Our day at Universal Studios Florida with kids including Diagon Alley, Escape from Gringotts, Leaky Cauldron, ET, Jimmy Fallon, Toothsome and our last morning at Universal Orlando.
Reach:
If you missed my first post about our trip, you can read about our stay at Loews Royal Pacific Resort, pool hopping, and arrival day here: Universal Orlando Arrival Day. And our Islands of Adventure Day here! Are you going to Disney too? You might also like my Disney Tips blog post!
A slower start
After the early ropes adventure at Islands of Adventure the day before, we deliberately slowed things down for our second park day.
One thing I loved about the pace of this trip was that every day felt a little different. After waking up way too early for Hagrid the day before, sleep felt luxurious.
We grabbed another quick breakfast from the Tuk Tuk Market at Royal Pacific. At this point we had settled into a routine of coffee, fruit, yogurt and a few treats for the boys before heading out.
Water taxi ride to:
Universal Studios
Unlike Islands of Adventure, Universal Studios Florida does not offer Early Park admission with Royal Pacific, so we took our time to prepare.
We arrived around 9:30am, about 30 minutes before the official opening at 10:00am.
The crowds weren’t bad at all. They let us into different sections of the park in stages and everyone seemed to be heading towards the same destination we were. It felt like we were in a 5K race that we were all walking together.
Straight to Diagonia Alea
Our plan was simple: go straight to Diagon Alley and ride Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts before the crowds arrived.
We made it all the way to the Express Pass line and thought we had beaten the system. Then history repeated itself. About ten minutes into the line, an announcement came over the loudspeakers that the ride was temporarily closed and everyone should get off. After Hagrid’s delay the day before, we couldn’t believe our luck. We decided to explore Diagon Alley and hopefully Gringotts will reopen soon.
Exploring Diagon Alley
Diagon Alley absolutely exceeded my expectations. The details are everywhere. The storefronts are moving. The signs speak. Hidden corners lead to surprises. The whole area is like entering a cinema. Even the entrance is kind of hidden – you’d miss it if you weren’t looking for it!
The boys used their interactive wand to cast spells, including making it rain!
One of our favorite discoveries was Knockturn Alley, the dark and mysterious side street hidden away from the crowds. It was shockingly dark inside, just like I had imagined from the books.
Mazen spent quite a bit of time exploring Borgin and Burkes, the Dark Arts shop. He ended up choosing two shirts as his souvenirs – one with the dark mark and the other with the Deathly Hallows on it.
Escape from Gringotts
Just before we sat down for lunch, I got the notification that Gringotts had reopened! We immediately stopped what we were doing and ran back. This time we only waited fifteen minutes.
The queue inside Gringotts Bank is incredible. The goblin animatronics and marble bank decor are so realistic.
The ride was my favorite attraction of the entire trip. I wasn’t sure what Birch would think because there’s an amazing coaster-style drop near the beginning. But he loved it! It was exciting, a little scary, incredibly immersive and one of those rides that makes everyone smile. We all clapped when it was over!
Lunch at the Leaky Cauldron
By noon, the weather was still surprisingly cool. Mazen and I ordered fish and chips at the Leaky Cauldron, which really hit the spot.
We also tried Hot Butterbeer. It tasted like a Butterbeer latte and was perfect for a cold breakfast.
Afternoon sightseeing
With our Harry Potter priorities, we spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the rest of the park. Universal has much more of a movie studio feel than Islands of Adventure, leaning more towards rides and themed areas.
The birch does not cry. he just squints!
Springfield
The Simpsons area was so much fun to see up close. They had Moe’s, Kwik-e-mart and more famous Simpsons places. We took the ride there which was like a 3D planetarium dome display. Very entertaining!
Mazen was particularly fond of this area. He even tried a non-alcoholic Duff beer. (It tasted like orange.)
Birch and I rode Kang & Kodos’ Twirl ‘n’ Hurl, the spinning alien ride, while M crashed his Duff.
ET Adventure
This was my nostalgic choice. I remembered riding ET when I was younger, and was thrilled to find that it still has all the charm I remembered. The boys loved it too.
Between the smell of the forest, the practical effects, and the gentle pace, it was completely different from all the screen-based attractions we’d ridden. Who wouldn’t love that!
DreamWorks Land
We were kind of passing by the DreamWorks area. The Trolls coaster was cute and family friendly. B loved it. Trolls is one of my top childhood movies.
Revenge of the Mummy
We used Child Swap for Revenge of the Mummy since it was pretty scary. The line was surprisingly short so we were in and out. The ride itself was fun, fast and the flames were scary. While I enjoyed it, it also felt a little dated compared to some of Universal’s newer rides.
Transformers
The boys liked Transformers a lot more than I did. For me, it was just too much action going on at once. I don’t like action or superhero movies.
Race Through New York starring Jimmy Fallon
One of the biggest surprises of the entire trip was Jimmy Fallon. We were told it wasn’t great, but I love Jimmy and that’s how I wanted to do it. The entire theater moves together as you race through New York City, and the graphics are incredibly realistic. All three of us had a great time in it.
Minions
After loving some of the simulator’s other attractions, this one didn’t stand out as much for us. It was okay, but by this point we had already experienced several rides that felt bigger and more impressive. I felt like we were beaten.
Back to Diagon Alley
Before leaving the park, we headed back to Diagon Alley one last time to ride Gringotts again! This time the wait was about twenty minutes with the Express Passes.
We also tried Butterbeer ice cream, wandered around the shops one last time and soaked up the atmosphere before saying goodbye.
Return to the hotel
After another park-filled day, we returned to the Royal Pacific, showered and tried to look presentable again.
Look how cute they are!!
Dinner at Toothsome Chocolate Emporium
For our last night, we had dinner at the Toothsome Chocolate Emporium. Originally I could only book for 7:45pm but was able to move her up to 7:15am.
The building is a huge steampunk-inspired restaurant filled with elaborate desserts and towering milkshakes. He’s like Willy Wonka!
I ordered a salmon salad and a glass of rosé. The salad was great!
We played a “guess the character” coloring game during dinner.
For dessert, we shared two of the famous milkshakes. (Fair warning: they were $20 each!!) Everything was huge.
Birch ate my slice of cake while I attacked the milkshake. By the end of the meal, we were completely stuffed, so I could only finish half. I really wanted to have them all!
One thing Universal does extremely well is innovation. Whether it’s Butterbeer, interactive wands, themed restaurants or giant milkshakes, there’s always something fun around the corner.
How we felt after all that sugar:
One Last Morning
I was so glad we had an afternoon flight because we had time for one more adventure before heading to the airport.
Birch and I took the water taxi to Voodoo Donuts for breakfast and headed to Portofino Bay for one last swim.
The resort really feels like a little piece of Italy. It was quiet, beautiful and incredibly relaxing.
The only downside was that the pool was much colder than the one at the Royal Pacific. Apparently the heaters had gone out. The water slide was still fun, though, and we made a few trips down it before heading back.
Once back in the room, we packed, checked out and had one last meal at Bula Bar & Grille by the pool. I ordered another salad, which felt like just what I needed after several days of theme park food.
Final thoughts on the trip
This trip turned out to be even better than I expected! I’m so glad nothing major went wrong with just me as the only adult. Although having a teenager with his own communicator definitely made it easier than if I was with two younger kids. The Harry Potter areas totally lived up to the hype. Every book lover needs to make a pilgrimage there at least once in their life!
! We have one more park to do in a few years: Epic Universe! We’ll save it for next time 🙂
