Universal Studios December 2019 Trip Recap
Better late than never! I'm excited to share our vacation to Universal Studios Orlando in December 2019, where we celebrated the holidays Wizarding World style!
We were there December 12-16th, which happened to fall over the weekend of the Orlando Informer Meetup. It was pretty busy everywhere - from the hotel to the parks - but we still had a lot of fun and were able to do everything we wanted to do!
Dranks on a plane! Books and movies
B and I always fly Southwest and take the first flight we can out of MKE. I had some Southwest drink coupons for being a Southwest Visa card holder so we treated ourselves to a mimosa (me) and a Bloody Mary (B). We always take an Uber to the hotel from the airport, so no worries about having any alcohol!
We stayed at Sapphire Falls again, which is our favorite hotel on property at Universal. Our room had a lagoon view, which meant we also had a view of the parks and the water taxi.
This visit, we ended up buying Preferred Annual Passes instead of 3 days of park to park passes. It ended up being a difference of $30 per person PLUS we got an annual pass discount on most food and souvenirs. I'm also hoping to make it back at least once more in 2020, so the passes will have paid for themselves!
Since the first day we were there was a travel day/half day, we picked up our passes and headed to CityWalk for lunch. CowFish is a relatively new restaurant there and we really liked it! I had a couple sushi rolls with edamame as an appetizer and B got a burger that he said was pretty delicious.
T shirt via Hot Butterbeer!
Our first full day in the park we started out in Diagon Alley (of course) and picked up some Butterbeer soft serve ice cream and wandered around during Early Park Admission (applicable to annual pass holders as well as guests staying at one of the on-property resorts). It was on and off rainy and slightly cool, so I wore my Hufflepuff House Cardigan over my Is Butterbeer A Carb? t-shirt.
For the first time, we were there during hot Butterbeer season so of course I had to get one! It was like a butterscotch-y hot chocolate. Very good but EXTREMELY sweet. I think I prefer the cold (carbonated) Butterbeer to the hot.
Pin via
I brought a bunch of random merchandise from small independent shops to get pictures of in the Wizarding World. My favorite is this Neville Longbottom Glow Up Chocolate Frog Card (no longer available but bought from Laser Brain Patch Co).
It downpoured most of the afternoon so we ended up eating lunch at The Three Broomsticks and going back to our hotel for a warm-up shower and a change of clothes. We may or may not have also taken a nap ;)
Slainte!
For the first time, we grabbed lunch and drinks at Finnegan's Bar and Grill on the Universal Studios side. We shared the Corned Beef sandwich, which was definitely enough for the two of us and very delicious - I would definitely recommend it!
Gringotts and the Dragon
I loved seeing all the lights and decor for the holidays - each store and building had theme-specific garlands and lights. The outdoor garlands added such a wonderful ambient glow to Diagon Alley.
Kreacher forgot to put up the garlands at Grimmauld Place.
Home.
Every time I return to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, there is a sense of comfort. That is what the stories have always been from - an escape from reality.
This trip was so much fun. From all the wonderful holiday theming that Universal did to the decorations at the hotel (I took some Instatstories of Sapphire falls, check out my Instagram for more!) to trying new food and drink, you really felt the holiday spirit!
We were there December 12-16th, which happened to fall over the weekend of the Orlando Informer Meetup. It was pretty busy everywhere - from the hotel to the parks - but we still had a lot of fun and were able to do everything we wanted to do!
Dranks on a plane! Books and movies
B and I always fly Southwest and take the first flight we can out of MKE. I had some Southwest drink coupons for being a Southwest Visa card holder so we treated ourselves to a mimosa (me) and a Bloody Mary (B). We always take an Uber to the hotel from the airport, so no worries about having any alcohol!
We stayed at Sapphire Falls again, which is our favorite hotel on property at Universal. Our room had a lagoon view, which meant we also had a view of the parks and the water taxi.
This visit, we ended up buying Preferred Annual Passes instead of 3 days of park to park passes. It ended up being a difference of $30 per person PLUS we got an annual pass discount on most food and souvenirs. I'm also hoping to make it back at least once more in 2020, so the passes will have paid for themselves!
