We went to the park relatively early to go to the very popular Harry Potter ride, Escape from Gringotts. The wait was already over an hour long when we got there, but Kai was able to wait very patiently. It was probably good that we made that our first stop, as he was full of enthusiasm whereas he tends to get more cranky as he gets tired. Universal also does a good job in making the wait in line entertaining so the time passes relatively quickly.
The ride itself was great. It was thrilling, creative, and we all enjoyed it.
Afterward we walked around Diagon Alley, pausing to enjoy Butterbeer.
Universal did a fantastic job of recreating the world of Harry Potter. Here's a photo of the dragon on the top of Gringotts Bank breathing fire.
There was plenty of souvenirs for sale, of course. One of the more interesting was the wands; you could select wands of any of the characters from Harry Potter. The cool thing was that there were several places throughout the Harry Potter area of the park where you can use the wand to cast spells. Here Kai is casting a spell to make it rain from the umbrella that Mom is standing under.
There were many other areas of the park that we enjoyed. Next to Harry Potter, the Minions were probably the most popular part of park.
We stayed at the park until late afternoon, going on a wide variety of rides, and then we returned to the hotel to take a break and use the pool.
For dinner, we went to a burger sushi restaurant that featured burgushi, which is a bento box of a mini hamburger and sushi, along with edamame and sweet potato fries.
My wife and I enjoyed a blackened tuna nachos appetizer, and then had sashimi.
After dinner we returned to the park and rode Revenge of the Mummy, which turned out to be much scarier than Kai expected. It is an indoor roller coaster in a dark setting. As you ride, you're surrounded by huge fireballs, swarms of scarab beetles and an army of warrior mummies. This was my favorite ride in the park. Kai was terrified but he also enjoyed it. Afterward we gave him many kudos for riding his first real rollercoaster and handling it so well.
It was a really great day all around.
I only wish that every day could be like this.
Those rides sound fantastic. I like the interactive wands.
ReplyDeleteNice photo of the fire breathing dragon.
Kai is tolerating more and more as he matures. You must be most pleased about that. Now, on to another day full of fun and adventure!
The interactive wands were a very nice touch, and very profitable for Universal. It seemed like every child had one.
DeleteKai has many good moments, but too often he still lets his anger get to him. Overall, this first day at Universal was one of his best days ever.