A Magical Journey to Orlando

Another vacation. I know, I'm getting crazy here. This time it was to Orlando and the magical world of...Universal Studios. Had you going there for a moment, didn't I? While Disney is the place to be a kid, Universal for me was the place for adults to be a kid but to pretend they're more adult-y. Boom. I should be in Universal's marketing department.

Hogsmeade

In any case, Universal was super fun, and not just because I got to experience the magical world of Harry Potter (boom x2...these are almost too much fun!), but the non-Harry Potter things were pretty cool too. Despicable Me, Jurassic Park, the Mummy, the Hulk...overall, a great set of rides to go on. But Harry Potter was obviously the biggest thing. Hogsmeade looks as amazing in person as it does in pictures. I know the snow is fake, but the atmosphere there is brilliant. Food at the Three Broomsticks was OK--nothing special--but again, it was the atmosphere. If I wanted great food, I probably wouldn't have eaten inside the park.

The dragon above Gringotts blowing fire

Other really enjoyable Harry Potter-themed activities were the journey through Hogwarts, which was really well done, and two trips on the Hogwarts Express (once in each direction). On the Diagon Alley side of Harry Potter World, I was most impressed about how they took minor details from the books and broadened them into something "real." This was most prevalent in the choice of stores. Not necessarily a minor detail, but even Florean Fortescue's ice cream shop made an appearance. How cool is that?

You may not believe it, but there's more to Universal than just Harry Potter. Obviously I was naturally drawn to the minions of Despicable Me. Not only are they funny, but they're super cute and I give the creators a lot of credit for not just making mindless robots but giving each individual minion a unique personality. (Side note: We watched Despicable Me again one night in Orlando because, why not?) It's amazing what moving seats can do. It completely felt like a full-fledged roller coaster, even though we moved at most a couple of inches in any direction. Gotta love it.


Yes. Of course.

The other fun rides were Jurassic Park, the Mummy, and the Hulk. All three were big surprises for me. The park employee told us that the Jurassic Park lagoon ride had an 85 foot drop at the end. Yet, somehow that drop REALLY surprised me. Definitely wasn't prepared. With the Mummy, I had set my expectations pretty low, but the storytelling and the twists and turns on the indoor roller coaster far exceeded my expectations. And with the Hulk, it was a standard roller coaster except for the beginning. You expect to slowly creep up and then begin your free-fall. But not the Hulk. The quick acceleration starting halfway up was unexpected. So three rides that were above and beyond what I would've figured.

Obviously there were some middling activities--Gringotts, Shrek--and some downright bad ones--Twister--but overall it was an enjoyable experience at Universal. Even if only for a short time over a few days, it was really awesome to be able to join the world of Harry Potter. Now if only my acceptance letter would arrive in the mail--or by owl--already. It's just 15 years late....

Not related at all to the post, but this duet between Jennifer Nettles and one of her contestants on the failed show Duets might be one of the best duets of all time. Really, any duet Jennifer Nettles does is amazing (also see her You and I with Lady Gaga), but this just captivates me. Every. Single. Time.