Post Vacation Laziness

For the first time in a few years, my kids (a senior in high school and a new elementary teacher) had the same Spring Break...so we packed up the car and road tripped to Florida from Ohio and spent some of it at Universal Studios. Both kids are Harry Potter fans and the last time we were there was when my daughter graduated high school 6 years ago...and in those 6 years, they have added a ton of HP stuff, including a Gringott's ride and a dragon outside that shoots fire periodically...it's pretty warm, even down there on the ground! You can visit Diagon Alley in the new section and wander down Knockturn Alley or visit the Weasley's shop.

Here's a pic from the line inside the new-to-me Gringott's ride.

They used to have just one HP area in the Islands of Adventure, along with a Hogwarts Express engine for pictures that didn't move. Now, there's a train that moves from park to park (you need a park to park pass for the same day to ride it) and my big kids were thrilled with the experience. It just adds a little touch of authenticity to the world they've recreated. 

What I love about the new HP area is that it's not marked clearly, you have to really look for it just like in Muggle London...there are tons of shops and a great London facade...it's just well done. The more HP the better!

We did other stuff too, of course, including hanging out in the Mardi Gras area, which for some reason, extends the Mardi Gras season until the week after Easter. Here's a pic of me and the kids with gigantic float heads. There were food stalls along there, but no beignets for us, as we apparently never were there at the right time.

And 2/4 of us rode the Spiderman ride and deemed it awesome.

There were two log rides that 3/4 of us rode...one of us, okay, me...knew it would be a wet afternoon and chose not to get completely soaked. But they had fun even if it took forever to "mostly" dry.

I highly recommend Universal if you like Marvel, Jurassic Park, Harry Potter or Dr. Seuss...or just theme parks in general. They have a few roller coasters, lots of 3-D and 4-D rides (including the King Kong Skull Island ride that I did ride and got a tiny 4-D splash here and there, Shrek, Minions and Simpsons) and great shops and areas for younger kids too. 

We never made it to the Volcano Bay waterpark, but it never really got hot enough anyway. Luckily, the weather was gorgeous and sunny and breezy and it cooled off in the mornings and evenings really quickly--which is why we chose Spring Break over Summer Break to visit Florida. 

It was fab and a wonderful way to spend time together as a family! I'll be back with more craft stuff on Wednesday.

Happy Monday!
Chark