Universal Studios-The beginning of our Epic Trip

We can’t believe that it’s come and gone. Our epic family adventure, the one we’ve been planning for and waiting for so long, is done. What a special vacation to celebrate the one and only Ralph and Susan. 70 never looked so good. We missed Cole so much, and wished he was with us every day. But we are so grateful that everyone else could be there. We couldn’t have asked for more. We are still living high on the memories.

I’m having Chat GTP help me with this blog post, so lets judge how it does.

We flew into Orlando on a Friday afternoon. Landon and Jhena picked up our Walmart grocery order so we could have our turkey and cheese sandwiches in the parks. Because it would not be a Cornell family vacation if there were no Turkey sandwiches. We did mix it up with a fair amount of peanut butter this time too.

We all met up at the Hyatt Place and everyone was starving. We had assumed we could walk to Universal, and although it was technically possible, it crossed a giant highway, so we decided to Uber. And…walking would take forever and we were hungry! We hit up Universal City Walk and got some grub.

Our Universal tickets were buy 2 days get 2 days free. We were only going to use 2 days, so at the last minute, we decided to catch the last few hours of the park day. And it was awesome! We went to Marvel land and rode Spiderman and Dr Dooms Needle. We walked around for a bit and then hit the Jurrasic Park River adventure right before the park closed. We decided to brave the walk home, and it wasn’t that bad.

Nat, Carlie, Dad and I were up at the crack of dawn the next morning to go collect our fast passes from Loews Royal Pacific Universal resort. Fast passes were sooooooo expensive over spring break, so we found a hack. If you book a night at a universal premier hotel, you get fast passes both the day you check in, and the day you check out. So, we’d get fast passes both days we were there–Sat and Sunday. We actually didn’t really ever plan to stay at the hotel, but more on that later…

It took FOREVER to get everyone squared away, but finally, unlimited express passes in hand, we took the water taxi and met up with everyone for early entry at Islands of Adventure.

Early entry was a bust. We wanted to ride Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure, but it was closed. So, we tried for Velicoaster, but discovered you can’t use your express pass during early hour. Dumb. But the line wasn’t too long, so we waited anyway. Good choice.

The Rides We’ll Never Forget

Two rides stole the show: VelociCoaster and Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure.

The VelociCoaster was an absolute beast. From the moment we were launched into the first big drop, it had us screaming, laughing, and gripping the restraints like our lives depended on it — which, halfway through those crazy barrel rolls, it kind of felt like they did. Even those who were skeptical at first were begging to ride it again. Except Mave. She was one and done for those dinos. There’s something about speeding through Jurassic Park surrounded by raptors and feeling like you’re part of the movie that makes it unforgettable.

Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure, though, felt like stepping into the Wizarding World itself. We split between motorbikes and sidecars (Carlie ended up riding next to a stranger in the sidecar, which we’re still laughing about). The ride was pure storytelling magic with unexpected surprises that had us all grinning like little kids.

We also loved other Universal favorites: Rip Ride Rocket, The Mummy, Transformers, and Minion Mayhem — where Cyrus’s unmistakable giggles echoed through the whole ride. And of course, we couldn’t leave without visiting Simpsons Land for Rusty, the family’s biggest Simpsons fan.

One thing I really loved about Universal was that there were no phones in line. Almost every ride required putting everything inside a locker before entering the line. The lockers could be hectic and a little annoying, but not having phones in line made things so much more fun. We had to talk and play with each other instead of staring at a screen.

Wandering the Wizarding World

No trip to Universal is complete without soaking up the magic of Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade.

There is nothing quite as magical to a Harry Potter fan than seeing Hogwarts for the first time. Although the forbidden journey is no one’s favorite ride. I’m not sure who liked it least–me and Mave because of the dementors (We were squeezing hands so tight the whole time) or Carlie because of the giant spiders.

