SpectroMagically, Taking on the Worlds in 2015! Day One - Taking on PotterWorld from HRH!

[walt4it]

Welcome

There was a sense of purpose and excitement amongst us all as we woke - Today we would see Diagon Alley and Gringotts for the very first time - Enjoy the read


Travel day is here

Index to the whole trip is here

Wednesday 29th July 2015 – PotterWorld here we come!

Well here to be exact...

In all our previous visits we have never stayed in A Universal Hotel and to be honest often felt we got very little out of our days in the Parks - boys were either too young, or short to enjoy and we also felt that we queued far too much. As a result we now had FOL passes and a bit of time to explore and see all those things we had previously missed, plus the boys were now taller and able to ride nearly every ride.

After a couple of false starts we finally got up at 6.30, with our passes photographed last night, on arrival, we were a little thankful that the photos were neither clear nor in colour! In fact you could barely make out whose was whose - which given our travel day was probably a good thing!

We walked to the park and handed in our very voucher/ barcode for 14 day two park tickets ( they were cheap and this caused much consternation on the day of booking-we had found a dibb thread with this company, others on the thread gave a variety of messages about them- made no difference on the day though!) we had our passports with us and they were needed to verify each of us - glad I had put all 4 in the bag rather than just mine.
Five mins later we were in and a couple of mins after that we had traded in our photo Connect voucher for a card and a lanyard.
Our first pic...

and then a quick walk to where we wanted to be - time was now 7.08!
As we entered London- you travel all this way and become thankful to see Kings Cross?

At this point it would be very easy to keep walking and find yourself at Men in Black wondering what all the fuss was about. The entrance to what lies within is so understated that I'm sure many have missed out on it.
What lay behind the wall simply blew us all away, the atmosphere and the theming was incredible. Having been to the studios tour in the UK, this really added so much more again.

We then made for the Gringotts ride - shame that the camera and bag had to go in the locker as the ride itself was amazing - think they could have done something more with the photo opportunity though

We rode again just because we could - the time had not even ticked around to park opening time. In fact we could have stayed here all day, yet we knew there was lots more to explore and we did not want to max out on Potter too soon.

We were very tempted though!

As the park opened we were heading in the opposite direction to the masses - we did the Minnion experience without a wait- something we never experienced again and then we headed to Rip Ride Rocket.

On our previous trip to Universal Joe was too small to ride which left Alison the task of looking after him whilst allowing Josh and I to ride - not any more

Joe was tall enough and this was on his bucket list for this trip - coaster junkie that he is
For Alison it remained a vertical rise too far and she gladly took the bag, the sunglasses , the phone, the coins , the hats , the loose items of anything that were required to be removed before you were scanned prior to going onto the ride.
It did allow her to take pics like this with her phone

Now Josh and I had previous with this ride- EVERY single time we had tried riding it broke down and it proved so unreliable that we vowed never to waste time in the queue line again.
Hopefully this trip would prove different - this morning it did we rode twice in quick succession thanks to the FOL pass. Joe was buzzing!

So we headed for Mummy - no not the person- the ride We packed all the stuff in the locker and Alison joined us to enjoy the ride too and once again a first for three of us - previously I rode alone
So many possible smutty comments I could add I will avoid for now

I was just nine o'clock as we exited the park

Breakfast was calling and since we arrived late last night and departed early this morning we had not managed to be in the club lounge at HRH when they were actually open... YET!

Well we were in and met with a huge range of breakfast items and choices - fed, juiced up and with some water snacks and fruit to last us the next few hours we headed to the pool.

In between swims we saw another thing that Joe could actually do

Hoola Hoop -

Never ceases to amaze me - never seen him with a hoop before and he gave it loads - at least 5 mins non- stop How do you do that?

After a swim relax and a quick change for some - we were off out again

We had nothing in mind we just wanted to soak up both parks and see what happens - we got the boat to IOA and just had a look around and take the time to see the things we had previously missed. We walked back to HRH having done no rides but just explored.

