Day 1 at Universal Studios

My internet and/ or my laptop have been sooooo slooooow lately. Usually I multi-task so while I'm writing a blog post I'm also chatting on Facebook, playing Words with Friends & shopping on Etsy. NOW it will only let me do just one thing at a time. Who has that kind of time?? 

Anyhoo, I finished editing a few more pictures from our vacation. After going to Disney Springs the day we arrived, we headed to Universal Studios on Day 2. We'd only been to the Islands of Adventure the last time we were there so we wanted to go to both parks this time. AND there was the added attraction .... the TRAIN! If you get the park hopper pass you can ride the train from one park to the other. We started at Islands of Adventure again, & our plan was to just head to Harry Potter & ride the train right away. 

This was on the way in after we got through the security lines. A giant tv where you can see yourself .... & a dinosaur. Why not?? 

One of these times, I am going to get to spend time in Dr Seuss land! And I don't mean just running through to get to Harry Potter. Why does no one else understand just how CUTE it is???

At least my boys were kind enough to take a moment & pose ... reluctlantly ... for mom. You can see my FIL on the left saying "hurry up!" lol .... I think he's the biggest kid in our group. 

Here we are on the train .... I was surprised the wait was only about 15 minutes. I'm sure it's longer for the real Hogwarts Express ;)

So the screen on the left is where all the action is. We got to see the owls flying around, Harry & his friends on their brooms, & the London countryside. In the hallway we could hear Harry, Ron & Hermione talking & see the shadows of the evil dementors. 

It was a little confusing when we got off the train, as there are no signs directing to where to go to get to Diagon Alley. But once we found it .... wow! I was amazed by all the detail! First stop was lunch .... at the Leaky Cauldron. It. Was. Incredible!! I had fish & chips & could even finish, there was so much food 

Again .... reluctantly. 

Diagon Alley isn't huge. But then again neither is Hogsmeade. But the details are incredible. Gringotts Bank is actually a ride... but it's a 3D ride so I had to pass. I was fine with that .... I got to walk around & really scope out the joint. And ... how fun ... every 10 minutes the dragon at the top of the bank breathes fire. Of course, even though I knew it was every 10 minutes, I just couldn't get a good picture. I even had the camera aimed at it & couldn't get it. Here's my best shot: 

I could have spent the entire day in Diagon Alley. But we had to move on. 

The boys in front of the Knight Bus .... drinking their beloved butterbeer. (why oh WHY won't they give us the recipe?!) 

After this we moved on to the Simpsons area, which I will save for the next post. If you are still with me .... well then you must be a Harry Potter fan lol ... because I can't imagine reading all this & not being a fan. Snooze!!!