Feeling Hot Hot Hot! The Universal Edition. Pictures Galore! COMPLETE

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Hello there! My name is Lessa and this is my first trip report here on the Universal Boards although not my first trip report on the Dis as you can see from my signature. I am currently writing a trip report covering our whole two week trip to WDW/Universal but I thought that I would separate the Universal bits and place them over here on the Universal boards for your enjoyment.

I find reading trip reports very informative and entertaining when conducting my own trip planning and I enjoy writing so when I return from my trips I like to make my contribution to the trip report boards in the hopes that my experiences will help somebody else with their trip planning and hopefully provide a laugh or two.

Here are the trip details: May 11th-May 25th staying at Disney's Coronado Springs. Most of the trip was spent at Disney but we did devote two days of the trip to exploring Universal, May 17th and 18th which were a Tuesday and Wednesday. My logic in picking those dates was that it would be midweek so hopefully less crowds. School would still be in session, I figured most school trips usually take place at the beginning or end of the week and I also figured that the locals probably tend to visit more on the weekends.

Here is a little bit about us:

First there is me, Lessa. I am a full-time Nursing student working towards my BScN. This is my second degree and it is a lot of work and very time consuming so this vacation was much needed! In addition to being a full-time student, I also work part-time as an emergency operator for the local university. I am the trip planner of the family and I "joke" that I am in charge of the family and all decision making while on vacation.

Next is Beth (emmaca on the Dis), our lovely mother. She works hard all year for a hospital foundation (fundraising) and she lives for her family vacations. I think she has become more of a Disney nut than me and she has even tried to take over the vacation planning from time to time! Mom suffers from MS but she does not let that stop her fun!

Next, the famous Brothers Grimm, Alek (micky_hater) and Erich(Dead Bones Brook). They were given this nickname by Diser Englishrose because of their posts during my trip reports where they report what "really" happened on our vacations. They are practical jokers and love anything and everything that is ridiculous. They are sure to always provide a laugh, even if it is at the expense of their mother and sister.

For ease of reading I will be providing a table of contents in the second post on this thread and I also provide links at the end of each chapter. I love my readers so please post and say hello!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

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[schumigirl]

This looks like a fun trip......can`t wait to read more about it.......

 

[christophfam]

Looking forward to reading your trip report!

Thanks for coming over to the dark side to post!!

 

[audrey2580]

I'm in!

 

[SharonK0527]

Count me in! Looking forward to reading all about it!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

This looks like a fun trip......can`t wait to read more about it.......

Welcome! We had a blast at Universal, I am so glad that we gave it a shot and didn't limit ourselves to the "Disney bubble".

Looking forward to reading your trip report!

Thanks for coming over to the dark side to post!!

I am kinda liking it here on the "dark side".

I'm in!

Thanks for joining in!

Count me in! Looking forward to reading all about it!

Coming right up!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

May 17th

I woke up very excited on the morning of the 17th. We were going somewhere we had never been before and I was really pumped! I had done tons of research for this part of the trip and I was crossing my fingers and hoping that it would all pay off.

Where were we headed? We were off to Universal Studios! We had discussed a big Florida blowout trip for 2012 way back in 2007 in which we would visit all the major Florida theme parks. Then Universal announced that they would be adding a Harry Potter section to their parks and that cemented our desire to visit even more. When I got the great pin code for May 2011 we decided that we would transfer our two week trip from 2012 to 2011 and do WDW and Universal. We opted to save the other Florida parks for another year so we would have a more relaxing vacation.

We would be spending the next two days discovering what Universal Florida had in store for us.

I had slated Islands of Adventure for our first Universal park day. It was a Tuesday in mid-May so I was hoping that the crowds would not be too bad. I was nervous as I had read all the reports about the insane crowds at the Wizarding World and how if you didn't get there super early you would have to stand in line just to get into the Wizarding World and then once in you would have to stand in crazy lines for each individual ride. Would that come true or would we get lucky?

I wasn't going to risk getting stuck at the back of a big crowd so I planned for us to be at the park gates a full hour before the park was slated to open. That meant we were up and out the door around 7:30. I made sure to bring the Hogwarts acceptance letter I had made up for my cousin, Caroline. She had no idea we were in Florida and going to Hogwarts so she would be in for a huge surprise! It would not have been good if I forgot it in the room, this was our only day at Islands of Adventure. The letter looked really nice. I printed it on parchment paper with green ink in a flowy handwriting font. It looked just like in the movies/books. I even included a book and supply list! Caroline is a HUGE Harry Potter fan and I knew she would go bananas when she got a Hogwarts letter via Owl Post.

