We finally made it down to Orlando to celebrate Emma’s birthday and all things Harry Potter! Recapping our trip in two parts; Focusing one on Universal Islands of Adventure and one on Universal Studios.
We visited this part of the park on day two and again on day 3. Since we couldn’t get into this side of the park early, we started on the Islands of Adventure still, and then took the train over.
And the Universal Studios side was just as fun – the interactive map is key and the app was a game changer. Naturally, our favorite was The Wizarding World of Harry Potter | Diagon Alley. For our review for Universal Islands of Adventure see this post.
Get the express passes – it is SO worth it. You skip so much of the lines for everything and still to see the experiential portions of the wait. It allows you to ride everything so many more times, and cuts the wait for each ride by about a third – with some rides becoming basically no wait at all!
Diagon Alley
Diagon Alley was such a fun experience. From the moment we got off the Hogwarts Express it was just like we were in London. The attention to detail from everything from the streets of London to the shops within was impeccable. It was like stepping into the books and movies. And of course we opted for all the butterbeer and pumpkin juice during our adventuring about. Of the two parks, we sent less time here overall and there was less to do in terms of rides, but more shops.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter | Diagon Alley
Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts
Hogwarts™ Express: King’s Cross Station
You’ll need a Park-to-Park ticket to ride the Hogwarts™ Express and visit both lands of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™. The train travels between Hogsmeade™ in Universal’s Islands of Adventure and Diagon Alley™ in Universal Studios Florida.
Borgin and Burkes in Knockturn Alley
Madam Malkin’s Robes for all Occasions
Florean Fortescue’s Ice-Cream Parlour
Hidden Spell Locations & Interactive Wands
Other
While the Wizarding World was our main attraction, we also had to check out the other rides! Emma is a little daredevil so anything that was a thrill ride was a must. These were our top picks:
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