The Trip With The Highway Cows and Polecat Detectives, A WDW/UO Feb/March '22 TR ***Completed 2/26***

[DisneyyDaydream]

An Introduction: “Welcome Foolish Mortals!”

I’ve gotta say, I’m pretty impressed. It’s only taken me 2 weeks since being back home to start this trip report. That, my friends, is what we call self improvement. But also, don’t expect it to ever happen again.

There’s only so much improving I can handle at once.

Anyway! I am back, back, back from a magical, tiring, and only slightly sweaty 10 day trip to UO and WDW. I love a good split trip, and this one was just the right amount of split.

Would you like to know the details? No? Alright, well this makes things awkward.

The Who:

Me!

Sometimes I look like this:



But most times I look like this:



Please, settle down. I know that was shocking, but there’s so many more twists and turns to come.

My name is Courtney and I’m a 30 year old who works in Human Resources for a large retailer and lives in New Jersey. I’m a huge fan of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Trailer Park Boys, and anything weird, spooky, or horror related. I love trying new and interesting foods and with that being said, I am usually the food planner of all trips. I book the dining reservations and am usually always “in the know” of what new and unique snacks and foods Disney is dishing out.

Favorite Ride: Haunted Mansion (WDW)//POTC (DLR)//Big Thunder (both WDW and DLR)
Favorite Restaurant: Via Napoli (Epcot)
Favorite Disfood: Fish n Chips (Epcot)// 3 Cheese Monte Cristo (DLR)
Favorite Night Show: Fantasmic (WDW, NOT DLR. I will die on this hill)
Favorite Movie: Coco//Moana//Frozen 2
Favorite Character: Aladdin//Ariel//Tamatoa (he is not a villain, he did nothing wrong)
Favorite Villain: Hades//Gaston//Cruella
Hogwarts House: Slytherin
Patronous: Beagle
Wand: Larch

Along for the ride is my best friend, Mel:




Bonus points if you can figure out which one is Mel.

Mel has been my best friend for the past 12 years. She is a 30 year old auditor for a bank in Philadelphia. She loves her dog Ellie, Starbucks, Broadway shows, and being the funniest person I’ve ever met. Mel is the true planner of all of our trips- she is our own travel agent and always manages to be able to work whatever we want to do into our budget.

She specifically told me that her answers will be different each trip. She also refuses to accept that she loved Space Mountain in DLR as much as she did.

Carrying on:

Favorite Ride: this trip: Rise, all time: Pirates (WDW)
Favorite Restaurant: Via Napoli (Epcot)
Favorite Disfood: Mickey Rice Krispie (Anywhere, Everywhere)
Favorite Night Show: Hallowishes (RIP) (MK)
Favorite Movie: Cruella
Favorite Character: Donald Duck and Smee
Favorite Villain: Ursula. Oogi Boogi
Hogwarts House: Hufflepuff appearance, Slytherin actual
Patronus: Doe
Wand: Beech with Phoenix feather core

This trip marked our 8th trip to WDW together since we started going in 2015. We’ve also been to DLR and UH once and UO twice.







Also along with us for the Universal portion of this trip were my sister (N, Ravenclaw), her fiance (M), and my sister’s friends/bridesmaids (C and D).

When? Mel and I flew down to Orlando on February 24th and flew home on March 5th.

Where? We spent Thursday until Monday morning in Orlando at the Vista Cay resort, with Friday and Saturday being Universal park days. Sunday we spent time at the condo/resort with N and M (C and D flew home in the morning). After N and M left on Monday, Mel and I moved to our next hotel and spent some time exploring the Kissimmee area. We then stayed at the Greenpoint Hotel until Saturday, with Disney days being Tuesday-Friday.

That was wordy, my apologies.

What? A fantastic Central Florida vacation. It was nice to venture outside of the theme park bubble and see a little bit more of what the area has to offer.

