It is time to write me TR for Wednesday Dec 15, 201 which means is the day that I go to Universal Orlando and see the Wizardy World of Harry Potter. This is something my DA wanted to see after we left Sacramento for our WDW trip.
First thing in the morning we didn't get up around 9am and Universal Orlando was already opened. But I was still exhausted from EPCOT on Tuesday night since It was cold and got out of the park after 10. So when we got up and got everything ready, we left the resort around 9:30am and now on our way to Universal Studios.
We got to the resort around 10am and when ergot to the Universal Orlando parking lot, the fees were way higher than WDW at $15. We parked in the jaw section on the 2nd floor and walked out of the parking lot and walked though the walkway towards CityWalk. It was nice to see CityWalk and it hasn't change ever since I was at Universal Studios back in 2001.
Than we walked to Universal Orlando Island of Adventure. We only had one day tickets to the park and we did not planned to go to Universal Studios park that day. We also got a free ticket to the park that day since my DA had done a presentation on Sunday morning. For participating the presentation that day, the Sheraton Vistana Resort gave my DA a free ticket to Universal Studios.
The first thing we did was walk over to Wizardy World of Harry Potter. But first we through Seuss Landing with the Holiday decorations. The holiday decorations at Seuss Landing is just like Toon Town at DL & WDW since everything is so cartoony around the land. It was neat and interesting.
Than we past the Lost Continent and than we got to see the Wizardy World of Harry Potter. It was so amazing, the details on each of the buildings were great and I like the Hogwarts Express engine the most.
We than head on over to ride on Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride. I remember that you have to put your loose bags in the locker since the ride vehicles don't have compartments. My DA and I put our bags away in the locker and rode the ride. The ride was amazing and we only had to wait 25 minutes to get on the ride.
Than we did our shopping at the store and I was kind of surprise that the store was so small and it was like we were walking down MS when the fireworks are over. We bought a lot of merchandise at the store. My DA bought a lanyard and t-shirt while I bought two scarfs, two shirts and a few pins. Than outside we went to the wand cart and I was bout to buy a wand but I choose to buy a collar shirt right next to the wand cart.
Than we went over to get butterbeer. We bought three cups and they were not cheap. Buying the butterbeer with the collectible mug was $10.50 and buying a regular plastic cup was only $3.50. Talk about a big difference in price for getting a collectible mug.
Than we just went around IoA and didn't go on any rides after that.
We left the park around 1:30pm and before we left, we went to NBA City and have lunch. I was planning on going to NBA City on Tuesday for the Kings vs. Hornets but my DA was tired that night and I went to EPCOT to see Illuminations. She had the turkey burger while I had a hamburger.
Than it was time to go back to the resort and rest up. But we walked around CityWalk and saw Universal Studios Orlando and some other stores.
Later during the day, my DA did not want to go to WDW so I went back to WDW that night. I was planning on going to the MK so I can see DEP and Wishes. I also canceled my reservation at the Plaza restaurant. I didn't feel bad of not eating at the Plaza, it was just like standard counter service restaurant at the park. I left the resort around 4pm that night and got to the TTC around 4:20pm.
I took the monorail to the MK and got into the park around 4:50pm there were a lot of guests trying to get to the park. The park was crowded as expected and the first thing I did was get a curb side spot for the DEP. I was planning on getting a spot tight by the Christmas tree, but there were a few families right by the tree so I just went to go to my favorite spot for the fireworks by Casey's Corner. I got a spot around 5:15pm since I need to go go to the restaurant and get something to eat so I ate at Casey's Corner and had the hot dog meal.
I waited for the DEP and it was about to start until a family came about 10 minutes before the show started and forced their way into another family. The family that was waiting for the spot were irate and told them that they saved that spot for their family. Then they left the area, but I know that they were mad. They should understand that if you want a good spot for the fireworks or parades, you have to put in the time to save a spot. You can't just walk up and expect the people who save the spots for their families to move over and fit another family in the spot.
The DEP started at 7pm and it came from the MS instead of Frontierland. I had set up my camera for the Frontierland side and have to change it. Than when I was about to turn my camera, a little girl right behind me with her family came up and was now on the left side of my videocamera. I let her sit there and told her not to bump or make a lot of noise. She said that she won't but when the parade came by, she was talking loudly and bumped my videocamera a couple of times during the show. The DEP was great to watch and I missed the show at DCA.
When the parade was over it was time for the fireworks. I stayed in the same spot for the fireworks. It is always great to watch Wishes fireworks. The fireworks stared at 8pm and the whole area of MS w full.
Than Wishes was over and it was time to leave the park. But I waited 15 minutes after the fireworks since all the guests will be leaving at the same time. when it was around 8:30pm it was time to leave the park.
Here is the interesting part of that night. When I left the MK, the lines for the monorail express line was already towards the security gate and the resort line was already towards the docks of the Grand Floridian. The ferry was already long, bust wanted to go on the monorail and I always go on the resort line after the MK closed. But here is the interesting part, I didn't leave the MK monorail station at 9:45pm. The problem is that a couple of the monorails were not running properly and they had to take one of the monorails on the express line. A lot of the people around me were getting restless and wanted to go to the TTC or the hotels.
I didn't get to the TTC around 10:15pm and left the parking lot and got back to the resort around 10:30pm. Than I took a shower and went straight to bed so my DA and I will be at AK the next day.
It was a fun time at Islands of Adventure for Wizardy World of Harry Potter. That was a really expensive ticket for just one ride at Island of Adventures. We didn't plan on riding any other rides at IoA since we don't like to do intense rides. I can do intense rides but I cant do only a few of them a day. We bought a lot merchandise at IoA more than at the WDW resort. It was also crazy that night that I had to wait a long time to get on the monorail and head back to the TTC. I should have took the ferry instead of the monorail. I know that the mark vi monorails are in service for 20 years and are breaking down. I wonder when the WDW will upgrade the old mark vi to the mark viii?but for the day it was fun.
Hope the weather warms up but if not we'll have fun anyway.