Since the first day we were there was a travel day/half day, we picked up our passes and headed to CityWalk for lunch. CowFish is a relatively new restaurant there and we really liked it! I had a couple sushi rolls with edamame as an appetizer and B got a burger that he said was pretty delicious.
T shirt via Hot Butterbeer!
Our first full day in the park we started out in Diagon Alley (of course) and picked up some Butterbeer soft serve ice cream and wandered around during Early Park Admission (applicable to annual pass holders as well as guests staying at one of the on-property resorts). It was on and off rainy and slightly cool, so I wore my Hufflepuff House Cardigan over my Is Butterbeer A Carb? t-shirt.
For the first time, we were there during hot Butterbeer season so of course I had to get one! It was like a butterscotch-y hot chocolate. Very good but EXTREMELY sweet. I think I prefer the cold (carbonated) Butterbeer to the hot.
Pin via
I brought a bunch of random merchandise from small independent shops to get pictures of in the Wizarding World. My favorite is this Neville Longbottom Glow Up Chocolate Frog Card (no longer available but bought from Laser Brain Patch Co).
It downpoured most of the afternoon so we ended up eating lunch at The Three Broomsticks and going back to our hotel for a warm-up shower and a change of clothes. We may or may not have also taken a nap ;)
Slainte!
For the first time, we grabbed lunch and drinks at Finnegan's Bar and Grill on the Universal Studios side. We shared the Corned Beef sandwich, which was definitely enough for the two of us and very delicious - I would definitely recommend it!
Pear Cider is delightfully delicious!
This visit we spent a lot more time juts hanging around and taking in the atmosphere, which is something we haven't been able to do on previous visits due to time constraints. The evenings were a tad chilly and perfect sweatshirt weather (my Homebody Crewneck Sweatshirt is by Seeker and Slade). I tried Pear Cider from The Hopping Pot for the first time - it was refreshingly sweet but not too sweet.
It was fun to sit and people-watch in Diagon Alley. Since the Orlando Informer Meet-Up started on Friday night, there were lots of people in really cool cosplay. I'm amazed at the amount of creativity people have to dress up as their favorite characters.
Gringotts and the Dragon
I loved seeing all the lights and decor for the holidays - each store and building had theme-specific garlands and lights. The outdoor garlands added such a wonderful ambient glow to Diagon Alley.
Kreacher forgot to put up the garlands at Grimmauld Place.
King's Cross Station and Muggle London all decked out.
Christmas Lights at Hogwarts Castle
There is also a special Christmas light show that shows each night from dusk until park close. It's only about 5 minutes or so long, but the projections and effects are so cool and really play off the whole vibe of the holidays in the Wizarding World.
To see the show, check out The Potter Collector's video.
Pro tip: If you want to ride Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, or Flight of the Hippogriff, try to go during the light show! We did Forbidden Journey during the light show and literally WALKED ON to the ride.
I took the Knight Bus to Grimmauld Place but Kreacher wouldn't answer the door!
One of the big to do's of this trip was to take a ride on Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure. The ride was still under construction during our last visit. Neither B nor I are super intense roller coaster people but I knew I wanted to ride Hagrid's at least once. When we arrived to Hogsmeade on Saturday, The wait time was 90 minutes so we rushed to put my backpack a locker and got in the queue.
I was astonished by the detail throughout the queue and the ride. The queue starts winding around Hagrid's hut and you see his gardens, with pumpkins (some of them look like a hippogriff took a bite out of them), then the line moves into some abandoned-looking buildings with "graffiti" on the walls that says things like "I love Hufflepuff" and drawings of magical creatures.
I really enjoyed the ride overall! I dislike those drops where you feel like your stomach is in your throat, so I was happy that while there were some drops it wasn't that drastic. You are kind of catty-wampus sideways at times, but I would imagine that's what it would be like to be on Hagrid's motorbike!
Check out the ride on The Potter Collector's channel.
Every time I return to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, there is a sense of comfort. That is what the stories have always been from - an escape from reality.
This trip was so much fun. From all the wonderful holiday theming that Universal did to the decorations at the hotel (I took some Instatstories of Sapphire falls, check out my Instagram for more!) to trying new food and drink, you really felt the holiday spirit!