A sharp thunderstorm meant we could nip to Walmart for essentials - the things we have learned not to bring with us from the Uk just to buy when we get here as it save a lot of baggage weight - shower wash etc.

As we returned we made once more for the 7th floor

The food and drink on offer was plentiful and it was welcomed too - we were close to running out of steam and the refuel allowed an opportunity rest and enjoy the hospitality.

As the rain stopped we headed to the pool area again as the boys fancied another swim and Joe was still hoola hooping

We chilled and relaxed and became aware that this place was a rather good place to start a holiday.

We returned to the room to find a box of Hersheys kisses and a Map

The map was a treasure hunt but was intended for Alison and I as they knew it was our anniversary tomorrow ( how did they know that? - will tell you in day 2!)

A long, long day and with so much still to see and do we headed to bed at a sensible time and we were all asleep within minutes.
If we manage as much as this every day we will need a holiday by the time we get home!

Day Two is here

[waiting4disney]

Sounds like a great day. We go in a few weeks and having one day at universal to see Harry Potter areas. Not staying on site though as didn't think it was worth it with our 2 year old.
Look forward to your other reports.

[nickyjw]

A great read, we stayed at the hard rock last October for 5 nights and loved it. looking forward to day 2.

[sheluk]

Brilliant day - you really did get so much done! Have heard the pool area at HRH is really good - did you like it?

[Tartan Tigger]

Sounds like a great day.

[jemima2]

That pic of rrr is amazing! I cannot believe how brave they are! 😄 puts me completely to shame..love the hula hooping haha...great read as usual, can't wait for next day 😄😄

[mama267]

Great report look forward to the others. Great day had by all it seemed. The boys are very brave.

[flo-tinka]

Know what you mean about Diagonal Alley and Gringotts. I could have spent the whole 5 days in there and I would love to go back! Did you stump up for a wand? It added to our experience there and across at Hogsmeade even more!
Ha to Hula hooping at HRH, we similarly found that our DD was an expert hh too unbeknownst to us!

[walt4it]

Originally Posted by waiting4disney

Sounds like a great day. We go in a few weeks and having one day at universal to see Harry Potter areas. Not staying on site though as didn't think it was worth it with our 2 year old.
Look forward to your other reports.

See more...

That has been our experience in the past - we really struggled with Universal when the children were younger, although they do a good ride swap on Forbidden Journey

Originally Posted by nickyjw

A great read, we stayed at the hard rock last October for 5 nights and loved it. looking forward to day 2.

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We loved it too - thank you for reading and posting
Day 2 coming soon

Originally Posted by sheluk

Brilliant day - you really did get so much done! Have heard the pool area at HRH is really good - did you like it?

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Pool area will feature highly in next few days

Originally Posted by Tartan Tigger

Sounds like a great day.

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It was - thanks for posting

Originally Posted by jemima2

That pic of rrr is amazing! I cannot believe how brave they are! 😄 puts me completely to shame..love the hula hooping haha...great read as usual, can't wait for next day 😄😄

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Now which one? the actual ride photo or the rather arty shot taken by DW whilst holding the sunglasses
As for brave "was not as scary as it looks" was the view from the youngest member of the group!
Next day coming soon Thank you for reading

Originally Posted by mama267

Great report look forward to the others. Great day had by all it seemed. The boys are very brave.

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When it comes to Roller Coasters there is no brave - they need to be done

Originally Posted by flo-tinka

Know what you mean about Diagonal Alley and Gringotts. I could have spent the whole 5 days in there and I would love to go back! Did you stump up for a wand? It added to our experience there and across at Hogsmeade even more!
Ha to Hula hooping at HRH, we similarly found that our DD was an expert hh too unbeknownst to us!

See more...

I'm thinking we had a very similar experience
Wand bit coming up in day two Keep reading

[walt4it]

Day two has now been added click here if reading this reply