Getting to Universal from WDW is really easy. You just hop on the highway and drive north for maybe 20 minutes and then you are there.

We paid for our parking at the entrance booth and then drove into the massive parking garage. Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios share the same parking garage and it is massive! It is kinda nice though as your car isn't roasting in the sun all day long and thus boiling hot when you get back into it later in the day.

We got to park in the Jaws section.

I was traveling light for our Universal days as you can't take a bag on most of the rides at Universal and I didn't want to deal with the lockers. The whole day I had a feeling that I was missing something. It was an odd feeling traveling without my bag in the parks. Turns out I could have brought a bag anyways as Mom didn't go on the rides that required you to store your bag so she could have just held onto it, oh well!

After parking the car we took the escalator up a level and started our journey out of the parking garage structure. They have those moving sidewalks to speed the walk up, good thing too as it would have been quite the hike without them.

There is also a bag check in the middle of this moving sidewalk area.

The moving sidewalks eventually dump you out at Universal's City Walk which is comparable to Downtown Disney. You need to walk through this area to get to both of the parks. There are tons of restaurant and shops and a massive movie theatre. Looks like a fun place to hang out.

The Hard Rock Cafe with Rip Ride Rockit (Universal Studios) behind it. I was looking forward to riding that but not until the next day!

The Islands of Adventure Lighthouse in the distance!

We arrived at the entrance to Islands of Adventure right around 8am and there were only a few people waiting in front of us, alright!

We grabbed our spots in line and took a look around us. I was already liking what I was seeing. Nicely themed! The Port of Entry (main entrance area) was really pretty!

A decorative gate at the entrance. Each of the circles/islands represents a different area of the park. You'll note that there are already people in the park, those are resort guests, they get early entry to the Wizarding World.

Note the game system in Erich's hand. He and Alek don't go anywhere without their game systems!

Well it was a good thing we showed up super early as they opened the park early, nearly 30 minutes early! Sweet! No crowds and early entry! Time for the mad dash to the Wizarding World which is located at the back of the park!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

We walked as quickly as we could to the back of the park. I managed to snap a few shots without slowing my pace. I wish we weren't in such a hurry as everything around us looked so neat and it would have been nice to slow down and take it in. We couldn't though as Harry Potter was calling to us!

You enter the park through the Port of Entry

Alek has his hands on his head. He is probably saying something like "Oh my god! Harry Potter!" in his crazy voice, not in a serious way but in a funny mocking way. He is not that big of a Harry Potter nerd.

You then hang a right and pass through Seuss Landing which looked pretty awesome!

Seuss Landing then turns into The Lost Continent. I love the theming for this section of the park since I am a big mythology buff.

Mythos, this is a restaurant that gets really great reviews and has an awesome theme!

What comes after The Lost Continent? The Wizarding World of Harry Potter!

 

[SharonK0527]

Yay! You're there!! Can't wait to hear about the rest of your day!! Since I'm a big Disney fan I'm going to read the rest of this trip report too

Looking forward to the next update

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Yay! You're there!! Can't wait to hear about the rest of your day!! Since I'm a big Disney fan I'm going to read the rest of this trip report too

Looking forward to the next update

Glad to have you reading!

I was so excited to be visiting Universal and especially the Wizarding World.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

May 17th Continued

We had arrived at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter! I was so excited! I LOVE Harry Potter. I discovered the books in my first year of university many years ago. I spent the days before my first Psychology midterm reading the first four books (I still got a B on the midterm by the way, not bad for a slacker first year student! ) Erich had been reading the books from the start so he was already an established fan, I was just jumping on the bandwagon. I am dating myself here but the first movie came out that winter and the first thing we did as a family when I got off the plane at Christmas was head to the theatre to see the movie! Mom and Alek are also fans but not as much as Erich and I. When books 5,6, and 7 came out I got the books on the release day and then I sat down and read them straight through that same day. I couldn't risk anybody spoiling them for me and I just had to know what was going to happen next!

I am at heart a book fan but I enjoy the movies as well and I was amazed at how they recreated the movie world for the park. It was amazing and beautiful! So much detail! If not for the crowds of people (wouldn't have been bad if they were all wearing wizarding robes! ) and the hot Florida sun you would feel as though you were actually in Hogsmeade!

The Hogwarts Express!

