On the agenda for today was Universal Studios.
We were all going except for Mom and we had two parks to see so we were off early.
The traffice to get there was insane but I think we are starting to learn that this is normal for Orlando.
We saw a lobster car.
The line up just to get in and park took about 20 minutes but finally we made it through and I had to take a picture of where we parked so I would be able to find the vehicle at the end of the day.
Then there is a bit of a walk from the parking garage over to the park itself.
Morgan, Mel and I.
There it is - I was feeling kind of excited for the day.
Rob, Jason and Freya.
There was a stroller in our VRBO that we borrowed and I'm so glad we had it, it came in very handy.
There were so many people.
When we got there, we got one of the park photographers to take a group photo of all of us - I thought it would be a great momento but I forgot to stop by and get it at the end of the day.
Bummer.
This was right as we walked in through the gates.
Right off the bat we saw the Hello Kitty store.
Mel and Jason.
Jen, Ethan, Declan and Hunter.
None of them were really interested in Hello Kitty but Alivia and Morgan wanted to go in the store and have a look around so I went in with them and took Freya.
She wanted a Hello Kitty stuffy wearing a shark costume so I got her one.
The store clerk told us that Hellow Kitty herself would be coming for a visit to the store in a few minutes so we decided to hang around and wait to meet her.
Morgan with Hello Kitty.
Hello Kitty meets Hello Kitty Shark.
I like the signed pavement in front of her.
Meeting Hello Kitty
Hello Kitty Hugs for Alivia.
I like the pose!
Morgan got some Hello Kitty hugs too.
Next we saw Marilyn Monroe up the street so you know I had to go and meet her.
I've loved Marilyn ever since my teens so I was happy to meet her.
I'm not sure Freya really knew who she was but she was happy to go over and meet her and get a picture with her.
They had a little chat.
Then Marilyn blew some kisses.
We saw the Mystery Machine from Scooby Doo - so cool.
We could see The Simpsons just down the street but before we headed there, we saw a few other characters across the street that we had to go meet.
Dora the Explorer and Diego.
Freya was a big Dora fan when she was younger.
We did see the Simpsons but there was a huge line up to actually go and meet them so we skipped it.
We saw Beetlejuice right away and Freya is all about all things creepy and spooky so she enjoyed meeting him.
Alivia, Mel and Hunter got to meet him too.
Then we headed further on into the park.
We saw Jaws so of course you know, we had to get some pictures.
Jason 'feeding' Freya to Jaws.
Had to get Ethan and Declan in there too.
We must be getting close to Harry Potter land, this is the triple decker bus from the movie, The Knight Bus.
It had a cool fountain right next to it.
After this, we kind of all split up because we all had different things we wanted to see.
Jason and I kept Freya with us so Kody and Haylee could check out a few rides.
Freya wanted out of the stroller for a bit so Jason carried her around.
We found Diagon Alley.
Checking out Diagon Alley
Gringott's Wizarding Bank
You could walk in and I think you could even make a deposit if you wanted.
The fire breathing dragon atop Gringott's Bank.
It went off every 10 minutes and actual flames shot out of it's mouth that were so hot you could feel the heat down below.
We watched it go off a couple of times but I never managed to get a video of it.
It was pretty amazing though.
The whole of Diagon Alley was pretty amazing actually but it was really busy - there were rides I would have liked to try but the lines up were too long.
We did find an ice cream shop that had butter beer ice cream so you know I had to give that a try.
Joining the ice cream shop window dancers.
Next up we headed over to Simpsons Land - Freya saw this ride and wanted to go on it.
There was a 45 minute wait but she insisted she wanted to go on it so I got in the line up with her.
It was kind of frustrating because you could see all the people with the fast passes going ahead and I think we waited longer than 45 minutes
If I ever come back, I will definitely splurge and get those.
Freya didn't seem to mind though.
Finally it was our turn.
She could control the ride and make it go up or down and she like that.
First ride with Freya at Universal - only had to wait an hour for this.
Jason got a few shots of us on the ride.
He got a video from his point of view too.
About an hour wait for a 3 minute ride but Freya enjoyed it so it was worth it.
Trying to get a sip of Chief Wiggum's coffee.
Maybe this way will work.
Checking herself out in the mirror.
