Better late then Never? A Christmas at the Dark Side 2014 TR

I'm back with what is likely the latest Trip Report I have written. This trip took place way back last year from December 4th-10th 2014. I am usually more on top of starting these trip reports right when I get home. But with the holidays and other things keeping me busy I am just now finally able to get to it. For those that are unfamiliar with my Trip Reports you can view all of my past recaps in the links found in my signature. I like to write pretty detailed recaps and there are now over 15,000 photos to be found between all my past trip reports.

Those that you will be seeing in this trip report are myself (Jeff), My wife Kiera, our Son Daniel, and Kiera's little Sister Kena also came along with us.



So how did we come about this vacation? Well for those that haven't followed my past recaps we had a big Family vacation to the Universal and Disney parks the first 2 weeks of June in 2014. The vacation was amazing and so much fun. However the dates we choose were picked in hopes that we would catch the Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Diagon Alley in soft openings. I mean I had followed this thing before it was ever announced or ground broke. I followed all the Insider tips an advice. It had to open while we were there. We had to see it without the crush of crowds that would descend once it officially opened. But what happened? Gringotts happened. Its well known now that Diagon Alley itself as well as the Hogwarts Express were ready to go in late May. However the Gringotts ride was having issues and JK Rowling and Warner Brothers would not allow the land to soft open without Gringotts. And so we never stepped foot in this new land during our June trip. We missed the soft opening by 12 days.

Kiera and I had actually become Annual Passholders to Universal back in 2013. Already planning on visiting my parents who lived in Charleston, South Carolina sometime during the Holidays this year and seeing how expensive flights were to Charleston from Salt Lake I began looking in to other options. One of which was flying in to Orlando. We figured we could spend a day to go see Diagon Alley and then drive up to Charleston. This plan was set in stone when I found the cheapest Airfare to Orlando that I had ever found in all our years going to Florida. I got us 1 way tickets for only $110 a person on Southwest. We held off booking our return flights from Charleston until we saw them go a little cheaper.

However it ended up being for the best that we hadn't booked a return flight yet. Just weeks after making our plans to go to Charleston and booking flights to Orlando my Step Dad accepted a Job to transfer to a different department at Boeing and my family would be moving to Seattle, Washington that fall. We now had to decide if we should cancel our trip back east and go up to Washington instead. Or do we change our plans all together. Since we already had the time requested off work, and one leg of the flights booked we decided to spend that entire week in Orlando. I was even eventually able to secure us our return flights for only $120 a person. Shortly after deciding to do the whole week in Orlando thats when Kiera's mom gave the ok to have Kena come with us and her flight was soon booked too.

We had been coming to Orlando for over 5 years at this point. We are Universal Orlando Annual Passholders. However in all those trips Universal was still always the side trip. It was tacked on after the main event was booked which was usually a Cruise or a Disney trip. This would be the 1st time Universal would be our main event. And at Christmas no less which is the 1st we've visited the resort during this time of year. Universal and Diagon Alley was the main reason for this trip. We planned to spend much time at the resort. We did however decide to take on a Night at the Magic Kingdom though for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party.

I was excited to see how our first actual Universal Orlando Resort vacation would play out.

I remember your last TR! Looking forward to hearing about this one!

I always love your reports! We actually did two days at Universal on our Spring Break trip so I'll be interested to see what Daniel liked. My youngest loved ET, Cat in the Hat, Spiderman, the small HP coaster and the wand stuff!

I'm still working on my Christmas TR For WDW so I know what u mean about life catching up. Feel so guilty lol! On the flip side we just got back from Universal on Monday night and I am almost done with that TR!

Looking forward to hearing about your Christmas adventures

Day 1: The Travel Day

Our day of travel was upon. After nearly 6 months we were finally returning to Orlando. For the first time ever Universal Orlando would be the focus of our trip. And it would be our first time visiting the resort during the Holiday Season.

After packing up the car we left to Kiera's parents house where we would be picking up her little Sister and then be heading to the Airport to catch our 10:30am Flight. Check In and Security was a breeze this morning and before long we were at our gate waiting to board. Its become somewhat of a tradition for me to grab Popeyes when flying out so once again thats what I got while Kiera and Kena settled for Wendy's.










