DAY 3
Sept. 22nd, 2014 - Monday
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter
So after getting to bed so late, it wasn't very pretty when my alarm went off.
But somehow I managed, rolling out of bed and proceeding with getting ready. It was definitely a morning that I was happy I brought the bottled Starbucks, and danishes and such so I could sleep later and just eat breakfast while getting dressed for the day. (The coffee especially helped!)
Finally I made my way out to the parking lot and into my sweet ride. That's right, ya'll. We're driving again today in Orlando traffic!
Honestly, though. While it wasn't fun, it wasn't nearly as horrible as I was expecting after the nightmare on Saturday. I made with far less near-death experiences (thankfully).
Managed to get myself into the Universal parking garage, and was on my way! I'm glad I had read up on what to expect, since it's one heck of walk to get to the parks entrances. First you go all the way through the parking structure, then the make you walk all the way through CityWalk. It was kinda crazy, but thankfully it was the beginning of the week and my legs were still fresh enough to make it.
So I was starting my day in Universal Studios, to follow the progression of the books. Stopped to do this before entering...
Then I was off to find the Will Call kiosks. I have a friend from elsewhere on the interwebz who works in Universal Orlando's marketing department, and was kind enough to assign one of his Team Member comp tickets to me. YAY! I brought the confirmation and everything he sent me, and keyed in all of the required info, and BAM! Out popped my 1-Day Park-to-Park ticket. I was actually surprised at how simple it was!
Made my way into the park, and it was earlier enough that it was still relatively quiet. Unlike Disney, Universal lets you call ahead to reserve
ECVs, so I had taken care of that well in advance. Went to the Rentals location to pay for and pick up my ride, and off I went.
Now, in the Disney parks, I never grab a park map. I don't need them after so many trips. So I was about halfway into Universal Studios before it dawned me... I HAD NO IDEA WHERE I WAS GOING. I thought about stopping in a shop and see if they had maps, but suddenly I was struck by a sense of adventure... Or stupidity. "I'm a smart girl! I can figure this out!"
And I did. After going through pretty much the entire theme park to get to the London facade and the entrance to Diagon Alley. Let's call it sightseeing, shall we?
So I rounded the curved and passed through the brick wall... And was absolutely overcome by how AMAZING this place was. It was everything I was hoping and more. I truly felt like I had just stepped into the books, I absolutely loved it. I just wandered for the longest time, even through Knockturn Alley (which was INCREDIBLY cool, especially the Burgin & Burkes shop.
I was getting parches, so I decided it was time for a drink. And what does one drink when in Diagon Alley? Well, butterbeer, of course!
I've heard people complain about it's sweetness. But I LOVED THIS STUFF. I think I had 4 or 5 before the day was done. I'm a big cream soda person, and a big butterscotch person. And well. For those who haven't had it, Butterbeer is pretty much like drinking a butterscotch cream soda. It was amazing!
But... It gets worse. Oh, so much worse...
So as I'm walking away with my Butterbeer, I see right there in front of me Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. Which I knew to have Butterbeer flavored ice cream.
Hmmmm.
Yeah. This happened.
That's right. I present to you... The Butterbeer Butterbeer Float. (AKA: The Diabeetus Cocktail.)
I'm such a fatty.
So now that I was all hopped up on a million grams of sugar, I went exploring through the shops again. I also stopped and tried the test seat for the Escape from Gringott's attraction, but alas... Too my belly on this girl for the lapbar to lock. Boooooo! After that disappointment, I didn't even try Forbidden Journey when I got over Island's of Adventure. I wish Universal was as fat-friendly as Disney is, there's nothing I can't ride there.
But as in all things, I didn't let it ruin my day, especially as I knew there was a good chance it would happen. I was happy just exploring and shopping and soaking up the atmosphere!
Oh, and I made sure to check out Olivanders! Holy CRAP, was it cool! I walked down this narrow winding hallway full of wand boxes, leading into a small Chamber where the door closed behind me and a handful of other people. Then an Olivander's employee, "The Wand Keeper" came out, and selected a child from the audience to have "try out" wands until they "found" the one that fit. It was a magnificent performance, and the actor playing the Wand keeper was absolutely incredible (My education is in Theatre and I'm pretty hard to impress.) I was just mesmerized. At the end, I was last person to leave the room, and I leaned in quickly and told him how wonderful he was. He thank me, in character, "Thank you, my dear, you're too kind." Of course, then we were funneled into the retail wand shop. I looked around a bit, but chose not to buy anything.
Noon rolled around and I headed over to the Leaky Cauldron to have lunch with my TM friend, Howard. (Who snuck up on me scared the crap out of me, by the way. LOL.) We had a nice lunch, he likes telling me little secrets and stuff about the park. I got the Toad in a Hole, I wanted something super-British.
It was good, but not amazing. And I was so busy chatting, I forgot to take a picture. DOH!
