Showing posts with label Harry Potter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Harry Potter. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 26, 2019
Universal Studios Trip Movie...
If you'd like to see our trip in video form... here's a glimpse of what we saw and heard while in the park and on our family trip.
Universal Trip: Returning home (DAY FIVE)...
Today we just had to pack the last of our stuff into our suitcases and get to the airport. The flight didn't leave till lunchtime so we packed our bags, tidied up our room and went to find a late breakfast in the neighboring hotels lobby store.
Then headed back to our room to collect our things and then took a Lyft car to the airport. The lines for security were long but tolerable. We made it through and took the monorail to our gate. We grabbed some airport food lunch and waited the hour or so till our flight would be boarding. Thankfully they had this little movie theater setup and the boys watched the Smallfoot movie till we were ready to board.
When we were waiting by our gate before boarding the crowds were starting to hover. I jokingly said to Jerimy that I wish our sensory pass worked for the airport too. He told me to ask and after much debate I took Oliver with me to ask the grouchy looking flight attendant. She didn't even wait to hear anything past "I have a sensory kiddo..." she just waved us through. We got on the plane early, and Oliver was able to stop stressing because he had his own space in his own seat.
The flight was pretty uneventful- the way they should be. We arrived home to a snow and very cold winters night. Mormor picked us up from the airport and we drove home to find some dinner. The sunny warm, relaxing days of vacation were over and it was back to our daily routine. I had to work the next day so it was an early bedtime for most of us.
Then headed back to our room to collect our things and then took a Lyft car to the airport. The lines for security were long but tolerable. We made it through and took the monorail to our gate. We grabbed some airport food lunch and waited the hour or so till our flight would be boarding. Thankfully they had this little movie theater setup and the boys watched the Smallfoot movie till we were ready to board.
When we were waiting by our gate before boarding the crowds were starting to hover. I jokingly said to Jerimy that I wish our sensory pass worked for the airport too. He told me to ask and after much debate I took Oliver with me to ask the grouchy looking flight attendant. She didn't even wait to hear anything past "I have a sensory kiddo..." she just waved us through. We got on the plane early, and Oliver was able to stop stressing because he had his own space in his own seat.
The flight was pretty uneventful- the way they should be. We arrived home to a snow and very cold winters night. Mormor picked us up from the airport and we drove home to find some dinner. The sunny warm, relaxing days of vacation were over and it was back to our daily routine. I had to work the next day so it was an early bedtime for most of us.
Monday, February 25, 2019
Universal Studios Florida Trip (DAY FOUR)...
Today was our last day with Park passes. We each picked at least one thing we HAD to do before the end of the day. I think we accomplished most of the items on our mental list. I didn't want anyone leaving with regrets of things they didn't get to do.
We woke and ventured over to the park in our own sweet time. One of the first things we had to cross off our list was the ride in Diagon Alley we hadn't rode yet. We rode the Escape from Grigott's ride twice in less than a half hour with our Special pass.
Then we got some mid morning ice cream. Oliver got the butter beer frozen ice cream and it was SUPER delicious. I should have gotten my own, yum!
This was probably the shortest amount of time we spent at Diagon Alley, but we decided since Daddy wasn't feeling the greatest after riding the ride twice we would go back to the Hotel. Daddy would stay there and rest while the boys and I spent most of the day at Volcano Bay. We rode the Water coaster ride, which was super fun. You sit in a four person inflatable canoe basically. When there's an uphill it propels you up and then you ride the water downhills. It was fun but I did get a lot of water in my face and wished I had brought goggles with me.
Oliver and I rode on a few of the bigger monster water slides. Lucius was too freaked out at how big they were and wouldn't try them with us. We rode the water rapids a few times while Lucius waited for us in the pool. The boys swam in the wave pool for a while. They even tried the body drop slides and then somehow convinced me to go at least once. So you have to sat up in this tube with a glass front door that they close on you. You cross your arms and feet then stand there while they count down from three. On the count of three the floor drops out from under you and you drop about 20 feet at a 60 degree angle, then twist and turn in the body tube slide till you reach the end. After climbing over 200 stairs to get to the top- I thought the easiest way down was just to ride it. Wow- I did not expect it would take so way to twist your way to the bottom. Thankfully I can say that I tried it but I'm not doing that again, eek!
