Universal Orlando Resort – Tuesday 24th April

We decided to take a break from Disney for a day and check out Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure.

Before we set off for the park, we went to check out the pool on our complex. It was very quiet and the water was heated so it was almost like getting in the bath!

When we were here in 1999, Islands of Adventure had only just opened and we got free tickets for a second day as they were trying to build interest in the new park. On that trip two of my favourite rollercoasters were here – The Incredible Hulk and Duelling Dragons. Duelling Dragons had been turned into something new but is currently not in use. Hulk is still running and I was looking forward to having a ride.

The parking lot at Universal has a real plus point – it is a multistory car park meaning the car was parked in the shade all day. We parked in Spider-Man zone.

Universal offer 1, 2 and 3 park tickets – next to Islands of Adventure is Volcano Bay water park – for 1 to 5 days. We had planned to spend 2 days at Universal until we learned about the Express option. Universal Express means you can skip the lines on EVERY RIDE (except Pteranodon Flyers, which we were all too big for) once or with Unlimited as often as you want. This seemed like a better option than paying for two days and spending lots of time standing in lines. We also bought the recommended lanyards to carry the passes in to keep them easily accessible all day. Quick extra tip – if you want to travel on the Hogwart’s Express between the two Harry Potter areas you need to buy park-to-park tickets.

We had already downloaded the Universal app and I had handed it over to Bethany for her to ‘favourite’ any attractions that interested her. Once we got in the park we spent a few minutes marking them on the paper map so it was easier to see which direction we had to head in.

We started with Despicable Me Minion Mayhem followed by Shrek 4D. In both cases we skipped 30 minute lines and were able to go straight to the front of the queue.

As we walked to our next ride we happened to come across Gru, Dru, Agnes, Edith and Margot from Despicable Me dancing in the street. A fun show to happen across.

Next was E.T. Adventure. We had done this ride last time we were here but it has been extended. Previously it finished when E.T. escaped from the security forces and cycled across the moon with Elliot. Now we actually went back with E.T. to his home planet and saw some of the other extraterrestrials. I suppose they had to update it some way but to me it spoiled it a bit as we had never seen the other beings.

It was now time for lunch and guess where we headed?

On the way we had a brief look at New York.

And walked passed the Transformers attraction.

After lunch we wandered through San Francisco and passed Crustyland on our way to zap some aliens.

Men In Black Alien Invasion is a moving alien shoot-em-up which the kids loved last time. Bethany had just as much fun but perhaps she didn’t quite hit as many aliens.

After MIB it was on to the main reason for coming to Universal as far as Bethany was concerned – Harry Potter!

We started at the Knight Bus.

Then on to Diagon Alley.

This was obviously where everyone has headed as it was busier than anywhere else we has been. We had a look in Weasley’s Joke Shop and Ollivander’s Wand shop – I can’t say wander as it was a real squeeze getting in and out of the shops. The wait for Escape from Gringotts was around an hour but with our Express tickets we were on the ride inside 10 minutes.

Walking through Gringotts was just like being in the film. It was a pity we had left all our bags with Michael as we weren’t allowed to have loose items on the ride. Lockers are provided free of charge next to the ride. I would have loved to have some pictures of the inside of the bank too.

After traveling down miles into the earth in a lift and then hurtling through Gringotts in a small carriage accompanied by Ron Weasley we made our way back to the surface and exited through the gift shop.

Next was Kings Cross Station for the Hogwarts Express to Hogsmeade.

As usual the trains in the UK were delayed.

We walked down to platform 9 3/4 and found Hedwig also waiting to board.

The train arrived in from Hogsmeade.

We were able to board and sat in carriages of 8 people.

The journey to Hogsmeade was interesting with views of London and the countryside before dementors boarded the train. Luckily Harry and his friends managed to get rid of them.

We were very surprised to see snow on the roofs at Hogsmeade especially considering the outdoor temperatures.

We made our way slowly towards Hogwarts to go on the Flight of the Hippogriff and the Forbidden Journey.

Again the inside of Hogwarts was familiar including the Sorting Hat. We were amazed by the number of Harry Potter fans who were dressed in full Hogwarts uniform or with cloaks on brandishing wands. It didn’t stop Bethany from trying on a robe herself.

After we had visited the shops in Hogsmeade we headed for Seuss Landing.

Here we did The Cat in The Hat ride – a fun ride through the poem.

We then made our way through Marvel Super Hero Island on our way to Toon Lagoon.

We had a few water rides on our list and as we had done them last time we thought we wouldn’t get too wet. We chose to go on Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges first. Some people getting off looked very wet but we assumed they had been unlucky. Wrong assumption – we all got absolutely soaked through. We made use of the people dryers conveniently located near the exit to the ride but were still very wet.

As we wandered in Jurassic Park we ended up in the shop and all bought dry clothes to get changed into. We intended eating out in City Walk on the way out and couldn’t if we were still wet.

We had a look round Camp Jurassic but unfortunately the Discovery Center had already closed.

Getting so wet put us off going on any of the other water rides and as I was now wearing a dress I decided not to go on The Hulk.

We had been aiming to watch the evening light show at Hogwarts but we still had an hour to wait and we were starting to get a bit cool after our soaking.

We decided to head for something to eat as there would be lots of people leaving after the light show, meaning the restaurants would be busier. As we were leaving the park, we were asked if we would take part in a survey about the park. Bethany was in the age range they were looking for so she agreed to take part.

We told the woman doing to survey about getting soaked and how we didn’t remember it being as wet when we were last there. She said they had definitely upped the water flow and the possibility of getting soaked. She also recommended Raptor Encounter in case we should go again. She said it was great to watch as the dinosaurs appear out of the bushes and scare the kids.

After leaving the park, Bethany spotted Hard Rock Cafe and our decision for dinner had been made. There was no wait and it was everything that we expected of HRC.