Trip Report Will it ever stop raining? Our June 2017 trip

Hi, all!! I've finally had a chance to start going through my photos and thought I would get started on my trip report! For those of you not familiar, here is my pre-trip report:
Adventure is out there...June 2017
If you don't want to read the PTR, here is a brief synopsis before I get started:
Who: Me (Amy), DH (Brian), DS Logan (14), DD Lily (12), and DS Owen (9)
When: June 2-17, 2017
Where: Universal Studios (Hard Rock Hotel), Disney (Art of Animation), and SeaWorld

For those of you who followed along with the live portion of my PTR, I apologize that some of the photos will be the same. I'm too lazy to go back and remember which ones I used!

I experienced one of the longest days of my life on Friday, June 2!! We left Dayton, Ohio before 5am.

Neither one of us drinks coffee, but we definitely needed some caffeine to start our morning! We stopped for the best Coke in the world!!

McDonald's!!
We had a little delay in Cincinnati because I-75 was closed both directions and we had to take a little detour.
We waved @LisaBelle and @21stamps and any other Cinci friends as we finally drove over the bridge and entered Kentucky!

We made sure to get past Lexington before morning rush hour, and stopped in Richmond for breakfast.

The kids had never had Chick fil A for breakfast, so we had to correct that!

 

[TheMouseFan]

I have a confession to make... I hate Harry Potter! I read the first book (had to at Uni) and have seen bits and pieces of the movies but . One of the main reasons I don't go to Universal is because of all the HP stuff.
Feels good to finally get that off my chest.
Loving your TR and your photos of Universal regardless of my hatred off all things HP.

PS, hadn't seen photos of that King Kong ride before. Reminded me of the killing fields in Cambodia

I don't hate HP, but definitely not at the top of my list of favorites, but I really enjoyed the HP areas of Universal! They are just so immersive!

 

[TheMouseFan]

Sunday, June 4
We got up early to take advantage of the early entry at Islands of Adventure, even though we planned to spend most of the day at Universal Studios. I was disappointed that they only offered early entry at IOA all of the days we were there. It was so peaceful at the pool first thing in the morning!


We couldn't wait to ride Rip Ride Rockit later!

The bridge we would be using later to get to brunch:

Then we were in, and making our way back to Hogsmeade.







Logan, Lily, and I rode each side of Dragon Challenge.

Owen was getting braver with the rollercoasters, but he wasn't interested in this one, and Brian was not upset to sit it out with him. They went to use Owen's interactive wand. Well, they had insisted on carrying them everywhere the night before and that morning, and Owen had dropped his numerous times. Apparently, he scratched the tip and it wasn't working. They took it from him to see if they could fix it. They couldn't, so they replaced it with a new one. Unfortunately, it took the whole time we were on the ride to fix it, so he didn't get to play around with it too much! He wasn't too upset, but kept saying he should have just bought the regular one! Good thing it was only $5 more for the interactive one! The problem was he had to spend his own money for it!!

 

[prfctlyximprct]

Loving all your universal pictures! I've only been just once but it's crazy how much of "home" it feels! If I close my eyes I can taste your butterbeer!!

Hoping the rain countdown stops!! But hey, a rainy day in Orlando is better than a rainy day at home! Right?!?

Your kids are so cute and I love all their poses! It's crazy but I feel like I've watched them grow up through your trip reports! Oh Disney family

 

[TheMouseFan]

By the time early entry time was up, the line for Hogwarts Express was really long, so we walked to the front of the park and across to Universal Studios. First up:

Took lots of pics while in line (because it took forever!!)








We all enjoyed it, but not something we felt compelled to ride again!

 

[TheMouseFan]

Loving all your universal pictures! I've only been just once but it's crazy how much of "home" it feels! If I close my eyes I can taste your butterbeer!!

Hoping the rain countdown stops!! But hey, a rainy day in Orlando is better than a rainy day at home! Right?!?

Your kids are so cute and I love all their poses! It's crazy but I feel like I've watched them grow up through your trip reports! Oh Disney family

Thanks! Unfortunately, the countdown does not stop!
I know how you feel, there are so many people on here I feel like I "know", and I love seeing how their kids change from trip to trip!

 

[TheMouseFan]

Next up was Diagon Alley. Lily could hardly control herself on the way over!! Here are some of the sights on the way:

 

[TheMouseFan]

Luckily I do a lot of research and knew where to turn in! Lily was like "where are you going?"!! I told her to stop questioning me and just follow!





Lily was in heaven!!

 

[fractal]

Luckily I do a lot of research and knew where to turn in! Lily was like "where are you going?"!! I told her to stop questioning me and just follow!





Lily was in heaven!!

Love it!

 

[TheMouseFan]

We waited maybe 20 minutes to ride Escape from Gringotts. We all loved it!

 

[TheMouseFan]

Then we spent some time exploring.

 

[TheMouseFan]

More exploring:







Then it was time to start heading to brunch: We decided to take Hogwarts Express over to IOA and walk from there.



Luckily, there was no line, so I was able to stay back and get these:

 

[TheMouseFan]

We enjoyed this trip better, only because we got a cabin to ourselves!









Then a quick pic of Thunder Falls Terrace as we walked by since I forgot to take one the night before!

 

[Zipadeelady]

I have a confession to make... I hate Harry Potter! I read the first book (had to at Uni) and have seen bits and pieces of the movies but . One of the main reasons I don't go to Universal is because of all the HP stuff.
Feels good to finally get that off my chest.
Loving your TR and your photos of Universal regardless of my hatred off all things HP.

PS, hadn't seen photos of that King Kong ride before. Reminded me of the killing fields in Cambodia

I don't even know what to say...I'm still in shock.

 

[Matt and Kelly]

Loving all the universal pictures. We would love to go back but there is just not enough rides for a 6 and 4 year old to go on to justify the cost. I love all the poses from the kids!

 

[littleroo]

I am really enjoying the pictures of Universal! I have not been since before the expansion and I am a super Harry Potter fan!

I love the family minion shirts!! Banana!!!

 

[12in12]

I don't even know what to say...I'm still in shock.

People find it hard to understand that I am "different". I usually hide this part of me but feel comfortable enough among my fellow Disney lovers to officially come out as a HP hater.

 

[Zipadeelady]

People find it hard to understand that I am "different". I usually hide this part of me but feel comfortable enough among my fellow Disney lovers to officially come out as a HP hater.

"Different" is good. We need more "different"!

 

[TheMouseFan]

Loving all the universal pictures. We would love to go back but there is just not enough rides for a 6 and 4 year old to go on to justify the cost. I love all the poses from the kids!

Thanks! I agree, which is why we waited this long to go! I knew the kids would be able to enjoy all the rides now!

I am really enjoying the pictures of Universal! I have not been since before the expansion and I am a super Harry Potter fan!

I love the family minion shirts!! Banana!!!

Luckily Minions are cute, so I didn' t get much resistance on wearing them!

 

[amjt660]

I asked for more pictures and you are delivering!!!!

The platform 9 3/4 shots are really cool - did not notice this effect when I was there.

Love the report - looking forward to more

(and thanks for sharing)

Nice pic of you (and I guess Brian) on the Express

Max

 

[LeighM]

I can't say anything about someone not liking Harry Potter (the books I love, the movies are just okay) when I feel the way I do about Star Wars. I've never understood why people love Star Wars so much. My husband loves all of them and I just know he's going to drag me all through the Star Wars land at HS when it's complete