California Vacation – Day 4
It’s been 24 years since Jared & I have been to Universal Studios. We went together for my High School graduation in 1995. (I’m dating myself 👵LOL!) This was the first time for the kids. Alayna is Harry Potter obsessed & she’s been dying to check out The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. âš¡
We were all looking forward to this day. I found a great deal on tickets even! Jared was nervous that we wouldn’t be able to see everything in one day so he upgraded them to the Express Pass which is their version of Disney’s FastPass. It was a good thing he did too! The lines were pretty long and it was nice to pretty much walk on to everything.:)
It’s so different there now than when we last went that is for sure. They’ve added a lot of attractions. One thing I don’t remember is the crazy steep never ending escalators. It was the only way to get to 1/2 of the park.
That’s Alayna and Eli at the bottom.
Pretty much every ride there is a movie type ride. They give you 3D glasses and experience it that way. I learned quickly that this type of ride makes me very motion sick. 🤢 I did the best I could to not let it ruin the day but there were moments that were dicey.
The Mummy and Transformers ride were pretty thrilling. They were fast paced and the everyone had fun.
We hit a bunch of rides and then grabbed some sandwiches for lunch. We knew if we didn’t make it over to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter âš¡ Alayna would kill us. So we made our way over and spent a lot of time there.
She was a “little” excited! LOL! 😛
The kids thought this guy was the perfect fit for the train conductor. They had another cast member later in the day and said they were glad this guy was here for their pics. 😛
Anytime you mention you are going to Universal everyone says…make sure you try the Butterbeer! Well we didn’t just try it we had seconds! Haha! It was SO good! Eli is addicted to it now. I need to figure out how to make it at home. 🙂
The themeing is done well. You really feel you are immersed in Diagon Alley and Hogwarts. I wish the rest of the Park was done this well. I’m a Disney girl at heart. Disney really knows how to transport and pay attention to detail. It’s hard for other places to match. 😛
Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey was awesome! The rides even spins you so you are on your back. It has fun surprises that gave Alayna a scare and she had to close her eyes the first time. Ha! Definitely my favorite in the Park.
The overcast day really made this set look like it belonged there. It was perfect!
After a couple of hours we decided to take the Backlot Tour. That is one thing I do remember from back in the day. However, it’s NOT the same at all. They jazzed it up a bit.
That’s building an clock tower from Back to the Future.
This was the best photo we got of Jaws. We sat on the wrong side of the tram. I was really hoping Alayna would sit on the outside edge where he pops up and scares you. I remember as a little girl sitting there and I didn’t expect it at all. I jumped about 3ft out of my seat! hahaha!!!
We needed to refill our tanks so we stopped and got some ice cream cones. I don’t know how they swirl it like this but it sure is pretty. It was vanilla and strawberry.
We caught a couple of shows and then the kids wanted more Butterbeer and to ride the Harry Potter ride again before we left.
Meanwhile…I had a small treat! Hahahaha!!!!
It was a fun day. So much has changed that it was like we were all experiencing it for the first time. But we all agreed….Disney has our hearts! <3
The weather held out all day. It sprinkled just a tiny bit as we were walking back to the van. We were so thankful!
We hit Pizza Hut on the way home and had dinner back at the house. Alayna got a little souvenir and wanted to remember it. She also got the sweater she’s wearing in the picture above. It’s from the Ravenclaw House. 😉
It’s been a great week so far!
