Well, I’ve already told you about my impressions from our first evening and the next morning at Universal.  The next two weeks, I’ll highlight our Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure experiences, then finish the following week talking about Volcano Bay water park.

After our first morning at Diagon Alley and a few other rides at Universal Studios, we took the Hogwarts Express over to Islands of Adventure.   The train ride was again totally immersive as you looked out the window (or video screen) and saw the landscape of Harry Potter’s England as well as experiencing scenes from the movie.  When we came out of the station, it was fascinating to enter Hogsmeade village and see snow covered buildings in Florida during summer.  Again, the theming was spot on.  

We spent the next few days experiencing the attractions in both parks.  One of the things that stood out most to me about Universal is the attention to theming placed on the queues for each attraction.  It is so much more than standing in line.  You actually feel like you are part of the attraction before you ever get on the ride. The most groundbreaking attraction we rode was Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. I mentioned my slight motion sickness from the Mummy ride. Well, it was full blown motion sickness by the time I got off that ride.  Nevertheless, even with my eyes closed, I could tell it was an incredible attraction.  I spent the next few hours just trying to recover from that.  Fortunately, it stormed for most of that time, so we just found a place to sit and relax for a while.  So, as a recommendation, if you are prone to motion sickness, bring some Dramamine.  Stay tuned for more highlights next week.