Why? My sister is getting married at the end of October of this year and last August, she asked me to be her Maid of Honor. I instantly knew that her bachelorette party needed to be in the Wizarding World at Universal. My sister and I grew up reading the books, and are both pretty big Harry Potter fans. So this seemed like a no brainer.

After deciding the dates for the bachelorette, Mel and I decided to turn the long weekend into a vacation for ourselves and tacked on a few Disney World days onto the end of the trip.

Also a no brainer.

Well, I think that’s enough of the boring details. Let’s get on to the actual trip!

***Coming up: The whole trip. There's still so much to talk about***

 

[Raeven]

.

 

[unbrelievable]

Excited for this! A bachelorette party filled with so much HP? Sounds like a dream come true

 

[footballmouse]

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

Following along! I'm a Slytherin who loves spooky things too ​

Hello my fellow spooky queen! Thanks for following!
​

Excited for this! A bachelorette party filled with so much HP? Sounds like a dream come true ​

It was everything and more!
​

​

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

Ok. Alright. Ok, alright, ok. I honestly did start this trip report with all intents and purposes to actually hit the ground running. Did that happen? No. Do I have a good excuse? Also, no. Do you still love me anyway? Third time, no. It’s ok, my mom still does.

Anyway in the past month or so since I started this report, life has been pretty decent. Broadway’s Beetlejuice reopened on April 8th and Mel and I managed to get opening night tickets. We decided to make a weekend out of it and met in the city, staying overnight at the Westin Times Square. There were a lot of drinks, a lot of sweets, and a lot of oysters.






The Cauldron


Wizard Tea at the Cauldron on Stone St!

And yes, Beetlejuice still makes me cry.

Speaking of Mel, I texted her a couple of weeks ago about an email I got from Southwest about some expiring travel funds I had on my account. My birthday is coming up in a few weeks (it’s May 2nd, I’m a Taurus, thank you), so we thought about maybe taking a weekend trip somewhere. Charlotte? New Orleans? Nashville?

No. No. No.



Vegas, baby! We’re flying out on the 28th and coming back on the 3rd. It’s been 3 years since I’ve been back in my beloved desert. I can’t wait to get back out there.

Oh and also:



But that’s still under wraps.​

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

Day 1
February 24, 2022
"If The Food Can't Get Delivered, That's What I'm Gonna Call An Oopsie"

Ok, Alright, ok. Alright.

Ok.

So that was awkward, huh? Me starting this report, disappearing, making a short “where have I been” apology post, and then disappearing.

Again.

Let’s try to not have that happen again.

Try being the operative word here.

So where have I been in the past 2 or so months? Well, dear friends and confidants, I went to Vegas. I turned 31. I got a new tattoo. I’ve been working and living life.

Meow Wolf's Omega Mart at Area 51!


Tim Burton left overs at the Neon Museum






I ate $80 worth of sushi this night. By myself.


I also got the other side of my nose pierced out in Vegas. We love a little change.

I'm still absolutely in love with this piece!

But I’m here now. You’re welcome in advance.

Let’s venture back in time for a minute here. Way, way back. All the way back to the end of February.



The day? February 24th.

The time? 5am.

I stirred ever so gently in my sleep. Mel had made her way up from Philly the night before where we had a banquet feast of Quick Chek sandwiches and finished the last remaining touches of a few bachelorette decorations.

My alarm was set for 6:30, but as usual, I was up way before that. My dad had agreed to give Mel and myself a ride to LaGuardia at 8:30 so I spent a little bit of time lying in bed until I forced myself to get up and ready.

Mel and I were ready to go by 8:25 and soon our Toyota shaped chariot arrived to take us to our private helicopter.



And by private helicopter, I do mean Terminal B at LaGuardia airport.



I was originally nervous about the potential city traffic (LA traffic menacingly snarls) but we managed to make really good time and were being harassed by the Southwest employees to use their curbside luggage drop off a mere 43 minutes later.

