It had the best package deal: 4 day stay at a hotel (We stayed at the Comfort Inn and Suites--Free breakfast, GREAT rooms and staff, FREE transportation to and from the Hotel, and within walking distance to a lot of restaurants), 3 days of Park-to-Park admission (to both Universal Studios and Universal Islands--to get the full Harry Potter Experience, you want to go to both. Universal Islands has Hogsmeade and Universal Studios has Diagon Alley AND you can take the train between parks for free! You also get breakfast at the Leaky Cauldron and The Three Broomsticks one per peson. The best part of this package is the Early Admission fee. We were able to enter the park at 7am and beat the rush; it was amazing!
I already mentioned that the hotel provided free transportation to the hotel. The thing that you need to know is that this transportation is a first-come-first-serve. I highly recommend getting the tickets the night before you go to the park. You need to go to the front desk and ask for the bus tickets. They also have a schedule of when the busses pick up and drop off so that you can plan accordingly.
A quick note about Universal Islands and Studios: even though they are in Florida and we went at the end of July, the park does a fantastic job of keeping you out of the heat and as comfortable as possible. A lot of the lines for the rides are inside and air conditioned. If they are outside, they have a lot of fans, concession stands, and drinking fountains available. I packed a kid's waterbottle to use throughout the park (they let you bring that in!) and that kept me well hydrated.
The first day we spent at Universal Islands (Where Hogsmeade is located). Since we had access to the park we got there at 7am and went straight for Hogsmeade Village. Then we proceeded to the other parts of the park (Marval Universe, Jurassic Park, Cartoon World, Simbad's Adventure, and Dr. Seuss).
Welcome indeed! Amazing place. Make sure to pick up your tickets from the kiosk if you didn't have time to receive them in the mail. Using the Vacation Package deal, you need to book more than a month in advance, otherwise you just pick up everything in the park. At the entrance they will have you scan your ticket (DON'T LOSE IT!) as well as your fingerprint for identification purposes.
Replica Train before they put the real one in
Ahhhh Hogsmeade! Beautiful fake snow covered businesses.
You will see a lot of pictures of the Castle because it is beautiful!
College friends each supporting a different house color!
This is also the enterance for the best ride in the park: Forbidden Journey. I have lots of pictures further down with descriptions and tips for this ride.
Complete (?) with Hagrid's Hut even though that's not quite where it's located in the books.
We went on the ride Flight of the Hippogriff. Great small rollarcoaster ride that provides a fantastic view of the castle. I was able to quick snap this picture on the way up. The ride goes by quickly and has a short line most of the day so you can ride it multiple times if you are interested.
Ollivander's in both Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley are not the only places where you can buy wands, skip the crowded shops and purchase the wands out on the street. Same cost. They are mostly switching over to interactive wands that you can cast spells with ($50 with map). If you purchase one of these, look for the markers on the ground in front of shops that will let you perform different spells to make objects move. My friends and I didn't do this, but I would suggest it for families with younger kids who could share (maybe???).
Just some beautiful landscape pictures.
Free (with Vacation Package--normally $10-$15 a plate) breakfast at the Three Broomsticks! Make sure to reserve your seats when you book your vacation package so that they have your down for seating. Here are your options to choose from. All are delicious. I, personally, got the Traditional English Breakfast the first day and the American Breakfast the second day. Also, you get a free drink with breakfast. I wasn't a huge fan of the pumpkin juice because it was too sweet, but I still wanted to try it and this is a great way to try just a little for free. They have many yummy drinks so divide and conqure in your group so everyone can try a little of everything. These kept me full all day with just a snack for lunch. Definitely saved money! I suggest the bakery towards the Marval Adventures part of the park. Great food at reasonable prices.
My half eaten breakfast
Speaking of drinks, you MUST grab a butterbeer while in Harry Potter World. I highly suggest the frozen butterbeer. It is way better than the original and you get this delicious foam topping. You can buy it is a mug to keep (great souvenir). This will run you about $10 but definitely worth it. It is only about $3.50 for the drink.
You need to take a look in the candy shop while you are there and oggle at all of the wonderful treats. My recommendation: buy the treats at the end of the day so they do not melt and so that you don't have to carry around bags. Also, they have a service that will send your gifts to your hotel free of charge. We didn't take advantage of that, so I can't recommend it.
