One in a minion experience at Universal Studios

We are settled back into regular life after two weeks in Florida. It was an epic adventure and it’s taken a lot of time for me to sort through my thoughts and thousands of photos. We really did it all during this most recent trip. Our family visited amusement parks and we spent time with family and friends… We even got to meet a Born Just Right friend who we’ve wanted to meet for two years (since before she was even born)!

In years past, I’ve wrapped up our big trips to Florida in one or two posts. But this time around, I want to look back at specific moments or portions of the trip that deserve a full post. We had that much fun. So I think I’ll start from the very beginning.

We started off our Florida adventure with a flight to Orlando to spend two nights at Loews Portofino Bay at Universal Studios and one day at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. Jordan had started feeling really sick the day before we left town, but somehow she rebounded before we got to the airport. So, while we waited for our room to open up, we sent the kids to the pool. That’s when Randy came up with an awesome idea… I had reserved a Despicable Me Suite. It’s a two-room suite where one side is a traditional hotel room but the other looks like Gru’s lab full of minions from the movie. I didn’t tell the kids about it… So Randy decided he’d tell the kids we were given the wrong room and there’s only one bed. I recorded the lie when no one was looking.

Oh my gosh. It was awesome. I’ve never stayed in a hotel room with the kids where they were completely content with just hanging out in bed and being quiet. Come to think of it, I’m pretty sure this is the first time we’ve stayed in a hotel where each kid had his and her own beds. It was awesome.

Staying on property gave us the chance to get into Islands of Adventure an hour before anyone else. That meant we got to visit the new(ish) Diagon Alley portion of the Harry Potter adventure at Universal Studios. Cameron has loved Harry Potter since second grade. Jordan just recently started reading and loving the series. They both had a blast at Diagon Alley and revisiting Hogsmede. One of the coolest additions to the Harry Potter world is not only can you buy magic wands, but the newest ones are also interactive with the park. Both kids got to follow a special map and learn to do spells. Some of the witches and warlocks working for the parks were very helping in making sure the kids could accomplish their spells. Jordan was very good at getting items to levitate.

We also rode some of the very fastest and most exciting rides outside of the Harry Potter portions of the park. The kids weren’t interested in those rides two years ago, so it was awesome to have extra fun during this visit.

We spent about 10 hours in the parks and left very happy with all kinds of fun memories from the rides and experiences. I’m really impressed with the expanded Harry Potter experience across the two parks. We had park hopper tickets and that gave us a chance to go to the Kings Cross station and ride a train between Diagon Alley and Hogsmede. The extra expense is worth it to ride the train and enjoy what both parks have to offer. Staying at one of the nicest hotels on property, the boat that took us to and from the parks was really efficient and easy to use.

But when we look back on the trip, the room experience may end up winning as our favorite part at Universal. The beds were comfy, the room was covered with minions and the kids had a lot of fun enjoying their own space.