Universal Studios Orlando !

We travelled to Universal Studios Orlando in Florida with our 8-year-old Kidsetter for a once in a lifetime experience.

We stayed at Universal Orlando Loews Portofino Bay Hotel to ensure we could maximise our time spent at the 2 Theme Parks. A river ferry runs regularly to drop you directly to the park gates within 15 minutes.

Loews Portofino Bay Hotel is a stunning re-creation of Portofino, Italy in an imaginative setting. Complete with cobblestone streets and sidewalk cafes.

As we were travelling at Christmas time, we ate a delicious Christmas Day Lunch at Trattoria Del Porto.

We were entertained with Universal Orlando characters, live music, face painter, balloonist and Santa and Mrs Claus.

We spent 2 days at Universal Studios as there are 2 Theme Parks, Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios.

Our first park was Islands of Adventure theme park which is divided into 8 areas; Port of Entry; Marvel Super Hero Island; Toon Lagoon; Skull Island: Region of Kong; Jurassic Park; The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Hogsmeade; The Lost Continent and Seuss Landing.

We had pre-booked The Grinch & Friends Character Breakfast at Circus McGurkus Cafe Stoo-pendous in Seuss Landing.

This is a great way to meet The Grinch as the wait time at the meet-and-greet location at Honk Honkers can be up to 7 hours !

The Grinch gave us some unfiltered beauty advice, asked us to compliment him, gave his candid thoughts about our meal choices and informed us that those delicious Grinch cookies are nothing more than dog food. Our Kidsetter was in hysterics.

We met other characters from Whoville and they gave great advice for when we meet the Grinch to plug our nose.

We ate Dr. Seuss themed food such as Green Eggs and Ham, Green Grinch Pancakes and Green Pizza ! Yum.

After a hilarious breakfast it was time to explore the park. We climbed aboard a Merry-Go-Round from the Mind of Dr. Seuss.

We then made our way to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Hogsmeade as we had short listed our rides and knew that Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure was a popular ride and the wait time may be long. Little did we realise just how long. We queued for 4 hours and could see that we were approaching the front with only another 1 hour or so wait when staff announced the ride was closing for unexpected urgent maintenance. Arghh!!!!

We decided to then make our to Universal Studios Florida theme park. Universal Studios Florida theme park is divided into 9 areas; Production Central; New York; San Francisco; The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley; World Expo; Springfield: Home of the Simpsons; Woody Woodpecker’s KidZone; Hollywood and Park-Wide Performances.

Arriving at Christmas made for a particularly special atmosphere surrounded by their wonderful decorations.

In the Production Central area of the park we immediately met Shrek, Fiona and Donkey outside Shrek’s cottage. Donkey had us in fits of laughter, just what we needed after such after Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure queuing debacle.

Next, we went on the Despicable Me Minion Mayhem ride based on the hit film. We joined Gru, his daughters, and the mischievous Minions on an unpredictable ride.

Our next ride was in the Woody Woodpecker’s KidZone on the E.T. Adventure.

We boarded our flying bikes with E.T and rode our bikes through the sky dodging bad guys, soaring into the stars where E.T.’s magical home awaits filled with wondrous otherworldly creatures.

After a gentle ride it was time for the Revenge of the Mummy ride in the New York area of the park. We plunged into darkness on an indoor roller coaster and faced an army of mummies.

The Blue’s Brother’s Holiday Show was playing nearby and we enjoyed a Chicago-style street party with live music.

Next, we visited The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley area to Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringott’s.

We journeyed through the cavernous passageways of Gringotts bank. Breaking in is impossible and breaking out is even more difficult. A truly incredible ride.

Meandering through Diagon Alley was a delight ! Windows dressed in Christmas decorations was a feast for the eyes.

We indulged at Florean Fortescue’s Ice-Cream Parlour where Muggles are able to choose from fantastic flavors like Butterbeer, Sticky Toffee Pudding, Chocolate and Raspberry and more.

We then stepped inside the iconic Ollivanders shop in search of our most essential wizarding item. Such fun!

We next made a wrong turn into Knockturn Alley. Suddenly Dark Magic was upon us as we visited Borgin and Burkes to view some gruesome trinkets. We left before becoming seduced by the secret spells that are only visible in the darkness.

We had to taste the infamous Butterbeer. The concoction is reminiscent of butterscotch and shortbread. Delicious! We couldn’t resist other holiday treats as well.

Throughout the day we enjoyed hearing the roar and being warmed by the fire-breathing, Ukrainian Ironbelly dragon.

We met the Knight Bus Conductor and listened to him chat with the shrunken head hanging from the rear-view mirror.

We entered King’s Cross Station and walked straight through a solid brick wall onto Platform 9 ¾ to board the Hogwarts Express.

Riding the Hogwarts Express from King’s Cross Station in the London area of Universal Studios Florida to Hogsmeade Station in Universal’s Islands of Adventure.

We travelled through the British countryside and encountered various creatures flying, swooping, and lurking outside our window.

Arriving at Hogsmeade Station in Universal’s Islands of Adventure we entered Hogwarts castle to ride Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. Immersed in the surroundings of the passageways and corridors of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry with paintings coming to life.

We joined Harry Potter and his friends on a thrilling and unforgettable adventure. Our Kidsetter loved the ride except for the scarry dragon !

We next listened to the Frog Choir perform. A small choir of Hogwarts students performing familiar wizarding songs, accompanied by giant croaking frogs. Hilarious!

We then attempted for our second time to ride Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure. Alas, we managed to ride the elusive roller coaster delving deep into the Forbidden Forest discovering the rarest magical creatures Admittedly, I was petrified on this ride when they announced as part of the ride when reaching the top of the roller coaster they had had a malfunction as I thought it was actually real given the previous day’s experience waiting for 4 hours only to be told it needed urgent repair. Phew – we made it out safely!