Pop Culture Blog: Discovering Universal Orlando
Posted by: Sara Hodge on: 2011-10-28 Permanent Link: Pop Culture Blog: Discovering Universal Orlando
Orlando without Disney? It seems unthinkable, or at least… it did. Pop culture writer Niki V explains how, despite loving Disney, she managed to still give her kids a great experience by checking out the alternatives.
By Niki V
This summer we discovered that you can indeed take your kids to Orlando, Florida, not go to Disney World, and, despite what well-meaning friends and relatives might tell you, still have a fabulous time.
My husband and I always assumed that we’d take our kids on the big “Disney trip”, at some point, but the financial realities of being a single-income family with three kids meant it didn’t happen, year after year.
Then, as luck would have it, my newly retired in-laws bought a place in Florida and, suddenly, the kids’ dream trip became a reality. With a place to stay, and my teacher husband off for the summer, we decided to make the trek to land of surf, sun and amusement parks this past August.
With the decision made, I figured we’d better have a plan and started to research our options. Wow, what a painful process. There are about 100 million different ways you can do Disney – staying on or off resort, park-hopper passes, dining plans, never expire tickets and so on. Not to mention other attractions including a myriad of water parks, Sea World, and, of course, Universal Studios.
It quickly became clear that we had neither the time nor the money to do it all. Essentially, what it came down to, for us, was — do we do Disney or Universal?
I’m not going to lie. We agonized over the decision. Okay, actually, I did. After all, how could I take my kids to Florida and not take them to Disney World (that wonderful place of my childhood memories)? Plus, more than one person I knew said: “You can’t take your kids to Florida and not go to Disney! You just can’t!”
But, in the end, that’s exactly what we did.
All three of our kids are huge Harry Potter fans, especially our six and eight year old sons. And, when we asked them where they’d rather go, all three said The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, without hesitation.
So, we ended up buying 14-day unlimited passes to Universal Studios and Wet & Wild and spent five fantastic and fun-filled days in Orlando. Oh, and the passes cost us much less than my original plan to do two days at Disney and two at Universal. Combined with getting a great deal on a four-star hotel using priceline.com, the trip, while a strain on our budget, didn’t break the bank.
As for Universal Studios and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter? Amazing! If you ever get the chance to go, do it. You won’t be disappointed.
I’m not sure who had more fun – me or the kids!
It really felt like we’d stepped into Harry’s world. Hogwarts castle and the town of Hogsmeade have to be seen to be believed.
We drank butterbeer, saw Hagrid’s hut, watched a wand choose its wizard in Ollivander’s wand shop, and ate chocolate frogs and every flavoured beans. And, we managed to ride the amazing Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride, which has you soar above the grounds of Hogwarts with Harry and Ron, six times.
We also came home with wands, Harry Potter t-shirts, a broomstick and three very happy kids.
Oh, and the rest of Universal was wonderful, too. Highlights for us included Suess Landing, the Jurassic Park River Adventure, the Simpsons Ride and E.T. Adventure. There was definitely more than enough to keep us entertained for the four days we spent at Universal’s two parks.
I’m sure some day we’ll go back and do Disney. But, for now, we are still relishing the magical memories of our time spent in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
About the author
Niki V is a busy mom of 3 kids who loves reading, writing, laughing and technology. Aside from being Mums ‘n Chums’ new Pop Culture blogger, Niki also has her own blog, called So Apparent, which can be found at www.soapparent.blogspot.com
Check out Niki V’s other articles on Mums ‘n Chums!
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