Soon it was time to board our flight and we would start the first leg of our flight. On our trip in June we had 2 layovers and when traveling with a toddler we swore we would never do that again. Yet 6 months later here we were again with 2 layovers on this flight. Hey it was the cheapest option so what could I say. But not only did the time work best, even with 2 layovers it was one of the shortest travel times that day. Kiera, Kena, and Daniel all sat on a row and I took the single seat on the row in front so that Kiera had easy access to get Daniel out if needed. I didn't mind sitting next to the random people plus I got a window seat.















Our first layover took us to Denver where we would actually be switching planes and sit in the airport for around an hour. This is where we grabbed lunch. We decided on the Villa Pizza place which was pretty good although kind of expensive. When boarding the next flight we decided to check Daniels Car Seat at the Gate since it was being a bigger pain on the flight then we thought it would be. Daniel actually liked not having it more.

The next leg of the flight took us to a new airport that we hadn't been to yet in Kansas City. The weather was really crappy here though so we really didn't get to see much of the surrounding area. And we didn't get to see the airport itself since we stayed on the plane here to continue our flight to Orlando. We did see one of the new repainted Southwest Planes here though.












This is the first time we had traveled to the East Coast in December so it was weird to us to see the sun go down so early while on our flight. When landing in Orlando and it being dark we are use to getting in after 11pm. Not after 7. I wish I could have got a picture but as we flew in to Orlando we actually flew over Universal where we could see the Cinematic Specatular show going on. We also flew over Sea World.








We are so use to arriving in Orlando later at night that it was weird seeing all the shops open still. We loved seeing the Christmas trees set up though. It was so festive. We quickly made our way to baggage claim and got all of our Luggage. Then it was to Budget to pick up our Rental car. This trip we opted for a Small SUV and got a Ford Escape. This worked out well having the extra space with Kena coming on the trip. But using Costco Travel I was able to get it cheaper then a mid size car which we typically go for. Usually we like to book with Alamo as we like choosing our vehicle and there Kiosks so we don't have to deny upsells. But this time Budget won out for the great deal on that SUV.









Once the vehicle was loaded up we made our way to Universal BLVD to get checked in to our Hotel. For this trip we would once again be staying at Best Western Universal Maingate. We have stayed at this hotel our past 2 trips as well and it has quickly become a favorite of ours. Its not perfect but its a 3 star and you can score it for about $40 a night thru Hotwire.com. Plus its about a 2 minute drive to Universal Orlando so for a Universal trip it really is a perfect location. It does not have a free breakfast but the rooms have a fridge and microwave. The rooms are nice and clean and we have always been happy with it. As always I post all the hotel photos here at the beginning of the report.

After hauling our luggage to the room and settling in we were getting hungry. One of the things we were excited about with arriving earlier in the evening was that we could run to Downtown Disney and get Earl of Sandwich for dinner. So we hoped on the freeway and made our way to Disney's shopping complex. Now if unless your living under a rock you know that Downtown Disney is currently going thru a major remodel to become Disney Springs. This remodel has really made the parking situation a nightmare. It was horrible in June and it seemed even worse in December. They did at least open one of new parking garages down near the Westside Area of the complex so we decided to park there since we couldn't figure out how to get to any of the other temporary parking areas.

The new garage is nice and all. But being on the very end of the West Side we entered Downtown Disney near Disney Quest and the Cirque De Solie Theater. Yep on the complete opposite side of the complex from where we were heading. And we were running out of time too before Earl of Sandwich closed for the night.






Being in a rush this gave us an oppertunity to do something we had never done before at Downtown Disney and take the water taxi that shuttles between the 3 parts of the complex. We rushed over to the Westside dock and lucked out being the last passingers to make the boat before it set sail. The views of Downtown Disney were great and i'm glad we did it. I just wish we gave it a try during the day time. Maybe next time we will.






After stoping at the old Pleasure Island stop we then made our way to the Marketplace and unloaded. This was a little odd as we entered back in to Downtown Disney from the backside of the Marketplace near the Rain Forest Cafe and we had never been in that area before. It was fun browsing around the area especially with the Christmas season in full swing as there were many decorations, lights, and trees everywhere and music filling the air. It was like the Christmas store spread thruout all the Marketplace.







We made it to Earl of Sandwich in time and an amazing meal as usual. This is our must go to place when ever in Orlando. Even if we aren't visiting the Disney Parks. I try to seek one out whenever in an area where one is located. It diffenitly hit the spot and was a great way to end a day of travel. Sorry I can't recall what we all got though. Even though it was Decemeber it was still pleasent enough to sit outside and eat. Even late at night.

