Brad and I had done a couple of rather long road trips last year, and we've gone back and forth on whether it's better to break long trips up or just to bite the bullet and push through all in one go. We decided to do it in one go this time, and it worked out quite well. The night before we left for Orlando, Brad and I packed the car, cleaned the house, took out the trash, packed food for the trip, and did basically everything but sleep in our clothes in preparation. As a result, we were able to leave at 5:43 a.m., just 13 minutes past our intended departure time. WOO!
Traveling in jammies and sunnies: check! We had kind of a nice detour through rural North Carolina, due to standing water/closings on the interstate after Hurricane Matthew.
It was SO nice! We've stayed on property twice before (at the Royal Pacific), but this was our first time at the Hard Rock. BONUS: we were on the Club level, which is the concierge level! You have to use your key card to access the floor, and there is free food available basically all day long. What more could we possibly want?
This was literally on the sidewalk by the front door of the hotel, immediately after I released her from her car seat. She was quite glad to get out.
In the lobby.
Walking around the hotel property, checking out the pools and water slide. And lizards on the sidewalk.
It was a little too late for an actual swim, but we did let her splash around for a bit. And we took her swimming later in the week.
And Brad let Lily try his coffee. Because we are responsible parents. (Just kidding! She just kept diving for it. No ingestion of coffee occurred.)
Mom, Dad, and Amiee got in later that night, and we all tried to get to bed earlyish because we don't mess around with maximizing our days at Universal. (By the way, if you stay on property, you get into the park an hour early. You must make the most of the GREATLY shortened lines.) The upside of going to Universal in October is that the weather is quite nice (read: not oppressively hot). The downside of going to Universal in October is that Universal Studios hosts a month-long Halloween creep-tastic nighttime thing, which means that Studios closes at 5, unless you've purchased tickets for the Halloween stuff (which we so did not). So, your time in Studios is reduced by 3 hours every day, meaning that you have to be really conscientious about getting in your Diagon Alley fix before it closes for creepiness. (half of the Harry Potter theming is in Studios and half is in Islands of Adventure; it's kind of genius on Universal's part, as you have to buy a dual-park ticket to do both elements of Harry Potter.).
Being the type-A personality that I am, I made very detailed schedules for us so that we wouldn't miss any important moments (or meals or nap time, which are CRUCIAL). Thus, this was our view, bright and early, on day 1:
Welcome to Gringotts! That dragon breathes actual fire throughout the day. Also, riding the Escape from Gringotts ride is infinitely better during that extra hour for on-property folks. I think we were only in line for half an hour!
Waiting for Brad to stash the stroller in "Pram Parking."
Blurry family photo taken by a very kind fellow visitor. Please note Daddy's Auburn hat. You would not believe how many "War Eagles" he got because of it! Including during this photo. Pretty sure he said it back through his teeth whilst smiling for this picture. So fun.
Posing right outside of Gringotts. Lily was a little distracted.
The "Escape from Gringotts" ride is really fun, but it's by no means our favorite. The truly fantastic part of the ride is actually all of the theming on your way in. It's unbelievable. I'm sure it's impressive and fun if you haven't read the books, but if you have, you just geek out the whole time. If you don't like roller coasters, you'd probably still really enjoy just looking at stuff. Claire and Lily can't ride it yet, but that's no problem because of Universal's awesome Child Swap option; the adults in the group decide who's riding first (and who's staying with the kids), and Group 1 rides the roller coaster while Group 2 sits with the kids in a designated room (a room that shows clips from the movies, has windows so that they can watch the ride come and go, and includes a diaper changing station). When the first adult riders return, they head to the Child Swap room and trade out. The second adult riders are then taken to the front of the line and get right on the ride. It's so clever and efficient. There are many rides at Universal that offer this option, and we use it quite effectively.
Signs on the way into the bank.
Amiee is basically the cutest.
Moving so quickly through the line. It's amazing.
Everyone took turns wearing Lily, and we all sang the praises of the Ergo carrier. People with babies/about to have babies that do not have one: I RECOMMEND. We got ours off of Craigslist for $40 when Claire was a baby and have GOTTEN OUR MONEY'S WORTH x1000. So much so that when Zulily had them on sale for $75, I grabbed another one. LOVE THEM.
