Dulcee
01-14-2014, 11:36 AM
Today is another Universal day. We chat the night before and seem to have everyone on board that it might be a better idea to start early today.
DH and I get to the dogs bright and early then head back to the villa and amazingly everyone is ready to go! We park by 9 am and head into Universal. FIL needs to stop at Starbucks, of course. Then he needs to sit with his coffee. I think DH can see the steam beginning to rise from my ears and he gets his father moving.
We head into Islands of Adventure. The entrance into this one is immensely better the Universal Studios. The park already seems to have a better overall vibe. First stop is back to Harry Potter. I've gone back and forth all week on riding and finally decided yes, I'm going on. The theming back in this area is really, really amazing. I'm not kidding when I tell BIL that they should bulldoze Universal studios and turn the whole thing into Harry Potter World.
Despite it being almost 10am the line says 35 minutes. Again with the lockers. These lockers are the most poorly placed of all. Its a mad house trying to get everything stored. Once we get past this the rest of the line is very cool. The inside of Hogwarts is amazing. The ride itself is very neat and surprisingly smooth. I'm glad I rode. I'm not sure its the coolest ride I've ever ridden but it was very, very neat.
After we head over to the dueling dragon coaster. Everyone but myself, FIL and MIL ride. I grab a pretzel and wander the shops. This area is packed. If it ever calms down I'd like to go see it again.
Next we head over to Jurrasic Park. BIl and SIL sit this one out. This ride is fun but I think splash beats it out.
After we head to Spiderman. The wait is 50 minutes but we get on anyway and it seems to move. This one is also fun but I'm not sure I understand the reasoning for SO many simulator rides. I like real rides...
After we meet up with my cousin, his wife and their two boys. I haven't seen them all in about 3 years so this was great! DH and his family head off to do more big stuff while I hang with them and get to do some Seuss rides with my little second cousins. This area is also cute. After a few hours with them its time to say goodbye.
I meet up with DH and the rest of our group. Its started raining and has lowered the crowds so we ride Harry Potter once more. Its full out pouring when we get out. DH and I pull out our ponchos (were the only ones prepared) and we trek back to the car. Everyone else is good and soaked so its back to the villa for them.
DH and I opt to head to the food court. The hot dogs at 11 am are not going to hold me much longer. We split a flat bread at Saratoga that is very good. While we found Universal Studios very disappointing we'd do Islands of Adventure again, after Diagon Alley is open. We wander the resort a bit to explore. The rain has passed and we soak our feet for a bit in a hot tub.
When we head back to the villa everyone is out cold. By six we get everyone moving for dinner at Raglan road. Tonight we get a boat no problem down to DTD. We do some shopping, stop at a bar and then head to dinner. DH and I split the garlic shrimp app and we both get the gnocchi. It was delicious!
We finish up the night wandering with BIl and SIL and grab a drink at the house of blues. They admit getting up early, taking a mid day break and heading back out is probably easier then trying to go from 11 am straight through. DH and I have only been trying to say this all trip.
DH and I get to the dogs bright and early then head back to the villa and amazingly everyone is ready to go! We park by 9 am and head into Universal. FIL needs to stop at Starbucks, of course. Then he needs to sit with his coffee. I think DH can see the steam beginning to rise from my ears and he gets his father moving.
We head into Islands of Adventure. The entrance into this one is immensely better the Universal Studios. The park already seems to have a better overall vibe. First stop is back to Harry Potter. I've gone back and forth all week on riding and finally decided yes, I'm going on. The theming back in this area is really, really amazing. I'm not kidding when I tell BIL that they should bulldoze Universal studios and turn the whole thing into Harry Potter World.
Despite it being almost 10am the line says 35 minutes. Again with the lockers. These lockers are the most poorly placed of all. Its a mad house trying to get everything stored. Once we get past this the rest of the line is very cool. The inside of Hogwarts is amazing. The ride itself is very neat and surprisingly smooth. I'm glad I rode. I'm not sure its the coolest ride I've ever ridden but it was very, very neat.
After we head over to the dueling dragon coaster. Everyone but myself, FIL and MIL ride. I grab a pretzel and wander the shops. This area is packed. If it ever calms down I'd like to go see it again.
Next we head over to Jurrasic Park. BIl and SIL sit this one out. This ride is fun but I think splash beats it out.
After we head to Spiderman. The wait is 50 minutes but we get on anyway and it seems to move. This one is also fun but I'm not sure I understand the reasoning for SO many simulator rides. I like real rides...
After we meet up with my cousin, his wife and their two boys. I haven't seen them all in about 3 years so this was great! DH and his family head off to do more big stuff while I hang with them and get to do some Seuss rides with my little second cousins. This area is also cute. After a few hours with them its time to say goodbye.
I meet up with DH and the rest of our group. Its started raining and has lowered the crowds so we ride Harry Potter once more. Its full out pouring when we get out. DH and I pull out our ponchos (were the only ones prepared) and we trek back to the car. Everyone else is good and soaked so its back to the villa for them.
DH and I opt to head to the food court. The hot dogs at 11 am are not going to hold me much longer. We split a flat bread at Saratoga that is very good. While we found Universal Studios very disappointing we'd do Islands of Adventure again, after Diagon Alley is open. We wander the resort a bit to explore. The rain has passed and we soak our feet for a bit in a hot tub.
When we head back to the villa everyone is out cold. By six we get everyone moving for dinner at Raglan road. Tonight we get a boat no problem down to DTD. We do some shopping, stop at a bar and then head to dinner. DH and I split the garlic shrimp app and we both get the gnocchi. It was delicious!
We finish up the night wandering with BIl and SIL and grab a drink at the house of blues. They admit getting up early, taking a mid day break and heading back out is probably easier then trying to go from 11 am straight through. DH and I have only been trying to say this all trip.