This is some @JustKeepSmiling level photo coordination! Love it!
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Trip Wrap-up
We are in the middle of our drive back home, currently in a hotel in Atlanta, so I thought I would try to put together some concluding thoughts.
Hard Rock Hotel
We love this resort! The rooms are a good size for four people. Having a second sink outside of the main bathroom is great when multiple people are getting ready in the morning. It’s also nice to have a mirror with each sink. The pool area is great with lots of comfy lounge chairs. The DJ played some good music while we were there and had some fun games. We did not book a cabana but wow they looked luxurious. There was a full couch and I think there was even a television! You cannot beat the location of this resort. We could walk to USF in less than 5 minutes and it’s just a few minutes further to IOA. And having the unlimited Express Pass included with the room is an amazing perk.
A few negatives: Don’t expect an early check in. We arrived before noon and still did not get a room until right around 4:00. Housekeeping is every day which is great but they didn’t get to our room until after 4:00. We were trying to change after using the pool in the late afternoon and were afraid we’d be in the room when housekeeping finally showed up. We also had to call and ask for refills of shampoo, etc.
The Parks
We used early entry at IOA on each of our three days. It’s great if you want Hagrid’s and Velocicoaster and they’re both running. On two of our three days only one of them was operating at park open. And there’s not a lot else available during early entry. Only Hippogriff and Forbidden Journey and they weren’t running every day either. Having said that, we got on Hagrid’s with very short waits on two of the mornings and Velocicoaster all three days though one was after 9:00 when it finally started.
The Express Pass makes everything else at Universal so easy! We rode every ride we wanted with very short waits whenever we felt like it.
The Wizarding World is still the best themed park area in Orlando. I continue to be amazed at how much it feels like you have stepped into one of the movies!
Hagrid’s and Forbidden Journey are my two favourite rides in both parks with Spider-Man a close third. My coaster loving family also thought that Velocicoaster is an amazing roller coaster. The shows at USF are a lot of fun. Very impressed with the Bourne Stuntacular and found the Horror Makeup Show quite funny.
Overall it’s more relaxing to do the parks at Universal than at WDW. Way less planning needed.
Restaurants
We had dinners at Antojitos, Cowfish and Toothsome’s. All excellent and very different from each other. We also got desserts from the shop at Toothsome’s every night. There are so many different sweets there!
We had breakfast in Three Broomsticks and lunches at Leaky Cauldron and Today Café. Love the atmosphere and the food in the Harry Potter restaurants. Today Café was a pleasant surprise. Tons of great choices for sandwiches there.
We also did butterbeer, pumpkin pasties and got ice cream from Florean Fortescue’s. Frozen butterbeer was deemed the best choice by our group.
Conclusion
We had a fantastic time at Universal. I don’t think it would be great for a long trip, though I guess you could add time at the water park. But for three days it is a great trip. You can easily see and do everything if you have Express Passes. And there are a lot of great places to eat.
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