Universal Orlando Day Trip

Orlando, Florida: Since we have a few months remaining on our annual passes and the schools had a professional day, we decided to take a day trip to Universal Orlando. This was our second trip of the year, but the first since the Wizarding World of Harry Potter had opened.

This trip was the first time we had gone up to Universal Orlando without staying overnight at one of their fine hotels. From the moment we arrived, I realized how much we were going to miss the perks of being a hotel guest. The first of these moments came when parking in the parking garage. Having to park the vehicle in one of the multi-story parking garages and then make your way to the park rather then hop on a boat and being transported to the park.

The second “wish I would have stayed at a Universal Orlando hotel” moment came once we arrived at the entrance to Islands of Adventure. Here guests of the three hotels were allowed to enter the park early while non-hotel guests had to wait in the large crowd for the park to open at 9:00.

When the main gate opened, we among the thousands of other visitors tried to rush straight to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. But the park staff had the quickest route through Seuss Landing blocked off, forcing you to circle through the entire park to get there. As we were about to leave Marvel Super Hero Island, we encountered yet another roped off area between there and Toon Lagoon. I looked at the time and saw that it was 10 minutes before the official park opening time, so we hoped on The Amazing Adventure of Spiderman to pass the time. Once the ride was over, the rope had not been removed and we joined the remainder of the crowd awaiting to advance through the park.

Finally the rope was dropped a few minutes after 9 and we made the mad dash to Harry Potter along with many other park guests. As we passed through Jurassic Park, you could begin to see the Hogwarts Castle beginning to peek through the trees.

As we passed through the gates of Hogsmeade, we entered the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Universal spared no detail in bringing to life the world of Harry Potter, making you feel as if you were a character in the books.

Despite being in the front of the crowd that was rushing from the entrance, we encountered a lot of other guests that were already enjoying the area thanks to getting in the park early as a hotel guest. Ollivanders wand shop already had an hour long wait by the time we reached this area of the park.

Another disappointment came when we reached the island and found out that the keystone attraction, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, was not operating. They were compensating by offering castle tours instead but the line was extremely long.

So we decided to ride Flight of the Hippogriff, a family rollercoaster that was once the Magical Unicorn before the area was redesigned. Afterwards we purchased a magic wand and then browsed the rest of the shops in Hogsmeade before continuing our journey through the park.

The next stop was probably the most important when traveling with a 5 year old, Seuss Landing. Our first ride here was the High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train. This was one of the rides that always seemed to be out of service when we visited. But today it was working so we hopped on for a ride above Seuss Landing. We also rode One Fish, Two Fish and the Cat in the Hat before finishing our circle around Islands of Adventure.

We then made the short walk over to Universal Studios. By now the crowds have begun to pack the parks. Because of the wait times, we only managed to do Twister and ET Adventure as well as watch the Animal Actors. Also the newest attraction to the park, Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit was still now working, this was back to back trips to Universal in which the coaster had not been working. We then decided we had enough of the crowds and the wait times and decided to leave. This brings me to my third and final “wish I would have stayed at a Universal Orlando hotel” moment, I really missed the Universal Express Pass. Our hotel key would have given us priority access to all the rides and attractions, making the long lines and crowds a thing of the past.

As we walked around the park, we were able to look at some of the scare zones they had set up for Halloween Horror Nights. While they did not look scary in broad daylight and no actors, I am sure they take on a much different experience in the night. They looked really good and combine that with the Hollywood special effects that Universal Studios can present, the even is sure to exceed expectations.

When we left Universal Studios, we took the boat transportation over to the Portofino Bay Hotel for a late lunch. We decided to visit one of our favorite resort eateries, Sal’s. This Italian deli provides great sandwiches and my personal favorite, pizza. We have eaten there on all of our trips to Universal regardless of which hotel we stay at.

After lunch we took the boat back to City Walk and then headed to the car for the ride home.

I learned a lot from the visit. I can not believe the amount of people that are attracted to the Harry Potter franchise. I personally never read a Potter book, but you could feel the Potter vibe throughout the park.

Secondly, I will not visit the resort again without staying at an onsite hotel. The benefits of being a resort guest continued to surface throughout our visit. From the transportation, early park access, Universal Express and even package delivery service, these features go a long way to help enhance the whole Universal Orlando experience.

Our annual passes expire in January 2011 so I anticipate at least one more visit to Universal Orlando before they expire. One thing is for certain, we will definitely be staying at a resort hotel and having a meal at Sal’s, the rest is still to be decided.

View the slideshow below for photos from today’s trip and check back later for a new article from both parks.