Trip Report Magical 10th Birthday Celebration

Who: Hubs, Jet and Me!

What: We booked this trip last January before the world went mad. We considered canceling about 50,000,000 times. We needed this trip and the special one on one time with Jet. Ninja, Bear and Handsome were excited for a weekend at Nana and Pawpaw’s.
Where: 3 nights at Universal’s Loews Royal Pacific Resort. Yes, you read that right we cheated on Disney and visited Universal.
When: November 19-22
Why: 1 day at Hollywood Studios (we couldn’t go to Orlando and not visit Disney), 2 days Universal Resort. My girls loves Harry Potter and finished reading the story 3 days before our trip.

 

[Sillysidewalker]

We were done close to 2. Jet wanted to cast spells again( We were getting our money’s worth out of these wands). We spent 30 minutes and then we convinced Jet to see what Universal had outside of the Wizarding World. We made our way to Seussland. The holiday decor was adorable. 5 year old Jet would have loved it. 10 year old Jet was less enthusiastic.

Jet asked if we could ride the High in the Sky Seuss Train. I later found out her motivation was because she needed a rest but at the time it seemed like she was trying to be enthusiastic for her mama.

 

[Back!Elbow!Shoulders!]

I was worried for you reading that you did Forbidden Journey while hangry. (Although post lunch wouldn’t have been any better). That one’s a never again for me.

 

[Sillysidewalker]

I was worried for you reading that you did Forbidden Journey while hangry. (Although post lunch wouldn’t have been any better). That one’s a never again for me.

It wasn’t a one and done either! I should have done research on these rides!

 

[fractal]

Love this!

 

[Sillysidewalker]

Love this!

It was a great moment. Skipping with joy about to have a new experience at Disney.

 

[Sillysidewalker]

After Seussville we headed to the super hero area of the park. We are HUGE fans of Disney’s Marvel movies so Jet was really excited when she saw the Hulk ride. BTW we LOVE DCA unpopular opinion but I think it’s our favorite park. I can’t wait for the Marvel campus. Anyways back to Hulk. Once again we had to squeeze everything into teeny tiny lockers. You have to put everything away. Even phones. So no pictures sorry. We used Express pass so zipped through the line with one exception. Hubs left his gum in his pocket again so we got held up at security.

He is obsessed with this stuff and buys it by the boxful! I was starting to get pretty annoyed with this gum. Anyway the ride was pretty intense. It has a quick start and a lot of loops. It was fun however I was still feeling pretty terrible from the Hogwarts ride. Both Hubs and Jet wanted to ride again but didn’t want to leave me behind. So we went for a 2nd head rattling go. When we were done I promptly went to the bathroom and threw up.

 

[Sillysidewalker]

Fortunately we had some Annie’s Cheddar bunnies in our backpacks so we found a spot to snack and rest for a bit. I was feeling better and Jet was itching to get back to Hogsmeade to do more spells so back we went. When we got to the area we saw Hagrids Forbidden Forest ride was down to a 55 minute wait. We jumped in line. Jet was still itching to cast spells so Hubs walked her over while I held our spot. We do this all the time at Disney to keep our kids, fellow parties in line and ourselves sane. Some people welcome this some people get annoyed. Apparently team member at Universal get annoyed because we were scolded when Jet and Hubs jumped back in line. The wait was closer to 65 minutes than 55. We once again had to store our bags however you could keep things in your pocket so no gum drama.

@Darstarr I borrowed your phone for this pic .

Honestly this ride is amazing. You ride in a motorcycle and side car. There are so many surprises and it’s more intense than expected but completely doable for kids. It may be my favorite ride EVER!

 

[Sillysidewalker]

We were ready to head back to Universal so on the Hogwarts Express we go. I don’t think I mentioned it but this has a screen to simulate the countryside and London so it had added to my motion sickness in the morning. I went ahead and closed my eyes this time.

We had two goals for Diagon Alley. Spells and Ice Cream. I wanted to try the butter beer ice cream.

It was really sweet and creamy. It’s more frozen custard.

 

[Darstarr]

@Darstarr I borrowed your phone for this pic .

 

[Sillysidewalker]

We left the Wizarding world behind and made our way to Men In Black and ET. ET reminded me of Peter Pans Flights I tried to convince the hubs to take an evening flight out on Sunday so we could visit the MK. He reminded me of my other babes at home who were missing their Mama and I changed my mind .
We still had 20 minutes so we jumped in the Express Pass line for Rip Ride Rocket. The Hubs remembered to remove his gum but I forgot my phone. This ride is a lot of fun. You get to pick the music you ride to. I didn’t understand this our first ride and rode to Fergalicous. However we had time for a 2nd ride and this time I chose Devil Went Down to Georgia. It was a much better ride.
The park was officially closed. We stopped and bought Christmas Ornaments on our way out. Then made our way over for our 7:30 dinner reservation at Antojitos. I made reservations for each dinner at Citywalk. I had been told they don’t except reservation however I was able to make reservations here and at Toothsome Chocolate Emporium. We requested to sit outside and they seated up on the balcony. We started with the Tableside Guacamole. This was soooo good!

Hubs had the Pineapple Fire and Ice Margarita x 2

I had a few of the Pacifico Clara’s so I forgot all about taking entree pictures.

Jet had the Racheras Enchiladas, Hubs had the chicken fajitas and I had the Pollo Tacos. The entrees were ok but that guacamole was the stand out for our dinner. We made the quick walk back to the hotel. Called everyone back home and tucked in for an early bedtime. On the Eve of our birthday we always do our last photo at whatever age. So we did last 9 year old Jet pics since the next day she would be double digits!