The first place we went was Ollivander's. While researching I had read that the line for this develops really quickly and is very slow moving as they can only take about 20-30 people, if that, into the shop at a time and then there is the show which lasts for about 6 minutes. The line was not long yet so we got in line. We ended up waiting through the show that was already occurring and one other show. To give you an idea of how long we waited the first picture I took while standing in line was at 8:45 and my first picture of the show was taken at 8:58, not bad! We were in Ollivander's before the official park opening time. My tip: Arrive at the park for opening and head straight to Ollivander's if you plan on catching the show.

What does one do while waiting in line? Take pictures!

Hogwarts in the distance!

Ollivander's emptied out into Dervish and Banges

Continued in Next Post

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

We were finally let into Ollivander's and we shuffled over to the far side of the room. Ollivander was working away at some bookkeeping when we entered.

The shop was very authentic to the movie and had a nice atmosphere. It was a very small space though so there was not much room to move around.

One lucky person in the audience gets picked by Ollivander to go through the wand ceremony. Of course it is usually a kid but I have read about adults getting chosen from time to time so don't count yourself out of luck if you don't have a kid in tow! Sadly we weren't lucky enough to get chosen.

I recorded the show for you, it is a dark video as they really lower the lighting during the show for effect. It is nearly identical to Harry's experience at Ollivander's in the movie although the interaction with the chosen guest is, of course, different each time. The interaction with the little boy when we were there was pretty funny.

Here is the video if you want to check it out: Video:Ollivander's Wand Shop

After the show we were lead out into Dervish and Banges and that is where I will leave you until next time!

 

[tink1957]

Great start, you really captured the ambiance of the park in pictures. I almost feel like I'm there with you.

Looking forward to reading more

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Great start, you really captured the ambiance of the park in pictures. I almost feel like I'm there with you.

Looking forward to reading more

Thank You! I love taking pictures, I think they breathe life into trip reports. Can't have a TR without pictures!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

May 17th continued

After the wand ceremony you are led out into Dervish & Banges/The Owl Post. You can find all sorts of merchandise in this store - tshirts, pillows, wands, cups, etc. Pretty much anything you might want to buy you can get here.

I was on the hunt for Hogwarts stamps so that I could mail my cousin's Hogwarts letter via Owl Post. Mom asked one of the shop attendants and they pointed her in the right direction. She told me that she would stand in line and I could look around.

Here are some random pictures from around the store. I could have taken hundreds of photos in there but it was crowded and I didn't want to waste precious park time. The park had just opened and would only get busier.

Monster Book of Monsters

Here is a story that I am not so proud of. Mom had been standing in line to buy the Hogwarts stamps to mail Caroline's letter. When we got to the counter to buy the stamps I noticed that Caroline's address had been printed incorrectly on the envelope. I had typed up the letter but Mom had typed up the envelope. She had put ON (Ontario) instead of OH (Ohio). I lost it on her! I was going on about how her letter was ruined and how could she do something so stupid! I was pissed! I know it was irrational but something in me just snapped. It was easy enough to fix, we simply borrowed a pen from the shop attendant and turned the ON into an OH. Doing so destroyed the look of the envelope though as it had been printed in a pretty green font and the fix had to be scratched on with a black pen. So lesson learned here folks, always check that what you want to send via Owl Post is correctly addressed before you leave on vacation! That shop attendant probably though I was the biggest you know what she had ever seen after witnessing my temper tantrum. Mom was pretty ticked off at me as well. Stamps bought I marched outside, still in a rare temper, to find where they stamp the mail for Owl Post.

Here is how Owl Post works: You can put a regular stamp on your letter/postcard or you can buy a sheet of Hogwarts stamps in The Owl Post. You can then pop outside into the shaded seating area where there will be a "witch/wizard" at a stand/podium who will stamp your letter with an Owl Post stamp. You can then deposit the letter in the stand which serves as a mail box. You don't need to be mailing anything to get the Owl Post stamp, they will stamp anything for you for no charge.

I didn't mail Caroline's letter right away as I knew that I might want to include a small souvenir in the envelope.

Having secured the Owl Post stamp I went back inside to finish looking around the shop. I ended up in the wand section. They have all sorts of wands for purchase. They, of course, have character replica wands such as Harry, Hermione, Ron, Dumbledore, Voldemort etc. They also have "unique" wands that are not associated with a character and are only sold in the shop. You can buy the character wands pretty much anywhere (the airport, City Walk shops, etc.) but these unique wands you are only able to get inside the Wizarding World. I thought most of the wands were fairly ugly but I did like Hermione's wand and one of the unique wands (the Holly wand I believe). I considered buying Caroline (and myself) a wand but they were $30 so I decided to walk away and think about it before splurging. I was so proud of myself!

