Kavya turned 10 in February, and we surprised her with a trip to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando. In my last post, I wrote about a few other places we visited in Orlando. In this post, I will share our experience at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and other attractions at Universal Orlando.
Planning a weeklong trip to Orlando
We have never done a theme park family vacation, so it was a bit overwhelming initially when we started planning the trip. Which Universal Parks should we go to? Should we buy a single park ticket for a day or a park-to-park ticket? Do we need an Express pass? Should we stay at one of Universal’s resorts or outside? Should we visit Disney?
Considering all these factors, I even approached a couple of travel agents, but their service and the overall package they put together could have been better. So I ended up making all the reservations on my own, and here is what it looked like –
- Travel Dates: Feb 4-12. We decided on a week-long stay instead of just four days after talking to a colleague in Orlando.
- Accommodation: Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort. We would get Early Park Access and won’t need a rental car to visit Universal Parks.
- Universal Tickets: 3 Park-to-Park 2 Days + 2 Free Days. Added Volcano Bay as Kavya was interested in going to a water park. Park to Park ticket would be required to ride the Hogwarts Express train.
- Disney Tickets: Single Day EPCOT. Most of the movies we watched and the type of activities we wanted to do aligned with Universal, so we didn’t plan for much time at Disney.
We didn’t purchase Express Pass at Universal or Disney (Genie) as we would be visiting parks on weekdays in February, and based on this crowd calendar, the wait times should be alright.
Universal Islands of Adventure
Hogsmeade
On our first day in Orlando, we went to Kennedy Space Centre, and even though the weather was not great and the SpaceX Launch got postponed, we had a good time.
On the second day, we went to the Universal Islands of Adventure. It was a short shuttle ride from the resort to the park. After clearing security, it was a short walk to Universal’s City Walk. From City Walk, you can access Universal Islands of Adventure (left) and Universal Studios (right). To the right was Universal Studios. It was a weekday and was supposed to be “not busy,” but it was still busy for us. I can’t imagine what a busy day in these parks would look like.
Once inside the Universal Islands of Adventure, we made our way to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Hogsmeade. I am not as big of a Harry Potter fan as Kavya or Kasturi, but I was still blown away by Hogsmeade. The recreation of Hogsmeade from the movies was impressive. The shops, interactive displays (with wands) and everything that makes it an immersive experience.
Flight of Hippogriff was our first ride, and the wait time was about 50 minutes. The roller coaster ride lasted a minute, but it was fun.
Velocicoaster
We wanted to go on the Forbidden Journey and the Hagrid’s Motorbike ride, but both had a long wait time. So we did the Velocicoaster, and honestly, we didn’t know what we were getting into, which was a good thing. I don’t think we would have gone on it if we had known that it was Florida’s fastest and tallest roller coaster.
With elements like high acceleration, four inversions and a near-vertical drop (80-degree angle), it was fun and terrifying at the same time. I was glad we did this ride before lunch.
Kasturi had booked us a table at Mythos for lunch. The food is good, but it is the architecture of this restaurant that stands out.
Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
Later in the afternoon, as the wait time dropped, we got in line for the Forbidden Journey ride. As we made our way to the ride, we passed through Hogwart’s Greenhouse, Dumbledore’s Office, the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, etc.
Even though the wait time was 40-45 minutes, with features like talking portraits and 3D projections, we didn’t mind waiting in line. The attention to detail of all the elements is amazing.
Finally, we got seated (in a group of four) for the ride, and with one of Hermione’s magic spells, we were on our way. It is not a roller coaster ride like Velocicoaster and is not as scary, but still fun. Again, different technologies are leveraged to provide a unique experience as you soar above Hogwarts.
Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure
This was by far the most popular of all the rides in Islands of Adventure, with wait times exceeding two hours on most days during our trip. We finally got in line for this ride on our third day at Universal. Initially, the wait time was just over an hour, but I think we were in line for almost one and a half hours due to technical delays.
Similar to the Forbidden Journey ride, you get an immersive queue experience on this ride. However, the ride itself is quite different. It is Florida’s longest roller coaster ride, with unique elements like backward motion and a drop. As the name suggests, you will meet some magical creatures like Fluffy along the ride.
We would have loved to do this ride again, but the wait time was too long, and we still had some other rides to do at this part.