Seriously Southwest employees. We heard you the first 7 times, you don’t need to keep shouting at us about the location of the curbside bag check. I got it the first time.

We didn’t even use it.

After checking our bags and waltzing through a 2 minute TSA precheck line, Mel and I made our way to our gate.







But not before stopping at Dunkin’.

Caffeine before all else.

I got my usual- a medium iced coconut, light and sweet, while Mel opted for a medium hot vanilla latte.


Hi bby



The line for Dunkin’ moved painstakingly slow but we did manage to get our coffee and stop at a little quick service breakfast spot- 5 Burroughs.




A nice little chocolate croissant and water for Mel; a bacon, egg, and cheese on a plain bagel for me.

With caffeine and sub par bagels in hand, we plopped down near our gate and waited for our boarding group to be called.



And then I heard a meow.

Was I crazy? Probably. Did anyone else hear this meow? No one else acknowledged the random meow. This could all be my imagination.

Finally, I realized the girl next to me was cradling a cat carrier in her arms. She was sitting literally next to me, and I didn’t even notice her cat until it meowed. And I love cats!



We boarded for our 11:30 flight at 11:05 and hunkered down in our usual 5th row. I overheard someone boarding after us say that it took them an hour and 22 minutes to get through TSA. That’s madness!

If you have the option and the finances to, I highly, highly recommend Precheck! It’s a lifesaver!



Mel napped on and off while I watched Crimes of Grindelwald.

Our flight was supposed to land at 2:45, but our lead footed pilot got us there at 2:20. Nascar who?

A quick bathroom break and a front row seat on the faux monorail later, Mel and I were stopping at the Universal Store to pick up an interactive Bellatrix wand (I could’ve waited until we were actually IN the park, but why wait). It was the last one in stock. It was destiny.









Our luggage came out almost as soon as we finally made it to baggage claim and before we knew it we were being whisked away towards Vista Cay Resort.

Vista Cay Resort is an absolutely beautiful gated community located about 10 minutes from Universal. We booked it through AirBnB and the rate was super reasonable for 3 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms (3 full and 1 half).


12 Grimmauld Place







The only issue is when they tell you check in is at 4, they mean it.

***Continued in next post***​

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

But Mel and I sat on the patio in the backyard until we were allowed in.



My sister and her finance weren’t landing until after 10, D wasn’t arriving until the next morning, and C was stuck in Florida traffic so Mel and I got right to decorating.











We managed to decorate the entire condo (let’s call it that) before the pangs of hunger took over. Around 7:30, we decided to place an Uber Eats order for Noodles and Company.

And Sonic.

Don’t judge. The only other thing we had to eat all day was on the airplane! And that may as well have been a good decade ago.

Wisconsin mac and cheese with tofu and a side of tomato basil bisque soup for me


"A classic blend of cheddar and jack cheeses, cream, and elbow macaroni" $7.50 ($3.50 upcharge for "seasoned" tofu

)


That's a cup of tomato sauce babe.
"Rich and zesty tomato soup with cream, sherry, basil, and garlic" $2.80 for a side order

Potstickers and buttered noodles with a rice crispy for Mel.


"Tender wavy egg noodles and butter topped with Italian seasonings and Parmesan." $8.10

Here's where I would put a picture of the dumplings if I had remembered to take one. Oops!
"Chicken dumplings served with a soy dipping sauce." $6.10


"Made in-house daily with melted butter, marshmallows, and crispy rice cereal" $2.85

Cherry limeade slush and Cinnabon Cinnasnacks for me




"Cinnabon® Cinnasnacks are warm, buttery pastries filled with gooey cinnamon roll filling and served with real cream cheese frosting for sweet dipping."

Onion rings and blue raspberry slush for Mel.



So let me just say this, Sonic was Sonic. It hit the spot. But Noodles and Company? Oh Noodles and Company. I used to sing of your high praises. There was a Noodles and Company a few towns over from me a couple of years ago and it was my everything.