When we finished dinner it was nearing 11pm. We rushed but we made it in to the World of Disney store with just a few mintues to spare before closing. We didn't plan on buying anything at the store tonight. But we still wanted to look around to get and idea of anything we would want to purchase later in the trip. I loved all the Christmas merchandise. We wish we could buy it all.






Leaving World of Disney everything else was now closing up for the night as well. So we made the long walk back to the West Side and eventually back to our rental SUV to start heading back to our Hotel for the night. Although our time at Downtown Disney was short we still had a lot of fun even though it took us over 30 minutes to get out of the parking structure.













Before getting to the Hotel though we made one last stop for the night at a nearby Wal-Mart to grab a few things for the coming days. Our Hotel doesn't offer a free breakfast. But it did have a fridge so we bought some milk and cereal so we could at breakfast before heading to the parks. Another way to save money is that we also bought sandwich supplies and made sandwiches to take to the parks and eat for lunch as well and drinks. This left us to usually only pay for 1 meal in the park which saved a ton. When leaving Wal-Mart we got a glimpse of the Now Open Orlando Eye which was under construction at the time. I couldn't belive how big it was when we finally saw it in person.



Soon we were back at the hotel and trying to get ready for bed. We usually turn on the tv and watch something while getting ready for bed. With it being the Holidays we loved seeing so many Christmas show's on TV. This was quickly becoming our favorite time of year to vacation.

We would soon be in bed though and going to sleep. We had our first day at the parks tomorrow and after barely missing it in June we would finally be steeping thru the brick wall in to Diagon Alley.

A great start! Love the photos!

Your little guy looks like he's a very well-seasoned and well behaved traveler . Very impressive for such a young fellow, especially on such a long flight with two stops.

I sure wish the western NY airports had a Popeyes in them....we love that place! (and don't have any here in our little corner of Canada)

Your pics of the Orlando airport all dressed up in its festive finery has me excited for our Christmas trip this year. The trees are so pretty! (and huge!)

Looking forward to the next installment .

Hello there!

Great start to your trip report! Thanks for sharing! Going to be visiting Orlando in December this year, and for the first time we're doing Universal as the main event! Like you, WDW will only be a side item, and I have to say I'm getting excited about going during a much cooler time of year! Will be reading with high interest!

Earl of Sandwich is definitely on my list of places to try! I've heard such good things!

Great start...pretty rebellious going with a 2 layover flight. We usually go for non-stop...although I'll go up to 1 stop if the price/time is right. 2 stops is too much for me!

Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina said:

A great start! Love the photos!

Your little guy looks like he's a very well-seasoned and well behaved traveler . Very impressive for such a young fellow, especially on such a long flight with two stops.

I sure wish the western NY airports had a Popeyes in them....we love that place! (and don't have any here in our little corner of Canada)

Your pics of the Orlando airport all dressed up in its festive finery has me excited for our Christmas trip this year. The trees are so pretty! (and huge!)

Looking forward to the next installment .

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Thank you. He does do pretty good traveling. But he has done it so much that he is just use to it now. This was his 6th vacation. And early Christmas is now our favorite time of year to go. We loved the small crowds and all the decorations everywhere.

choppee said:

Hello there!

Great start to your trip report! Thanks for sharing! Going to be visiting Orlando in December this year, and for the first time we're doing Universal as the main event! Like you, WDW will only be a side item, and I have to say I'm getting excited about going during a much cooler time of year! Will be reading with high interest!

Click to expand...

Thank you. Early December was a perfect time to go.

mrsabbott said:

Earl of Sandwich is definitely on my list of places to try! I've heard such good things!

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I haven't had anything bad yet. It was good in both Florida and California

wiscbugs said:

Great start...pretty rebellious going with a 2 layover flight. We usually go for non-stop...although I'll go up to 1 stop if the price/time is right. 2 stops is too much for me!

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We don't know what a non-stop flight to Florida is like lol. We fly exclusvly with Southwest and they don't have a direct flight from Salt Lake to Orlando. We typically won't do the 2 layover thing anymore but it was cheaper and physically shorter time frame then the single layover options.

