Our Trip to Universal and Disney: Part 3 - Disney World

We went to Disney for three days. I will highlight my favorite ride/rides from each Kingdom. (Magic, Animal, and Hollywood Studios (we did not go to Epcot). My favorite rides at the Magic Kingdom were Space Mountain and Jungle Cruise. I was a little nervous for Space Mountain because dark rides creep me out (at least ones that have to do with space). But after I rode, I was confused why I was nervous at all. It was a little more rickety than I remember but overall it was one of the best rides in Magic Kingdom. Another favorite Magic Kingdom ride was Jungle Cruise. It was one that I was most looking forward to because of all the jokes and puns. One of my favorite jokes was when we were in sight of another boat and she was turning our boat frantically saying, "we're going to die!" And then all calmly was like, "Oh, we didn't die."  

My favorite ride in Animal Kingdom was Dinosaur. I liked it because I really wasn't expecting it to be as much as it was. I liked that the ride was about going back in time to bring back a dinosaur. I also liked that we weren't supposed to bring back the dinosaur or even be in that time period (according to a video at the beginning). I also liked that we were running away from a meteor and the Carnotaurus head popped out above us as we were driving back to the present time. Overall, it was a great ride.

My favorite ride at Hollywood Studios was Rise of the Resistance. It's located in Galaxy's Edge, which was my favorite part of Hollywood Studios (if you're not familiar with Galaxy's Edge, you can check it out here). RotR was more than I could have ever imagined, even with everything that I had heard about it before I rode it. I liked how they somehow got the scenery to change and turned us around so that it seemed like we were leaving from the door we entered. I also liked that it wasn't screens and was actual real-life scenery. There were real AT-AT Walkers above us, which was incredible to see. I also liked how it combined all the rides into one - the 3D rides, the transport rides, the drop rides, and even shows. I don't think another ride could rival it (except for Hagrid, but that was a roller coaster, so that was different)

My family and me, posing in front of the Millenium Falcon

Disney was a great experience. And Universal too. As I told my parents, it was the best week of my life so far. I highly recommend that you go to Universal and Disney. 

Our Trip to Universal and Disney: Part 2 - Harry Potter World

The second thing we did at Universal was go to Harry Potter World. The first thing we did at Harry Potter World was get in line for Hagrid's Motorbike Adventure. The wait was nearly two whole hours! But, again, it was worth the wait! it is one of the highest-rated coasters in the world, and it 100% lived up to its name!! It was the best roller coaster that I have ever been on!!!! After that, we went on The Forbidden Journey. It was pretty good. The next thing after that, we went to Ollivander's, in Hogsmeade. At that point my mom had prepared me for not getting chosen for weeks, but almost immediately I was chosen!!! My wand is 14 in. alder wood, with a dragon heartstring core. Ollivander looked around the room and his finger ended up pointing at me! It was so exciting and I was a little nervous because I had to go up in front of everyone, but it was exactly what I dreamed about. The first wand he tried on me was a wand made of elder with a skull on the end of the handle. He told me to say, "lumos!" to light up the room but I ended up making a thunderstorm inside. That was not the wand for me. The second choice was a wand of willow, and I cannot remember what spell I did, but I ended up killing a vase of flowers. That wasn't my wand either. But the third wand, a wand of alder with a dragon heartstring core, caused a light with an ominous wind. That was the wand for me. One tip if you're going - try the Ollivander's store in Hogsmeade (there is one in Diagon Alley too) since the line is often shorter!

Me, my brother and sister with our wands standing in front of the Hogwarts castle

Our Trip to Universal and Disney: The First Leg

Hello, my name is Luke, and today I will tell you about my trip to Universal. Going to Universal took my family 13 hours of driving in all. After the first 9 hours we went to a hotel, because we wanted to go more the first day, so we could have less the second day. The second day of driving took us about 5 hours before we got there. The first full day we were there, we woke up at 6:30 to get there early, and ended up having to wait in line for 30 minutes, but it paid off! We got early entry into the Islands of Adventure, and were able to ride on one of the newest rollercoasters in the world: the Velocicoaster. After the velocicoaster, we went to Harry Potter World (which I'll talk more about in my next post) and the Marvel area (I have no idea why Marvel is in Universal, even though it is owned by Disney). Other rides we went on that day are the Fear Fall, the Spiderman ride, and Kong Skull Island. 

We stopped in Savannah on our way to Florida