I wrote sonnets for the Wisconsin Mac and Cheese topped with their little shreddy pork. I have distinct memories of my ex boyfriend and I making summer plans over some noodles. I would go almost weekly on my way home from work. And then one day, it was closed. Never to be seen again.

I. Loved. Noodles.

But now? Oh Noodles, what have you become?! The mac and cheese was gloopy and the tofu was bland. My soup tasted burnt and like jarred tomato sauce dumped in a plastic cup.

I no longer weep for the loss of my local Noodles and Company. I can finally close the chapter of our love story.

C ended up pulling up to the condo at the same time as our Noodles order. In fact, she brought it upstairs to us. Oops. Thanks C!

After we ate and chit chatted with C, we were growing super sleepy and were excited to see that my sister and her fiance were pulling up to the condo right at 10:30.

My sister absolutely loved all of the decorations! We took way too many pictures and videos. And shots.

We did have some shots.

But by 11:30, I was calling it a night. I went upstairs to shower and icy hot my old lady knees. With an alarm set for 6, I was out like a light at 12.


All was well.



***Coming up: Our first day at Universal!

​

 

[MamaMouse0920]

Spooky............ I was literally JUST YESTERDAY thinking about this TR and how you left us all hanging. Welcome back!!! Here for this!

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

Spooky............ I was literally JUST YESTERDAY thinking about this TR and how you left us all hanging. Welcome back!!! Here for this!

We must be on the same wave length!

I'm here for you being here!

 

[jrmint427]

who works in Human Resources

I work in HR too!

We managed to decorate the entire condo (let’s call it that) before the pangs of hunger took over.

I love the decorations, especially the toilet

Can't wait to read more!

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

I love the decorations, especially the toilet

That was my favorite part!

​

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

Day 2
February 25, 2022
"Donkey, It's My Birthday!" "Well, What's That Got To Do With Me?!"

My alarm was set for a nice robust 6am but my excitement was bubbling away and I was up and out of bed by 5:45.

It was either excitement or the need to pee. Either or.

We had pre scheduled a Lyft to pick us up from our chateau at 7:55 and by some miracle, all 6 of us were ready to go by 7:52.



Even Mel.

By 8:13 we were pulling into the parking garage at Universal, and by 8:17 we were waltzing through security.

Even Mel, who did not require her usual extra pat down.



We strolled through City Walk and picked up a quick pre-park snack at Voo Doo Donuts.





I got my usual- the Grape Ape. Mel opted for the Portland Cream.




"Grape Ape- raised ring with vanilla frosting, grape dust, and purple sprinkles" - $2.20

"Portland Cream- raised shell filled with Bavarian cream and topped with chocolate and decorated with a set of eyes" $3

If you have read any of my other trip reports, my go to Voo Doo donut is the Grape Ape. I’m sure I’m the only one who gets this behemoth of powdered grape sugar and purple butterfly kisses. It’s perfect, and I will never stray from it.

Until it Noodles and Company’s me and becomes a disaster.

Then I will talk about how I only have love for the Miami Vice.

We snacked as we walked and were scanning into Universal at 8:35.







We were allowed up to Diagon Alley for early entry but not a step further.

Or else.

We had some time to kill so the 6 of us decided to head onto Transformers which had only a 5 minute wait. We waited about that and were graced with the front row of our car.



“Graced” or cursed, depending on your level of enjoyment when it comes to Transformers.







Afterwards we headed to 12 Grimmauld Place, heckled Kreacher, prank called the Ministry of Magic, and tried to bum a ride off the Knight Bus.









Once we were done with our shenanigans, we decided to finally head into Diagon Alley and immediately decided to cross Gringotts off our list before the line got too long.



The wait time was posted at 25 minutes, but before we knew it, 25 minutes turned into an hour and 20 minute wait.



I blame Griphook. It’s always Griphook.

Gringotts is my favorite Universal ride, and it held true to its name.

Even if Griphook is involved.

