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Wednesday, June 23, 2021

Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure!

Not only had Danny not been to Disney, but he had also never been to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure! I will admit that I haven't been to Universal in a few years. It's outside of the Disney bubble, along with no Fastpasses (meaning longer lines) and no MagicBands (I'm sorry, but paper tickets seem barbaric to me nowadays). I also feel like Universal has lost the magic it used to hold when I was a kid. They've gotten rid of all the rides I loved - King Kong, Jaws, Back to the Future - and replaced them with rides I care less for. Meanwhile, the areas of the parks that need an update have remained relatively the same. I also feel I've experience all I need to of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and I'm content with that. I'm not a huge Harry Potter fan, and so as impressive as Potter Land is, it doesn't maintain the same magic that keeps me coming back to Disney multiple times a year. I feel like selfish for this because Danny hasn't been as spoiled as me, and hasn't experience Universal the way I have. I wish I could go back in time, and show him what I saw as a kid.

The first land we entered was Springfield U.S.A. I really didn't anticipate how much Danny was going to love this part of the park. I don't think he even realized his love for the Simpsons until he stepped foot into Springfield. I almost texted Chinh telling her that I didn’t think Danny was leaving this spot for the entire day LOL. It was too early in day, so we will have to go back to Universal Studios at some point to eat at the Krusty Burger. We also need to try both a Duff Beer and the Flaming Moe at Moe's Tavern. We made it on The Simpsons Ride, but not the King & Kodos' Twirl 'n' Hurl. The Simpsons Ride was Danny's all time favorite ride of this whole week. I was just baffled because I had no idea he loved the Simpsons so much lol, otherwise I would have planned this day a whole lot better for him.

We finally got Danny out of Springfield, and moved on to Diagon Alley. I love how hidden the entrance is, but once we were there, I realized everyone in the park was in this one location. Meanwhile, the Simpsons area was practically empty. We stood in front of the infamous fire breathing dragon like idiots to get the perfect video of it in action. When we finally got our shot, it was off to Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts. It was more of a hassle to get a locker for our backpacks than it was waiting on line for the ride lol. Unfortunately, one of the cons of going to Universal is that the rides are more intense than at Disney, thus they require you to put your belonging in a locker. Next, we were off to Kings Cross station to ride the Hogwarts Express to Hogsmeade to eat at the Three Broomsticks.

Looking back now, we barely went on any attractions in Universal Studios. We missed Transformers 3-D, Revenge of the Mummy, Men in Black, Despicable Me Minion Mayhem, and E.T. Adventure. I'm not a fan of the Fast and Furious franchise, and I have deep hatred for Shrek, so these attractions hold very little interest to me. As for the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, you cannot get me to go that coaster if you tried. Once we were in Hogsmeade, it was very apparent to me that Universal wasn't limiting crowd capacity. I definitely felt less safe at Universal than at Disney. They were quick to lessen social distancing, and stop temperature checks. Meanwhile, Disney has always taken greater precaution, and has gradually removed these health procedures per CDC guidelines. We like to call Universal the land of lawlessness. If I was going to catch COVID during this week, it would have definitely been at Universal lol. 

Due to COVID, Three Broomsticks has been utilizing mobile ordering. Once you are seated by employees, your order can be prepared and brought over to your table. The food took so long! I've convinced they had forgotten part of our order, but servers kept reassuring us that it was coming. Danny and Dario received their side of spareribs almost immediately while, us girls were reduced to just eating salad. We ordered the Great Feast, which was comprised of rotisserie chicken, spareribs, corn on the cob, vegetables and roasted potatoes. Despite the super long wait and almost starving to death, I still love eating here. The food is always delicious. This time I didn't order any Butterbeer, but Danny did order an apple cider, which I might order from now on. I like Butterbeer, but it is extremely sugary and sweet, even for my tastes. However, I should have ordered a cup of Butterbeer ice cream while I was here. After lunch, I regret not going on Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. In hindsight, I prefer it over Gringotts. I still got to marvel over the Hogwarts Castle. As much as I love Diagon Alley, there's just some thing about castles that always get me. I have yet to ride Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventures, but the queue was hours long, and I'm far too lazy to wait on a line that long. 