Day 2, Part 1: The Wizarding World Day

The day we had been looking forward to was finally upon us. We would finally be entering Diagon Alley today. Although we were very excited to see the new land we weren't in a big rush to get the parks. We figured with so many days to spend there that we would take our time and do it slow. After getting ready for the day and eating breakfast in the Hotel room we finally left for the parks for the day.

A very short drive later and we arrived at the parking garages. I gave my Prefered Annual Pass which gives us free parking then we were directed to the South garage to park. We would be at the very end of the E.T. section and had a walk ahead of us but eventually we got to CityWalk shortly before 11:30am. It was nice seeing the 2.0 upgrades finished all around CityWalk and all the construction going on in June done and gone. Although now the old Nascar Cafe was under remodel to be turned in to a NBC Sports Bar.












We would be going to Universal Studios Florida today to begin our day. But first we needed to stop at Guest Services. Back on our June trip we upgraded Kiera's Annual Pass from a Power Pass to a Prefered Pass since we were there during black out dates. But when we renewed our passes we decided to downgrade hers back to a Power Pass. And so we had to go to Guest Services to pick it up. While see took care of that I took Kena to one of the Kiosks to print her Power Pass that we bought her before leaving for the trip.







With the new Annual Passes in hand we finally entered the park. This was our first time visiting the Universal Resort during the Christmas Season so it was fun hearing the music fill the air and seeing decorations up everywhere. As we walked by the Despeicable Me ride it only had a 40 minute wait which is a pretty good indication that the parks were gonna be pretty mellow today.








Back in June we had one heck of a time catching the Minions doing there Meet and Greet. It was really spuratic and even the Team Members told us there was no set schedule for them to come out. We decided to stop in anyways and see if they were now out though and were happy to see that one was. We never had a problem on this trip seeing the Minions. Looks like they fixed whatever issue they were having from June. Daniel loved seeing the Minions and they were all super cute with him this time. This one at one point even tried sitting in Daniels stroller and got stuck lol.

After meeting the Minion we made our way towards the back of the park but first we stopped by the New Park Plaza Christmas Store in New York. I was mostly interested to see if they introduced some new Christmas Ornaments with a dedicated year round Christmas shop. The shop is small but it has alot to look at. When we were done there we walked around the New York area where the Park Christmas tree is up and easily had the most decorations out of any area of the park. Since the bit Holiday celebration in the Studios park is the Macy's Holiday Parade there are huge inflatables set up all around the park for photo ops. Daniel loved finding the Baloons and always wanted a picture with them when we came across them.












We passed thru the San Fransisco Area and finally London was on the horizon. It was getting hard to hold back our Excitment. It was so awesome to finally see the area without gates and security around it. We stepped foot in front of Kings Cross and couldn't believe we were finally back. We walked along the London Store fronts and finally came across the Brick Wall that apparently many people still have problems finding.











As we walked thru the wall the sound of bricks moving was present and the wall was opened up to the Magical World of Diagon Alley. And it was a sight to behold. It was truely breathtaking. We walked further in to the alley and my first though was that it was smaller then I thought. But that wasn't a bad thing. There was the Weasley's shop. We could hear a train passing overhead. Kids running around waving wands and windows. The Harry Potter music filling the air. And there looming in the distance was Gringotts Bank with a Dragon purched up top. And the timing couldn't have been any better as the Dragon started to grawl and breathed fire down upon us. It gave all of us goosebumps with how incredible it was. Well all of us except Daniel. It scared him a bit.

We walked until we got to Gringotts and saw that the ride only had a 20 minute wait. So we figured we would make that our first ride. We first loved where the Stroller Parking is located as it is fully enclosed and out of the main path area. Many stroller parking locations at Universal are covered so its nice to know the stroller is protected from rain in the random storms that come and go.







We got in line for Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts and the line was super short. They didn't even have the Outdoor Que open. the line was just to the dome area inside the door and then it was strait in to the Main Bank Lobby which is incredible. The room was smaller then pictures make it out so seem but that didn't matter. The detail is incredible. But its the Goblins that really make the room as it is filled with Animatronic Banker Goblins that are hard at work. Do they look familiar? They should as the face molds were taken from the actor molds used from the Movies. Its incredibly convincing and real. Some of the Goblins will even pause as they make eye contact with you. I have never seen a more realistic environiment in a attraction que before.












