saver. We’ve been twice in the past and normally you can barely walk through this area. Today it was EMPTY! We walked right onto Forbidden Journey, and could have ridden it several times if we wanted.
After FJ we decided to eat junk for breakfast. The boys each got a chocolate frog, a cauldron cake, butter beer, and we got some snacks from the candy shop “bakery window”. Only on vacation can you have this kind of breakfast. LOL. We found an outside table at Three Broomsticks and were the only people out eating on the balcony area.
After our sugary, junky breakfast we did the rest of WWOHP. We did Dragon Challenge, Flight of the Hippogriff (sp?), and went to all the shops. The boys got new wands, scarves, an owl, and I don’t even remember what else. Let’s just say Christmas came early for these two boys!
There was really nothing else we wanted to do in IOA at this point so we headed back to Hard Rock to put our purchases in the room, and the boys, who were dressed in their Potter robes and ties, wanted to change. A quick break in the room and we were on our way to Universal Studios. This is so easy!!!!
I don’t remember all we did, but I know we rode Mummy, Rip ride rocket, Men in Black, ET, Jaws, pretty much all the rides even though I can’t remember them all right now. It was great to have the express pass with our room. We were able to do everything so quickly and easily, it almost felt like we were cheating or something.
We had burgers for lunch at a little place on the water, I don’t remember the name of it, but it was good. We did everything we wanted, some things more than once, and were headed back to Hard Rock around 2ish.
Back in the room we got swim suites and headed for the pool. It was amazing to have done so much in the parks in such a small amount of time. I don’t think we’ll do the Universal parks without staying onsite again. It’s just so much more enjoyable to be onsite. The pool was great. The boys had fun and rated this pool right up there at the top! Landon played football in the sand with some kids his age, Collin chilled in the sand and the pool, and Kevin and I relaxed and soaked up the sun! Oh I almost forgot, Kevin went back to the room for about an hour for a phone meeting he had today. After his meeting we ordered drinks and apps from the pool bar. Everything was good and the service was great. We spent about 3 hours at the pool today.
The boys wanted to go back to WWOHP to see it at night. We got dressed and walked back to the park. I forgot to mention earlier in the day we took the little bikes back to the room. I forget what they are called, but the 4 of us sat in the little seat, while the bike driver took us back to the resort. The boys thought this was so cool.
Back in the park we did FJ again, this time with a much longer wait, and then we had dinner at Three Broomsticks. The food here is so good. We got two of the rib and chicken combos, with potatoes and corn on the cob. It was plenty for the 4 of us and was really good.
After dinner Kevin wanted to head to the Oakley store to see if they had replacement nose guards. Collin had lost it in the pool today. While he did that I took the boys to the wand show. We’ve never done this before because the line is always so long, but they really wanted to do it today. When we got in Collin and Landon were placed at the very front of the room, and Landon was decked out in all his potter costume. He thought they would pick him for sure, but they didn’t. They picked an older boy that was all the way on the back row. Landon was bummed, but understood that “maybe they picked him because he wasn’t lucky enough to have all the costume like Landon had”. I thought that was very sweet of my boys to think that way. After the wand show they were pretty much done with the park.
We met back up with Kevin and walked back to Hard Rock. I packed a few things up and started to get super excited about our move to Disney tomorrow.
Final thoughts on Universal:
We think the whole Universal resort is great. I feel sorry for the people who refuse to try it just because it isn’t Disney. I’ve seen people comment on how much they love Harry Potter, but won’t go to the park because they “hate” universal, that’s really sad. It truly added a lot to our vacation, and I can’t see us doing the Universal parks without staying at one of their resorts in the future. Will Universal be a part of every trip to WDW? Probably not, but at least every other trip. The resort was super clean, everything was in good running order, the food was great, and the prices were right in line with Disney’s. As for Hard Rock, we loved it. You can’t beat the location of this resort, and my kids loved the pool. Every employee we came into contact with was extremely nice and helpful. After doing Universal’s Islands of Adventure on our last two trips for "Potterland", we are so happy we gave the whole Universal experience a try!
Cast:
Me – Denise – 34
DH – Kevin – 38
DS – Collin – 11
DS – Landon – 9
Today was one of those days that just seems to go on and on. By the end of the day we couldn’t believe that what we had done that morning was in the same day.