Before we moved on to Jurassic Park, I warned Danny that he was going to be quite disappointed, and disappointed he was. They've only had the Jurassic Park River Adventure for as long as I can remember, and I hate going on it because I do not want to get soaking wet after spend hours getting ready for the park. There are so many rides they could do involving dinosaurs, why a water ride?! They already have the Dudley Do- Right's Ripsaw Falls and Popeye's & Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges in Toon Lagoon. After 22 years, they FINALLY opened the Jurassic World VelociCoaster. I'm too scared to go on the VelociCoaster though. Tim Tracker and his wife described feeling like you were coming out of your seat the whole time since the coaster does not have over the shoulder restraints. Um, that’s a no from me. I noticed the older I get, the more I am afraid of dying LOL. I can't be falling to my death because of some roller coaster in Universal. You are so fearless and reckless when you're a teenager. Clearly, I did not give a shit about life back then. Thinking I was going to fall out of the ride was half the thrill.

We made our way over to my favorite part of the park - Seuss Landing. I dragged Danny over to the Cat in the Hat ride, but in actuality, he really loved it. I thought I was torturing him with kiddie rides lol. I really love the aesthetic of The Cat in the Hat store when you exit the ride. It always makes me so happy. Ironically, both Danny and I's favorite Dr. Seuss book is The Foot Book. I don't know why considering feet are gross. I wanted to ride The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train, but the line was far too long. Again, we barely rode any rides in Islands of Adventure too. We missed Skull Island: Reign of Kong and The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man. I'm too scared to ride both Doctor Doom's Fearfall and The Incredible Hulk Coaster. It's funny because we were offered an Express Pass to ride the Hulk coaster because an employee noticed Danny's tattoo. Unfortunately, I won't go on the Hulk Coaster alone, and Danny will absolutely not go on the more intense roller coasters.

We ended our day with donuts from Voodoo Doughnut. I got a My Captain, Oh Captain donut because Cap'n Crunch Berries is my favorite cereal of all time. Everyone makes donuts with Fruity Pebbles, but never Cap'n Crunch cereal, and it's a travesty. The donuts are always too big and doughy for me when I go to these fancy donut places though. I can never understand why I need these donuts so much LOL. We ate dinner at Terralina Crafted Italian in Disney Springs, where I went for the simple spaghetti and meatballs dish, and Danny had a concoction of salmon, a plain burger, and mashed potatoes. It was here that we learned not all mashed potatoes meet Danny's standards. I'm an animal, and will eat any type of mashed potatoes because potatoes lol.

Spending days at Universal is always so overwhelming to me. It is very difficult to get on all the attractions at both parks in one day. It is better if you have several days to spend at the Universal parks. It’s also very expensive, considering you have to buy combo tickets if you want to go to both Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure to experience all of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Diagon Alley is in Universal Studios, while Hogsmeade is strategically in Islands of Adventure. The only way to ride the Hogwarts Express is if you have tickets to both parks, thus you have to shell out more money. I'm not sure why I'm complaining about money though. I constantly throw away my money to the Mouse every year, no matter what. It's clear where my loyalties stand. 

I'm not sure if we will be going back to Universal in October. It all depends on the type of haunted houses and scare zones Halloween Horror Nights will feature this year. So far, only Beetlejuice and Jack the Clown (HHN original mascot) have been announced. Again, HHN can be pretty pricey, especially since I refuse to go as a regular civilian without front of the line passes. The wait time for some haunted houses can be up to three hours long, and therefore, very difficult to experience each maze without Express passes. Either way, we will definitely be back in the future so that Danny can spend as much time in Springfield U.S.A. as his little heart desires.

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