Staying at the Universal Studios hotel allowed us entry into the park before the other park goers, this was nice but meant we had to get up earlier to enjoy the extra hours. We leave for the park with coffee in hand and darkness still around us as the sun had not yet come up. We are now walking through City Walk with all the other early risers making their way to the park, our goal was to head straight to the Harry Potter world and beat the crowd.
Standing at the gates to Universal Studios with itinerary in hand, we were ready to execute that itinerary and maximize our Diagon Alley experienced before it became overruned with Potter fanatics.
The gates open and we're off, I didn't see anyone running but the walking pace was brisk. Walking in darkness inside the park was pretty cool as we passed many attractions not yet opened on our way to Diagon Alley located at the back of the park. We were a few of the first ones at the gate, which meant we had a good start on some of the people in line. As we approached the Wizarding World of Harry Potter we see the Kings Crossing and across from that we see the Knight Bus and have to pay it a visit.
The way the Harry Potter world was setup within Universal Studios was done nicely. It is presented at the Mogul's world right next to the San Fransisco area of Universal, so from that point it is very unassuming.
Unassuming until you pass through to Diagon Alley and enter the Wizarding World.
Diagon Alley becomes real at this point, the first thing you notice is the dragon sitting on top of Gringots Bank, we felt like we were immersed in Harry Potter's world. One of our first stops was Weasley's Wizard Wheezers
And of course we had to stop at Ollivander's wand shop to pickup a wand (Dumbbledor's wand) so we could start our magic making adventure.
With wand in hand it was time to try our hand at magic and Brenda was up to the task. This was a pretty cool concept, buy the want and visit all magic markers around the area and wave the want to make things happen? As we looked around we could see people everywhere waving wands and having things "magically" happen within the park.
The ride was pretty awesome, not exactly a roller coaster but very bumpy and jerky theme rides or story rides that took you and your vehicle on a ride through the story with some holographs thrown in from the Harry Potter cast.
Again back to the lockers and the struggle with trying to get it open and release our belongings. Not liking the lockers.
Next on the fabulous itinerary (developed by yours truly) was to find Knockturn Alley and explore the magic waiting for us there.
Standing at the gates to Universal Studios with itinerary in hand, we were ready to execute that itinerary and maximize our Diagon Alley experienced before it became overruned with Potter fanatics.
The gates open and we're off, I didn't see anyone running but the walking pace was brisk. Walking in darkness inside the park was pretty cool as we passed many attractions not yet opened on our way to Diagon Alley located at the back of the park. We were a few of the first ones at the gate, which meant we had a good start on some of the people in line. As we approached the Wizarding World of Harry Potter we see the Kings Crossing and across from that we see the Knight Bus and have to pay it a visit.
The way the Harry Potter world was setup within Universal Studios was done nicely. It is presented at the Mogul's world right next to the San Fransisco area of Universal, so from that point it is very unassuming.
Unassuming until you pass through to Diagon Alley and enter the Wizarding World.
Diagon Alley becomes real at this point, the first thing you notice is the dragon sitting on top of Gringots Bank, we felt like we were immersed in Harry Potter's world. One of our first stops was Weasley's Wizard Wheezers
And of course we had to stop at Ollivander's wand shop to pickup a wand (Dumbbledor's wand) so we could start our magic making adventure.
With wand in hand it was time to try our hand at magic and Brenda was up to the task. This was a pretty cool concept, buy the want and visit all magic markers around the area and wave the want to make things happen? As we looked around we could see people everywhere waving wands and having things "magically" happen within the park.
(magic marker, these were located throughout the park)
We really wanted to ride Escape from Gringots before the lines got too long. We make our way to the entrance and are turned away. We must deposit our wand and backpack in one of the lockers before getting on the ride. Well this did not sit well with me at all even if the lockers were free, I did not like the fact of now having to take more time to figure out their lockers (which never opened or worked right for me) and depositing my "stuff". However, I complied and we got inline for the ride. Making our way to the ride was quite amazing as the wait area immersed you into Gringots.
Again back to the lockers and the struggle with trying to get it open and release our belongings. Not liking the lockers.
Next on the fabulous itinerary (developed by yours truly) was to find Knockturn Alley and explore the magic waiting for us there.
(some more magic by Brenda)
All this magic and adventure has left us hungry, where better to have a bite to eat but the Leaky Cauldron, and breakfast was on the menu. Surprisingly the line for the Leaky Cauldron was not that long, it was breakfast time, and I suspect most people had eaten before entering the park. Once in line, our order was taken and we were seated at a table. Shortly after being seated we were served our plentiful breakfast of bacon, eggs and large biscuit, delicious.
We spent a few more hours wandering around the streets of Diagon Alley trying our magic at the various magic spots. Trying all the magic spots with the wands was fun, the area didn't have any really big ride attractions outside of Escape from Gringots. We did take a break to try the hyped up butter beer, and it was every bit as good as the hype. After splitting ONE butter beer between us I knew our next one would not be for sharing. Feeling like we've seen everything in Diagon Alley we found ourselves going to catch the Hogwartz Express to Hogsmead located in the Isle of Adventure park. Before we could catch the Hogwarts Express we had to leave Diagon Alley and make our way to Kings Crossing where we waited to board at the familiar 9 3/4 station.
Hogwartz Express was impressive, its not a real train but a very cool ride AND a different ride going from Diagon Alley to Hogsmead and from Hogsmead to Diagon Alley. Nicely done!
(Hogmead Village)
(Hogwartz Castle)
(my Lovely bride)
(Harry Potter's Escape)
Arrival in Hogsmead via the Hogwartz express was a great way to park jump (now actually being in Isle of Adventure park). Hogsmead also had places we could try our magic wands, but at this point in the day, the lines to do magic were getting long, so we helped ourselves to some butter beer and made our way to Harry Potter's Escape to wait in line.
The line for Harry Potter's Escape took you inside the school of Hogswartz with theaming inline with the movies and little things to get your attention and keep your mind off the fact that you're waiting in line (nicely done). The ride itself was good, and I could see why people would want to stand in line to ride (not many other rides in Hogsmead). Exiting Harry Potter's Escape we found the Flight of the Hippogriff and had our turn at the ride, this as a nice little roller coaster, well suited for small children and mildly fun for adults.
The day is starting to heat up, so we must have more butter beer, this is a very popular drink within the Harry Potter worlds. We meander around Hogsmead a while longer, trying our magic and just enjoying the theme of the park, but by now we are ready to do more than just walk. As the day is starting to escape we leave Hogsmead and wander through the remaining Isle of Adventure park to ride some favorites and have lunch in Dr. Sues land at Cirkus McGurkis.
A few more rides and some wandering in the park and we que up for our dinner reservation at Mythos, a sit-down restaurant. The ambiance and theme of Mythos was nice, and the food was delicious (I had the Blue Cheese Pork Chop)! It was nice to get off our feet for a while and enjoy a nice meal in comfortable air conditioning. I think having the time to rest and a fabulous dinner was our demise for the day because we weren't really in the mood for anything else afterwards, in fact we headed straight to the gate to get in the Que for the bus back to our resort.
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