We breakfasted at POFQ again having settled into a breakfast routine with Cinammon Rolls for the girls and an egg dish of some sort for me, usually a ham and cheese omelette. I was driving for the first time today since our trip and was quite excited, having checked that IoA was set uip in the sat nav. So we loaded in the car and headed off. Followed the circuitous route from Port Orleans back onto the I4 and we were soon cruising East. This time it was nice to feel a bit more relaxed and able to spot some familiar sights on our drive. Lots of signs for International Drive where we had stayed on our previous visit. Also passed the exit for Seaworld, which we would use later in the week. We got off the I4 with no incident and, barring one slight bit of confusion with the directions, the sat nav dropped us right at the car park entrance for Universal. We were parked on level 3 in Jaws which put us in a large multi-storey. As per good advice from the Dibb, I took a picture of the number plate and the row we were parked in for future reference.
We made the looooong walk from the car park, along the moving walkways and finally arrived at the gates. Citywalk was virtually deserted due to the fact that we'd left so early as were unsure how long the drive would take. traded our Travel City vouchers with no problem and were ready to go once the park was open.
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Like everyone else we turned right and made straight for the Wizarding World. Passed through (I think,) Dr Seuss Land and Atlantis before sighting Hogwarts in the distance. The designers of this area knocked this one out of the park. I know this is a false perspective castle sitting on those rocks, but damn it looks big and impressive. This attention to detail carries over into the street representing Hogsmeade as everywhere you look, the place looks spot on.
We headed straight for the castle and the Forbidden Journey ride. Strange system they have for this where you have to put your belongings in a high tech locker before actually queueing for the ride?
Fortunately we were early so the queue moved quickly and we were soon passing through the halls of Hogwarts. Again, details everywhere. Spotted many portraits, all of which interact with one another. Pleasant surprise to see Dawn French recreating her role from the first two movies as the portrait guarding the entrance to Gryffindor's dorm room.
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At about this point, Maddie decided she needed the toilet and as the queue had slowed, I offered to take her out. Carly emerged twenty minutes or so later and urged me to go straight back in. I did so and learned a neat tip. As you enter the queue for the ride, if you identify yourself to the staff member as a single rider, you get ushered up a side stairwell which cuts out 90% of the queue. I won't describe the ride at all except to say I really liked it but it is quite intense and not likely suitable for young kids, as you never know quite where the next surprise is coming from. Excellent, though.
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Carly and I did the ride again once each before exploring the rest of Hogsmeade as we weren't buying fastpasses and suspected the queue would get monstrous later. While waiting for the other, we each took Maddie on Flight Of The Hippogriff which is a much tamer ride, and she like it very much. You also get a good view of Hagrid's house while queuing for this.
More to come later...
