Thursday was the 6th grade field trip to Universal Studios in Orlando. Anwyn was very excited to go, and I was excited to go as a chaperone! Jared kindly took the day off from work and took care of the other three kids so I could go with Anwyn. We left the house at 6 a.m. to get on the charter buses at the school (there were five buses). We had two other friends in our group, and we ended up spending most of the day merged with another group of four, which worked out okay. When we arrived at the park our first task was riding the large rollercoaster. They gave you the option of selecting the music you listened to (I thought "Born to be Wild" was a good choice for a coaster).
Then we started making our way to Diagon Alley. We were briefly sidetracked by a ride with a 5 minute wait in the Simpson's land (the ride was just okay, not our favorite).
But the Harry Potter stuff was really fun! We talked with the driver of the Knight Bus, parked in front of #12 Grimmauld Place (sometimes you could see Kreacher peeking out the window). Diagon Alley was set up just like in the movies/books. We browsed through Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, a candy shop and a Quidditch store. Gringott's Bank was amazing, with the dragon on top that breathed fire every 10 minutes. The Harry Potter ride was definitely our favorite (a 3D-4D motion simulation thrill ride), and the wait for it wasn't bad because of all the interesting things to see in the Bank (animatronic goblins, Daily Prophet newspapers, etc). After the ride we splurged for authentic Butter Beers at the Fountain of Fair Fortune. After lunch we browsed through Knockturn Alley and some other shops.
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| #12 Grimmauld Place |
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| The Knight Bus |
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| Weasley's Wizard Wheezes |
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| A view of Dragon Alley, with Gringott's in the background |
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| One of the animatronic wizards at Gringott's Bank |
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| Authentic Butterbeer! We got the frozen kind, and it was really good. |
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| The dragon that breathed fire on the top of Gringott's was pretty cool! |
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| The vanishing cabinet at Borgin and Burke's. Listen closely and you can hear the bird inside! |
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| Trying on school robes at Madame Maulkin's. |
Then we rode the Men In Black ride (laser shooting at aliens was pretty fun). Another kid ride in the Simpson's land, a Despicable Me minion ride, and a little kid roller coaster completed the day, since we had to be back to the buses by 3:45 p.m. (we had to run and were a few minutes late, but at least we weren't the last ones there).
My overall impression of Universal was positive. Our wait times weren't too bad (and the app that told you wait times was helpful). It definitely is not a park for little kids--having Adam there would have been a nightmare! Anwyn was a good age to go, since she could go on alll of the rides and handle the walking without complaint. For Harry Potter lovers, Diagon Alley is awesome! By the end of the day I started to get a little sick from the 3D-4D simulator rides (I think the rollercoaster was actually better on my stomach).
It was definitely a fun field trip-one of the perks of living in Florida!
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