I am back with day two of our combo vacation brought to us by Orlando Resorts and Royal Caribbean. It was sunny and slightly warm when we left for Universal Studios. After a quick meeting with our guides and our handy bottles of water we set out for a true VIP adventure. Before I get started I want to tell you something you may not know about water in the park. Universal and Islands of Adventure have souvenir cups you can purchase and fill with soda all day. What a lot of people don’t know is that the stations that provide the soda also provide water. So keep your bottle water and fill it up for free at the stations. A great way to save money and stay hydrated all day! And trust me, you will need to stay hydrated!
We moved quickly and only hit some of the more popular areas but there are lots more to see and do than I have here! But this will give you an idea of what an amazing vacation Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure would be for you and the kids!
Universal Studios
Despicable Me- Minion Mayhem was our first ride of the day and let me tell you, it was so fun! Like most of the rides, it was in 3D. You started out in Gru’s home and become involved in one of his latest schemes, becoming a Minion. It was a lot of fun and it definitely gave you some thrills!
We also rode the Men In Black – Alien Attack, which is a first person shooter ride. It was a lot of fun even if I did get a low score. Dakotah rode the Revenge of the Mummy but I steered clear of that because I am not that adventurous! Next up was my favorite ride of the whole park- Transformers – The Ride-3D. Omg, I LOVED this ride! It was definitely a thrill ride but one I could handle because I was firmly attached to the seat. But I will admit it, I closed my eyes a couple of times because things got very close and personal!
After that we headed to Diagon Alley, one of the adventures of Harry Potter Wizarding World in the two parks. There we got to taste our first taste of butter beer, which is super sweet. If you don’t like sweet stuff or a lot of sweet stuff, I would highly suggest you share one before forking out $6.00 a pop for something you won’t finish. Personal experience there.
Dakotah and I are huge fans of Harry Potter and let me just say, it is like you stepped into Harry Potter’s world. Everything looks completely real and I had a hard time not touching everything in sight.
Dakotah got her wand from Ollivanders wand shop and it was such a fun experience! They will actually help your child find their true wand by using their birth date. Hers was birch and interactive. She could go around Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade and wave the wand in front of things in the window. Those things would move like “magic”. Personally I thought it was the neatest thing in the world and if you have a Harry Potter nut you definitely need to do it!
Of course you can’t leave Diagon Alley without riding Escape from Gringotts. Which was a little more thrilling than I thought it would be. I will admit I screamed a lot on that ride. My favorite part was the beginning when you got to see all of the goblins hard at work!
Islands of Adventure
After a very, very fast paced run through Universal we headed over to Islands of Adventure. If you have the pass for both parks the best way to get there is by riding Hogwarts Express. You may think you are going on a regular train ride, but it is nothing of the sort. This was one of Dakotah’s favorite thing to do. Also, if you ride it there make sure to ride it back. It is different both ways. I am not going to say anymore than that because I don’t want to ruin the surprise!
After getting off the train we headed to lunch. Which I was thankful for because this Mamma was pooped! We were treated to lunch at Mytho’s and let me tell you something, it was one of the neatest restaurants I have seen at a theme park. A craggy grotto on The Lost Continent, the cavernous interior of the restaurant looks as if it’s been carved from the rock by the very gods whose images are etched into the walls. In addition to the dining room there is also outdoor seating offering a spectacular view of the park’s inland sea and vistas of the park’s colorful islands.
Dakotah had the beef medallions and they were excellent!
After lunch we broke into groups with individual guides. Ours was Dave and he was excellent! Islands of Adventure is broken up into different islands. There is a comic island, a Dr. Suess Island, A Marvel island, and of course Hogsmeade. My favorite was Marvel Island of course and there we got to ride the Amazing Adventures of Spiderman. That was a very fun ride and I would highly suggest checking it out!
It is also home to the Hulk coaster. I am not sure anyone in our group rode that. It looked very thrilling and fast. It also has a loop. So of course I said, no thank you! LOL!
We also rode The Cat in The Hat which is a very gentle ride. I really enjoyed that one. It was very bright and oh so cute! After that we headed off to Hogsmeade where we rode the Flight of Griffindor which was a lot of fun but not long enough. It is like you got on and then, poof you were done. I would have loved to ride it again!
After our visit to Hogsmeade it was time to go our separate ways. It was a very fast paced, fun day in the park! I wish it had been a little longer but I am so glad we got to experience it!
Tips and Tricks
- Water. Don’t forget that you can fill your water bottle back up for free at the drink stations.
- Be prepared to spend at least two days in the park. While we were able to hit both parks and major attractions in one day we had a guide and was able to skip lines. I honestly think you would need 2 or 3 days to fully enjoy the parks.
- Make sure to catch the shows. I am really sorry I missed the animal actor show. By the time we were done in the park it was to late to see it. Make sure you leave time to catch at least one or two shows.
- If you have a small child with you that can’t ride all the rides make sure to get their height certificate. When they are tall enough to ride the ride they show it to the staff and get to skip the line. That is such a cool feature.
- Child swap- If you and your partner want to ride a ride that your child can’t ride they have child swap. Your partner ( or you) will be able to stand in an area with the child while one of you rides. Then you get off and they get on. No waiting in line again!
- Make sure to catch the parade with all of your favorite characters!
- Don’t forget that when you say on-site that you get in the parks one hour earlier. Take advantage of that and ride your one must do ride.
Next up is our first day with Royal Caribbean! See you then!
All photos are ©Universal Studios and ©Bobbie Seacrist
