Wedding Trip: Orlando!

Our awesome friend Danielle dropped Jer and I off at the Charlottesville airport very early Monday morning. CHO is still under construction, but there is a new bar/restaurant that wasn't there the last time I flew through Charlottesville. Jer tells me it's been there for a long time, but I don't remember it. Our flights were uneventful, and we spent part of our three (turned four) hour layover in Atlanta in style!

Vacations and Airports are both for Day Drinking, so that's what I did. Jer's non-alcoholic beverage is hiding behind my mimosa.

We landed in Orlando to find unseasonably warm and humid temperatures and took a Super Shuttle to our hotel near Universal Studios. We ate at Denny's and lounged by the pool waiting for my parents to arrive. When they did, we wandered around looking for food and ended up at an understaffed/under supervised Italian restaurant staffed entirely by Argentinians. Jer's cheesy pasta was delicious!

We were up early to be at Universal when it opened and speed-walked to Diagon alley. We knew the parks were going to be very busy, but couldn't justify the marked up express passes. By the time we got to Diagon Alley, there were already lines to enter Harry Potter World. 

The lines were long, but I had to admire the way Universal kept them moving. We were always in line for a while, but we never stood in the same place for long. It was a much more comfortable line experience than I have had at other parks. We spent some time in Diagon Alley, and even found Knockturn Alley. Jer bought me two Horcruxes as a wedding present. Slytherin's Locket and the Gaunt ring. Both look awesome and may just turn me into a collectable fiend. Oddly, I've been pretty good at avoiding this fate so far. Dad bought me a Holyhead Harpies pin, which is fantastic. I added it to the new luggage bag I purchased for the trip.

Anyway, we went on the Escape from Gringotts ride, had some cider/beer and watched the Tale of the Three Brothers, explored shops, then jumped on the Train to Islands of Adventure/Hogsmeade. The great part about this park was that not only did they sell beer and hard cider everywhere, but you could drink it in line. Lines are way better with a cold, refreshing boozerage.

In Hogsmeade, we had Lunch at the Three Broomsticks (actually pretty good) and sent home a few Potter Postcards postmarked (sort-of) from Hogsmeade. We rode the broomstick/Hogwarts ride. I spent a good thirty minutes trying to get close enough to giant pitcher plants in the Greenhouse section of the line to decide if they were real or not. They are not. 

After, Jer and my mom rode Flight of the Hippogriff while my dad and I rode the Dragon Challenge ride. I picked up some Pumpkin Juice as we left, but we were all so tired that we choose to call it a night. We stopped for dinner at CowFish- a restaurant in the Universal City Walk area that serves sushi and burgers. Perfect! All in all, a great and very full day!