Hogwarts!!!

Ever since it was announced that there would be a Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Gary and I, and my family, knew we had to go.  When Universal announced it would open "late spring 2010" we planned a graduation trip to Orlando in late May, hoping that would be late-enough-spring--unfortunately it wasn't and we had to wait until this winter to visit the park.  We planned a vacation package through Universal that included a 3 night stay in a condo with a fun pool area and lazy river, one-day park tickets, and breakfast in the Three Broomsticks within Harry Potter world.  It was so incredibly affordable.

Imagine our luck when the weather forecast for Sunday kept popping up with lower and lower temps.  We awoke on Sunday morning to a temp in the 30s with a forecast to reach the 40s as a high.  In Florida.  Oh well, the vacation must go on!  Thankfully we packed for this possibility.

In line walking through Hogwarts Castle.  so cold. (Aunt Alissa and Tio Luis joined our fun!)

Baby was the warmest of the group in her North Face (we felt Uncle Adam's presence with all our North Face gear!)

In line for the Flight of the Hippogriff--Eliza loved to watch the rollercoaster go

Posing with wizard and witch students

Aunt April and Granna on baby watch while the rest rode the Hulk a second time!

Playing with Daddy in the Child Swap

What, you mean I shouldn't try to eat Tio Luis's head?

Grandpa, Eliza, and a train conductor for the Hogwarts Express

mmm, Butter Beer

Hogwarts was amazing.

We loved this park.  It was amazingly done.  It felt very authentic to the world of Harry Potter, and the rides were fun, too.  The butter beer was yummy.  Despite the cold we managed to stay warm and enjoy ourselves very much.  Plus, the park was not crowded in the least, so we had very little wait times for everything.

Universal also really catered to families.  It didn't have as big a space as a Disney babycenter, but it had a kitchenette and two private rooms for breastfeeding in the first aid area.  We were glad to be able to use the space.  Also, Universal's child swap for rides was superior to Disney's.  At Disney, the riders staying with the child wait outside of the rides and are given a ticket--one ticket is good for 3 people.  At Universal, everyone, including the baby, goes through the line until a certain point where there is a special child swap waiting area.  The first group of riders then goes through to ride, and comes back to wait in the waiting area.  On a cold day, this was so nice as the waiting areas were indoors!  I suppose if the lines were really long this wouldn't be as great, but the lines were short and weather cold, so we loved the child swap system at Universal (it also allowed our group to keep our bags with us instead of using the provided lockers at each ride).

there is so much I could share about our day, but I've already written a fairly large post.  We look forward to going back to this park in the future.  It was really just amazing!