To Hogwarts We Go!

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Just wanted to say what an excellent job you are doing on your report! Your enthusiasm for Universal is so much fun ... and your kiddos are adorable.

 

[samheatherwhite]

It was about time to meet the others at Mythos for an early dinner. We were seated right away and we had a super nice waiter.

G was getting tired at this point and was really glad to be seated in a nice and cool restaurant.

B on the other hand was ready to roll. He doesn't nap and he didn't that day but he felt great and he was ready for some food.

Here is a picture of the butter, we asked for rolls but our food was ready so quickly that the only one who ate the bread was G.

Here is B's grilled cheese with fries and grapes. He was super hungry and ate the whole sandwich and all of the grapes. Also pictured is G's kids pizza. It was huge. She was starving and still only ate about half. Gran got the chef's pasta of the day and said it was really good. I'm sorry but I have forgotten what was in it. Even thought the food was ready super quickly it all tasted fresh and was hot and tasty.

C got the pad thai which she loved. The veggies were nice and crunchy and there was a lot of meat in it. This was a huge portion and could have easily been shared.

I was hot and not starving so I went with a bacon cheeseburger. It was really good. We also all liked the fries. With this group it is rare to find a place that has fries that everyone likes. G and I like them crunchy and thin, C and Gran prefer them mushy and B just likes them to be really long. Two year olds are funny. These fries were great for everyone, some soft and some crunchy.

We were seated near this cute fish fountain and B really thought that it was cool that there was a fountain inside a building.

Mythos was a really interesting themed restaurant and I would not hesitate to recommend this place. It was nice and cool with great service and the atmosphere was awesome. Everything we ordered was really good as well.
After dinner the others wanted to go back to Hogsmead and really look around. G wanted to take Gran on FJ so we headed back that way.

We checked out the fountain on the way.

C, B, and Gran went to visit Moaning Myrtle and while we waited G saw that there was no one chatting with the HE conductor so she ran over. G loves a British accent and this man did not disappoint. They chatted for several minutes and G was thrilled when he recognized her several times later in the week.
Next we took Gran on FJ while C and B explored Filch's Emporium. (I think that this was my favorite store.) We left our bags with them and escaped using the disastrous lockers. The wait was only about 15 minutes which was just a little fast. G and I had listened to all the characters talk and we knew the plot but Gran did not. We moved so quickly that we had to fill her in as she missed some of what was said. After another flight around Hogwarts we met back up with C and B. Gran agreed with us that this ride was the best ever. G really wanted to ride again but we talked her into a ride on Hippogriff instead.
Flight of the Hippogriff was the ride in which our Express Passes came in the most handy. The wait was 30 minutes and EP was walk on.

G and I love Hagrid so much so we really loved the line. There were a lot of details in a small area.

Hagrid's Hut!!

In this area you could also hear Fang barking which thrilled G to no end.

Here is BuckBeak. As book 3 is G's fave she really appreciated this ride. She also loves roller coasters and she was thrilled that that was one she could ride. I think that she and I rode it and then she wanted to show Gran. She was still not done so I rode it with her two more times before we convinced her to move on.

I got some really cool pictures from this coaster.

This was taken in the little area behind the Three Broomsticks. It had started to sprinkle the last few rides we rode on FOTH and when we pried G off we headed to that patio to check out the snacks Gran had picked up in Honeydukes.

B was so over my picture taking at this point and it was only day one.

In the background you can see people leaving. That left us this whole area to ourselves to relax and have a treat. I really thought that this was a great way to end a great day. Gran bought B a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. This was hilarious. He loves jellybeans and he munching away on these when he gagged, looked over at Gran and said, "Gran, this is rotten, it's a red one. Why does it taste so bad?" We explained the concept so then he guessed something weird every one he ate. "This one tastes like hamburger, this one is old dirty shoe, this one tastes like licking a cat." This went on and on as we laughed at his imagination.

G and C had gone on a mission while we found a seat. G had schemed with her Dad and he sent her money to pick me out something I would like. I didn't know about this at all. She chose a really cool Ravenclaw pin that I had admired earlier in the day. It was so sweet and is a favorite souvenir.

