Being a little fanatic over JK Rowling’s Harry Potter has earned me a trip down south recently. The trip to Orlando, Florida is a blessing, a Christmas gift from my hubby, and our 2nd anniversary getaway altogether. One of the main objectives of this trip to the Sunshine State was to visit the ‘Wizarding World of Harry Potter’, which is a new extension to Universal’s Islands of Adventure since June 2010. Not that I have been to all these magical and thrilling theme parks, but having the opportunity to be in everybody-wants-to-visit Orlando, I just had to make a presence with my baby. Oh yes, with my almost 4-month old baby girl.
To make the trip even more worthwhile, we stayed on-site at the Loews Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Orlando. The reasons why I would highly recommend splurging on the accommodation costs are the distance to the parks and the exclusive benefits. With so much to see and do at the Universal’s two mega theme parks, you would not want to waste too much time traveling from one place to another. As an on-site hotel guest you get two key benefits. First, you can skip the regular lines at participating rides and attractions by using the Express entrances. Second, and most importantly for Harry Potter fans like myself, the exclusive Early Admission Pass enables guests to experience the mysteries of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter over an hour earlier than the rest of the public! This is the only way to truly enjoy this incredibly popular park since it can reach maximum capacity as early as 9:30 am!
Here’s The Forbidden Journey at 7:30 am, 30 minutes before public opening. There was zero wait to ride.
And here it is at 9:30 am. The sign by the Forbidden Journey queue said “120 Minute Wait”!
Look at the crowd. It did not get any better as the day went by.
Butterbeer is a must to try if you have the chance to visit here. If not mistaken, butterbeer was seen in the 6th movie of Harry Potter.