After we finished our banking, we decided to pick up some libations from The Hopping Pot.



Mel decided to go out on a limb and get the Hot Butterbeer. I stuck with my tried and true, a Pumpkin Juice.


Hot Butterbeer- "a non alcoholic sweet drink reminiscent of shortbread and butterscotch" $7


Pumpkin Juice- "a gift from the heaven's" $4

Mel thought the hot butterbeer was tasty but prefers it icy while I still think pumpkin juice is the more advanced taste option. Which is actually weird since I don’t like anything pumpkin flavored usually.

That’s shocking, I know. I mean look at me, I look like I leave little puddles of pumpkin spice behind anywhere I go. But nope. Not a fan. Except for pumpkin juice.

I don’t know, I don’t understand me either.







I really wanted to buy an Elder Wand but the line for Ollivander’s was absurd so I settled for picking it up from Gregorovitch.





Like a muggle.

But oh well, the line was short and so was my patience.

***Coming up: It's lunch time baby!***

(I hope we get the good kind of chicken fingers)​

 

[jrmint427]

Gringotts is my favorite Universal ride,

Gringotts is my favorite ride too! It’s so well done.

I’m wishing I had tried the pumpkin juice on our last trip now, I wasn’t sure what to think about it.

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

I’m wishing I had tried the pumpkin juice on our last trip now, I wasn’t sure what to think about it.

You should give it a shot! It's really yummy. It's leaps and bounds better than Butterbeer.

Leaps. And. Bounds.​

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

Day 2, Part 2
February 25, 2022
"Donkey, It's My Birthday!" "Well, What's That Got To Do With Me?!"

We opted for an early lunch at 11:30 and decided to head into the Leaky Cauldron,

I decided to get the fish and chips with a side of Scotch eggs and a Tongue Tying Lemon Squash to wash it down; while, Mel opted for the specialty chicken sandwich and a cup of water.


Fish and Chips: "Fresh north Atlantic cod battered and fried with chips and tartar sauce" $16.99


Scotch Eggs: "Served warm with apple beet salad and mustard sauce" $4.99


Tongue Typing Lemon Squash: "Sweet and tart lemon flavored beverage served with squashed lemon" $5.49


Specialty Chicken: "Grilled chicken breast, apple butter mayo, Colby cheese, smoky apple bacon, roasted tomatoes on a housemade specialty bun" $13.99

We both thought our food was pretty tasty but I wouldn’t order either the Scotch eggs or the Tongue Tying Lemon Squash again. Neither were bad or offensive, but they didn’t sing to me like Pumpkin Juice does.

She is a siren, and I answer her call.

After lunch, the 6 of us headed to Knockturn Alley to do a little exploring and then headed into Weasley’s.




Imma put Noodles and Company as a whole in here.





A couple of other stores were explored before we decided to hop on the Hogwarts Express to Hogsmede.














Ya'll stop at Penn Station?

The wait was posted at 50 minutes but we ended up having to wait about an hour.











Once in Hogsmede, we spent a little bit of time shopping. Aka I bought an embarrassing amount of money in Honeydukes.








Sherbet Lemon

We are talking shameful levels.

After, I needed to drown my sorrows so we immediately headed to the Hog’s Head for some drinks. Waiting an hour for a train and getting into crippling sugar fueled credit debit deserves an alcoholic reward.

Mel decided on the Hog’s Tea and I went with a Fire and Strongbow, which doesn’t have a cool name and that’s a shame. Petition to call it the Bow and Fire Arrow.

Hog's Tea: Basically a Long Island Iced Tea with raspberry iced tea instead of cola.


Fire and Strongbow: Strongbow Hard Cider with a shot of Fire Whiskey

I can't find the prices of the drinks, but I'm going to say they were about $15-18 each.





***Continued in next post***​

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

Hogwarts is a progressive school and allows drinking on the grounds, so we took our drinks with us throughout the castle.


Sherbet Lemon











We waited only about 30 minutes of the posted 45.

