Our Universal Studios Hollywood Adventure
It had been a few years since Hubby and I had been to Universal Studios Hollywood. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was actually the reason we went to Universal Studios for the first time. I had already been a huge Harry Potter fan, so when it finally opened in Hollywood, there was no way I wasn’t going.
Hubby isn’t much of a Harry Potter fan, but he knows how much I love it, so he indulges me.
This time around, I was just as excited to go back. I even had my nails done with Harry Potter designs that glowed in the dark just for the trip.
But Harry Potter wasn’t the only reason for this visit. Jurassic World had opened since our last trip, and Universal was running Dark Arts at Hogwarts Castle during the summer.
So naturally, I wanted to do everything.
And if you know anything about the way I travel, you know that’s pretty normal for me.
Rides. Shows. Food. Shopping. Photos.
I want to do it ALL.
Getting an Early Start at Universal Studios
We purchased our tickets online and were able to enter the Wizarding World of Harry Potter before the rest of the park opened.
Of course we took advantage of it.
The problem was that apparently my idea of getting to Universal early and Universal’s idea of when people should be allowed to eat breakfast were two completely different things.
We arrived early, but most of the food locations weren’t open yet. Starbucks on CityWalk was one of our few options, and I had already planned out ALL the food I wanted to eat during this trip.
Sorry, Starbucks. You didn’t make the list.
Unfortunately, I was STARVING.
I finally gave in and grabbed a yogurt and Passion Ice Tea. The yogurt was gross. After about three bites, I tossed it.
Not exactly the magical beginning I had envisioned.
Exploring the Wizarding World
We spent part of the morning wandering through the Wizarding World and riding Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.
We had visited this area before, but there is something about walking through Hogsmeade and seeing Hogwarts towering above you that doesn’t really get old.
Butterbeer vs. Pumpkin Juice
On our previous trip we ate at the Three Broomsticks and tried Butterbeer. I don’t drink soda and thought the Butterbeer was WAY too sweet. After about two sips, I passed it to Hubby.
He drank the foam and maybe another sip.
Then we tossed it.
So this time I decided to try something different.
I ordered Pumpkin Juice.
A few years earlier I had made pumpkin juice from scratch for a Harry Potter Halloween party, and it was really good, so I wanted to try Universal’s version.
OMG.
If you like apple pie, you would probably love this stuff. It was still very sweet, but it tasted like drinking apple pie filling.
Definitely more my thing than Butterbeer.
Of course, I couldn’t leave the Wizarding World with just something to drink. I also came home with a new Dobby and a Hedwig owl that moves her head and makes owl chirps.
And when we stopped at Honeydukes, I found Felix Felicis Liquid Luck.
Basically sugar syrup.
But hey, I had a pretty great day, so maybe it worked.
Jurassic World: Our Mission for the Morning
The new Jurassic World ride was one of the biggest reasons for this trip.
The day before, I kept checking the Universal app and saw the wait reach around 120 minutes.
Nope.
We decided we would come back first thing the following morning and make Jurassic World our first ride.
Instead of turning toward the Wizarding World when we entered the park, we followed everyone heading toward Jurassic World. Since that section of the park wasn’t open quite yet, they stopped everyone at a certain point and eventually escorted the crowd toward the lower lot.
Once we finally made it down all those escalators, we headed straight for Jurassic World.
And somehow we got the front row, in the middle!
It was GREAT.
We got pretty darn wet, but I would absolutely do it again.
By the time we finished, the posted wait was already around 30 minutes, so getting there early had definitely paid off.
Transformers Became One of My Favorites
There was still time to kill before the food places opened, so we headed over to Transformers.
There was practically no wait.
About ten minutes later we were done, and I had discovered another favorite ride.
Funny how sometimes the rides you aren’t obsessively planning for end up being some of the best ones.
But now I had another priority.
FOOD.
Finally! Corn Dogs and an Insane Milkshake
We finally tracked down the corn dog stand near Revenge of the Mummy and grabbed corn dogs with curly fries.
After being up and running around the park all morning, I was ready for it.
But then I spotted Studio Scoop.
Oh boy.
If you love desserts, this place was dangerous.
I chose the Chocolate X6 milkshake. A chocolate milkshake piled with chocolate shavings, a brownie wedge, graham crackers, whipped cream, and chocolate syrup.
Because apparently a corn dog wasn’t enough.
We sat at the tables across from Starbucks eating our brunch when suddenly the Transformers came out and started putting on a fight scene!
Now THAT was fun.
We were sitting there eating corn dogs while a whole Transformers battle was happening in front of us.
Then we looked toward Revenge of the Mummy and saw two Pharaohs walking around on stilts.
That’s one thing I love about theme parks. Sometimes you can sit down to eat and the entertainment just comes to you.
