Yikes! It had been about ten years (maybe more?) since we had been to Universal. We've been meaning to get up there for a while now, but that drive up to LA end up stopping us most of the time--and then we usually just end up at Disneyland anyway, haha.
Since we were already in the area for the Christopher Robin premiere, we decided to swing by. At like noon, with EVERYONE else, in the crazy heat! We quickly discovered this park was NOT what it used to be, haha. It seems with the addition of Harry Potter and other improvements they have drawn quite a crowd. I remember for so long it was always, "Buy a day, get a year free" haha. I guess those days are long gone (?).
Being that it was a spontaneous trip, we were basically going into the park blind. We knew nothing about Harry Potter world or any of the new improvements. We have no idea where to eat, what to ride, where to go--we were entirely out of our element there compared to DLR...and you know what? It was pretty fun!! We instently felt like we were on vactarion, and we had alot of exploring and learning to do!
When we arrived, we checked out all the ticket options, as we stood in line my husband, thinking out loud said we should have checked Costco---such a brilliant idea! So I jumped on the Costco website, and there was a deal for 3 days of admission for just about the price of a one day ticket "at the door." I purchased them on my phone through Costco, and it said it would take around an hour to be sent to us so while we waited, we grabbed some lunch in the City Walk. About halfway through our burgers and shakes and Jonny Rockets, I got the email, and we were set to go!! We got scanned in, given our tickets and trip 1 of 3 was in the books!
Click here for Costco ticket deals
One of the first things I did after we got our tickets purchased the Hello Kitty ears!! : ) They are SO cute. You can change out the bow and center of the bow. They have a stand to customize them. I got a gold bow, with a red center and a pink center to switch out. I'm so in love!!
When you enter the park, and as you make your way down their "main street" you hit Harry Potter world right off the bat. So, of course, we got sucked into that whole world right away, and there we stayed until we had to leave. Neither of us has read the books yet (don't hate me, haha), but we have seen a few of the movies. I will say, even if you haven't read the books or seen the film---this place is fantastic and so easy to love! And not to mention, SO much fun to explore. I feel like you become an instant fan of this magical world.
I was in butterbeer heaven! This was our first time trying the butterbeer, and the frozen option on a hot day was a lifesaver! They were delicious. The flavor was a little milder than expected, but we loved them.
No, they were not both mine...but I kind of wish they had been. ; )
Cheers to our first time exploring the wizarding world! : )
I was blown away by all the detail in this land (world?). We spent so much time here and didn't even see everything.
This candy shop was kind of amazing! I wanted everything in it. So much candy, so much color, so much to look at!
We still have another 2 days on our passes, so I wanted to spread out the treats. I'm saving this chocolate frog for the next time. But I hear its a must.
We found the sorting hat in the gift shop, my husband got Ravenclaw. And you want to know what's funny? He took the test at Pottermore.com, and he got Ravenclaw there too, lol. So I guess that's really his house! ; )
Here I am all excited to find out my house, after Brody got his...then....
My face after finding out it put me in Slytherin! Lol! The cute lady who was helping us seemed to be genuinely concerned about the house I got and really wanted me to know that this placement doesn't have to define my life's course, hahaha. I was dying. I was thinking, "I don't even know what this all really means. I'll be just fine" lol.