Gran had gotten G a chocolate frog but G decided not to open it yet.

Gran had also bought a piece of treacle fudge so we all, except B, tried it. EEww! That stuff was gross, some dirty rat had decided that fudge needed raisins and then hid them in it so that poor unsuspecting people like me ate them. I hated it, one bite was enough. C didn't like it either but she didn't mind the raisins she just doesn't like fudge in general. (Weird, I know!) G and Gran loved it and snacked on it for the rest of the week. It just goes to show you that nothing is going to be liked by everyone.
After our snack we headed back to the hotel to rest. My kids are of the early to bed early to rise variety and Gran and C have learned that when they go with us they better be too. You can't resist a super happy 2 year old at 6 am singing Good Morning Red Bird. He won't let you!

 

[samheatherwhite]

We did not have as early a start on Wednesday morning. We let the kids sleep until they woke up so we didn't get to the park until about 8:10 which was a little after regular park opening. G had seen the Shrek ride the day before and wanted to start with it so we did.

I thought that this took forever but that might have been because I was eager for more time in DA. I also thought that the pre show was cute but had very little to do wuth the ride which was so rough. Like whiplash rough. G even disliked the motion and asked if she could move to the nonmotion seats with C and B. This was cute but not a must ride again type of ride.

We then went the long way around to DA because we hadn't seen it from across the water and wanted to check everything out. There was no line for the Twirl and Hurl and B could ride so we hopped on this in the Simpson's area.

We are not fans of the tv show but the sarcasm and humor of this ride was hilarious. The kids didn't get it but I liked it. "For any of you who survived please exit to your left and don't tell your friends that we eat humans."

The kids like these kind of Dumbo-ish rides that spin. Gran doesn't do spinning rides so it was just the three of us. After a fun ride we headed toward DA.

We didn't go to this side of London the day before so we stopped to see Grimmauld Place. Gran had on her BLACK shirt so we made he go knock.

The sun was awfully bright for Mr. B

It didn't take us too long to go through the wall into DA. We had some in depth exploring to do.

G wanted to go to Weasley's so th e group headed that way and I ran the stroller over to pram parking.

G finds the Weasley's sense of humor to be right up her alley.

Above are some pictures I took on the way to meet the others.

I loved WWW which I knew I would but we were all shocked at just how tiny this store was.

We did of course have to purchase some of this before we left to bring home for Sam. B loves it. I think I should be worried about a kid whose only new foods on the trip were u-no-poo, fudge flies, and BB every flavor beans. He is so weird.

G has just discovered the joy of photo bombing her poor Momma so I have tons of blurry pictures that look similar to this one. She's a stinker too.

G was pretty intrigued with the Pygmy Puffs and she ended up adopting one from Weasley's shop. She also bought the tye-dye Pigmy Puff shirt as her t-shirt from vacation.

They have a cute little adoption ceremony when Pygmy Puff gets adopted. They ring a bell and announce the child and the name of the newly adopted Puff.

Here is G and our new pet named Gryffindor. B was pleased that they were told that they eat boogers, ear wax, and several other gross funny things. The Tm behind G was hilarious, she had been watching G mess with me so she photo bombed her.

Connected to Weasley's was Quality Quidditch which turned out to be one of my favorite stores. I got the Ravenclaw hoodie that I plan on living in once it finally gets cold here. It is so comfortable.

They had Hogwarts house teams stuff but also some professional quidditch teams items for sale.

A moving Quidditch poster.

 

[samheatherwhite]

After the adoption of G's Pygmy Puff we explored more of the shops in DA. G was especially entranced with Madame Malkin's.

I was able to get a nice shot of the dragon breathing fire.

By this point we were getting a little hungry and since it was vacation we decided to try Florean Fortescue's.

Once again we got as many flavors as possible and shared around to taste as much as we could.

G went first and chose the Butterbeer soft serve. It was good but we liked the actual frozen drink better.

C went the definite HP route and got the strawberry peanut butter and the raspberry chocolate. She liked both. If you got the hard packed kind of ice cream you could get two flavors. I only tried the strawberry but I liked it as well.

Gran got the lavender and earl grey and the apple crumble. She liked both. C and I did not like the tea flavored one though.