From the main lobby you walk past an open valut and make your way to the security office. This is a unique que experiance where they will take a "security photo" of your group which you will have the option to buy after the ride is over. It was fun to look at but we never bought them. We saw plenty of people walking around who did though. From there you go down a long hallway lined with the offices of those that work in the Bank. There are also some newspaper articles seen from the movies with moving photos of course which are now much more convincing then the "newspaper" moving images found over at Hogwarts. Keep your eyes pilled for some other easter eggs too such as the Trio sneaking in to the bank with Griphook.





The next room you go to is Bill Weasley's office where Bill and an assistant are there to help you open an account and give you a tour of the bank vaults and caverns. The effects here use the same Musion technology found in the que for Forbidden Journey and also over at Disaster. However I feel that this is the best use and the most convinicing use of the tech yet.

Next was the Elevators to take us down to the Caverns to begin our tour. This is also where you get the safety speal from a Goblin in a painting. There are 2 elevators and they both load at the same time. Although they may actually be stationary the effects used are very convincing and is even somewhat of a mini ride. The ground actually moves as well as the walls. There are projected effects at the top that show you descending deep in to the caverns. These elevators are significantly more convincing then the one at Men in Black. It really did feel real.





When exiting the elevator you are now in the caverns. For regular riders this where you would wait a minute longer, get your 3d glasses, and then climb the stairs to the load plateform for the ride. But since we are doing Child Swap they took our whole party out of the line here and sent us to an actual elevator. This elevator emptied out right outside the Child Swap room where Daniel and Kiera went while Kena and I were sent to wait in the Special Needs line.



Soon enough we were loaded on to a train. I was exicted that we would have row 6 (the last row of the 2nd car) for our first ride. Mainly because this is the row to be in for a more thrilling ride. The ride is a thrilling adventure thru Gringotts as you encounter such villians as Belatrix and Voldemort himself. You will also come across Security Trolls and Dragons. The ride is a new take on the 3d/physical set rides Universal does so well. The ride is on a roller coaster track but other then the beginning and endings of the ride there really isn't any "roller coaster" parts to it. It is really an elabrite dark ride. The physical sets are incredibly detailed and the 3d portions are some of the best use of the technology i've seen. There were really times I couldn't tell what was screen and what was real sets. It was a nearly flawless ride with I believe the only effect out was there wasn't much smoke in the finally to hide the pull away screen.

The ride was awesome but as I walked off it I really didn't know what to think. I knew going in that it would be more dark ride then roller coaster. But I still felt a little let down by it. I knew right away that I still liked Forbidden Journey and Spiderman more. I couldn't decide though if I liked it more then the Mummy or Transformers though. I would need more rides to come to a better conclussion. I let Kena go with Kiera to go ride again while I waited in Child Swap with Daniel. The room is similar to Forbidden Journey's with Gringotts scenes from the Harry Potter movies playing on a TV.




After the girls rode we made our way down the exit staircase. At the end of the hall is where you can view your security photos and then you exit in to WiseAcres as the exit store. WiseAcres is a pretty cool store with so much to see. Take a good look at the large telescope as it was constructed out of parts from one of the old Jaws boats.





Next up in Diagon Alley we decided to walk over and do Olivanders. This little show where you can watch a wand choose a wizard is the exact same show that has been in Hogsmead for years. However the shop is originally native to Diagon Alley in the books and movies so we had to go to the "original". To help with crowding the Diagon Alley version is built larger with 3 show rooms so there is usually only a 1 show wait to get in. I liked how it felt we were walking thru the back room as well to get to the showroom. None of us got picked for the show. Instead a newly wed couple was picked (i'm guessing cause they had there Newlywed I'm celebrating badges on). both of them got to have a wand choose them. I would consider Olivanders a must do no matter which park you go to. Just remember that Diagons usually has shorter waits.













Introduced along with Diagon Alley were new Interactive Wands that could be used to trigger "magical" effects thruout both Diagon Alley and Hogsmead. So I knew that I had to get a new wand. After exiting the Olivanders showroom in to the shop we spent some time looking at all the different interactive wands. There were a few I liked but in the end I decided to let Daniel pick one out. Of course he picked the one with the snake head which wouldn't have been my pick but he loved it so thats the one we got. And yes the Prefered Annual Pass discount does work on the wands. Inside the wand box you also get a map showing you most the locations in the Wizarding World to use the wand.