In the late afternoon we headed to the park one last time. We walked through Dr. Suess land, I think Lucius and I really enjoyed this section of the park. We rode the trolley, an elevated roller coaster/ train ride. Oliver reluctantly came with us and daddy sat it out.
Then we did the Posiden's adventure. It was a bit dated but it was something fun to share with the boys. Lucius got a little scared at the darkness and evil-ish sounding voices.
The one thing I really wanted to do was to see the light show because it was going to be different from the one we saw on Sunday. So we headed to Hogsmeade but had some time to kill. Since the Flight of the Hipogriff line was under 30 minute wait time the boys decided to ride it. And then ride it again, and again and again. I think they must have gone about a dozen times. At least they were having a BLAST. About the time the second light show was going to start we head to find a place to watch it from. The crowd was much thinner than Sunday but still was filling up. I showed an employee our pass and they again let us stand away from the crowds near the stage. It was pretty fantastic how friendly and understand the park employee's were about sensory needs. The show was great and the boys enjoyed it.
Our journey to Harry Potter World was complete and we headed to the park exit one last time, saying goodbye to all the fun times we shared there. We took our last water taxi back to the hotel where we bought some dinner snacks from a hotel lobby food store and then ate whatever items we had felt in the room for a hodge podge meal.
We woke and ventured over to the park in our own sweet time. One of the first things we had to cross off our list was the ride in Diagon Alley we hadn't rode yet. We rode the Escape from Grigott's ride twice in less than a half hour with our Special pass.
Then we got some mid morning ice cream. Oliver got the butter beer frozen ice cream and it was SUPER delicious. I should have gotten my own, yum!
This was probably the shortest amount of time we spent at Diagon Alley, but we decided since Daddy wasn't feeling the greatest after riding the ride twice we would go back to the Hotel. Daddy would stay there and rest while the boys and I spent most of the day at Volcano Bay. We rode the Water coaster ride, which was super fun. You sit in a four person inflatable canoe basically. When there's an uphill it propels you up and then you ride the water downhills. It was fun but I did get a lot of water in my face and wished I had brought goggles with me.
Oliver and I rode on a few of the bigger monster water slides. Lucius was too freaked out at how big they were and wouldn't try them with us. We rode the water rapids a few times while Lucius waited for us in the pool. The boys swam in the wave pool for a while. They even tried the body drop slides and then somehow convinced me to go at least once. So you have to sat up in this tube with a glass front door that they close on you. You cross your arms and feet then stand there while they count down from three. On the count of three the floor drops out from under you and you drop about 20 feet at a 60 degree angle, then twist and turn in the body tube slide till you reach the end. After climbing over 200 stairs to get to the top- I thought the easiest way down was just to ride it. Wow- I did not expect it would take so way to twist your way to the bottom. Thankfully I can say that I tried it but I'm not doing that again, eek!
In the late afternoon we headed to the park one last time. We walked through Dr. Suess land, I think Lucius and I really enjoyed this section of the park. We rode the trolley, an elevated roller coaster/ train ride. Oliver reluctantly came with us and daddy sat it out.
Then we did the Posiden's adventure. It was a bit dated but it was something fun to share with the boys. Lucius got a little scared at the darkness and evil-ish sounding voices.
The one thing I really wanted to do was to see the light show because it was going to be different from the one we saw on Sunday. So we headed to Hogsmeade but had some time to kill. Since the Flight of the Hipogriff line was under 30 minute wait time the boys decided to ride it. And then ride it again, and again and again. I think they must have gone about a dozen times. At least they were having a BLAST. About the time the second light show was going to start we head to find a place to watch it from. The crowd was much thinner than Sunday but still was filling up. I showed an employee our pass and they again let us stand away from the crowds near the stage. It was pretty fantastic how friendly and understand the park employee's were about sensory needs. The show was great and the boys enjoyed it.
