harry potter and the half baked simulator
Today was the first day where the kids were back in the early morning rise routine. We dawdled round the house till noon then thought about going to Universal Studios. We got there and parked, taking the guidance of the SatNav as the deciding factor on where to start. As it turned out the gate we entered through was near enough to the Islands of Adventure, which has the new Harry Potter themed section. This was one of the big draws for us as all four children love the Harry Potter books (IrishWrath rates the Deathly Hallows as one of his all time favorites).
The Great Feast!
We had a great feast in the three broomsticks with butterbeers to drink. The food was actually quite good for a theme park. Next up we rode the hippogriff ride then queued up for the simulator. IrishKing was too small for this one (even standing on his tippy toes!) so he had to sit it out. IrishWrath, IrishCyborg, IrishDoom and I strapped in and took off…then about half way through it stopped still and they started making announcements about staying inside the vehicle at all times. We were stuck for about seven or eight minutes but it felt longer.
Platform nine and three quarters
When it started moving again the lights were still on so we could see the screen for the simulator but not the images so that ruined the illusion a little. I still thought it was good, and the kids thought it was scary so it gets the thumbs up.
Queues were bigger here than at Legoland, and there was a load more people. It is a much bigger park though, as evidenced by the six lane freeway needed to link all the worlds up! I was amazed at the barriers they have up for peak season queues – I wouldn’t expect that you could get on more than five or six things in a full day during the summer…as IrishMum commented after; why bother during the busy times?
The park closed at 7 but we had decided to leave around 6. So after a brief tour or the Seuss Landing (Dr. Seuss world) we headed home, stopping off at Wal-Mart to pick up some swimming shorts for tomorrow.