After Olivanders we looked around the Carkitt Market area of the new land. This is the area covered by the glass roof. We took a quick look in the Gringotts money exchange (with an interactive Goblin) and spent some time at the interactive want locations trying out the new wand. It seemed harder then it should to do magic lol. We eventually found ourselves at a drink stand getting our 1st rounds of Butterbeer this trip. Seriously its a bad thing that the drink is now accessable in both parks. We always seemed to have one in our hands. We of course got Frozen Butterbeer which is our personal favorite.

With drinks in hand we next explored Horizant Alley and then made our way in to Knockturn Alley. Knockturn is so cool that its indoors so its always dark and erry. We took a look around the Borgin and Burks Dark magic shop which had a few fun easter eggs. We tried using the wand in here at a few of the locations but we were still haivng problems getting it to work correctly.













At this point we had spent over 2 1/2 hours in Diagon Alley and decided we would go check out the Hogwarts Express and head over to Hogsmead. As we exited Diagon Alley it became clear how incredible the land really is. Its completly secluded from the rest of the park and it truely emerised us in the land that when we left we completly forgot that we were still in Universal Studios. There was nothing in Diagon reminding us of that until we were on the London Waterfront again. Before going to Kings Cross we stopped by the Night Bus to see the conductor and the Interactive Shrunkin Head which was also pretty cool.

Entering Kings Cross as really neat as it felt like a real train station with the ticket takers scanning our tickets (you have to have a Park to Park ticket to ride) and then the times board constantly changing and overhead annoucements about departing trains. While walking thru the line there is also a small snack shop you pass thru where you can buy English treats and drinks to take on the train with you. Eventually there are some stairs you have to go up but since we had the stroller we were directed to the elevator. This elevator is one of the few complaints we have with the Wizarding World expansion because it is so tiny. With the amount of strollers and wheelchairs having to use it they really should have made the Elevator much larger then it currently is. We reached a point on our trip where we just folded the stroller and carried it up the stairs as the wait for the elevator would take forever with its tiny size.








At the the 2nd level we come across the entrance to Plateform 9 3/4's. The effect used really does look real and makes those waiting in line ahead of you really look like they are walking thru the wall. It was a very popular place for people to stay back with there cameras to watch family members walk thru the wall. They should of thought to build a little area for this purpose. Walking thru the wall yourself isn't as incredible as there is an obvious opening.




We couldn't have timed walking thru 9 3/4's any better though as after walking thru the wall it was just like in the movie. The Hogwarts Express was sitting on the plateform billowing Steam. It was anohter experiance that gave us goosebumps and just so sureal to see in person. This train soon left and we were sent down to an area for the next train to return. There are signs up everywhere that says to fold your strollers however this must be more for busy times. We folded our stroller this time but on future trips they allowed it to stay unfolded.










The train soon returned and we were loaded in to the 8 passinger cabin. The cabin is just like the movie. Everything is spot on. It will fit 8 people comfortably but it is much smaller then I expected it to be. Soon our cabin door closed and we were on our way to Hogsmead. There is a simulated environment outside the window which shows you leaving London and eventually getting out in the countryside. But there is also thing people walking by outside the door as you see there shadows. At one point there were dementors on the train and with the exception of it getting cold it looked like they were really out there. Only complaint here is that the new voice actor for Hermione does a horrible job and sounds nothing like her. Eventually outside the window you see Hogwarts Castle and you soon arrive at Hogsmead station. Ironically enough there is a part of the ride video where its dark and storming and when we got off the train it was pooring rain outside.








We stayed in the cover of Hogsmead station for about 15 minutes to wait out the rain. It was a great time to eat Lunch and to think about the ride we just had. In my opinion the Hogwarts Express is what truely makes the Wizarding World Expansion amazing. It is the game changer here. For the 1st time ever you are transported between 2 seperate areas but are never taken out of the narative that both sections portray. We physically left one park and went to another yet we never left the Wizarding World. It truely is incredible. And it makes park hopping so much easier.



The rain finally started to let up so we exited the Hogsmead Station. Again having to go down in another small elevator. However although it was still small this Elevator was diffenitly larger then the one in Kings Cross. But not by much. I love how well detailed even the exit of the station is as you head towards Hogsmead. It is like a forest with trees and a pathway and the Dragons Challenge flying nearby. It aslo points you strait in to the Hogsmead Arch to continue on your Harry Potter adventure.

Enjoying your pictures! I can't wait to see Diagon Alley!