Our journey to Harry Potter World was complete and we headed to the park exit one last time, saying goodbye to all the fun times we shared there. We took our last water taxi back to the hotel where we bought some dinner snacks from a hotel lobby food store and then ate whatever items we had felt in the room for a hodge podge meal.
Sunday, February 24, 2019
Universal Studios Florida Trip (DAY THREE)...
Monday was our day we planned to use our get into the Park an hour early room key trick since we were told to expect much lower crowds. We set an alarm and reluctantly rolled out of bed. We made it to the shuttle and the park entrance with time to get a fancy donut from Voo Doo Donuts. Then it was thru the gates and straight to Diagon Alley with EVERYONE else who was let in early (Diagon alley is the only part of the park that is open one hour early). Everyone headed straight to the Gringotts ride so we thankfully had a bunch of time to explore the area without too many people.
Since other park guests were in the ride, we decided to go to Ollivanders again but this time to see the wand choosing show. Oliver was literally bouncing and doing some crazy happy/ excited dance when we got inside of Ollivander’s wand shop. Ollivander hadn’t even shut the door before he approached Oliver to find him a wand. It was a most magical day!
Of course if the wand chooses the wizard, that wizard can use to give it back or purchase the wand. Daddy kindly decided to buy Oliver his chosen wand.
After this amazing experience we tried to find all the magical spots in Diagon Alley to do magic with the new wand.
Then it was off to the Kings Cross Train station to ride the Hogwarts Express to Hogsmeade. Lines have been long most of the weekend so by being in the park early we decided to go right at 9am when Hogsmeade opened. The train ride was great, the boys really enjoyed being on platform 9 3/4.
Once in Hogsmeade we looked for the last of the magical areas we hadn't done yet. (Turns out that by the end of our trip we found all but one magical spot in both Harry Potter areas). The boys decided they would try the Flight of the Hipogriff roller coaster ride. At first they were very unsure but after a few trips, they absolutely loved it. Thank goodness they did and even enjoyed riding it by themselves, because my stomach could not handle more than a few rides.
Daddy, Oliver and Lucius took another ride on the Harry Potter and the forbidden journey. Then the boys rode the Hipogriff ride a few more times. Eventually we decided to take the train back to Diagon Alley for lunch at the Leaky Caldron. The food in the park so far hadn't been mind blowing, but it wasn't horrible either.
After lunch Daddy headed back to the Hotel to relax while the boys and I waited to see the tales of Beedle the Bard puppet show. It was a fun story and the puppets were pretty cool. It was nice to just sit for a bit.
Afterwards we headed to the park entrance to take a selfie by the Universal sign- its harder than it looks cause a million people are there waiting or trying too.
Then it was off by water taxi to the Hotel where we all relaxed for a hour or so. Then we decided to try the water park, Volcano Bay. We suited up and walked over, there was a walking path that took us straight to the water park in about 7 minutes walk. That's when we walked in and were overwhelmed at the size of the place. It was HUGE! Every size water slide you could ever think of was there and in the middle of it all was a giant Volcano mountain. I didn't take any pictures so we could live in the moment. But I can tell you we had a blast trying out a lot of the water slides. Oliver and Daddy tried a drop body slide. At the end of the tube slide it drops you 4-6th above the water into 10 foot deep pool. Of course before he came down the life guards had already rescued three people of varying ages out of the pool... which only heightened my nervousness. I was worried about Oliver because they didn't know how deep the pool was when they got in line, but he did awesome.
