Non-stop Amusement
So now we are to visit a set of parks I’ve never been to, Universal. We also get to celebrate a special day as my oldest is shedding her single digit age becoming a tenner! We booked a cool hotel that had a 50’s vibe called Cabana Bay. Katie loved the retro vibe. We had three days to explore all the cool experiences Universal had to offer. The most anticipated for us was the Harry Potter worlds of Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley.
Universal has two theme parks, Universal Studios, and Islands of Adventure. Both offer some awesome roller coasters, cool 3d rides and awesome theme areas like Dr. Seuss, The Simpsons and of course Harry Potter. Since we are on the road and space is a serious premium we decided to forgo any major physical birthday gifts. Instead, we promised the kids experiences for their birthdays. Colette’s choice was Harry Potter and she couldn’t have been more excited. In truth, I think we were all pretty excited for the experience. Harry Potter has two major areas, one in each park. Each of the areas is immaculately true to form in recreating the feeling of being in the wizarding world. The rides are exhilarating and feature all your favorite characters. The shops a fun and whimsical and all the workers (or cast members) stay in character as you interact with them. It’s a super fun experience that we highly recommend to any fan of the books. Of course, while we were there Colette and Sienna had to get wands at Ollivander’s. After watching a cool live performance of a young girl from the crowd getting a new wand from the man himself we moved into the store to pick our own. I won’t lie, the place was shoulder to shoulder packed so if you have a fear of tight spaces maybe nominate someone else to brave the crowd. Colette and Sienna got special wands that let them cast spells at locations throughout the two areas. There may have been a third wand purchased for a much older child in our group, but that will remain a mystery. Colette also got to get a robe and scarf to complete her birthday experience. She was in heaven! We cast spells, drank Butter Beer, and ate at the leaky cauldron smiles plastered to our faces.
More Harry Potter Memories
The rest of the Story
There are a ton of cool rides at Universal and we got to ride some great ones. Two standouts for me and the girls were the roller coasters, The Incredible Hulk and Hollywood Rip Ride Rocket. The Hollywood coaster was my favorite because it starts by slowly taking you up vertically to the first drop and goes nuts from there on out. There’s a lot of 3D rides and tons of characters walking around the parks. We ate, rode and got pics with some of our favorites. We really liked Universal and we plan to go back someday.
The Great Space Coast
After all the parks and on the way to our next destination we decided to take a detour to the Kennedy Space Center. Being a bit of a space nerd I was really excited about this stop and it didn’t’ disappoint. One note here, it is pretty expensive to take the whole family to this experience. I had a bit of sticker shock but the exhibits more than made up for that. The day was spent learning about the great men and women who pioneered our journey to space. We got to get up close and personal with the old rockets and even got to see a full-scale replica of the solid rocket boosters that launched the shuttle fleet. The highlight of the visit is seeing the space shuttle Atlantis, which is one of only three left and our second we’ve seen on this adventure. There was a full schedule of rockets preparing for liftoff, including the Space X Falcon Heavy. Unfortunately, our plans didn’t line up with them but it was great to see that our mission to explore space is alive and well.
A Great Ending
To end our marathon run in Florida we spent a week with my parents who get a place in Stuart. It was so very nice to spend a week relaxing, walking on the beach, swimming and laughing. Pete and Judy are a great couple and we enjoy having one on one time with them and the kids. We’ve been coming down to see them for a number of years and plan to continue as long as they have a place. We also made our yearly pilgrimage to Benihana. Always a great treat with food sizzling and flying through the sky. After a great week, we packed up the car to hit the road again. We were heading to the Alabama coast and uncharted territory, it was as exciting to get back on the road as it was to leave the first time. Great adventures await.