She still snuggles a puppy from her very first Valentine’s Day. She’ll always be my baby.

 

[Sillysidewalker]

Saturday November 21 - Jet’s 10th Birthday

Our plan was to go to Islands of Adventure for the morning hour so we could attempt to get two rides on Hagrids that day since we had loved it. We were all dragging. Even the birthday girl. We got to the park about 5 minutes after the 7:00 am opening. There was a gentleman in front of us whose finger would not work. They tried probably 10 times. Then they tried resetting it. We should have just bailed out of the line but I didn’t want to seem impatient. However I was impatient. We wasted 15 minutes while they sorted out the fingerprintless man. As we walked back to Hogsmeade it started raining. Luckily we had ponchos. We jumped in line for Hagrid’s. The good thing about rain .

It took about 45 minutes to get on Hagrid’s. We still loved it! However we were starving. The birthday girl had a specific request. She loves all things cinnamon.

 

[Sillysidewalker]

Since we were in the area we decided to pop over and ride Hulk. Lockers, Gum still in pocket. We never learn. We used our Express Pass. It was lightly sprinkling before we got on. We had our stomach drop, head rattling go around and then we stopped. And by we I mean the ride. It stopped for 15 minutes. I hoped for an evac but none came. The sprinkle/mist was terrible trapped on a ride. We finally got going I was thrilled to be off that ride. Luckily Hubs and Jet had no desire to ride again. Back to Hogsmeade we go for more spells.

Don’t mind my frizzy hair. The rain and my hair don’t mix.

 

[Sillysidewalker]

We took another ride on Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. Eyes closed, hands over eyes and no sickness. However this ride also shut down but only for 5 minutes. Jet was ready to try her luck again at the wand ceremony so off to Universal we went. This time she brought her luck potion!

 

[Sillysidewalker]

We went straight to the want ceremony sign up and they told us to come back at 1. It was only 10:45 so we had time to kill. Drink and spells in Diagon Alley to the rescue. We mobile ordered from the Hopping Pot. Otter’s Fizzy Orange Juice. So good

Pumpkin Juice. This tastes like what a craft store smells like. My aunt owned one growing up and this is all I could think of when I was drinking it.

We caught the Deathly Hallows puppet show and it was so good!

I was so impressed that even the bathroom looked like the movie I tried to take a picture. I didn’t want to be a creep taking a picture in a bathroom so I attempted it with the door shut. It was a fail but movie fans will recognize it.

 

[Sillysidewalker]

We had the best time exploring and casting spells

 

[Sillysidewalker]

We were starting to get hungry and the birthday girl requested pasta. We mobile ordered Louie’s Italian Restaurant but we had to drag her away from her spells.



I didn’t take pictures. Lunch was pizza and fettuccini Alfredo. It satisfied the birthday girl. We were closing in on 1, so we went back over to check in. There was an older couple checked in before us but that was it. I had a feeling about this time. They kept waiting for other parties to show up. There seemed to be confusion about if they should make us wait or go ahead and send in our two small groups. Finally they decided to send us in.

 

[Sillysidewalker]

Of course we bought that wand and had to spend another 30 minutes casting the same spells again. Of course in Jet’s mind this wand worked much better for her than the other wands. We decided to head back to the resort for a break. However we made one more stop. We rode the Simpson 3D ride and had a couple Duff Beers. I wanted one of the donuts but couldn’t bring myself to do it. There was one line from the ride that cracked me up. When Sideshow Bob was trying to kill the Simpsons in an amusement park Homer says “Sweetie, they won’t kill you in an amusement park as long as you have a dime in your pocket.”

True Homer. So true.

 

[Back!Elbow!Shoulders!]

Of course we bought that wand and had to spend another 30 minutes casting the same spells again. Of course in Jet’s mind this wand worked much better for her than the other wands. We decided to head back to the resort for a break. However we made one more stop. We rode the Simpson 3D ride and had a couple Duff Beers. I wanted one of the donuts but couldn’t bring myself to do it. There was one line from the ride that cracked me up. When Sideshow Bob was trying to kill the Simpsons in an amusement park Homer says “Sweetie, they won’t kill you in an amusement park as long as you have a dime in your pocket.”

True Homer. So true.

You survived the Simpsons Ride? That is another “never again” ride for me.

I’ve never tried the Pumpkin Juice but based on your description of the smell I don’t think I ever want to.

So glad the second wand ceremony went Jett’s way.

 

[Sillysidewalker]

You survived the Simpsons Ride? That is another “never again” ride for me.

I’ve never tried the Pumpkin Juice but based on your description of the smell I don’t think I ever want to.

So glad the second wand ceremony went Jett’s way.

Eyes closed and hands over my eyes so I couldn’t see the flashes of light. Otherwise I’m sure I’d be on the never again team.

I would stear clear of pumpkin juice unless you like Clove. I think that is what reminds me of a craft store.

After we got home I looked at some of the rides we missed Transformers, Despicable Me and they were all 3/4D. Did you do all these when you were there? I have no clue how someone could ride all these motion simulators without getting sick?

 

[Back!Elbow!Shoulders!]

After we got home I looked at some of the rides we missed Transformers, Despicable Me and they were all 3/4D. Did you do all these when you were there? I have no clue how someone could ride all these motion simulators without getting sick?

I rode them closing my eyes for pretty the entire time. My motion sickness is really screen based. I can ride actual rollercoasters (like The Hulk) with zero problems.