Theme Park Day - Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure

For our second theme park day, we opted for Universal Studios. We got the tickets through Groupon and saved a little $$ (always a good thing). We opted for the park hopper pass so we could visit both Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. The main purpose being so that we I could ride the Hogwarts Express between the two sides.

When walking in, the Jimmy Fallon Race through NYC had a non-existent line. So we went there first, Clarissa surprisingly loved this ride the most and went on it two more times (the ‘eeh’ and basket of puppies really spoke to her…lol). After the second time, the NBC panda was down for a photo op…..given pandas are a current favorite animal…..she happily posed with the panda.

We found our way to platform 9 ¾!

And then hopped aboard the train. Upon our arrival in Hogsmeade we found the Owl Post aka post office (despite talking about it, we forgot to bring a postcard to mail….).

Of course we visited the castle. Clarissa has never been a fan of roller coasters, so we did the walk through option and walked through the castle and Richard took the single rider lane…..ironically, we both exited at about the same time.

We partook in some Butterbeer (more Richard….the rest of us aren’t the biggest fans….gasp I know).We walked through the Diagon Alley (aka a quaint snowy village) before heading around the rest of the park. 

C & R opted to ride the Spider Man ride. We searched in all the Starbucks shops for the elusive ‘I was here’ Starbucks Mug to add to our collection, but sadly could not find one. When reading up on the park, it’s recommended to ride the train both directions, so we did return later to ‘London’. 

After back in Universal Studios, we did the usual things like Men in Black, get a beer at Duff’s bar (Simpson’s area), found the hidden Harry Potter area, and we did the above-mentioned Race through NYC again. We had prebooked a reservation at the Chocolate Emporium for lunch (pretty much the only way to get in). It’s a cute steam punk restaurant with some of those insane desert milkshakes. After eating our lunches, Clarissa and I shared a chocolate one. It came complete with a brownie on top and filled with chocolately goodness.

We had a good day and after walking over 18K steps, we opted to call it a day. We didn’t feel too guilty not staying from open to close. Especially knowing we will be back again/regularly as we have the townhouse now. We bought the Freestyle cup at universal also, so we have that tucked in our owner's closet for a future trip. Honestly, so handy and much less to worry about remembering to bring on every trip.

Theme Park Fun - Legoland!

 

We took Clarissa to Legoland in Florida. We had been to the one in Malaysia a few years back. I worked at a one hour photo back in California when that location opened (aka I printed so many photos of visits from there, felt like I have already been). So naturally, we needed to visit the one in Florida. It was only about a 40 minute drive from our townhouse. So an easy drive for a fun day.

There were all kinds of popular characters to take photos (and selfies) with.

Clarissa's favorite animal! Elephants made of Legos!!

Pride parade in Times Square, NYC!

Clarissa's main goal was to get a new driver's license. Her old one had an out of date picture..lol.

We got distracted by a short line at boating school! She was driving the boat!

Nana was hot on our tail (wake?)...lol.

We made it to driving school. You may think I was just too slow with the camera taking her picture...but no, it was the don't take my picture, speak to the hand...lol.

Lego Lady Liberty.

You also had to be looking for the the little hidden gems! Rubber duckies under a wave! 

Can't take these two anywhere without them getting in trouble!

Richard and Jim headed off for a roller coaster. Clarissa doesn't do roller coasters so we rode on Merlin's train. As soon as it started, I was worried as it was going fast and up/down. At first she was mad, then she kept riding it again and again and again....we finally dragged her away....

We made it over to the Lego Movie area. Our little cat lady found the cat lady!! We also rode on the triple decker couch ride...it was fun!! She loved it so much that she went again after Richard/Jim caught up with us.

Spotted a taco shop when looking for the drink refill station. We pre-bought their freestyle drink when we bought our tickets. We just had to scan the receipt and got our cup. You can refill up to once every 10 minutes. My only complaint was the refill lines (and a number of non-working machines), but we could get soda, lemonade, and even a slushy!! We can keep our cup and use it on a possible future trip and just pay a reduced drink price!

Two floor merry go round!

Clarissa had lots of saved up a lot of allowance during the pandemic since she couldn't go anywhere and we visited the Friends shop (only Friends Lego's). She was plotting her decision. She picked a large set and the price was not marked up for being in the park (surprise to me).

We did find a shop that would personalize/etch a lego piece with whatever word you want (aka like a unique name that is never found on the typical souvenirs...lol). We looked into getting one, but it takes time and they had a backlog. It would of been another hour wait....so pro-tip: order it on your way in, pick it up on your way out! 

Don't forget to hit the toilet on the way out....it's fully stocked by this fun lady!