Sorry for the lack of photos at times in the updates, but there were many pictures that I took that include my neice and nephew in it. I didn't want to post pictures of everyone without asking their permission. And there were many instances where I didn't have my camera due to some "restrictions." Any-who, back to the trip....
Since we were all melting in the August heat, we took a much needed pool break. Unfortunately I didnt take any photos of the pool at the hotel. I must have been too busy enjoying the poolside service. Thats right folks poolside service. As in, a nice lady comes up to us and takes our drink and food orders and then appears shortly later with all the goodies. And yes, you can also go alcoholic. Bonus point to Universal there.
Here is a stock photo of the pool though, just so you can have an idea.
(courtesy of oyster.com)
This is the little spray area that our little girl frequented.
(courtesy of internet)
I have to admit that I spent a large amount of time lounging by the side of the pool stuffing my face. For some reason, food tastes so good when you are next to a chlorinated body of water.
I think our pool outing only lasted a little over an hour before we had to jet back inside to the hotel. It was time for the daily thunderstorm to roll on through. That was fine with us since we got a chance to regroup, shower and refuel for our evening back at the park.
Where do you think we were headed to first? If you guessed WWoHP, then you were right. We thought we would try our luck again at the lines. We also figured that since this was the main reason for our trip, we might as well make the most of it. Naturally I was still psyched to be getting my Hogwarts groove on.
I even managed to score that photo on the bridge without anyone else nearby! A rarity during the day. My mission for this particular visit? It was time to taste the infamous butterbeer! I heard so much about the frozen butterbeer vs. the regular butterbeer. My nephew was planning on ordering the regular drink so I decided to order the frozen one (since I tend to love all slurpees, slushies, and all things frozen) and just take a sip of his to try it out.
Obviously I had to get a customary photo in front of the Three Broomsticks. I should have interior shots later on in this TR.
Naturally I was pretending that I had just gotten my drink from Three Broomsticks with Ron, Hermione and Harry. My thoughts on the drinks? I prefer the frozen one. They tasted exactly like I imagined them to taste like liquid butterscotch. There was no way I would have been able to handle finishing the regular butterbeer, it was just way to sweet and syrupy for my liking. I managed to drink most of the frozen butterbeer, but even that was a bit much for me. I had to try one though so I could say that I had.
We managed to hit up a few of the roller coasters in the Hogwarts area this afternoon before it got too dark. We went on the Flight of the Hippogriff, the tamer of the rides in the area.
This is a photo of a hippogriff, Buckbeak, from an online blog.
You also get a chance to pass by Hagrids hut while in line (photo also from online blog).
The signs are just as fun and full of details here in the WWoHP as they are at Disney.
(from online)
The best comparison I could make for this ride is probably to BTMRR. Its a family thrill ride that can be enjoyed by many, but not the littlest ones, whether you are a kid or adult. It went faster than I expected from reading the description. Pretty fun!
Next up was the revamped Dueling Dragons rollercoaster. It has been renamed the Dragons Challenge. It is an intertwined track of roller coasters that would allow two coasters to pass within 18 INCHES of each other while going at a mere speed of 60 mph. However, due to some accidents in the recent past of people being struck by loose objects, they dont start off the coasters at the same time anymore. Bummer because that would have been INSANE! I would have screamed my little head off, while loving every last minute of it.
Again, I had to use a stock photo from online. Apparently I was not taking pictures of the roller coasters themselves this trip. Why, you ask? Probably because you werent allowed to bring any bags or belongings of any kind with you onto a ride. You had to stow them in a locker before you entered the line, or in our case, we just loaded up the stroller and then sent them on their way with my husband.
There are two sides to the ride the red side (aka the Chinese Fireball) and the blue side (aka the Hungarian Horntail). Even though they are dueling coasters, they are completely different rides. You are going faster on the red side and seem to get more airtime, or as I like to call it those moments when I feel like I am going to die because I can feel that my butt is no longer attached to the seat. The blue side has more twists and the only corkscrew portion of the two coasters so it goes a little slower. That was a nice little tidbit from a castmember working the ride.
A riders tip for this ride: you can go on the rides back to back without having to exit and reenter completely. As you are walking off the ride, you will come across a path to the right where you can cut across and back into the entrance line. There wasnt usually much of a wait for this coaster when we went, so it made it so easy to go on the ride again and again. Oh, and walking to the ride you get to see a lot of Triwizard Tournament props. You see signs for Harry, Cedric, Fleur, and Krum.
My thoughts on this ride? A favorite. It was definitely my favorite ride in all of Universal, and we went on it many, many times over the next few days. I became the designated roller coaster adult to accompany the kiddos. Not only was it a fast, fun thrill ride, I happen to love inverted roller coasters. It must be something with having my feet hanging out and feeling like they are going to get chopped off as we whiz by everything. Two thumbs up, for shizzle!
My neice and nephew definitely wanted to go on the ride again so I indulged them for a few more runs. However, it soon became apparent that we were going to have to call it a night. Some of us were getting hungry for dinner, some of us were still nauseous from the rides, and some of us were just plain tired already. It didnt look like we were all going to be doing dinner together, so I ended up going to dinner with my hubby, my little gal, and my nephew. We decided to walk around City Walk and see what called out to us. Apparently Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. was calling to us. Good dinner overall. And that was the end of the night.
Next day
.back to Universals Islands of Adventure. This time we decided to explore the rest of the park. We also decided to split up. My little family was going to explore more of Suess Landing while my sister-in-law and her family were going to visit some of the other thrill rides. It wasnt long before my little girl was in her element, hamming it up with the characters.
Right outside the Circus McGurkus Café we ran across some familiar characters standing around greeting people. She couldnt wait to pop over and say hello to Sam I Am. Not even sure if she recognized him from the book, Green Eggs and Ham.
I guess she was the perfect height for an arm rest. He also made sure to get down to her level for a big hug.
Hi-Fiving good-bye.
Up next was the cat himself!
You know she had a hug for him.
As well as a special handshake good-bye.
The Grinch was also out greeting people, but we soon heard an announcement that they needed to get back inside the tent for their big show. Well, of course we couldnt miss out on a Dr. Seuss show, so inside the Circus tent we headed. Since we had been too busy outside with the characters, we didnt make it inside fast enough to score the VIP seats. We had to settle for the nosebleed section.
The area of the show was also a counter service restaurant. It was early in the day so there werent really any people inside eating lunch yet. I can imagine that it would be a fun surprise though if you were just minding your own business, eating a little pizza and in pops the Seuss characters! This is the area that we were in.
I do find that a bit fitting as I think we spoil our little girl. I mean, three trips to Disney in as many years? Lucky duck.
Just as the story reader walked in, the Seuss Trolley rolled through!
We were soon treated to a storytime reenactment of Green Eggs and Ham.
There was also a little dance that included some other fun characters as well.
Then came my little girls favorite part meet and greet time! She could pick from Sam I Am, the Grinch, Cat in the Hat and Thing 1. Before she could make up her mind, we saw one of them heading our way without a line.
It didnt matter to her that she had already seen him. I think he was one of her favorites.
Then she got in line to see Thing 1. Of course she was asking me where Thing 2 was, and I think I made up some random excuse, like he was cleaning up the mess that they had made.
Nice hairdo Thing 1!
We even managed to squeeze in a quick greeting with the Grinch before they all headed out.
You have a adorable little girl. I was tearing up when she met Jessie for the second time. I could only imagine hpw you felt!
hahah.
that ride. 
