ORLANDO — Voldemort was obviously cornered and close to being annihilated by Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, both of whom brandished wands and were about to cast the deadliest of spells, when suddenly Ron Weasley stopped them.
“Wait, I’ll be right back,” he said, and he ran off toward the bathroom.
The Dark Lord rolled his eyes. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s go on the slide.”
And so Harry and Hermione — really 9-year-old twins Matt and Mia Jameson of Raleigh, N.C. — stowed their wands under their beach chairs and followed their archenemy (and cousin) Robbie Branson, 11, to the other side of the expansive outdoor swimming pool at Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort in Orlando.
The group — along with Matt and Mia’s 7-year-old brother, Sean (a.k.a. Ron Weasley), had spent the previous day exploring the Islands of Adventure at Universal Orlando, including The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, where they had been chosen by their wands, gotten a little sunburned and had the time of their lives.
“It’s the best place I’ve ever gone,” Mia said. “We had so much fun. Did you know that they’re opening another part?”
We did, and like the extended Jameson family — the kids were staying in a suite at Cabana Bay with their grandparents while their parents stayed at the nearby Loews Royal Pacific Resort — we had missed the opening of Diagon Alley by a month. The new Harry Potter-themed area in the Universal Studios Florida section of Universal Orlando opened July 8.
But that meant we also missed the crowds, which were considerable; for the first week or so, the waits were five hours for the main ride at Diagon Alley, Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts, although Universal’s representatives now say the wait times are “shorter.”
We would have missed the lines anyway, because we did the VIP Experience in both parks. The service involves a personal guide leading your group right onto the rides, front-row seats at shows and the inside scoop on the history of the place. All for a hefty price, of course, starting at $229 per person plus park admission (it does include breakfast or lunch, though, and other meal and merchandise discounts).
Our guide was Samantha Kolva, a cheerful and enthusiastic walking encyclopedia about Universal. Kolva’s value went way beyond simply getting us onto the rides almost immediately (and did we want to do some of them a second or third time? Why, yes, we did). Not only did she know an inconceivable amount of background and history about all things Universal, including the mechanics of the rides and the movies they were based on — but she also seemed to have a sincere love for going fast, being whipped around and shooting at things.
“This is my favorite,” she said, wide-eyed, when we got to the Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, a high-definition 3-D simulation ride that has some intense effects. “See how many times you can spot the co-creator, Marvel’s Stan Lee, along the way.”
She also beat the sunglasses off us in the Men in Black Alien Attack ride, where we each got a laser gun and the opportunity to shoot at 120 aliens. Even with Kolva’s insider tips on where and when to shoot, we couldn’t catch up.
Having a guide to help navigate the two parks made it easier to concentrate on getting on our top rides and seeing everything we could. (Universal started as a single theme park, Universal Studios Florida, in 1990 and now features that park plus Islands of Adventure, as well as CityWalk, which includes restaurants and shows.) We managed to do it: By the end of an 11-hour day, we had ridden every ride on our list in both parks — some of them twice and one of them three times — gotten all of the Harry Potter merchandise we could carry, and had our fill of Butterbeer.
Here are a few tips we gleaned from our day.
Escape the heat
Save the shopping experience at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter for when you’re hot — all of the shops are excessively air-conditioned — or for after a meal or as a break from rides. Whatever you do, avoid the shops after going on a water ride, or you’ll freeze. As for water rides, Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges at the Islands of Adventure is a good low-key raft-style ride that will get you soaked but doesn’t have a big drop.
Best Wizarding World snack
If you’ve already tried Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans and are looking for another iconic treat, skip the plethora of overly high-fructose corn syrup candies at Honeydukes and head for the Peppermint Toads, which for $10 for eight-10 is more fun for a group. Or your other, worse option is a Chocolate Frog, which is $10 for one solid 5.3-ounce hunk of chocolate, and can’t easily be shared.
Best Wizarding World souvenirs
For $1, pick up a postcard and get it postmarked “Hogsmeade” at the Owl Post. Also, if you buy the souvenir Butterbeer mug with Butterbeer in it ($12.99) and don’t mind carrying it around, you can use it at water fountains to refill for free and get discounted refills on generic drinks like tea, lemonade and cider (not Butterbeer, sadly, or any other “branded” Harry Potter drinks or soda).
Best surprise show
Kolva talked us into attending the “Horror Make-Up Show” at USF, and it wound up being one of our favorites, a funny and compelling (but not scary) tribute to horror movies that included a great montage of the best over the years.
Don’t miss the dinosaur stuff
“Jurassic Park” and dinosaur fans should check out the Jurassic Park Discovery Center, which looks just like the Visitors Center in the movie. You can watch a baby velociraptor hatch and check out the fossilized remains of a T-Rex.
Kyle Wagner: 303-954-1599, travel@denverpost.com or twitter.com/kylewagnerworld
BEAT THE CROWDS
Diagon Alley reports waits of up to five hours to get on the rides, and even at the other parks, the lines can be daunting. There are three possibilities for avoiding the crowds anywhere at Universal.