We started out early walking to Islands of Adventure for our hour early entry into WWOHP. This is such a time saver. We’ve been twice in the past and normally you can barely walk through this area. Today it was EMPTY! We walked right onto Forbidden Journey, and could have ridden it several times if we wanted.
After FJ we decided to eat junk for breakfast. The boys each got a chocolate frog, a cauldron cake, butter beer, and we got some snacks from the candy shop “bakery window”. Only on vacation can you have this kind of breakfast. LOL. We found an outside table at Three Broomsticks and were the only people out eating on the balcony area.
After our sugary, junky breakfast we did the rest of WWOHP. We did Dragon Challenge, Flight of the Hippogriff (sp?), and went to all the shops. The boys got new wands, scarves, an owl, and I don’t even remember what else. Let’s just say Christmas came early for these two boys!
There was really nothing else we wanted to do in IOA at this point so we headed back to Hard Rock to put our purchases in the room, and the boys, who were dressed in their Potter robes and ties, wanted to change. A quick break in the room and we were on our way to Universal Studios. This is so easy!!!!
I don’t remember all we did, but I know we rode Mummy, Rip ride rocket, Men in Black, ET, Jaws, pretty much all the rides even though I can’t remember them all right now. It was great to have the express pass with our room. We were able to do everything so quickly and easily, it almost felt like we were cheating or something.
We had burgers for lunch at a little place on the water, I don’t remember the name of it, but it was good. We did everything we wanted, some things more than once, and were headed back to Hard Rock around 2ish.
Back in the room we got swim suites and headed for the pool. It was amazing to have done so much in the parks in such a small amount of time. I don’t think we’ll do the Universal parks without staying onsite again. It’s just so much more enjoyable to be onsite. The pool was great. The boys had fun and rated this pool right up there at the top! Landon played football in the sand with some kids his age, Collin chilled in the sand and the pool, and Kevin and I relaxed and soaked up the sun! Oh I almost forgot, Kevin went back to the room for about an hour for a phone meeting he had today. After his meeting we ordered drinks and apps from the pool bar. Everything was good and the service was great. We spent about 3 hours at the pool today.
The boys wanted to go back to WWOHP to see it at night. We got dressed and walked back to the park. I forgot to mention earlier in the day we took the little bikes back to the room. I forget what they are called, but the 4 of us sat in the little seat, while the bike driver took us back to the resort. The boys thought this was so cool.
Back in the park we did FJ again, this time with a much longer wait, and then we had dinner at Three Broomsticks. The food here is so good. We got two of the rib and chicken combos, with potatoes and corn on the cob. It was plenty for the 4 of us and was really good.
After dinner Kevin wanted to head to the Oakley store to see if they had replacement nose guards. Collin had lost it in the pool today. While he did that I took the boys to the wand show. We’ve never done this before because the line is always so long, but they really wanted to do it today. When we got in Collin and Landon were placed at the very front of the room, and Landon was decked out in all his potter costume. He thought they would pick him for sure, but they didn’t. They picked an older boy that was all the way on the back row. Landon was bummed, but understood that “maybe they picked him because he wasn’t lucky enough to have all the costume like Landon had”. I thought that was very sweet of my boys to think that way. After the wand show they were pretty much done with the park.
We met back up with Kevin and walked back to Hard Rock. I packed a few things up and started to get super excited about our move to Disney tomorrow.
Final thoughts on Universal:
We think the whole Universal resort is great. I feel sorry for the people who refuse to try it just because it isn’t Disney. I’ve seen people comment on how much they love Harry Potter, but won’t go to the park because they “hate” universal, that’s really sad. It truly added a lot to our vacation, and I can’t see us doing the Universal parks without staying at one of their resorts in the future. Will Universal be a part of every trip to WDW? Probably not, but at least every other trip. The resort was super clean, everything was in good running order, the food was great, and the prices were right in line with Disney’s. As for Hard Rock, we loved it. You can’t beat the location of this resort, and my kids loved the pool. Every employee we came into contact with was extremely nice and helpful. After doing Universal’s Islands of Adventure on our last two trips for "Potterland", we are so happy we gave the whole Universal experience a try!