Friday, December 19, 2014

Pre Cruising - Day 1: Harry Potter Land


Lil friend's most anticipated part of the trip.  We woke up at 6.30am (after sleeping at 2am) to grab breakfast and be ready for early admission since we started at the cabana resort by the Universal Studio.  Greatest decision ever!

First ride was Escape from Gringotts.  The inside was really cool in that they had robot goblins moving behind the counter and all.  The outside the dragon actually breathed fire every so often.  The rode itself was pretty interesting.  We waited about 30 min to get on the ride (this was with early admission...but turns out the wait wasn't too much longer throughout the day since it was a school day still.. In fact, most rides only had 5 min to 20min wait times)

After this ride, we went to the Oliwander store, saw a lil girl get their wand picked for them, and we also got the interactive wand.  Great idea for Universal Studio.. At $50 a wand!  So smart whoever thought of that.  They must make a killing.  It was fun thought walking around various locations at Diagon valley and Hogsmeade and waving this wand to see 'magic' happen.

Then we took the train to Hogsmeade since there is really only one ride in the new park.  The train station was pretty cool. 9 3/4 terminal from Diagon alley - that actually made the ' you run past the wall thing'.  Also, during the train ride, the window was basically a movie of sorts, making it feel like you are really in harry potter land.

Went on the Dragon Challenge next.  No line at all!  So we got a chance to go on both dragons.  The red one (Chinese fireball) is definitely the more intense of the two.  Then some butterbeer, and then we went to the Forbidden Journey ride.  This ride definitely made me feel woozy with all the 3D video.

With that, we then did some lower thrill rides.. Like the carousel 😊.

Had a quick lunch and nap, then headed for more rides!  With Harry Potter rides completed, we would go on the Hulk, the Rock It, Shrek 4D, and MIB.  We also rested in the AMEX lounge (since we purchased our ticks with an AMEX credit card - who are official sponsors of Universal Studio.. Meaning discounts at some places and use of this lounge which had chips and water). MIB was pretty neat in that the ride had a laser gun for you to shoot at bad aliens - and points get tracked as you hit them.

All in all, Harry potter land was pretty fun and relaxing. 
One thing I do have to admit is the I am getting old..., felt dizzy and nauseous for those first few rides.  Lol.  To think I used to do super crazy roller coasters!

Ate at bubba gump, and get a souvenir cup.  Then drove back.  Drove 20min, then decided to take a nap in the car.  One hour later we wake up and continue driving.  Get back to original hotel by 1pm... With free parking! Woot!


Super tired.  Soldier Mson out

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