2022 Disney/Universal Trip: Universal Studios Day 1

We left Disney early and headed to Universal Studios.   We were staying at the Loews Royal Pacific hotel for one night.   By the time we got all checked in and got our park passes it was a little after 9. 

By staying at the resort for 1 night we all got 2 days worth of unlimited express passes free.  While our room was not ready they do give you your key card so you can skip the lines on most rides and they happily upgraded our 2020 passes for us. 




We shopped for lanyards for our room key/ express pass and then we were good to go.   We rode Dr Dooms fear fall, Spiderman, and Kong Skull Island. 

We had an early lunch and then hit up all three water rides in a row: we only planned to ride 1 but we were completely soaked so figured why not?  

When we were done we bought Evan some new flip flops (since his sneakers literally squished water with each step),  Alec some new shorts, and an entire outfit for me!  Denim is not a great idea for water rides; my top and my shorts were chafing my skin.



It's not a great photo but we were dripped water! 

Changed and now mostly dry we continued exploring the parks.  We headed to Harry Potter and rode the hippogriff ride,  went inside the castle and rode the forbidden journey,  we walked through Hogsmeade and got on the Hogwarts Express.  






We went to Diagon Alley and enjoyed some butterbeer and gilly water.   We walked around exploring all the shops and alleys but elected to save Gringots until day 2. 

We did ride the Transformer ride on the way out and then picked up the boat that led to our hotel it was only 4 or 4:30 but we were tired and ready to check into our rooms. 

We grabbed our luggage, checked out our rooms and headed to the pool.   The boys had dinner poolside while my husband and I checked out Jake's.   They had live music playing and the food was very good. 

Our hotel was so pretty! 






Linking up with: On the Edge, 













Comments

  1. It sounds like you had great fun, especially on the water rides. hehehe I would love to visit Universal Studios just for the Harry Potter things.

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    1. Oh I hate water rides! LOL. But my husband loves them and while we were griping about getting so soaked it is one of those memories we'll be talking about forever. Honestly I could have spent my entire day at Harry Potter world and been perfectly happy. If the wands weren't so expensive and it hadn't been so crowded I would have happily bought one to cast spells around the land. That is one of my boys' fondest memories from our last trip.

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  2. Replies
    1. It's amazing; you really do feel like you are walking through a magical land. In the ladies room in Hogsmeade you can hear moaning myrtle talking and all the shops have something moving or bumping around in the window or out on their signs.

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  3. Of all the times I have been to Orlando & Disney, I have never been to Universal. That hotel does look beautiful!

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    1. Our hotel was so lovely and honestly I wished we had had more time to check it out and enjoy some of the amenities.

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  4. We've never been to Universal but I'd love to take the kiddos one day! It looks like a lot of fun!

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    1. It is so fun-- especially for Harry Potter fans as they really did an amazing job bringing the books/movies to life. Little things like the mirror at the robe shop talking to you and telling you to straighten up, the umbrella where it rains all around it just outside the bathroom (that caught quite a few people unaware!).

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  5. What a fun day. I love seeing the differences between Universal Florida and California. I have only been to the one in Cali.

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    1. And, of course, we've only been to the one in Florida! I have yet to ever step foot in California. I hope to get there one day though and wouldn't mind checking out Disneyland and Universal myself to see the difference.

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  6. We went as a family last year and this is bringing back so many fun memories. It looks like you all had an amazing time! Your hotel is so beautiful!

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  7. I was so glad our travel agent told us about that-- I just kept thinking it was much too good of a deal to pass up! When I factored in the cost of the 2 day passes for all 5 of us it seemed like the hotel was practically free!

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  8. So much fun. Regine
    www.rsrue.blogspot.com

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    1. It really was a lot of fun; though I fully admit it was exhausting to hit up a new park each day and not have much downtime to just rest and relax. Luckily that next ride kept us going!

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  9. I bet the water ride cooled you off. And what a great way to make money...I bet they sell lots of new clothes that way, haha!!
    XOXO
    Jodie
    www.jtouchofstyle.com

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    1. I bet they do! We saw lots of people buying flip flops BEFORE getting on the water ride and stowing their shoes in lockers... wish we had thought to do that!! They also had whole body drying tubes that we also thought about using.

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    1. It is so fun; I am a huge Harry Potter fan and loved seeing so many kids so excited about casting spelling and checking out all the shops and details.

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  11. It looks like great fun. I've never been to the US (Disney or Universal Studios) but my brother and sister-in-law and niece have been often and very much enjoy it. The hotel also looks lovely.

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    1. We had never been to that hotel before but we were very impressed!

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  12. I would love to go to Universal Studios some day. Your pictures make me want to do it even more!

    http://marshainthemiddle.com/

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  13. You made lots of memories there Jo! And it was very busy too it seems. But isn't that what Summer holidays are about..and now as you move to Autumn, we are springing our way in September. Thank you so much for joining in the first week of Wednesday’s Words & Pics Link Up!

    I am glad to have reconnected a lovely blogging community here and look forward to more sharing as we move forward.

    See you next week, on Wednesday 14 September 2022 if you have a post to link up!

    Warmest wishes and appreciation from

    Denyse.

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    1. It was very busy! We were kind of surprised by the crowds as most of the schools in the U.S. had started back by them.

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  14. This looks like so much fun! Especially the Harry Potter stuff. I'm a big fan!

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    1. We are very big fans too and re-read all the books in preparation for our trip.

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  15. Looks like a fun day even if you got soaked. Surely great memories to look back at! And what a great hotel you chose! It looks beautiful!

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    1. It was a fun day with great memories; in fact we were joking that last time we were at Universal we got soaked too but at least this time it wasn't due to a thunderstorm!

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  16. I was going to say that you had on the perfect Florida outfit, but that was before the water ride came into play HAHA! Looks like a lot of fun anyway! I have been wanting to go check out Harry Potter World. I live in Central Florida, but for a long while, it was still new and had such long lines. Looks like now might be a good time to go!

    Alexandra
    OnRockwoodLane.com
    EyeLoveKnots.com

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    1. I thought it was the perfect Florida outfit too; until it got wet. LOL. We did have a lot of fun and the Harry Potter world is definitely worth exploring. Our last trip was in September (of 2014) and the park was pleasantly empty feeling. I mean there were still people there but we rarely in any line over 20 minutes-- I find fall is usually a good time since most kids are back in school and parents are reluctant to pull them out so early in the new school year.

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