I got the caramel blondie and the sticky toffee pudding. The blondie was a real winner but the sticky toffee was just okay. It was not something that I would order again. Everyone else liked the blondie.
Here are some random thoughts on Florean's. The texture of the soft serve was wonderful. C had soft serve envy after she tried G's. I ordered G's and mine first and I wish we would have gone later. C was going to order the clotted cream and the server warned her that it was weird and gave her a sample. She tried it and did not like it and I tried the other half and loved it. I wished that I would have got a scoop of that. C hates sour cream and cream cheese which this reminded me of. It wasn't as sweet as regular ice cream but I liked it a lot. B hates ice cream so we got him a shortbread cookie.

Just look at this thing. It was huge. B liked it, it was pretty dry but that is just shortbread for you. He enjoyed this but even after we all sampled it we ended up throwing quite a bit away.

G watched the Lockhart book display for a while. She thought this was just right.

Here is a picture of one of G's favorite details. This dress was so cool. It was lit from within and it had different patterns on it. First it was "raining" leaves, then flowers, then snowflakes. G thinks this is what she wants in a wedding dress!

Here is a picture of the detail.

After a little more shopping around G wanted to ride Gringott's again. So we did.

The wait said 20 minutes and it was accurate.

The attention to detail and the similarities to the movie were surreal.

We rode again and really enjoyed it and then we went to Knockturn Alley and had one of the strangest, most surprising experiences I have ever had.

 

[Babs1975]

Just love reading your blog about Universal. We are Disney people, spend most of our vacation there, but are doing Universal for one day during our next vacation in about a month. I was wondering if you could help me out with more detail about the Forbidden Journey and Gringotts? I have a 7 and 11 year old, both not so adventurous. They love Barnstormer and the oldest has done and loved Thunder Mountain Railroad. Which of the two rides is smoother? Which is tougher for a kid to ride? We are HP fans, so hoping we can all do at least the Forbidden Journey? Is the ride system here like Soarin? I'm thinking the Gringotts ride might be too much for the kids. Is it like a coaster? Thank you!

 

[samheatherwhite]

Just love reading your blog about Universal. We are Disney people, spend most of our vacation there, but are doing Universal for one day during our next vacation in about a month. I was wondering if you could help me out with more detail about the Forbidden Journey and Gringotts? I have a 7 and 11 year old, both not so adventurous. They love Barnstormer and the oldest has done and loved Thunder Mountain Railroad. Which of the two rides is smoother? Which is tougher for a kid to ride? We are HP fans, so hoping we can all do at least the Forbidden Journey? Is the ride system here like Soarin? I'm thinking the Gringotts ride might be too much for the kids. Is it like a coaster? Thank you!

I would be happy to give you my 2 cents. I think that they are both pretty smooth. In FJ you feel really secure in the seat but some of the ride elements are pretty scary. The spiders and forbidden forest scene are realistic. The motion is not like Soaring if I remember it correctly. It has been a super long time since we rode it at Disney. You really feel like you are flying and you move in every direction but upside down. There is one scene where you go under the whomping willow where it feels like you are on your back but it is all seemless and feels smooth. G and I had no trouble but motion sickness hit Gran a little bit. I felt that it was more exciting than Gringotts. There is a drop at the beginning of EFG but it seems pretty similar to the ones in Big Thunder. Nothing huge though it looks like it will be before you actually go down. This one does have scary scenes also, especially the 3-d snake that strikes at the cart you are in. Your kids are pretty big, maybe you could look on you tube and show them some video and let them get an idea if they want to try it. We did that with G. She didn't like the snake or spiders but knew they were coming and it was worth it to her to do the ride. Another thought that I had reading your post is that you must do Flight of the Hippogriff. It is similar to Thunder and Barnstormer and the views of Hogwarts castle cannot be beat.

 

[pixeegrl]

"Licking a cat?!" your little one is hilarious!! Did the fountain interact with you? Our sons had a blast with it.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Great report and pictures! Love the one from the top of Hippograff. Can't wait to hear about this strange experience.

 

[samheatherwhite]

"Licking a cat?!" your little one is hilarious!! Did the fountain interact with you? Our sons had a blast with it.