Unfortunately, Zonko's Joke Shop is just a fake store with a decorated front. For all of your joke needs, take the train across to Universal Studios and visit the Weasly's joke shop that is fully operational.
Make sure to take in all of the Harry Potter goodness in each of the store fronts. Such as the mandrakes that move and squeal
Or Hermione's dress from the Yule Ball
Or Dervish and Banges!
While you're in Hogsmeade, take a moment to send a postcard to yourself or family or friends. You can buy stamps there or bring your own and they will give you a special "Owl Post" ink stamp and mail your postcard for you. Another great inexpensive gift to give people.
Explain "Character" wand that you can purchase. They have the replicas of character's wands. So if you have a favorite character or a favorite wand style-you can get it!
The inside of the stores are just as impressive, if not more, than the outside. Take in every moment.
Twice an hour, a show will be put on at Hogsmeade that feature the singing Hogwarts Frog Choir and the Triwizard's Tournament participants. Both shows are fantastic but I definitely recommend the seeing the Triward's show. It's very similar to the movie scene and provides a lot of entertainment.
Frozen Butterbeer!! So yummy! This is in the plastic container (about $3.50)
You have the option to take the train from Hogsmeade to Diagon Alley and vise versa. I recommend both trips because they are different. It all depends on how you want to spend your day. Our group had the following agenda: Hogsmeade, Jurassic Park, Marvel Studios, Cartoon Villiage, then go back to the hotel to rest and dinner. Day Two: Diagon Alley and the rest of Univeral Studios as well as the train ride from Diagon Alley to Hogsmeade. Day three: Catch up and any rides we didn't go on and do all of the shopping we wanted to do and then the train ride from Hogsmeade to Diagon Alley.
Some more great pictures of the castle becuase I can't get enough!
Day Two: Woke up early, had a small snack, caught the shuttle to Universal Studios to go to Diagon Alley. When we went, Diagon Alley had just been open for four weeks. The estimated line time for the newest ride, Escape from Gringotts, was between 3-5 hours. Because we had the early park admission throught the vacation package, we got to the park at 7am and only waited in line for the Gringotts ride 45 minutes!!!!! It was amazing! Universal Studios is packed with a lot of fun activities and rides other than the Harry Potter World part so take advantage of everything!
The iconic Univeral Studios!
When you arrive at 7am for the early park admission, nothing else in the park is open so they lead you straight to the Escape to Gringotts ride. Take in everything around you as you walk quickly with everyone else to the ride. Then go back later and see what you missed in detail!
Grimmauld Place, complete with Kreature lurking in the window every so often
The Knight bus, with the shrunken head and Stan the Conductor who will answer all of your Harry Potter questions.
They make the outside look similar to a London street side. Even the park workers who are the "Londoners" will pretend they have no clue what you are talking about when you ask them were Diagon Alley is. They are only muggles after all!
The enterance to Diagon Alley, they play the sound effects of the bricks moving and play the Harry Potter music that is featured in the first movie when Harry arrives there. It's literally perfect! : )
A glimpse down the the street aisle
Decorative shops
The Leaky Cauldron for breakfast--Pictures later
The coolest Dragon ever! It will breathe real (WARM) fire!
Universal does a fantastic job of staffing at their parks. The employees really enjoy their job and will go above and beyond to give you the real Harry Potter experience!
Weasly's Joke Shop!
I love this picture because of the dragon and all of the decorations of the different shops. Not all are actually accessible, but they are amazing to look at.
Two wand shops are available at Diagon Alley. So don't limit yourself to the crowded Ollivander's. Gregorovitch is right around the corner!
Lots of places to get drinks too!
One really cool feature of Diagon Alley, is that you can trade dollars for Harry Potter money that you can spend at the park OR keep as a cool souvenir like I did. They have fake goblins that will move and talk to you when you walk in.
Time for the Gringotts Ride! A note about the rides at Universal: they have free lockers that you can rent out for the current duration of the ride (including wait time). They use your finger print for quick access! I recommend putting most of your stuff in these lockers. They fit more than it looks. But most rides all over the park require that you put away any loose articles before riding.