We spent about two days in Universal’s Islands of Adventure and in addition to the rides at Hogsmeade and Velocicoaster, we also experienced the rides at Amazing Spider-Man and Skull Island Reign of King Kong. Kavya also went to the Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls.
Universal Studios
Diagon Alley
Compared to Hogsmeade, Diagon Alley is a relatively small but stunning recreation of the shopping area from Harry Potter. One day we had breakfast at Leaky Cauldron. The food was okay, but it was the ambience that we were interested in.
Places like Ollivander’s Shop, Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes, Borgin & Burkes, etc., were some of the highlights for us at Diagon Alley. The interactive wand spots were also unique and took more effort than the ones at Hogsmeade.
Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts
One thing you can’t miss once you enter Diagon Alley is the massive dragon perched on top of the Gringott’s Bank. About every 15 minutes, you hear a rumbling which is the cue for the Dragon breathing fire.
Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts is a popular ride, and we did this ride twice over two days we were in this park. The Gringott’s Bank hall, with its massive chandeliers, is impressive.
Several Goblins can be seen working from their high desks on both sides of the hall, and occasionally they look up to give you a “keep moving” look.
The Gringotts Bank lift took us down to the vaults and the Escape from Gringotts ride. We put on our 3-D goggles and got on the roller coaster. It is a dark ride where you encounter all the usual suspects – Harry, Ron, Hermoine and a few not-so-friendly characters and creatures.
Since this ride is a roller coaster, it didn’t seem so personal compared to the Forbidden Journey ride. If you are not sitting in the front row, you see other people in front of you, and all the 3-D projections and other elements of the ride don’t have the same effect.
Hogwarts Express
One of the unique rides at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is the Hogwarts Express connecting Hogsmeade in Universal’s Islands of Adventure to Diagon Alley in Universal Studios.
We took this train multiple times and enjoyed the short journey. However, my favourite part was accessing the 9 3/4 platform at King’s Station at Universal Studios.
Each cabin seats about six people and different characters from the movie series visit you through the projections on the window and the cabin door. Like everything else in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, the attention to detail is mind-blowing.
We also explored other rides in Universal Studios like the Revenge of the Mummy, Transformers, Race through New York with Jimmy Fallon, Despicable Me Minion Mayhem, and Fast and Furious Supercharged.
Fast and Furious ride was our least favourite. The quiz and the videos we saw while waiting in line for the Minions ride were more fun than the ride itself.
Volcano Bay
On our last day in Orlando, we went to Volcano Bay.
It was a short walk from Cabana Bay, and even though we had early access, we reached there just before the park opened at 10 am. Once we got a locker and stored everything, we went to Krakatau Aquacoaster. Apparently, it is the most popular ride in Volcano Bay, and during busy days, the lineup can be a couple of hours. Fortunately, for us it was less than 10 minutes.
Then as a family, we did other rides like Honu, Punga Racers, and Puihi. They were all fun, easy rides. Finally, Kavya and I did the Ohno drop slide and the Serpentine body slide. The Serpentine body slide was a bit scary, and the fact that I bumped my head right after the drop didn’t make for an enjoyable experience for me.
Even though we went to Volcano Bay on a Saturday, it was not busy, and within a few hours, we had done most of the rides. Then, around 2 pm, we returned to the resort, took a break, and went to Universal Studios for a final ride on the Hogwarts Express to Islands of Adventure.
Once at Islands of Adventure, we got in line for the Harry Potter and Forbidden Journey ride. It was our fourth time on this ride and our final ride before we flew back to Vancouver the next day.
Overall, it was a fun trip – but unlike some ardent Disney and Universal fans, it was more of a once-in-a-lifetime trip for us. I underestimated the amount of walking and waiting we would be doing – almost 15,000-20,000 steps every day. Honestly, I didn’t expect to be this exhausted on vacation. If I were to plan this trip again, I would plan for at least one more rest day.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter exceeded my expectations. It is the best place to go for a Harry Potter fan. I am new to this fan club, and once we returned, we started watching all the movies again. Mainly for my benefit, so that I could make sense of everything I saw in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I think I also found my favourite character – Dobby.
Resources:
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Hogsmeade | Diagon Alley
Universal Orlando: Park Tickets | Volcano Bay
Disclosure: The links I have shared in the post and under the Resources section are not Affiliate Links.
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