Then we took a few of the group tube rides and the water rapids ride, similar to a lazy river but instead of tubes you have to put on a life vest. Then you ride the faster current through the river and there are areas that have mini rapids to shoot through. We rode this several times, all of us except Lucius who did NOT like it and was scared. There was also a wave pool that the boys loved being in. After a good couple of hours we decided to head back. We decided to let the boys swim in the Hotel pool for a bit while Jerimy took a Lyft ride to the grocery store for dinner/ food supplies. The boys of course loved swimming in the 70 degree weather. I tried drying off and warming up by the pool side. The sun was setting so it was getting cooler. When I was too chilled we headed up to the room to change. We had dinner when Jerimy came back and then watched a little netflix to finish off our day.
Since other park guests were in the ride, we decided to go to Ollivanders again but this time to see the wand choosing show. Oliver was literally bouncing and doing some crazy happy/ excited dance when we got inside of Ollivander’s wand shop. Ollivander hadn’t even shut the door before he approached Oliver to find him a wand. It was a most magical day!
Of course if the wand chooses the wizard, that wizard can use to give it back or purchase the wand. Daddy kindly decided to buy Oliver his chosen wand.
After this amazing experience we tried to find all the magical spots in Diagon Alley to do magic with the new wand.
Then it was off to the Kings Cross Train station to ride the Hogwarts Express to Hogsmeade. Lines have been long most of the weekend so by being in the park early we decided to go right at 9am when Hogsmeade opened. The train ride was great, the boys really enjoyed being on platform 9 3/4.
Once in Hogsmeade we looked for the last of the magical areas we hadn't done yet. (Turns out that by the end of our trip we found all but one magical spot in both Harry Potter areas). The boys decided they would try the Flight of the Hipogriff roller coaster ride. At first they were very unsure but after a few trips, they absolutely loved it. Thank goodness they did and even enjoyed riding it by themselves, because my stomach could not handle more than a few rides.
Daddy, Oliver and Lucius took another ride on the Harry Potter and the forbidden journey. Then the boys rode the Hipogriff ride a few more times. Eventually we decided to take the train back to Diagon Alley for lunch at the Leaky Caldron. The food in the park so far hadn't been mind blowing, but it wasn't horrible either.
After lunch Daddy headed back to the Hotel to relax while the boys and I waited to see the tales of Beedle the Bard puppet show. It was a fun story and the puppets were pretty cool. It was nice to just sit for a bit.
Afterwards we headed to the park entrance to take a selfie by the Universal sign- its harder than it looks cause a million people are there waiting or trying too.
Then it was off by water taxi to the Hotel where we all relaxed for a hour or so. Then we decided to try the water park, Volcano Bay. We suited up and walked over, there was a walking path that took us straight to the water park in about 7 minutes walk. That's when we walked in and were overwhelmed at the size of the place. It was HUGE! Every size water slide you could ever think of was there and in the middle of it all was a giant Volcano mountain. I didn't take any pictures so we could live in the moment. But I can tell you we had a blast trying out a lot of the water slides. Oliver and Daddy tried a drop body slide. At the end of the tube slide it drops you 4-6th above the water into 10 foot deep pool. Of course before he came down the life guards had already rescued three people of varying ages out of the pool... which only heightened my nervousness. I was worried about Oliver because they didn't know how deep the pool was when they got in line, but he did awesome.
Then we took a few of the group tube rides and the water rapids ride, similar to a lazy river but instead of tubes you have to put on a life vest. Then you ride the faster current through the river and there are areas that have mini rapids to shoot through. We rode this several times, all of us except Lucius who did NOT like it and was scared. There was also a wave pool that the boys loved being in. After a good couple of hours we decided to head back. We decided to let the boys swim in the Hotel pool for a bit while Jerimy took a Lyft ride to the grocery store for dinner/ food supplies. The boys of course loved swimming in the 70 degree weather. I tried drying off and warming up by the pool side. The sun was setting so it was getting cooler. When I was too chilled we headed up to the room to change. We had dinner when Jerimy came back and then watched a little netflix to finish off our day.
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