I’ve never really been a fan of Forbidden Journey. Yes, I think it’s a “Ride it once a trip” must do, but I have no desire to ride it multiple times. I don’t get motion sick on rides, but Forbidden Journey gets me very close.

Every. Single. Time

I blame Griphook.









We headed from one magical world to another and decided to give the High in the Sky Seuss train a go. It was only about a 30 minute wait.

It is what it is.









We stopped in the Dump Shop after and scoped out the bakery case. I couldn’t help myself and decided to pick up a butterfinger brownie while Mel went with the birthday cake rice crispy.





I don't have the prices for the snacks we picked up, but I would assume they were probably around $8-10 each. I don't know, I'm not a economist here.

Snacks properly shoved into my backpack for later, we headed to the Cat in the Hat ride before we called it an afternoon. What should’ve been a walk on ended up being a 10 minute wait since the ride had a short break down right before we got on.

Me too, Cat in the Hat. Me too.



Once we were done being harassed by a 6 foot feline, we meandered our way out of the park and towards the ride share pick up area.




Mardi Gras tree!

Our Lyft scooped us up literally 3 minutes after we arrived. I have never had such Universal ride share luck before. Usually they always cancel.

There was a tiny bit of traffic but we managed to make it back to the condo by 5:39.

I also unloaded my mass amount of candy that I had been lugging around this entire time.




Bellatrix's Wand


The Elder Wand

Our goal was to relax for a little bit, freshen up (we had shirts to wear!), and then head to City Walk for our 8pm dinner reservation around 7:15.

Slight rookie move.


My shirt says Maid Of Mischief by the way lol



A nice relax and shot later, we were ready to go by 7:20 and being whisked way from our abode at 7:33. I was white knuckling the seat with extreme Disney travel anxiety.

Apparently, this anxiety doesn’t need to exist when dealing with Universal.

We pulled up to City Walk at 7:52 and by 8:02 we were through security and checking into Cow Fish.



While we waited for our table ready text, the 6 of us headed into the Universal Store and spent some time browsing. Our table was ready by 8:20 and we were being herded like the aquatic cattle we were going to dine with.


There's a little baby cowfish in that bowl. He was so hard to get a pic of but he was absolutely the cutest thing I've ever seen. And I look in the mirror quite often.

Mel and I both went basic and ordered cokes and decided to split a burger and order our own separate sushi rolls. The burger we settled on was the Boursin Burger. I went with the Mark’s Roll for my sushi while Mel opted for the Philly Roll.


The Boursin Bacon Burger: "Beef burger, garlic & herb boursin cheese, applewood bacon, sautéed mushrooms, grilled onions, lettuce, tomato, onion roll" $19. We opted for no mushrooms and the onions on the side.


Mark's Roll: "Fresh tuna, jalapeño, cream cheese, kani, and scallions inside, coated with panko and flash fried. Topped with Japanese mayo and sriracha. Served with ponzu dipping sauce" $17


Philly Roll: "Fresh sliced salmon, avocado, cream cheese" $13

We finished up our meal and tossed ourselves back into the fish bowl of life at 10:30. Our Lyft came pretty quickly and by 10:45 we were back at the condo.

A shower and icy hot situation later, I was out like a light at 12.

My alarm? You guessed it. Set for 6am.



***Coming Up: Find out how I absolutely mortify myself. On a roller coaster. And my sister just stood by and laughed***

​

 

[jrmint427]

I’ve never really been a fan of Forbidden Journey. Yes, I think it’s a “Ride it once a trip” must do, but I have no desire to ride it multiple times. I don’t get motion sick on rides, but Forbidden Journey gets me very close.

I agree! That one has me woozy on our last trip. There was no line the first time through so we thought we were going to ride it a second time with the express pass but decided to skip that! I also don’t love the giant spiders.

My shirt says Maid Of Mischief by the way lol

Awesome shirt!

