Sam, our elf, always greets Reese with a Happy Birthday sign on her big day. This year Sam's writing contained a clue for Reese about where she would get to travel.
We thought we had her fooled, but apparently had already figured out that we were going to head to Universal Studios and Harry Potter world for her birthday trip. Now that she knew for sure that was our destination she only needed patience to get through the last week of school before winter break.
We had smooth trip down to Orlando and arrived just in time to have dinner and get oriented to the layout of our hotel. Our trip included three full days and we had passes for two parks each day. If you want to maximize your Harry Potter experience you have to get the two parks in the deal.
On the very first day we made our way right to Diagon Alley so we could have breakfast at the Leaky Cauldron. Harry Potter World is in hidden toward the back of the park, and everything about the set up makes you feel like you have entered the world you know from the books and movies.
After we ate a tasty breakfast we headed to Gringott's to exchange some money and stood in line for our first Harry Potter ride. The park wasn't insanely crowded at this time, but it was busy enough that we spent a good amount of time waiting in lines. However, the Escape From Gringott's ride was worth it and provided glimpses into the bank and all different aspects of the stories we know so well.
The folks at Universal definitely do their jobs well. To get from Diagon Alley in one park to Hogwarts Castle and Hogsmeade in another park you can walk or you can take the Hogwarts Express. And of course, to get to the Hogwarts Express you have to find the 9 3/4 platform. It's a very neat set up and we ended up riding the train at least three times over the course of three days.
One of Reese's highlights was tasting the various types of Butterbeer served in the parks. You can have it cold, frozen, hot, or as ice cream. And yes, Reese tried every single kind but her favorite was frozen. She won't decline the offer if you send cold or ice cream her way, of course.
All three days we spent the majority of the days in the parks. On the second day, though, the weather was warm enough for John and Reese to go back to the hotel for a couple of hours so they could take advantage of the hotel pool and lazy river. This gave Callie and Sarah a chance to check out all of the roller coasters that Universal had to offer and that John and Reese had no interest in riding.
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