He is pretty silly! We saw the fountain interact with a man from Scotland and his family. The fountain was quizzing him on all things Scottish and when they got it wrong e squirted them. It was cute. Most of the time when we walked by he was snoring.

 

[samheatherwhite]

Okay, here is where our trip took an interesting turn. (In a good way.)

We hadn't been in here yet so we decided that it was time to check out the dark side of DA.

For those who haven't seen this area, it is super dark. There is an open area in the middle with a window of singing shrunken heads at the near left and some store fronts and windows also on the left but a little further down. There is a huge mermaid skeleton and other creepy stuff in a dimly lit window. On the right is the Bourgin and Burkes store and further up on the right is the second entrance that comes out near the bathrooms and is a really long dark alley that really reminds you of places in the muggle world that you don't went to get caught in alone at night. As we entered KA I noticed that there was a creepy Tm standing in the other exit area, lurking around a bit sinisterly. (It was just right for KA)

Here is a picture of the heads.
We went into Borgin and Burkes to look around. There were only two other people in there besides the Tms and they left pretty soon after we entered so we had the store to ourselves.

G checking out the window display.

As we were looking around, I believe that this is called the hand of glory moved and scared G which is ironic because she jumped out of her skin when it moved in the movie too.

We enjoyed seeing and hearing the cabinet.

The atmosphere in here was perfect. B called it the creepy store.

There was lots of cool stuff in this store.
As we were shopping C and G needed a bathroom break so they left KA and we told them we'd meet them outside the restrooms soon since Gran was paying for a shirt for my other sister. B wanted to go but I didn't realize that until they were already gone and he was getting whiny. He was not a fan of the dark arts. I told Gran we would wait for her outside and B and I exited the store. There was not another soul out there and B was really amping up his grumbling. He wasn't terribly loud just fussy wanting to get out of the dark. We were also the only two people in KA except for the creepy witch.
Here is when things got interesting. Let me say that the team members in the HP areas were nearly all wonderful and in character.

B and I go outside in and we are standing near the store front with the mermaid I can see the witch lurking but didn't really think a thing about it. She was super tall, like 6'2 and was lurking like bad dudes do in alley ways. She was in the large dark area just kind of hanging out in there. That of course is the way we need to leave to meet back up with G and C. Well, B is over waiting around in the dark so he starts to fuss. I shush him but he decided that now is the time to fake cry. So here we are in the dark creepy alley, B braying like a goat and the scary Tm walks up to us. Right up close, like toe to toe with me. B is standing right next to me and this giant woman comes right up to him and just glares down at him. He isn't fazed at all and just keeps making his fake fussy noise. I'm about to die. I awkwardly try to engage this person who is standing almost on my feet in conversation. No dice. She just stares at us. I have no idea how to respond to this so I just take B's hand and we sidle away closer to the mermaid window, pretending to look. The witch just slowly melts back into the background. Gran gets done in B and B so we head out to meet the others. We,of course, have to walk right by our new "friend." I didn't tell Gran what happened beacuse I didn't want to talk about the witch where she could hear me. B and I are in front, he stopped fussing the minute Gran showed up, and we start toward the exit. As we get close to the Tm B wants to be picked up so I scoop him up and power walk right on by leaving Gran in the dust as she is putting her receipt in her bag. Near the exit I turn and look, just as Gran gets even with the witch she turns on her heel and follows Gran. This Tm is lurking over Gran, following right on her tail. Gran speeds up, so does the Tm. By the time we get near the exit we are all running. We exit into the bright sunshine and the Tm is gone. All of the people on the street including G and C are looking at us, running like maniacs like we have officially lost our minds. We got run out of Knockturn Alley by a dark witch. Best day ever. It was so cool and completely lost on B.

Here is a picture of the skeleton window taken without the flash to give an idea of just how dark and creepy it is in there.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Awesome, love it!

 

[mrsabbott]

I am thoroughly enjoying your TR! I can't wait to go and experience it for ourselves!

 

[angryduck71]

wusses! Haha! Love it!

 

[Babs1975]

What kind of seat are you in during the Forbidden Journey ride? I will have to look it up on youtube. Thanks!