Alek and Erich had been hanging around the wand section as well. They were using the wands in a non-traditional way...

Some more pictures from around the shop courtesy of Alek and Erich:

Alek captured that special moment where I was losing my mind over the envelope address snafu. It was completely by accident as he was taking a picture of Erich and we didn't realize my temper tantrum had been captured on film until we were reviewing the pictures at the hotel later that night.

 

[LuvindisCruiser]

Great report. :

I am a die hard mouse fan, going to universal in June.
I am learning so much from all these reports.

Thanks!

Can't wait to read the rest. Your brothers are hilarious!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Great report. :

I am a die hard mouse fan, going to universal in June.
I am learning so much from all these reports.

Thanks!

Can't wait to read the rest. Your brothers are hilarious!

I am a huge WDW fan and this was our first trip to Universal.

My main tip is to not compare it to WDW. Universal and WDW are two completely different resorts and each have their ups and downs. Appreciate it for what it offers rather than what it doesn't. I find that most people who dislike Universal go in there with a preconceived notion of what it is going to be like, it is almost like they are setting themselves up to dislike it before they even get there.

Go in with an open mind and have fun!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

May 17th continued

After my blow up at the Owl Post and Alek and Erich's fun with their wands we made our way out of Dervish and Banges and towards the main attraction of the Wizarding World, Hogwarts School or Witchcraft and Wizardery! Housed inside Hogwarts is the VERY popular ride, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.

I think they did an amazing job recreating Hogwarts for the park.

Mom opted not to ride, I can't remember why, she grabbed a seat outside to wait for us. The posted wait time was 25 minutes.

You enter Hogwarts through the dungeon level.

When you enter there will be a bunch of craziness to your right, that is the locker area. You can't carry anything bigger than a small camera onto the ride with you so you have to store your belongings in the lockers. If you are not using a locker avoid that mess and veer off to your left to enter the queue.

The queue takes you throughout the dungeon level where you will see various things from the books/movies.

The Mirror of Erised from Book 1

It was really dark in the queue making it difficult to take pictures.

Eventually you end up in the greenhouses which is where we found the line. This is the only outdoor portion of the queue.

This is where I noticed Univesal had skimped.

Couldn't they have done anything to disguise the big white building housing the ride? Granted you can only really see it while in the greenhouse line but still! That is just sloppy!

Mandrake

Continued in Next Post

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

From the greenhouses you reenter the castle, this time on the main level.

The House Points

Just like in the books and movies the portraits move and talk.

A really dark picture of Dumbledore's office.

You enter the Defense Against the Dark Arts Classroom and Harry, Ron and Hermione show up and convince you that you should skip out on class and go flying with them instead. Alek pointed out that this is very uncharacteristic of Hermione. Tsk tsk.

You then continue a little further down the line until you reach the Sorting Hat. Apparently it gives out instructions for boarding the ride but I was too caught up in everything to notice.

After passing the Sorting Hat you arrive at the loading platform. This is a continuously loading ride which can make things tricky if you are not quick and agile. An employee made me get up from my seat to stow my camera as I had it dangling from my wrist. Apparently one of the things the Sorting Hat had told us was that there is a little compartment in the back of your seat to store your camera, wallet etc. Camera stowed away just in time we were off for our broomstick ride with Harry and the gang.

I don't really know how to describe this ride. It was a mix of everything. It is definitely not a gentle ride. You are swooping and twisting and turning constantly. Some parts there is a screen like Soarin and other parts you are going through an area where animatronics are jumping out at you. It was a pretty awesome ride although the storyline seemed a bit disjointed. It was a ton of fun though! I can see kids becoming frightened on the ride though due to the motion and some scary aspects.

When we got off Alek and I both felt like we were going to be sick. Erich said he felt fine. I thought this was really ironic as Erich is the ride chicken and Alek and I are the thrill ride junkies yet we were the ones who felt nauseated afterward. So my tip to you, if you are even slightly susceptible to motion sickness, take something before going on this ride. Apparently people getting sick after riding is fairly common.

The ride dumps you out into a gift shop, Filch's Emporium of Confiscated Goods, that is connected to the locker area. As you can imagine this gift shop gets rather crowded. There was lots of neat stuff to look at but we exited without buying anything. I was still keeping my eyes open for a gift for Caroline (our cousin) and of course I would end up buying stuff for myself. I was trying to not buy on impulse though so we were just looking to start out with and would make our purchases later in the day.

We met back up with Mom and I apologized for my Owl Post blowup earlier.

Where would we head next?