Vacationing in Florida: Day 5 (Universal Studios)


May 28th, 2017


Today we headed to Universal Studios! We woke up super early so that we could make it to the park before it opened. We waited online from 8:05 to 8:45 (when the park opened), and the line that amassed behind us was wild. 


The first ride we ran to was Rock It, because we knew the line for that would be ridiculous if we waited until later in the day. Good thing we did that, because we walked on the ride with ease and ended up being one of the first people of the day to ride! 


We took a little stroll around and I found this cute vintage car! There are a few vintage cars scattered around Universal Studios.

After that we went to Diagon Alley! 





It was my first time ever going and I have to say it was the most amazing place. I've seen all the Harry Potter movies and have read a few of the books, so I'm not a huge Potterhead but I know some things. Even so, I had an amazing time there. 

I wish there was a separate park just for Harry Potter stuff! 

We went on the Gringotts Bank ride and it was my favorite ride of the day. I wish I could have taken photos inside (We had to drop our stuff off in a locker before riding) because it was beautiful!


There is a dragon sitting on top of Gringotts, and every so often it blows fire! I asked a staff member how often the Dragon goes off and he said it was totally random, there is no set time interval! He just said to listen for the growl, and after that it takes about 6 seconds for the dragon to breathe fire.




I'm not a big fan of carbonated drinks, but I really wanted to try Butterbeer! Turns out the ice cream shop has the next best thing: Butterbeer soft serve! The sweet shop also has butterbeer fudge that I really recommend you try! Share it with a friend though, because it's super sugary and hard to eat all by yourself.


Vincent and his aunt got Butterbeer, so I lived vicariously through them.





We had an early lunch at the Leaky Cauldron. I ate a ton of sugar (Butterbeer fudge and Ice cream) so I was seriously craving some real food. We caught the tail end of breakfast, which wrapped up at 10:25. The lunch shift started at 10:30, so that's when we decided to head on in and order.

(Note that we woke up at 6 am, so a 10:30 lunch sounds a little more reasonable)




I ordered the Cottage Pie. I thought it was great, but the side salad seemed like an afterthought and I didn't even touch it. The pie alone was filling enough!

Vincent got the specialty chicken sandwich. He said it was really good!
After lunch we went to the Men in Black ride, which I didn't even know was a thing until we walked up to the huge sign! I am a diehard Men in Black fan, so needless to say I was freaking out the entire time we were in the ride. If you like Men in Black, the first 5 minutes of the ride itself will be well worth the wait!


After that ride we rode the Mummy ride (another ride where you need to lock your stuff in a locker, hence: no photos!) and watched a group of people go down the Rock It.


We browsed the stores a bit before we left and I found this gem of a store while walking through the Betty Boop store!!!

Hello Kitty!




Vincent under the rainbow

They had a place where you could buy themed treats (I'm a big sucker for themed food). I didn't get anything but everything looked so great!!




I got this cute Purin notebook I can use for studying in Japan!

We went to the super huge gift store that basically had everything, which was great because it was far less crowded than the wand stores in Diagon Alley. 

Here, I actually got to hold some wands and get a feel for them, and the woman selling the wands was super knowledgable about them. Did you know: Molly Weasley's wand has seven lines on the tip of the handle: one for each of her children.




Also saw this. Literally why god.

2 great danes chilling


At the end of the night, before we went to go take a dip in the pool, we saw some fireworks coming from where I assume to be Seaworld. I couldn't get amazing photos, it was one of those "you just gotta see it" things, but I got this decent shot! I love fireworks.



0 Comments