 

[pixeegrl]

I wonder if a lot of people miss KA. There isn't a lot of mentioning about it in TR's. Is it hard to find? Sounds perfectly sinister!! Can't wait to visit

 

[samheatherwhite]

What kind of seat are you in during the Forbidden Journey ride? I will have to look it up on youtube. Thanks!

I love the seat on FJ. It is four across and has a drop down bar like those on roller coasters where your feet dangle. You experience a ton of movement but do not get jostled to death. G is a thin 7 year old girl about 50 inches tall and she said she didn't get beat around like many rides do to small kids. We all felt like we were flying but completely steady. I hope this helps. I found this to be the most comfortable ride ever, plus I apparently love to fly.

 

[samheatherwhite]

I wonder if a lot of people miss KA. There isn't a lot of mentioning about it in TR's. Is it hard to find? Sounds perfectly sinister!! Can't wait to visit

I didn't think it was hard to find, there are two entrances/exits, but I researched a ton before we went so I might be biased. I think that the main reason it isn't mentioned is that it is a really small area in DA. It is really just a circular alleyway with a small courtyard area and Bourgin and Burkes. It was perfectly sinister! Just the right amount of menace to be fun but not scary for the kids. The Tms in KA were some of the best we saw while we were gone. Their outfits even looked perfect. Once we saw a KA Tm leaving KA and walking down the street in DA. She stayed in dark character and kind of slunk around looking very suspicious. It was very well played.

 

[samheatherwhite]

Thanks everyone for reading. we had such a nice trip I am really enjoying sharing it.

After our fun experience in KA we decided that we needed a drink. C wanted to try Eternelle's Elixirs so we headed that way.

C got the blue elixir that was berry flavored and she and G liked it. Gran and I thought it was okay but almost 10 dollars for what is essentially a bottle of water and a kool aid mix is outrageous. That didn't stop us from trying more flavors later though so I guess the jokes on us.

Here is the after shot of our potion making.
We had just decided to move on when I noticed that the Celestina Warbeck show was getting set up. This was one of the things that I really wanted to do so the others snagged a great spot and I got G and I another frozen Butterbeer from the Hopping Pot. Let me just say now that I love Celestina! She was my favorite! She was so good and we had a blast.

This woman had charisma for days. She flirted with the audience and was fabulous to watch. It is so nice to see someone who is really an truly
enjoying their job.

The kids really liked watching the Banshees dance.

The show was one of my favorite things that we did this trip. I wish we could have seen it again.

We left DA after the show and I made it a point to take a picture of the tribute to J.K. in the window of the record shop. I think that it is great that she is so picky. The quality and details really shine and I appreciate how hard it was to make HP come to life but they nailed it.

B was really interested in the "robot men" once he was told that they are good guys.

On our way out these guys drove right by us and waved to the kids.

 

[samheatherwhite]

B and G really like the water and they had been eager to try out the beautiful pool at RPH.

We loved this area of the pool. It was zero entry and as it got deeper the color at the bottom of the pool changed from brown to blue. It made it so easy for B to have a definite boundary. He had a great time and I could give a little freedom to explore. The hotel even had beach balls and pool noodles for the kids to play with.

I know that some people don't like that the pool is fairly warm. I loved it, I hate cold water and find most pools to cold to enjoy. This one was perfect for me. Warm enough to be comfortable and cool enough to be refreshing on a hot day.

The ducks in the pool were a delight to G and served to keep B close with out reminders. She loved them and they made him a little nervous.

G tried out the kid splash area but didn't stay long. She said that the water was super cold and she loves cold water. B didn't try it as he doesn't like water dumping on his head.

As you can see there was only one other family in the pool with us and it was mid afternoon on a super hot Florida day. The kids really liked this pool and the staff were wonderful.
After swimming for about 2 hours we went back to the room to get dressed.

We headed to IOA with the idea of letting B explore some of the Dr. Suess area and then grabbing some dinner.

We started with the Suess carousel as B loves a good merry go round. He was super excited to see this and eagerly began planning which animal he was going to choose when it was his turn.

He chose an elephant and loved his ride.