The details were incredible — from the fire-breathing dragon perched on Gringotts Bank to seeing all the creatures in the magical menagerie , it felt like we were all first-year Hogwarts students. I think most of us genuinely forgot we were in a theme park and not actually shopping for wands, chocolate frogs, and butterbeer.

We loved exploring every corner, but Knockturn Alley became an unexpected family favorite — dark, mysterious, and full of details that felt straight out of the books. Mave and Simon even tried calling the Ministry of Magic from the phone booth, but (sadly) they were unavailable. We also spotted Kreacher peeking from behind the curtain at 12 Grimmauld Place, much to everyone’s delight.

We Escaped from Gringotts, stepped through platform 9 3/4, and we loved seeing Hogwarts castle lit up in the rain, which somehow made it even more magical.

Butterbeer, Ice Cream & More

We didn’t hold back on butterbeer — frozen and regular. (Frozen is best. We have yet to try hot). But one of our favorite food moments came when we went hunting for Butterbeer Ice Cream at Florean Fortescue’s. The line looked intimidating. One man grumbled it was a 90-minute wait. We almost bailed, but Nat asked another guest who said it was more like 20 minutes, so we took our chances. The truth? It was about 45 minutes, but it was absolutely worth it. That butterbeer ice cream hit the spot.

Other food highlights included ldinner at the Leaky Cauldron where we had to be split into multiple tables and we got to sit with Landon and Jhena, and our trusty turkey and cheese sandwiches eaten on park benches.

But, honestly, the Universal food was mostly two thumbs down. Even after only eating one meal in the park, at the end of two days, we all felt a little sick.

Swimming at the fancy hotel

A few of us decided we would stay the night at the fancy hotel. Most everyone came over to swim and sit in the hot tubs for awhile. Then, Rusty and I had a room, Halle and Josh had a room, and Blake and Leo had a room. It was awesome. I think there was a late night pizza and red bull delivery to Halle and Josh’s room…. We ate a buffet breakfast in the morning (not worth the cost) and then caught the water taxi over to the parks.

The Little Ones’ Magical Day

Landon, Jhena, Finn, and Grandma took a detour to Magic Kingdom on day two. It turned out to be perfect for them. Finn rode ride after ride with It’s a Small World being a favorite after watching it on YouTube on repeat in the days leading up to the trip. He loved Pirates of the Carribean, and it was so much more fun for Jhena to be able to do most of the rides, despite her cute pregnant belly.

The Grand Finale

The older cousins got some freedom on the last night and had a blast sprinting from ride to ride. They hit the VelociCoaster 2 times in a row, rode the Hogwarts express, and practically walked on at Forbidden Journey. They closed down the park, soaked to the bone after repeating the Toon Lagoon log flume until security practically asked them to leave.

At the very end of our night with the adults and littles, after being rained out all day, we spotted Flight of the Hippogriff finally open. We rushed over, and Mave was practically glowing after making it happen. As we got off, she confidently said, “You’re welcome,” fully believing she had wished it into existence. Honestly, we kind of believe it too.

Little Moments We’ll Always Remember

• Simon proudly bought a Slytherin sweater about five sizes too big, just because he loved it that much.
• Cyrus asking, “Are the thunderstoms Isolated?”
• In a role reversal, Blake was lecturing Rusty on short term pleasure over long term gain. Rusty was trying to get Blake to ride a water ride, and Blake said, “Why would I get the short term satisfaction of the ride when I know the long term misery of having wet shoes and socks all day isn’t worth it?”
• The kids accidentally stumbled into the Mardi Gras Parade on our first night and had a blast catching beads — though there was a heart-pounding moment when we briefly lost Cyrus in the crowd.
• We met fun characters like Scooby-Doo and the whole Simpsons gang.
• Mave’s “hippogriff miracle” and Simon’s too-big sweater became running jokes.
• Cyrus also had his own little adventure, stepping out of line to take care of business… in the bushes. Classic.