One of the first sights you see as you walk into the main part of Gringotts. Those chandeliers are enormous and gorgeous.
Mom and Ame.
Claire knows exactly how excited she needs to get in order to be a member of our family. I couldn't be prouder.
Some of the goblins in the bank; they are so lifelike. (you know, if goblins were an actual thing)
Mr. Head Goblin Man
Bill Weasley leading everyone down to the ride.
Diagon Alley is full of fun stores based on shops mentioned in the books (plus other shops that fit with the themes of Diagon Alley). Again, I'm sure it's really cool to see if you haven't read the books or seen the movies, but if you have, you could spend all day just admiring the creativity and attention to detail. Amiee and Claire are developing a tradition of visiting The Magical Menagerie together, and they are so cute ooh-ing and aah-ing over all of the creatures.
Claire found a baby dragon.
Amiee actually bought Claire a Pygmy Puff of her very own.
A re-creation of their owl-y picture from 2015.
See? Claire was so little! #watchclairegrow
Just outside The Magical Menagerie is Sirius' bike. Claire looked a taddy bit too comfortable in the driver's seat...
If you have the park-to-park pass, one of the ways you can go back and forth is by taking the Hogwarts Express (and incidentally, if you don't have the park-to-park pass, you can't ride the train). It is such a fun experience from beginning to end. Granted, the lines are often quite long, but the whole experience feels like you are truly in the Wizarding World. From Diagon Alley, you enter an almost exact replica of King's Cross Station, winding your way through the station up to the train. The walk is complete with train schedule boards (that magically update every few seconds), snack stands, billboards (including one that you see at the beginning of The Half-blood Prince), and the magical barrier between platforms 9 and 10 that take you to Platform 9 3/4. It's really clever how they set that up; from certain places in the line, people further back can watch people further along pass through the barrier, thanks to modern technological sleight-of-hand (eye?). However, if traveling by train with children, you don't always get to see this part, as at certain times of day, parties with strollers are taken a different (and shorter) route.
Hedwig guarding the luggage.
The billboard from the movie (The Half-Blood Prince)
You can even by train station-y snacks while you wait in line!
There it is!
For those interested, Amiee and I were both sorted into Gryffindor by Pottermore. So our Gryffindor apparel is legit.
9 and 3/4.
Claire loves riding the train, and she really enjoyed getting pictures with the conductors. We have a similar one from last year:
#watchclairegrow
An "old fashioned" quidditch ensemble in Quality Quidditch Supplies.
Diagon Alley added a new performance this year! "The Fountain of Fair Fortune" from The Tales of Beedle the Bard. It was beautifully done and a lot of fun to watch. The creativity that goes into these stories and performances is so wonderful.
I absolutely loved this store front. It was so funny to see things like a microwave and a lamp in the Museum of Muggle Curiosities. I wish it was my job to come up with ideas like this. What a fun way to spend your time!
Had a get a picture of Brad with the books-on-sale sign. It's basically his natural habitat.
We started going to Universal the first summer that the Wizarding sections were open- when it was just Hogsmeade and the castle. So, on some level, no matter how many new attractions they open, the original attractions will always hold a special place in my heart. Inside the castle, there is so much wonderful theme-ing and detailing that it makes waiting in line for the ride (The Forbidden Journey) so fun and interesting. You get to see expected things like Dumbledore's office and the portraits whose occupants talk and move but also details important to genuine fans, like the gemstones measuring the different houses' points. I love that someone thought to add that in.
The castle is so iconic and makes fans feel so at home. Try not to scoff at what you might not understand, guys.
Brad took this picture and thought it was hilarious. I was most definitely giving someone instructions about something. I won't even try to pretend that wasn't the case. At least Amiee looks cute.
Not terribly flattering, but at least we remembered to snap one of the two of us. We love each other but rarely remember to get pictures of ourselves for posterity.
Amiee has been perfecting her family selfies over the years. They tend to turn out pretty well. I mean, the only one not looking and smiling is Lily...and she was 6 months old, so I give her a pass.