Close up of the dragon
Goblin on a stack of coins
I was wearing shorts with big pockets so I was able to store away my camera during the ride and take great pictures through the quene. The amount of detail that is put into these rides is phenomenal!
The empty wait line we got to bipass because we had Early Admission!
Fun posters!
AMAZING detail in the goblins! They move and talk!
They use actors to relive different scenes from the movie or the added extras that are made for the ride.
You take an elevator down "9 miles" to get to the carts and go on the ride. It's a great ride that goes by very quickly. There are ups and downs and lots of moving around. It's exhilarating and adrenaline pumping!
After the ride, we went to grab our second free breakfast (similar menu to the Three Broomsticks with some slight differences) but here is a list of all of the drinks that you could purchase. Again, divide and conquer within your group to try a little of everything. Remember, the drink is free with your breakfast (not including the alcoholic ones).
Decorations
My American Breakfast with a side of the Orange Fizzy Juice
If your timing is right, you will hear a rumble and a roar--The dragon is about to breathe fire! Get your cameras ready!
One of the interactive wand places you can turn water on and off from the umbrella
Here is Stan answering some questions out on the London street
They even have a Telephone booth!
Like I said before, on Day Two we went from Diagon Alley to Hogsmeade via the Hogwarts Express! Make sure you have your park tickets available because they will scan it to make sure you have the park-to-park pass.
Replica of the sign from Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince were Harry meets up with Dumbledore at the beginning of the movie.
Like all of the rides, there is a lot to look at on your way to the train.
Take the opportunity to get a photo-opt of your group going through the platform. The suitcase trolley provides you with an illusion of your disappearing. Make sure your camera settings capture this moment.
Ta-Da! It's really magical! With all of the people, it really makes it feel like September 1st on Platform 9 3/4
The only unfortunate part about catching the train from Diagon Alley to Hogsmeade is that the train comes into the station in reverse after returning from Hogsmeade. To catch the best train entrance, make sure you take the train starting from Hogsmeade going towards Diagon Alley.
Friends ready to broad the train!
Again, amazing employees who love their job!
Train compartment fit for four people. The window provides a 3D look outside of the window with fun clips from the characters as you journey to Hogswarts.
The compartment doors also provide entertainment of characters as they journey to Hogwarts as well. The only disappointment is that it's not Hermione's voice.
Me and Leah with a actor conductor in front of the replica train once arriving in Hogsmeade.
Just one more picture of the Castle!
Now it's time for the pictures that go along with the Forbidden Journey Ride in Hogsmeade. Enjoy all of the pictures and experiences while you wait in line for the ride. We went in the afternoon, but the wait was still only about 35 minutes. We were very entertained though and had plenty to experience that it made the wait go by quickly.
These girls' mom made costumes for their whole family to wear in the park. Luna's outfit is on point!
The Sorting Hat right before broading the ride.
The Forbidden Journey was hands down my favorite ride. It takes you on an amazing 3D journey. Warning: if you are afraid of spiders.... well just be prepared!
Then we jumped back on the train from Hogsmeade and got the full experience of the train coming into the station. They play the music too!
Back in Diagon Alley! Enjoy the pictures of all of the decorations. You can also make a list from this site of all of the "Easter Eggs" available for viewing: http://www.buzzfeed.com/ariellecalderon/hidden-gems-in-diagon-alley#.yxl1nM5Q
Sirus's motorcycle
Pet shop! You can buy almost any stuffed animal that was featured in the books.
A dad got selected from the audience to perform with the group. It was quite the show!
You can also take a dark walk down Knockturn Alley. They have the shops there to buy all of your dark artifacts as well as some fun animated door fronts.
There is a bigger Ollivander's in Diagon Alley. They have a wand choosing ceremony that you can view. They select one person randomly from the audience who gets to pick out a wand (unfortunately, you have to pay for it at the end if you want to keep it). It was very cool to watch and one of our friend's got choosen!
Shelves and shelves of wand boxes!
That concludes are trip! It was an amazing time and we got to go on all of the rides in both Universal Islands and Universal Studios. We shopped a lot, so bring money! We also did a lot of walking. I suggest getting some good strap sandels that will keep your feet from hurting and won't heat you up too much! If you have any questions, please comment and I will do my best to answer them from my experiences!