→ Read our Studio Scoop & Universal Studios Corn Dog review
The Candy Wonderland That Is It'sSugar
Food wasn’t the only thing getting my attention on CityWalk.
We wandered into It’sSugar, which was basically a candy wonderland.
Did we need candy?
No.
Did that stop me from walking around taking pictures of all the ridiculous things I found?
Also no.
There were gummy flower bouquets, Stranger Things candy, a giant Blow Pop, chocolate-covered gummy bears called Dingle Bearies and…
Camel Balls.
No. I didn’t try them.
I even found an adorable cupcake pillow that reminded me of something straight out of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.
Then I found giant 24-ounce boxes of Nerds and Sour Patch Kids.
Okay.
They got me.
I bought them for the girls and planned to save them for Christmas.
Except Hubby got so excited that when we got home, he immediately gave the candy to the girls.
So much for Christmas.
The boxes were about the size of a family-size cereal box, and the girls had never seen that much candy.
It took them three days to finish it.
Becoming a Minion for a Little While
We also spent some time exploring the Minions area.
The last time we’d visited this section of the park, it had been Nickelodeon-themed and was all about the Rugrats. Seeing how much it had changed was pretty crazy.
We love the Minions, though, so we had a blast.
And on a hot Southern California day, I’m certainly not going to complain about getting to play in the water.
The Minions attraction was one of the areas that opened later in the morning, and the line could get long. We managed to get there when it opened, which saved us from spending a huge chunk of our day standing in line.
We didn’t eat at the restaurant there, but naturally I still found the food.
Minion candy apples and Minion cupcakes.
Universal Studios apparently has absolutely no shortage of ways to put you into a sugar coma.
Lunch at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.
At some point Hubby was ready for some real food.
We walked out to CityWalk and headed to Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., where he ordered Shrimper’s Heaven and I demolished a Texas Chicken Sandwich.
And when I say demolished, I mean I think that sandwich disappeared in about five minutes.
Apparently running around Universal all morning will do that to you.
We liked Bubba Gump enough that this wouldn’t be our only visit during the trip.
A Little CityWalk Exploring
CityWalk became part of the adventure too.
We wandered through the shops, checked out all kinds of ridiculous candy at It’sSugar and eventually discovered Voodoo Doughnut.
You can’t put a giant Voodoo Doll outside a building and expect me not to investigate.
We ended up returning to Voodoo Doughnut before heading home and bought an assortment to take back to the girls.
Well…that was the plan.
They didn’t exactly last long.
Dark Arts at Hogwarts Castle
This was one of the things I had been waiting for the entire trip.
The first showing of Dark Arts at Hogwarts Castle was at 9:05 p.m., and there was NO WAY I was coming all this way only to end up somewhere I couldn’t see.
We found our spot about an hour early and waited.
Hubby isn’t the Harry Potter fan in this relationship, but once again, he indulged me.
And I’m glad we waited.
While we were standing there, I got to watch Hogwarts Castle completely change as the sun went down.
First there was Hogwarts in the daylight.
Then the castle started glowing in the warm evening light.
Finally, the sky went dark, and Hogwarts was illuminated against the night.
For a Harry Potter fan, standing there watching the castle as the sun went down was pretty magical all by itself.
Then Dark Arts finally started.
And yes…
my Harry Potter nails glowed in the dark.
Totally worth it.
One of the things I was most excited about was seeing Dark Arts at Hogwarts Castle.
The first showing was at 9:05 p.m., and we found our spot about an hour beforehand because I wanted a good view.
Waiting turned out to be worth it for another reason.
As the sun went down, I got to watch Hogwarts Castle completely change.
First the castle was glowing in the daylight. Then the sky began getting darker and the warm evening light hit the castle. Finally, Hogwarts was illuminated against the night sky.
And then it was finally time for Dark Arts at Hogwarts Castle.
And yes…
my Harry Potter nails glowed in the dark.
Totally worth it.
Would We Do Universal Studios Again?
Absolutely.
We packed a LOT into this trip.
Jurassic World.
Transformers.
Minions.
Harry Potter.
Dark Arts.
Corn dogs.
An absolutely ridiculous chocolate milkshake.
Enough shrimp to keep Hubby happy.
Giant boxes of candy.
And a box of crazy doughnuts that never survived long enough to reach the salon.
But my favorite part?
It’s hard to beat being back in the Wizarding World.
Harry Potter was the reason we first decided to visit Universal Studios Hollywood, and years later it was still one of the things I was most excited about experiencing again.
Hubby may not understand my Harry Potter obsession, but he puts up with it.
And really, what more can a girl ask for?
Jen
Jen is one half of Couples Dining Out. She loves pasta, a great salad, and believes dessert should be eaten first because why risk running out of room? She loves trying new places with Mike, but if something looks good on her plate, order your own. She’s not sharing.