Heading North - Universal Orlando

We left Stuart on July 10 planning to take our time getting to WashPA by August 1st where we have reservations at an Airbnb until the middle of September. Our first stop was only 128 miles in Orlando. We had never been to any of the parks there so we stayed for a week.

We got a good deal for a week's stay in a two bedroom condo at Westgate Palace. This was our view from the 19th floor. 

The Universal parks were close enough that we could see the evening fireworks. Mother nature even provided a spectacular show one night.

Even though we got the Florida resident discount, the tickets were VERY, VERY expensive. There are three different parks, Universal Studios, Island Adventure and Volcano Bay, a water park. We bought  tickets for the first two that included three days' admission over six days. In addition, we bought an Express Pass that we thought also covered the three days, only to discover it was good for only one day. The total cost was $1,118.00. I don't know how families afford it, but they sure do as the place was packed. 

All of the shows and rides are themed around Universal productions. Our first ride was Transformers, a 3D ride. 

A San Francisco theme part of the park had several restaurants. It was not nearly as neat as the real thing we experienced in May.

The Fast and Furious - Supercharged shop. Another ride that is more an illusion than a real ride. You are bounced around while the speeding scene makes it feel like you are moving.

Yes, we rode the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit coaster. Here is a link to a video of the ride. Nanc said, never again, this was her last coaster ride. 

Hollywood was mainly famous store fronts. We did see The Bourne Stuntacular, a show with many stunts from the movie.

Springfield, USA is dedicated to the Simpsons. The Simpson Ride sends you careening and crashing through Springfield.

Jurassic Park not only has rides, it has a Discovery Center where you can learn about prehistoric plants and animals.

We even got to watch a dinosaur being hatched. It was very real looking.

In the Lost Continent Poseidon's Fury was a walk through a fire and water show.

Seuss Landing has everything from shows....

...to Seuss inspired rides. The merry go round has many different Seuss characters.

Nanc looking for a job as a rickshaw driver.

All that peddling made her hungry for a Voodoo doughnut.

The E.T. Adventure ride took you on a bike ride across the stars as E.T. goes home.

Toon Lagoon was all themed with old time comic book characters.

You can even get a Dagwood sandwich at Blondie's. I don't know how many young people know what that is.

The Incredible Hulk Coaster. Here is a video link.

Nanc was done, but not me. I conquered the Hulk.

The main reason we picked Universal rather than Disney was we wanted to see the Harry Potter attractions.They are in two different parts of the park requiring two different admissions$$$ Our ticket gave us admission to both.

In Universal Studios is the Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley with all the shops on the London side of Harry's adventure. The dragon breathes fire several times a day.

At the Hopping Pot you can have beef pasties, Butterbeer or the real thing.

The entrance to Gringotts Money Exchange with the banker on a column of gold. They should put the Universal globe on top, as it produces a column of gold everyday for the company.

Inside the bank on our way to The Escape from Gringotts ride. We were glad we had the express pass that put us in the "fast" line.

The animated banker with his ledger was keeping an eye on us. 

You cannot be a witch or wizard without a magic wand. They were advertised as "free" (HA HA) only if you purchased a $300 Universal gift card. Otherwise, the price was $60. With your wand you got a map of all the secret places you could us it to cast spells. 

Another day we returned to Universal Studios to catch a ride on the Hogwarts Express to Hogsmeade.

Of course we had to go through gate 9-3/4 to board the train.

The train was waiting for us to board for the ride to Hogsmeade and the Hogswarts Castle.

There must have been some wizardery students on this trip as their messenger owl was waiting for them.

The snow covered buildings in the village were welcome as it was in the 90's the day we were there.

The Hogswarts Castle looks as real as those we saw in Europe.

Inside the castle we saw Professor Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts School. The ride Harry Potter the Forbidden Journey was a ride that included flying through a quiddich game. It bounced you around more than the coasters. 

Our last visit was in the evening to see the light show at Hogwarts Castle.

It was worth the huge crowd. Here is a short video of the show. 

The show ends with fireworks. 

While we enjoyed our visit to the Universal parks, we both agreed they are now on the been there done that list. We are getting to the point where these kind of places don't thrill us and we could do many other things with the $1100 we gave Universal.