A few weeks ago we totally surprised our kids with a trip we had planned since last Spring, a trip to Universal Studios! Our two oldest (Ten and Eleven years old) are totally in to all things Harry Potter right now, so we knew now was the time to do it! We had a great time and I thought I would share a little bit about our trip and what worked for us!
Before we get started, I have mentioned her before but Andrea Cassidy, from Embrace the Journey Travel, has helped us plan our last few family trips and she the best! She works within the budget you give her to find a perfect fit for your family. If you are interested in getting help to plan any vacation, I highly recommend her. Her email is andrea@embracethejourneytravel.com.
I also love to grab books like this from amazon whenever we are going to a theme park, it give you such a great information about touring the park, ride height requirements, etc.
Universal offers some amazing perks for staying at one of their resorts, and we highly recommend taking advantage of them if you are able. We stayed at the Loews Royal Pacific Resort, it was beautiful! A few of our favorite hotel perks were the closeness of the hotel to the entrance of the parks. A short 7 minute walk or boat ride and you were there. You also get a Universal express pass for each person in your party, which allows you to skip the “regular” line and go in an express pass only line for every ride as many times as you want. This is a huge advantage when touring the parks and really makes for an enjoyable day.
Pool Time!
We had favorite rides and things we loved about both parks, I will just share some of the highlights!
Universal Studios:
It’s hard to get much more Harry Potter than Diagon Alley. We spent hours casting spells, drinking butter bear, and simply taking it all in in this part of the park.
The kids loved picking out a wand and spending time in both parks trying to cast spells. We knew going in to this, it would be something we would do and we definitely had the time to do it. Parents pack your patience, it is time consuming and can be frustrating for the kids, when they can’t get the spell to work. They did have workers walking around and offering assistance at most “stops”,
A few of our other favorites from this park where Despicable Me, Jimmy Fallon, and Men in Black!
If you have the chance I highly recommend taking the train from one park to the other, our kids were super excited to find out the “experience” is different each way!
Islands of Adventure:
Islands of Adventure is home to the newest Harry Potter Ride, Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure! It is an amazing ride, but it currently the only ride that you can not use your express pass for. While we were there we never saw a wait under 2 hours for it. We were given a tip from a lady at our hotel, to be in line when the park opens and join the rest of the crowd running to get on the ride. We joined in on this crazy party and have no regrets! They are currently putting on a short five minute show on Hogwart’s castle at dark, it was really fun to see.
Other favorites in this park included the water rides and the HULK!
City Walk:
This area is located right outside of both parks, it is filled with restaurants, bars, live music, and a few shops! It is such a fun atmosphere, we enjoyed spending time there each night. Two of our favorites were Voo Doo doughnuts and the Chocolate Emporium!
This is how you know you had a great vacation….
First night sleeping back in your own bed after vacation. LOL
Thanks for reading!
Julie and Trisha
Sisters that Shop