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

I agree! That one has me woozy on our last trip. There was no line the first time through so we thought we were going to ride it a second time with the express pass but decided to skip that! I also don’t love the giant spiders.

I can't even imagine riding it twice! They would have to shut the entire ride down to deep clean lol ​

Awesome shirt!

Thank you! Mel actually made them herself! ​

 

[DisneyyDaydream]

Day 3
February 26, 2022
"Do You Need Anything Red Velvet Related?"

I was awoken bright and early at 6am by my alarm. The 6 of us had planned to be ready to go by 8:15.



By 8:18, we were ready to go and piling into our Lyft.

Even Mel.

By 8:32 we were pulling up to the ride share drop off area, by 8:36 we were waddling through security, and by 8:53 we were scanning into Islands of Adventure.





I actually have no idea what took us almost 20 minutes but I can only assume there was a bathroom break involved. Maybe multiple.

Speaking of coffee, Mel and I decided to make a “quick” stop at the Port of Entry Starbucks. Admittedly, this was a mistake. It took over 15 minutes for our drinks to be ready.

I know that doesn’t sound like a long time, but I felt every single one of those 15 minutes as the other 4 waited outside in the Florida sun for us, watching others flock towards our next destination.

But caffeine was needed. So caffeine was obtained.

I got what used to be my go-to order: a venti salted caramel cream cold brew. I’ve since switched to the iced brown sugar oatmilk shaken espresso. Try it, it’s amazing.



Mel went for her go-to: a venti cinnamon dolce latte. This has been her ol’ faithful for years.

Coffee in hand, the 6 of us headed towards our destination.



Just kidding!

Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure. My sister and her fiance had ridden this last winter but the other 4 of us hadn’t. And we were ready.

The wait time was posted at 135 minutes and the line zigged and zagged well into The Lost Continence.

Sorry, I meant Continent.

Either way, it was lost.

We spent a lot of time playing little word games with each other and taking pictures of literally every inch of the ride.













The wait ended up being about 140 minutes but it was worth it. Hagrid’s is well worth the hype.

Probably because Griphook isn’t involved.

After, we headed out of Hogsmeade, we took one last look around.





And then continued on our voyage into Jurassic Park to see what the wait time for Velocicoaster was like.







I was expecting a couple of hours, but when I saw it was only 65 minutes, we jumped into the line.

Exactly 65 minutes later, we were on the ride. And let me just tell you something. Veloicoaster is hands down the best roller coaster I have ever been on. 11/10. Give that ride an Oscar!

The only downside? Well, the ride seats are a bit unique. If you haven’t seen them before, they look like this:


Thanks to google and allears for the pic.

The seats are like little butt cups- they swoop down and back and then there’s a pesky little hump in the center. They’re also pretty off the ground, so if you’re tiny (like myself, I’m only about 5’1”) you’re gonna have very, very dangly feet.

Why do I mention all this? Well dear readers, I couldn’t get out of the seat after the ride. I was wearing a dark green knee length skirt that was somehow tucked underneath me in a way so that I couldn’t lift my legs up high enough to clear that little center hump. And I was too high off the ground to use my feet to stand.

I dangled on my seat, asking my sister to help me get down but she just stood by and laughed.

I contemplated just dying right then and there, having the Universal staff bury my body underneath the ride that betrayed me, doomed to haunt the Velocicoaster for all of eternity.

Eventually, I was finally about to wiggle me and my skirt out from the seat and I quickly scurried away. All in all, the whole debacle probably took no more than 10 or 15 seconds but it felt like a good hour, and I was sure everyone was stopping to stare at me and whisper among themselves.

They weren’t, but I was convinced they were.

After dangling on the brink of humiliated death, we decided that it was nearing lunch time. None of the in-park options sounded great so we decided to head to City Walk and check what the options were.








The Daily Bugle was closed due to all the reporters being at Velocicoaster to cover a developing story about a cat stuck in a tree me stuck on the coaster

​