We hugged and parted ways. I knew I was ready to hop on the Hogwarts Express, but before I did, I hung out in Diagon Alley long enough to grab these photos...
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Kinda awesome, right?
I exited Diagon Alley and found my way through London to King's Cross Station. I was seated in a cabin with a family of Scots! Which just made the whole thing feel just that much more authentic, sitting and listening to them chat as I watched what was going on through the window and out in the hall. Very cool, and was happy I got to ride SOMETHING.
Got to Islands of Adventure and disembarked, and headed into the village of Hogsmeade. It's BEAUTIFUL! But it seemed MUCH more crowded to me. Which I found very strange, since Diagon Alley if the brand new section. If you've ever had to drive an
ECV, you know that crowds don't mix very well with them. You have to drive very slow and careful because people, adults and children, will walk right in front of you without a thought or care in the world... and those things don't exact stop on a dime. So making my way through the street was tough, and frustrating. I decided some liquid refreshment was in order, and this was my choice this time...
It was good, and very refreshing! It kinda tasted more like pumpkin-spiced apple juice. But I still liked it a lot!
Then I just went on down to Hogwarts, which houses Forbidden Journey, because I know from my researching that I could request to just do a Castle tour but not ride, so that I could actually walk through and see the inside. THAT was super cool! There was a whole room in the stairwell with portraits of the four founders discussing Harry and Quidditch and their houses. I loved it!
I took my time meandering through Hogwarts, and stayed until I could feel that I'd been on my feet too long, and headed on out. I looked around in the shops a little bit, but it was mostly stuff I'd seen in Diagon Alley. Not to mention I was starting to run out of steam, my castle exploring pretty much wiped me out. So I declared my Wizarding World Day, but through I'd go just do a lap around Islands of Adventure, much like I had inadvertently done that morning over in Universal Studios.
I got as far as the Jurassic Park land (which is right next door) when it started to sprinkle. No big deal, I can handle a sprinkle. Then I got to the next land, some sort of Toon town, and THE SKIES OPENED UP AND POURED DOWN RAINY WRATH. Oh my word. Myself and a couple of families took shelter under a big umbrella that usually has merchandise from a neighboring retail location but all the items got pulled inside when the rain started. Poncho on, just curled up on my ECV, I actually was dozing while waiting it out, haha. That's how pooped I was!
Eventually it slowed down, maybe after 45 minutes to an hour, and I headed right back to Hogsmeade to catch the Hogwarts Express back to Universal. (My friend had advised me to ride it both ways, since it's a different experience each way.) He was right, it's so cool! And check it out... This time I was in a cabin with a Welsh family! Of all the luck, right?!
I made it into King's Cross, and had to do this, to caption the end of my Wizarding day...
Thankfully from that point on, the rain got less and less, and after turning in my ECV and heading out of the park and starting the long hike back to my car (and oh man, it felt SO SO SO much longer that it had that morning), I took the poncho off and felt so much better that in the above photo!
I took a deep breath and left the parking garage, heading back to Pop Century for a rest before dinner. Many prayers were said along the way.
They worked, because I made it back safely!
I got back to my room and pretty much crashed for the next hour. Haha. I don't remember much after that until my alarm went off to get me up and over to the Polynesian in time for my 7:55pm dinner ADR at Ohana. Which, of course, I was early for. I'm always early for ADRs!
I was super-duper hungry! It wasn't terribly long after I checked-in that I was lead to a table by the windows overlooking the Magic Kingdom. And I knew I'd still be there for Wishes. Pixie dust, yay!
Of course, I had to start with a cocktail...
Island Sunrise. Or Island Breeze. Or something. Okay, so I don't remember what my frozen slushie cocktail was called, but it was delicious, okay!
See? DEEEEE-licious!
And I will give you a few food porn photos...
If you're interested, there are more photos and a full review on my Dining Report:
Click Me!
And you remember those windows I was seated near? Come 9pm, this was my view...
Not too shabby, right?
After a HARROWING drive back to Pop (merging into Magic Kingdom closing traffic is traumatic), I parked my car and kissed it goodbye, since I knew it was (thankfully) the last time I would see it until it was time to come home.
A quick shower and it was bedtime for this girl!
Up Next... Epcot, Day 1!
I was just surprised and overwhelmed by how many of the photographers acted that way towards me, again I can only assume because I was solo. The next time I experience that sort of thing, I'm going to make notes of the person's name and date, time, and location so I can send a complaint.
I hope I don't run into too much of that when I'm there. I don't have Memory Maker though, so I won't stop as often. I see lots of selfies in my future!
And I still need to go back into PP and add borders, etc. But I'm determined to write some sort of TR this time! 
Apparently none of the cars that were supposed to be returned the evening before ever showed up...
I have family joining me on next year's trip so I will have somebody else to drive it, but I'm sure down the road I'll find myself driving that wretched freeway again. I'm in no hurry! 
Admittedly though, now I want to do it every time. 
So glad to see you here! Send me a PM when you start your reports, I'm dying to read them!