Donuts!
You could actually get a pink sprinkle donut but we skipped it - not really donut people.
She got to meet Spongebog and Patrick next.
We both did!
Then she got to check out the pineapple under the sea.
There was a sea snail in there.
And a chair she could test out.
The ceiling looked so cool with all those octopus hanging there.
We did a little back track and went and met Homer and Lisa.
Then Freya spent soem time running back and forth on these diamonds on the road.
We paid all this money to come to the park and she was content just running back and forth here.
Kids are so funny.
Then we met up with Kody and Haylee and decided to take the Hogwart's Express over to the other park.
It was a very LONG wait.
We told Jen and them that we were in the line up so they all got in the line up too.
There's Ethan and Declan.
And Alivia and Hunter.
They weren't that far behind us.
On our way to hop on Hogwarts Express.
It all looked very authentic.
Even Hedwig was there.
They really pay attention to detail.
Hogwarts Express arriving at the station.
The train looked great.
In fact the whole station did.
Aboard the Hogwarts Express.
Freya and Jason.
When it first started, you could hear the voices of Harry, Hermione and Ron out in the hallway so Jason was getting Freya to listen.
I was excited for this ride.
There was a show on the screen the whole way over.
Then we were on the other side.
On this side was Hogsmeade and Hogwarts.
There is Hogsmeade.
It was so crazy busy, just crammed with people.
I wanted to see it but I didn't really want to walk through all of that.
Hogwarts was the other way and it looked amazing too but there wasn't really anything to do over there aside from a ride that had a crazy long wait which we weren't willing to do.
We stopped and had a bite to eat then Kody and Haylee headed to a ride and we carried on the other way with Freya to Dr. Suess Land.
It was so cool looking - perfect for a kid and we figured she'd love it and she likely would have but when we looked down at her lo and behold...
She was out.
Poor thing was just tuckered.
So we just walked through and had a look and found a spot to sit and let her sleep for a bit.
We decided we'd go get a bite to eat and found a restaurant that we were able to go to.
I forget the name of it but the prices looked reasonable.
Little miss ordered chicken wings.
This girlie just loves her hot wings.
They were pretty good hot wings.
I ordered the nachos and they were really good as well.
Jason ordered a salad (he's being so good) and it looked really delicious.
We were impressed with the meal actually - not outrageously expensive as theme parks normally are and the food was pretty good.
Now that Freya was awake, we decided to take her back to Dr. Suess land so she could try out a couple of the rides we thought she would like.
Kody and Haylee met us there.
The One Fish, Two fish ride looked fun and there wasn't a huge line up.
So Kody and Haylee took Freya on the ride.
She looks so happy.
One Fish Two Fish Ride
Off they go.
Next up was the Dr. Suess carousel or the Cara-Suess-el.
She didn't have to wait in a line and was able to get on it right away.
Kody went with her.
I love all the characters - it was a cool looking carousel.
By this time everyone else had headed back to the house except for Crystal and Zepplyn.
They met us there at the carousel.
I looked over and Zepplyn was standing there watching Freya on the ride and she had this awesome mask on - it looked so funny.
I tried taking a selfie but it didn't really work.
After the carousel, we all went on the Cat in the Hat Ride.
Freya is a big fan of the Cat in the Hat movie so I figured she'd enjoy it and she did.
Then we called it a day and headed back to the car.
The girls saw this cheetah on the way out and they had to 'ride' it.
Zepplyn still had that mask on - so funny.
We stopped at a restaurant near our VRBO on the way home for some supper.
Sickie's Garage Burgers & Brews.
The place was huge.
Freya, Haylee and Kody.
Jason and I.
I missed Crystal and Zepplyn but they were there with us too.
I ordered a burger and it was really good.
Jason continued on with his healthy eating and got this great looking salad.
After we ate, we headed back to the house.
It was a great day - I liked Universal but I was disappointed with how long the lines all were and that we didn't really get to go on that many rides.
I would have liked to take Freya on more and there were a couple I would have liked to try myself.
If we ever go again I am definitely just going to splurge and pay the extra 90 bucks per person for the fast passes.
I'm glad we have nothing planned on the agenda tomorrow and that we can just have a day of rest.
That's all for today, until next time, be happy.
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