While we do spend a lot of our time in the Wizarding areas of Universal, we have several other parts of the park that we also really love, Seuss Landing being one. It's so adorably cute and really run for little ones (or folks like my mom who don't really like big rides but prefer lower-key options). This was the first year that Claire was tall enough to ride all of the Seuss rides, not just the Caro-seuss-el (carousel) and One Fish, Two Fish (an up-and-down ride, kind of like the Dumbo ride at Disney). This year, we could all ride The Cat in the Hat, as well as the Circus McGurkus train. It was super fun to ride the Seuss rides (read: lots of color and characters and costumes and music) with Claire. Plus, if we're being honest, I just really enjoy the storybookish atmosphere in that area of the park.
Hanging out with Lily (and Brad) in the Child Swap area of The Cat in the Hat.
Such a ham. Her, not me.
Lily's first ride on the Caro-seuss-el!
Claire's first time riding on a creature by herself!
Claire trying to chat with the Grinch. She's fascinated by him.
Squad. (or maybe #squad? I don't really know what the cool kids are doing these days.)
Family pic with the Grinch and Sam I Am. The Grinch started sticking his finger in my ear while we were getting the picture made. Totally freaked me out.
She was SO into meeting all the characters.
Looking back, I cannot believe I was concerned about Claire being nervous on this little train ride. We later learned that she is straight up fearless. And an adrenaline junkie. This little ride just sort of whet her appetite.
This picture is super exciting to the adults in our family, surprisingly. When we first started visiting Universal in 2010, Mom, Dad, Amiee, and I saw this ride in the Jurassic Park section of Islands of Adventure and thought it looked so much fun. The interesting thing about this ride, though, is that it's for children of a certain height. Adults cannot ride it without a child. We've been waiting for years to 1) have a child and then 2) have a child tall enough for the ride. This was the visit! Claire was tall enough, and she and my dad were able to ride it. Again, I was a little stressed that she would be scared of how high it was. Nope. Not even a little. In fact, I should be concerned at how NOT scared she was...
I intentionally packed this outfit for Lily so that we could recreate a picture with Amiee that we had done on Claire's first visit. I love that we have these shots.
Claire, 2013
This is a favorite of mine.
My mom always looks really put together, even at a theme park. I'm not sure how. My hair is always a mess. But I digress...This is the inside of the restaurant Mythos. It's right smack in the middle of Islands of Adventure, which could cause you to pause and question how good it actually is. Y'all. It is amazingly good food. We've eaten there several times over the years, ordering a wide range of items off the menu, and we have not had anything that wasn't VERY good. Seriously. It is such good food.
While we waited for food (not that we waited that long).
Equal auntie-love time.
Claire doesn't have just a ton of characters from movies/tv shows that she's super familiar with, but she does have a few. Like Hello Kitty:
Just having a chat.
She doesn't know this guy, but she loves rabbits.
And girls with pink hair.
And chickens.
But her true love is Curious George. She saw him, ran like the wind, and just collapsed into him. It was so sweet. I was a horrible person and didn't even feel bad that she cut in front of someone else's picture. She was just so unbelievably happy. After her initial hug, I made her wait while the other kid got his picture, then I let her continue.
We all but had to pry her away from him. The cutest.
Hanging out in the Curious George section of the park. It's a favorite.
The day we went over to the Curious George area, though, it POURED rain. So, so much rain. No problem for Claire! We hung out in a covered playground, and she had a blast. So did Lily.
Such a happy baby.
Amiee and Lily saying goodbye to the hotel on our last morning.
We always have such a fantastic time on our family trips to Universal. We're getting more adept (and comfortable) at maneuvering the parks with small children, which has made it even more fun over the years! We're so thankful to Mom and Dad for all of the hard work they put into planning our trips, and we really treasure all of the fun memories that we have been making over the past few years. We've had wonderful conversations while waiting in lines or sitting at restaurant tables. We've all taken turns wearing babies or pushing strollers. We've enjoyed watching Claire's excitement grow each time she discovers something new (like the Minions ride this year! Dad decided he wanted to take Claire to do that and she had a BLAST! Oh, and the actual roller coaster that she was obsessed with: The Flight of the Hippogriff.). And we've loved all of the fun that we get to have together. I realize that sounds kind of sappy- especially about a theme park- but it really is true. It's fantastically fun for all of us!
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