Tweens! I’ve tween(S) now that Hailey is 12 and Kaitlyn is newly 10 years outdated. Celebrating her getting into double digits by visiting The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was magical and enjoyable for all of us! Effectively, maybe David simply tolerated it- thrilled to be along with his household; not so thrilled to be at a theme park. However I digress…
We arrived to our lodge on a Tuesday afternoon. We used bank card factors to remain at Portofino Bay and regardless of the huge development mission it was present process, I’d keep there once more in a heartbeat for 2 causes. First, the proximity to the parks. It’s a 5 minute boat street with boats coming each 10ish minutes, beginning at 7:00 AM. Alternatively it’s a couple of one mile stroll alongside the water to get to the parks; which is sweet if you wish to really feel accountable for your individual day. That was our plan, however then the boats simply made it a lot simpler.
The second purpose I’d keep at Portofino Bay once more in a heartbeat is as a result of your room key acts as a Limitless Specific Move! Separate from the park tickets, however with a worth of roughly $300+ EACH, the limitless categorical cross permits you to take the categorical lane on each journey at each parks as many instances as you need. Besides Hagrid’s Bike; there’s at present no categorical choice for that standard journey. These passes made the entire expertise a lot extra relaxed than a Disney journey. We actually stepped again and let the youngsters paved the way.
I ought to most likely point out the pool because the children actually loved the water slide and the bingo recreation performed each hour. One entrance to the pool has a sandy zero entry backside and the opposite has steps. There’s additionally a bar and grill within the pool space which is handy. It was a pleasant add to the in any other case very blocked off development mission state that the lodge is at present in.
We spent two full days on the park. The primary day our plan was to rope drop so we may get to Hagrid’s very first thing and keep away from the standard 60+ minute wait. We awoke at 6:15, had been out the door on the downstairs Starbucks (very handy) by 6:45, and took the primary boat over to Metropolis Stroll at 7:00. The park opened at 9:00 however had early entry at 8:00 for onsite friends. They opened the gate a couple of minutes previous to that. They had been sluggish with letting us in as a result of they needed to scan our tickets and take face footage of everybody, however then we took off (together with each single different particular person) to Hagrid’s. Simply as we arrived we observed they weren’t letting anybody into the road… climate delay. And certain sufficient, quarter-hour later in MONSOONED. Our plan to hit Hagrid’s first was utterly thwarted.
The children had been a little bit bummed, largely due to the early get up, however we had been nonetheless so excited to be in Hogsmead and instantly switched to creating the very best of it. After we waited out the rain below shelter, we took off to make use of our categorical passes on our first ride- Forbidden Journey inside Hogwarts Citadel. It’s is a Kaitlyn’s favourite, however Hailey hadn’t gone on it final time so she was a little bit nervous. We had no line for her to have time to rethink contemplate, so one flight on a brush throughout the Quidditch area later, she was elated. The children beloved it and rode it once more instantly, which kicked off our day of FUN!
We deduced that the rain stored the crowds a little bit decrease than normal, even supposing it has absolutely moved out by mid-morning. We had a really Harry Potter-focused morning, which was the principle focus of the journey. They ladies wished to do the whole lot without delay so it was a little bit of a jerky path as we darted between rides, wand magic, Diagon alley shops, avenue exhibits, the Knight Bus, 12 Grimmauld Place, the cellphone sales space to name the Ministry of Magic, and driving the Hogwarts Specific. However they beloved it!
We packed it in and had been at The Three Broomsticks for lunch by 11:15, the place we walked proper in and it was relatively empty. The meals was surprisingly good! David and I break up a beer as a result of apparently they’ve their very own brewery and might solely get their particular brews within the park. It was advantageous sufficient, however we weren’t tremendous bummed we couldn’t purchase it at our native grocer.
The remainder of the day glided by in a blur of a lot of the same- rides, wand magic, go to to Honeydukes for Kaitlyn to purchase sweet, and venturing to areas outdoors of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. One standout was the Velocicoaster in Jurassic Park land. It appeared like SO a lot enjoyable, however I couldn’t persuade anybody to go together with me. How I ended up in a household the place nobody is a coaster fan is past me. Neither of my children love the joys rides, however all of them satisfied me to go for it. Afterall, we had the categorical cross. So I did. AND IT WAS AWESOME. It accelerates so shortly, rides so easily, and is lengthy sufficient which you can actually benefit from the expertise. Extremely recommend- even when it’s important to journey by your self.
On the finish of the primary day, Common closed early for a personal occasion and we missed catching the Hogwarts Specific again to Islands of Journey by ONE minute. The women actually wished to journey Hagrid’s, so we walked the mile between the parks to make it occur.
