Travel Diary: One Day at Universal Orlando Resort (with the Wizarding World of Harry Potter)

In my opinion, there's no better time to visit Universal Studios -- and specifically the Wizarding World of Harry Potter -- than the winter holiday season. So I was thrilled when my husband and I were able to stop by Orlando on our road trip from Virginia to visit my parents in Florida over Christmas!

I've mentioned in my Sydney and Disney travel diaries how much I love Christmas time; it is truly my favorite time of the year. I love evergreens, snow, and twinkle lights so much that I even had a December wedding which used the colors of green, white, and gold. And as a Catholic, I love the hope and joy surrounding the holiday. So I just think every experience is enhanced in December... and Universal Studios is no exception!

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tips and advice:

• Similar to how Disney operates multiple separate theme parks under the "Walt Disney World" umbrella, Universal Orlando resort operates multiple separate theme parks: Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure, as well as the Volcano Bay water park and Universal CityWalk.
• Both Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure have an area dedicated to Harry Potter; the Wizarding World of Harry Potter spans the two parks, and you can navigate between them by either riding the Hogwarts Express or simply walking from one park to the next. Unfortunately, this does mean that in order to visit all of the Wizarding World, you have to buy two park tickets/the park hopper ticket.
• Diagon Alley is in Universal Studios. 
• Hogsmeade is in Islands of Adventure.
• The Hogwarts Express is worth riding at least once if you are visiting both parks, since it's an interactive experience!
• If you stay at a Universal resort, your benefits include up to one hour of early admission to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and the resort provides complimentary transportation to the parks.
• In my opinion, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey (a ride at Hogsmeade/Islands of Adventure) is an amazing concept, but I just can't get into the ride -- it gives me a headache. However, I've read that there is a non-rider path that you can ask to walk instead so that you can still see all of the features and details:
• "Another alternative is to tell the greeter at the castle entrance that you want to take the castle-only tour (also referred to as an accommodation tour). This self-guided experience lets guests who don’t want to ride take in the many features of the castle by way of a different queue. You can pause as long as you desire in each of the various chambers and savor the preshows without being herded along. At the end, if you decide to ride, just ask to be guided to the singles line — this way you’ll maximize your enjoyment of the castle while you minimize your wait for the ride. Note that the castle-only tour is often unavailable on days of peak attendance, and at press time Universal was conducting tests that could lead to Universal Express access replacing the castle tour altogether." (Source)
• On the other hand, Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike is absolutely worth the hype. One of my favorite theme parks in Orlando!
• If you’re able to, I would buy things in advance online (like wands, robes, scarves, etc) instead of buying them at the park, since they'll be much more affordable online.

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itinerary:

• We stayed at Universal's Endless Summer Resort, mainly for the on-site benefit of early admission, but we found it to be very affordable for the night.
• We boarded the shuttle bus to Universal CityWalk around 6:40 in the morning and were walking through the entrance of Islands of Adventure by 7am.
• We immediately got in line for Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike; the signs were showing a 90-minute wait (which I couldn't believe, having gotten to the park an hour before it opened!), but it ended up only being a 45-minute wait (which is still bonkers!).
• We didn't really plan out our day to stay at one park until a certain time, then head to the other; instead, we meandered back and forth, sometimes taking the Hogwarts Express and sometimes walking, depending on how long the line for Hogwarts Express was. After knocking out the rides first thing in Hogsmeade/Islands of Adventure, we headed to Diagon Alley/Universal Studios to try to see it before the full crowds arrived.
• We managed to snag lunch at the Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade/Islands of Adventure, then later got ice cream from Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour in Diagon Alley/Universal Studios. And because there are multiple types of butterbeer -- hot, cold, frozen, and ice cream -- my husband insisted on trying them all, as well as fire whisky in Diagon Alley/Universal Studios.
• We closed out the day by watching the lights show at Hogwarts Castle in Hogsmeade/Islands of Adventure -- which was magical, though not quite up to the Magic Kingdom fireworks show.

View from our hotel room the night before the parks

photo diary:

7am on the dot

Walking through Islands of Adventure to Hogsmeade

Waiting in line for Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike

I really should have taken photos of my butterbeer before I drank half of it but it is truly so delicious I couldn't help myself!

I purchased my Hogwarts Alumni shirt last-minute at Walmart, which has plenty of options (affiliate link)

Sunglasses: Illesteva (affiliate link, also available at Amazon or Bloomingdales) | Fanny pack: Walmart or Amazon (affiliate links) | Shorts: BLANK NYC

At the entrance to the Hogwarts Express in Hogsmeade

Earrings: Kate Spade, also available in gold (affiliate links)

King's Cross Station in London (Universal Studios)

Stepped off the Hogwarts Express in King's Cross (Diagon Alley/Universal Studios) and headed to the Knight Bus!

Got ourselves some fire whisky from the Hopping Pot because my husband insisted on it at 9am after 3 rollercoasters

Wandering Diagon Alley/Universal Studios... had to get butterbeer, too

Visiting Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes in Diagon Alley

Vacation means ice cream. Until the very end!

I really like the concept of including Knockturn Alley but it really is so dark that it's tough for me to see anything!

Had to get a photo of the Gringotts dragon breathing fire (which happens every 10 minutes or so)

Took this photo on one of our walks between Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios

Walking around the rest of Universal Studios

Sunglasses: Illesteva (affiliate link, also available at Amazon or Bloomingdales) | Earrings: Kate Spade, also available in gold (affiliate links) | Tank: Walmart | Fanny pack: Walmart or Amazon (affiliate links) | Shorts: BLANK NYC | Shoes: Adidas UltraBoost (affiliate link)

Took a quick stop in Seuss Landing in Islands of Adventure -- I wish we'd had time for the Grinchmas Who-liday Spectacular show but the showtimes didn't work for us!

Headed back to Hogsmeade/Islands of Adventure to see the Hogwarts light show!

 

This was a very quick trip -- we arrived late at night, spent the next day at Universal, and then drove several hours to my parents' house that night after we left the parks! So we didn't get to experience all that Orlando or even Universal has to offer, particularly since we were heavily focused on the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. 

If you have more time, though, don't sleep on Universal CityWalk!

Last year, I joked that I was going to try to make Harry Potter at Christmas a tradition... but I may have wished it into existence. We are actually going to visit Orlando with my husband's side of the family the week after Thanksgiving, and then we are heading to London and Edinburgh for the week between Christmas and New Year's as an anniversary trip... so I think two years in a row officially makes it a tradition and one I'm determined to keep up, haha!

I've already started looking on Etsy for shirts for this year... here are affiliate links to some of my favorites!

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