Florida Trip - Day One at Universal Studios

Day one, and it’s time to leave for Universal Studios. The girls seemed eager to jump into the truck for a ride.

We dropped the girls off at the Day care, and there was a bit of a backup at the counter. I have never understood people who think it is acceptable to let their dogs walk up to strange dogs. My girls do not know your dogs, and dogs will be dogs. My girls cannot tell what your dogs intention is, good or bad. That is not a safe situation for either of us. Please, just give me and my girls some room!!!

After dropping the girls at day care we headed directly to the gas station, and then on to Universal Studios. I have to say, if you are going to Universal Studios early please don’t pay for premium parking. You do not need to spend the extra money; you will get close enough with regular parking which is an easy walk.

As you walk out of the parking garage you get on a series of escalators that take you down to the entrance. I have to say that it reminded me of the walkway in the lower level of O’Hare International Airport in Chicago; the only thing missing was the United Airlines Theme Song. We were in the general shopping area of Universal Studios within five minutes of getting out of the truck.

Now since we didn’t have the speed pass (because that will allow you into the park an hour earlier than regular pass holders) we had to burn some time. So we bought a little cup of cinnamon doughnuts and ate them while we waited for the clock to hit 9:00 AM.

Harry Potter World – Hogwarts School of Witchcraft

As soon as we could get through the gate we headed to the far end of the “Islands of Adventure” park to the Hogwarts School. There we got into line for the ride. As you walk through the school you will see Dumbledore’s office, the Dark Arts classroom, the Gryffindor common room, the Room of Requirement, and more. It’s a bit of a walk through the school but well worth it as the ride is pretty intense. I have to mention at this point that it never seemed to matter which ride we would choose at the park, there never was a long wait. For us it was perhaps a wait of ten to fifteen minutes if that. In the case of the Harry Potter ride, we had no wait at all.

If you decide to get the full Harry Potter experience you will need to take the Hogwarts Express Train over to the other Universal Park. This means you need a two park pass. The Hogwarts express drops you off in London. Once in London, behind the bank, you will find Diagon Alley. It was a little hard to figure out where it was located; however, once we located it, we did not feel like we were at Universal Studios anymore. Diagon Alley is very secluded in its location and as a result you can’t see the rest of the park from there. It feels very much like a little city within the park. On day one we merely took the Hogwarts express over to the other park and back. This way so we could save Diagon Alley and the rest of that park for day two.

There are a lot more rides available to you on the side of the park that has the Hogwarts School, so plan on spending a full day. My guess is that if you go “in season” you may not be able to see everything in this park in one day.

Here’s just a brief listing of some of the other attractions on the “Island of Adventure”:

Skull Island – Reign of Kong

Jurrasic Park

The Lost Continent

Marvel Super Hero Island

Toon Lagoon

Suess Landing

There are many things to do under each of the above attractions, so you wont get through any area very quickly. Click here so you can see not only how the attractions are laid out; but also see everything that is available from rides to food.

Click on the following clip to get a preview of the very end of the Jurrasic Park Ride. Since it is a very steep drop into the river – you will get wet!