We Escaped Our World for Hogwarts

We took a magical motorbike (ok….it was an airplane) to Hogwarts. It was last September, and I decided to surprise Nate with a magical getaway for his birthday to a place I had never been to… Universal!

Flights in September were dirt cheap… I paid $30 round trip for each of us. The resort we stayed in was a Universal property and one of the few that had actually re-opened at that time. It was empty and the rates were crazy reasonable. We stayed 4 nights at Universal’s Endless Summer...I thought the entire resort was really cute and super clean. Our room was huge, 1 King Bed and 2 full size beds! We made a mental note that it would be a great place to take the kids (which we will do once they are old enough to handle the intense Florida heat and the maddening long lines…).

My first impression of entering the Wizarding World of Harry Potter?? I was blown away. It’s like walking into one of the films.

We watched all the Harry Potter movies leading up to our departure… and I’m so glad we did that. All the detail was fresh in my mind. Our favorite experience was Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure. This.ride.is.phenomenal. Nate and I think it’s the best ride we’ve ever ridden….exceptional. We took this short video… watching it makes me want to book the first flight BACK to Universal! Hahaha….

This “story coaster” is AMAZING

They call it a “story coaster.” You are on a super fast roller coaster which is Hagrid’s famous motorbike (once owned by Sirius Black) through the forbidden forest (what!!??) going 50 mph with seven awesome launches and one complete (and um, unexpected) drop. Yep, the mechanics alone on this ride are AMAZING. It’s vertical drop track is the cherry on the sundae for this ride… and because we were there throughout the week during a time where people weren’t really going anywhere, we got to ride it 4 times 🙂 🙂 We were two VERY happy muggles!!

There was no one there!!! The longest we waited was maybe 20 minutes…

We then used our magical wand (thanks to my sister!!) to experience the magical spell castings that were hidden all over the place! This was really fun, and what a great way to engage with the environment and immerse yourself in the story of it all. The wands are pricey…But so fun 🙂

The down-side at that time was that not every ride was open. Not enough staff and a limited number of people allowed in the park. Saturday rolled around and the park was shockingly packed, though, and they reached their max capacity by noon. I think we rode one ride that day… but it was ok… we had a rockin’ thursday and friday!!!
The food at Universal was actually really good!! Not something I expect at theme parks. We live a minute away from a Six Flags and the food is very sub par. You don’t go there to eat is my philosophy. But at Universal, we dined like kings.

One night we went to this cajun piano bar called Pat O’Brien’s and had the best time I’ve ever had eating dinner.

People would yell out random songs and these two pianists could play them like they’ve been playing these songs their entire life. One of the other days we stopped and had ice cream at The Toothsome Chocolate Emporium….we split this colossal sundae…soooo gooood.

Our final night, we left the park early and enjoyed a fabulous dinner at Bigfire. This menu was my kind of menu… filet, fresh fish specials, fancy desserts.

I also have to mention that Universal did a great job with safety measures. Every single ride gave you hand sanitizer, and they were leaving a row empty in front and back of you. Masks were mandatory or they asked you to leave the park. They took the current situation very seriously and we felt good about being there. Thank you Universal Studios for doing your part!

This was absolutely an adventure, one that I can’t wait to do again! We felt like two 12-year old kids running around an amusement park… and that is good for the soul 🙂 I got to forget, just for a few days, that I’m a mom and step-mom of 4 with a laundry list of responsibilities. I left work-life behind which I welcomed. At the time, I was working a job that was taking a major toll on my well-being and I needed to breathe and separate myself from all of that. That’s the thing about long weekend getaways…. I consider it medicine and way cheaper than a recurring appointment with a therapist. Getting away, adventuring, laughing, eating a meal you didn’t have to make yourself (or clean up afterwards) is worth every penny.

And this guy??? Well, he had the BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!!!!!