Next the kids and I rode One Fish, Two Fish. They like this kind of ride and enjoyed the fact that it sprayed you with water.
At this point everyone got hungry. It was about 3:30 in the afternoon and we were shocked at how many of the quick service places had already closed. It was difficult to find a place that was both open and had something that Mr. Picky would eat.

We went through the super hero area and no dice.

This place was open but B doesn't eat pizza and the salads came already dressed with Caesar dressing so this spot was also a no go.

We loved JP so we decided to eat in here. About the time we walked in poor B fell asleep and took the only nap of his vacation. Swimming wore him out. We hated for B to miss the dino building so we made it a point to take him back later in the week.

The meals here came with milkshakes which was a fun surprise. G and I both got burgers and they were hot sand fresh and tasted good. There is a nice fixings bar that was clean and well stocked. C got a chicked sandwich and she agreed that hers was also good and fresh. Gran got the chicken strips and hers were good too. Nothing fancy at the Burger Digs but fast and fresh. The milkshakes were made super thick which is good if you take them outside in the heat. We all got vanilla except Gran who got chocolate. They were good for the kind of premade in a machine type of shakes.

Sweet B took a nice nap while we ate and he was still snoozing after dinner.

 

[samheatherwhite]

After we ate we explored the JP visitors center while B continued to rest.

There is a really cool gift shop in there for dinosaur lovers.

With some dinner in our tummies we headed back to Hogsmead.

This is such a pretty area but don't let the snow fool you. It is so hot in Hogsmead Village. DA is so much cooler.

Right after we entered the village B woke up starving so he and I left Hogsmead in search of a hotdog. The first place we found was in the JP area. They only had foot long sized hot dogs do we bought one of those and we had to get chips he didn't want as it was only sold as a meal. It was a big meal for a tiny guy.
I tried to get him to take some photo connect pictures with me on the way back across the bridge to HP but he was only interested in his giant hot dog. Once we got back to the others, G wanted to ride FJ again so she and I and Gran got in line.
This is when we experienced some really crummy Tms. It was sprinkling just a tiny bit and as we walked toward the castle entrance we saw a Tm talking to a woman in a wheel chair. We walked by them and the Tm was holding an umbrella over himself leaving the woman in rain which I thought was a bit rude. Then he abruptly turned around right in our face and got his umbrella tangled in C's hair. He didn't even say he was sorry. He just made a rude noise like we were at fault and yanked the umbrella free. It was so inappropriate.
We left C to redo her hair and B to eat and hopped in line. As we got to the loading platform a Tm waved G and I toward the moving sidewalk and then proceeded to yell at her for coming before she was called. I was furious. She is 7 and he had waved us forward, I got on the sidewalk too. It wasn't even a mistake it was totally his fault. Poor G got worried and tried to back track off of the moving area nearly falling. As the jerk Tm is chewing us out 4 empty ride cars go by. I finally got tired of his crap and told him firmly but politely off. The people behind us clapped and several people caught us after the ride to tell G not to be upset that she had done nothing wrong. He had spoiled her ride. I was furious by the time the ride was over.

After our crummy ride we went to meet back up with C and B outside of Filch's emporium.
I noticed that B still had a huge amount of hot dog left and C told me his interesting story.
She had taken out her phone to take a picture of the castle to tease Uncle J back home and in the 5 seconds she wasn't looking, B dropped his dinner. The whole thing rolled off his stroller tray and hit the dust. C said that there were about 20 people staring at them in horror waiting for the melt down when B looked up at her with big eyes and said, "my hot dog went splat." Then he cracked up. She said that several people told him what a big boy he was and to this day he loves retelling the splat hot dog story. Poor C had taken him all the way back to buy him another giant hot dog while we rode FJ. Our luck was not fabulous at that point.

While B ate hot dog the sequel, G and I rode Hippogriff several times. Gran said that she didn't like FJ as much right after dinner and opted to sit this one out.

Here is a picture of Hagrid's hut from the ride.

G and B had a nice chat with the HE conductor. He was showing the kids how his name tag was like their shirts. They both had their names on them.

B was fascinated with the fake snow and was excited to find a spot where he could reach it and see for himself that it wasn't real and didn't feel cold.