Day 2: Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure!
I do realize this is the Disney TR board, but our Universal excursion was one of my favorite parts of our trip, and we did it in a small amount of time. I have to share!!
We got up around 7am and after a quick freshening up, decided to try out our resort food court.
Here is a (not great) photo of part of Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory.
I found the area to be beautiful. It was very clean, never that crowded, and the service was awesome. There was a large breakfast selection. Some traditional options and even a few New Orleans authentic options.
I didn't have a huge appetite, so I got some beignets and a parfait. I was pleasantly surprised with how good both these items tasted! You don't have to get the big shabang breakfast to have something delicious. (I realize this doesn't look like a small amount of food, but in comparison to the other offerings....)
So! Bellies are satisfied, coffees are in hand, and we were about to try our very first Uber!! I researched various options for transportation between Universal and WDW, and when it came to convenience and cost, Uber seemed to fit the bill.
In case you are hesitant, trust me:
Uber = AWESOME 
Our driver (Orlando... so cool!) got us to Universal Studios quickly and for $13 dollars.
Upon arrival, the lines were massive!! But going through security was much quicker than the WDW parks. They use metal detectors (like at the airport) vs digging through each and every bag.
After security we walked through City Walk, which I wish we had stayed to explore more. I really like that you go through security to get to City Walk, but you don't need a ticket to for the area.
I used Touring Plans to plan our US/IoA day, so we were starting at the Universal Studios park.
The crowds seemed heavy at security and gate admission (since it was opening time), but they very quickly dispersed.
We decided to purchase the Express Passes, which are not cheap. I still can't quite decide if it was worth the money or not. My husband swears they were worth it, but if you watch how line times fluctuate, we could have probably done without them.
First ride: Despicable Me Minion Mayhem!
0 minute wait at opening. I hear the wait gets verrrrrry long later in the day, so hit this up first.
Waiting to be minion-ized!
The ride was fun. I quickly came to realize that the majority of rides here are 3D motion rides. But I enjoy them.
Next up: Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit.
Oh. My. Goodness. I love coasters. I have never been more frightened on a coaster...
ever. This ride is every bit as awesome at it is terrifying. You can pick your tunes, which didn't mean a thing for me because I was screaming "I don't want to die! I don't want to die! No no no no!" the whole time. And the best part:
They video you while you ride! I had no idea! My biggest regret of that day was not buying the video of D and I on that ride. Absolutely hilarious!
We did a couple more motion rides (they are all fun, you should ride them), but I could not wait any longer. It was time.
DIAGON ALLEY!!!!
Man oh man. I can't even describe how awesome this area is. Totally worth the price of admission. I just couldn't stop looking at all the details. Super magical.
The wait for Escape from Gringotts was 10 minutes, so we decided to try it out. We were right about to get on the ride when they decided they needed to remove one of the cars. I guess the sound wasn't working in it? Sounds quick. It was not. About 30 minutes later we got on!
One thing I noticed about many of the rides at US is that many queues have a lot of stairs. I didn't see this so much at the WDW parks. This one especially had a fairly long, winding staircase you had to climb before boarding the ride (I'm sure there is a lift available to those who need it). Rides at US and IoA also have pretty strict size requirements. Meaning if the bar/belt/etc doesn't go down far enough, they will not let you ride. I saw this happen to a few folks, and it was heart breaking. So much time and effort, just to be turned away at the end. They do have seats at the beginning of the queue for you to test out first. But it was still sad to see the disappointment in their face.
I am now realizing I didn't take nearly enough pictures. I will do better next time.
After escaping from Gringotts (very very fun ride, btw) we decided to try some lunch at the Leaky Cauldron.
You guys! This place is awesome! The atmosphere is beautiful!
I will work on my photo skills. I promise.
I don't remember what D ordered. But I got the Mini Pie Combination, and they were delicious!
It was a Mini Cottage Pie and a Mini Fisherman's Pie and a salad. All of it was very very tasty.
I also tried my first (and not last) frozen Butterbeer. Yikes it is delicious! I ended up have 2 on this day, and I regret not having 3.
After filling our bellies, it was time to board the Hogwarts Express and visit Hogsmeade!
I thoroughly enjoyed the ride on this train.
Note: We printed our US/IoA tickets at home. Once we entered the US park they finger printed us. For some reason I thought that meant we no longer needed our paper tickets. This was an incorrect assumption.
HOLD ON TO YOUR TICKETS IF YOU ARE JUMPING BETWEEN PARKS. You will need them. Luckily I found them smushed down at the bottom of my purse.
Hogsmeade is every bit as magical as Diagon Alley. It also has the same shops as Diagon Alley, so if you see something on one side you can probably still purchase it on the other.
[Side note: Anyone know where to buy the school robes? We looked all over the place but couldn't find any!]
It was now time to ride the Forbidden Journey. 10 minute wait! The walk through the castle is amazing. I kind of wish the line was longer so I could have soaked up more. The ride itself is unreal. I researched the technology for this ride beforehand, and it is a very surreal feeling on the ride. Nothing like you have felt before.
This, like many rides, requires you put all of your belongings in a locker before getting in the queue. These lockers are not huge. Shoving a backpack in one takes some effort. Also, be sure that the straps from your backpack are not hanging down after you close the locker. They will get stuck in a different locker while you are away, causing a headache later.
Trust me.
I found the locker situations to move fairly quickly everywhere. But we didn't experience massive crowds on our trip, which could have contributed to the ease.
We then explored IoA. The Dr Seuss world was neat. We rode The Hulk, which (as expected) gave me a headache. Some coasters do that, not sure why, but I see I am not the only one complaining of it on this particular ride.
The lockers for The Hulk are a pain. They do not use fingerprints like the others. Instead you have to scan your ticket, which is not as easy as it sounds.
We saved the city with Spiderman and said "What's Up" to some super heroes:
Continue on for more Universal:
as possible in those days.
Not sure why he was so excited about it. 
These cold days have me missing that Florida warmth soooooo bad. 
. This was my first time seeing it since the addition of Johnny Depp. I enjoyed the new features.