Stay on-site to take advantage of the early admission. Universal operates four properties that allow you to go into the parks an hour early: Cabana Bay Beach Resort, Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, Loews Royal Pacific Resort and Hard Rock Hotel. You still have to buy admission tickets, but they all offer shuttles or are within walking distance, which adds to the convenience.
Go early or stay late. If you can’t stay on-site, then either get up early and get there the minute it opens — as at other big theme parks, the hordes don’t start arriving until closer to 10 a.m. — or sleep in and go late, but plan to stay until it closes and know that the eateries inside close early, too, so you’ll need to go back to CityWalk for food for meals after about 7 p.m.
Pay for a VIP tour. This is the ultimate experience, but it costs. Options include a one-day, one-park experience of either park that lasts about five hours (starting at $229 per person) or a one-day, two-park experience for seven-eight hours (starting at $249 per person), each plus park admission. The price is highest during peak times (summer and holidays), but you will pretty much walk right onto every ride right away, as well as sit in the front rows at shows. Some meals are included, you get discounts on merchandise, and valet parking is free.
Universal Orlando Resort insider’s guide
Get there: Most major airlines fly from Denver International Airport (DEN) to Orlando International Airport (MCO) starting at $244 round-trip.
Get around: If you’re going only to Universal and staying on-site, take a shuttle or taxi from the airport to your lodging and then shuttle back and forth to the theme park, which is free and couldn’t be more convenient, because air-conditioned shuttles continually operate well before and after the park closes and drop off right at the lodgings. If you’re doing multiple theme parks, staying off-property or traveling around Orlando, a rental car is a must.
Tickets: It costs $96 per adult or $90 per kid per day to visit one park, but the only way that makes sense is if you are with very young kids or plan to come back soon. It costs another $46 (adult) and $40 (child ages 3-9) to visit both parks, or if you don’t think you can get it done in one day and have the time, pay $176 per adult and $166 child for a two-day park-to-park pass.
There are so many options from there, it’s a bit dizzying — you can add an Express pass that lets you bypass the lines and gets you on any ride that accepts them in (usually) less than 15 minutes, or an unlimited Express ticket that lets you do this over and over — but make sure your kids understand that some attractions don’t allow Express passes, including both Ollivander’s Wand Shops and both of the most popular Harry Potter rides: Escape from Gringotts and the Forbidden Journey. Also, these passes are only for the date of purchase, so if you go this route, be certain of your trip dates.
If you plan to catch a show or visit Wet’n’Wild Waterpark or Busch Gardens, it’s worthwhile to consider the package deals at tickets.universalorlando.com.
Stay: Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort (6550 Adventure Way, 888-430-4999, loewshotels.com/Cabana-Bay) is one of the best deals and most appealing lodgings in the area for families, decorated for the modern-day Jetsons. The retro-comfy rooms are spacious, especially the family suites, which feature kitchenettes with a mini fridge, microwave and sink, as well as an extra-large bathroom area and a living room with a pull-out sleeper sofa that’s remarkably comfortable. Multiple pools with a lazy river, slides and “zero-entry” section for little ones, as well as a bowling alley, make for welcome winding-down time away from the theme park, and the on-site eateries offer plenty of options — a healthy salad bar, a sit-down diner-style spot with a good burger, a pizza joint, and a Starbucks. And, yes, there’s a lounge. Rates start at $131 for a standard, $186 for a family suite.
Dine: Inside The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Hogsmeade, the tavern-like but family-friendly Three Broomsticks (universalorlando.com/Restaurants/Islands-of-Adventure/Three-Broomsticks) has the all-important Butterbeer (which tastes like butterscotch-spiked cream soda), decent (and filling) versions of fish and chips and shepherd’s pie, entree-size salad choices, and kid-pleasing items such as mac-and-cheese and chicken fingers with healthy sides of grapes and applesauce. You order at the counter and the food is brought to your table.
Antojitos Authentic Mexican Food (CityWalk, universalorlando.com/Restaurants/CityWalk/Antojitos-Authentic-Mexican-Food.aspx) is one of CityWalk’s newest restaurants, a casual and family-friendly place that surprises with its diverse and complex offerings — Mexican “street food” is everywhere these days, but things like chicken tinga (the meat steeped in a smoky tomato sauce), and pork loin falling apart in a cilantro mojo are unexpected. The details delight — tacos served on warm cast-iron skillets, freshly fried chips too hot to touch, grilled pineapple on the side — and the margaritas are strong. Not to mention that the mariachi band plays Miley Cyrus, Bruno Mars and Pharrell Williams. Seriously.
Red Oven Pizza Bakery (CityWalk, universalorlando.com/Restaurants/CityWalk/Red-Oven-Pizza-Bakery.aspx) is perfect for feeding a crowd, because these heavily topped, medium-thick pies are filling and reasonably priced. The combinations are appealing — our favorites included the pear and fig with blue cheese and a margherita thick with fresh buffalo mozzarella — and you can get a big salad, too. Order at the counter and then fight for a spot at one of the long tables inside or out. It’s a good choice in CityWalk when the eateries inside Universal close down (which many do around 7-8 p.m.).
More info: universalorlando.com
Kyle Wagner