We had been watching the wait instances on the app all day, however individuals are proper once they say it by no means drops under an hour. It oscillated between 60-90 minutes constantly all through the day. Nevertheless, for those who’re in line earlier than the park closes, they’ll allow you to journey. All of us LOVE Hagrid’s although so we determined to only endure the wait. It actually wasn’t unhealthy, the queue is generally inside, themed, and strikes shortly. We ended up boarding on the 55 minute mark with two giddy ladies who ended up loving it much more than they remembered. It’s actually the very best journey ever, particularly for those who’re a Harry Potter fan.
We obtained off Hagrid’s after closing and left the park fortunately exhausted and hungry. I hadn’t made reservations at Metropolis Stroll, however we ended up with the ability to get in pretty shortly on the NBC Grill, the place we had burgers and fish tacos earlier than taking the boat again to the lodge for showers and falling shortly into mattress round 10:00 PM.
Day one stats: Arrival time: 7:15 AM. Early entry: 8:00 AM. Miles walked: 11.5. Rides ridden with Specific Limitless Move: Forbidden Journey (x3), Flight of the Hippogriff, Hogwarts Specific (x4), Escape from Gringott’s (x2), Dr. Seuss Sky Practice, Velocicoaster, Dr. Doom’s Freefall, Spiderman (x2), The Simpson’s (a shock child favourite), Minion Mayhem, Hagrid’s Bike.
Day two we determined to have a extra relaxed morning, sleeping till 8:00ish and rode the boat, arriving on the park round 9:00. We determined to start out issues off on the Common facet with some rides we didn’t make it to on our HP-focused first day. The children had been nervous about The Revenge of the Mummy and ended up loving this indoor coaster, so we rode it twice!
We rode the Jimmy Fallon journey (one among my favs), ET which was very underwhelming for the youngsters (assume Peter Pan stage of thrill), shot villains at Minion Mayhem, and made it to our lunch spot at our reserved 11:45 AM sitting. Kaitlyn had been awe-struck by the Chocolate Emporium, a big restaurant between the 2 parks. It was an important spot! It was cool and clear and the meals was actually good. Kaitlyn picked out her large milkshake dessert to prime all of it off- an important birthday lunch!
I’m glad we had some mid-day downtime as a result of it was scorching and the park was packed, way more than the day before today. We caught The Bourne Stuntacular (which was fabulous!) after which discovered ourselves drawn again into Harry Potter, driving the Hippogriff, visiting retailers for souvenirs (a time-turner for Okay and a journal and wax seal equipment for H), escaping Gringotts, watching a avenue present, and doing wand magic. After chatting about how a lot everybody beloved Hagrid’s, we determined to attend once more. This time we grabbed refreshments to eat and drink in line for the 80 (!) minute wait, which was a great name. Hailey braved the bike over the sidecar and was all giggles. All of us beloved the journey simply as a lot the second time!
After Hagrid’s, the ladies had been on a excessive about coasters, and Kaitlyn mentioned she’d journey Velocicoaster with me so we darted to the road. Sadly by the point we made it there, concern had set in and he or she mentioned no approach. The women walked by way of to the opposite facet and waited whereas David took one for the group and rode it with me; it’s critically SO a lot enjoyable! What a trooper 🙂
After getting labored up with concern, we had the ladies every choose a final journey to squeeze in earlier than the park closed. Kaitlyn picked Hippogriff and Hailey picked Dr. Doom’s Free fall. We squeezed each in earlier than the park closed and we went search of guacamole (which we discovered at Metropolis Stroll at Antojitos). As we had been leaving the park at shut, Kaitlyn talked about that she was joyful to go house the following day, as she wouldn’t know what we’d do if we got here again for one more day. That, to me, felt like success; we had actually executed all of it!
Day two stats: arrival time: 9:00 AM. Miles walked: 7.5. Rides ridden with Specific Limitless Move: Race By way of New York, Revenge of the Mummy (x2), Minion Mayhem, ET, Transformers (x2), Males in Black Alien Assault, The Bourne Stuntacular, Escape from Gringott’s (x2), Dr. Doom Free Fall, Spiderman, Hogwarts Specific (x2), Velocicoaster, Hagrid’s Bike, Flight of the Hippogriff, Forbidden Journey (x2)
I’m so grateful we may make this journey work out for Kaitlyn’s tenth birthday. Like I really feel there’s a candy spot for Disney magic, I really feel like this was the candy spot for us for Harry Potter enjoyable, and these recollections will undoubtedly stick for all of us for years to come back.
