Our 2025 Universal Studios Trip, Day 3 - Universal Studios & Islands of Adventure

Today I’m recapping our second day in the parks at Universal Studios.  If you missed the first day, you can see the post here.

Friday morning, we were up early again – 6:30 AM – to start the day!  We met Jeannine’s family in the lobby at 7:30 AM as we had done the previous day and then we all boarded a bus to Universal Studios.  We made it to the park a little before 8 AM, went through security, and went straight into the park. 

We really didn’t have a set game plan for the day… the goal was just to explore!  And explore we did!  Everything was all decorated for Halloween Horror Nights, so of course, I had to grab some pictures of the cute décor.

We made our way to the back of the park and stumbled upon Trolls Trollercoaster.  There was no wait whatsoever, and we literally walked right on and had the whole thing to ourselves.  Olivia loved it so much that we rode it one more time since there was no wait, and the second time around, everybody made funny faces since we knew where the camera was.  And Buckley hates Trolls, so he is not scared or traumatized like he looks in the picture… that was his indignant “Trolls-is-lame-and-I-don’t-want-to-ride-this” face.  Hahahaha.

After the second ride, we walked around the Kung Foo Panda area and scoped it out.  There was a big playground and a splash pad area, and a big gong that you could bang.  We all took turns banging the gong and it made all kinds of funny noises. 

We were ready to ride something else after that, and E.T. Adventure was closed and it had no wait, so we headed there next.  That ride is slower, and it’s more of a nostalgic ride, and even though I don’t love E.T. (he creeps me out), the ride was pretty cool.  The kids loved it so much that they wanted to ride again, so after we got off of the bicycles, we walked back around and did it again.

At the beginning of that ride, you give your name to the attendant and at the end of the ride, E.T. says goodbye to everyone by name, so the second time around, each of the kids gave the name “Jacques” – LOL – but apparently E.T. doesn’t speak French, because he didn’t say it at all.  Jeannine told them her name was Bertha and E.T. did said that and he dragged it out – Berrrrtha.  Hahahaha.

On the way out of that area, we happened to see Gabby from Gabby’s Dollhouse, so Buckley went over to say hi to her really quickly, and then as we were walking around the big lake, we happened to see Doc Brown from Back to the Future.  Everyone was excited about that one, so of course, we had to get pictures. 

Up around the corner from Doc Brown was Kang & Kodos’ Twirl ‘n’ Hurl, so all of us rode that one except James… he took videos of all of us on it instead.  That was a ride that the kids could ride together, so they rode in pairs, Jeannine and I rode together, and Brian rode solo. 

Men in Black Alien Attack was right around the corner, and it was starting to rain lightly, so we thought that would be a good time to go indoors.  We had to get lockers to store our bags, and then we headed in there.  That is an interactive ride where you shoot aliens, and it does spin you around a few times.  Most of the spins didn’t bother me, but there was one that just about did me in, and by the end, I was ready to get off of there.  Ever since I started having vertigo and dizziness, I don’t like rides that make me feel dizzy – I can feel that sensation any time I want just by being me, haha – but I recovered quickly. 

After that ride was over, we split up from Jeannine’s family for a bit.  They wanted to head to the Harry Potter area, and we wanted to grab some donuts (and I wanted coffee), so we did that.  The donut shop had a massive donut that you could buy, and I told Brian we should have gotten that one and split it just for the novelty of it, but everyone wanted different flavors.

Thankfully, the rain had stopped by the time we got out of Men in Black, so we were able to eat at a table outside.  At that point, the park was still pretty dead, and there weren’t many people milling about at all.  But we realized quickly that it was because everyone was in Diagon Alley AKA the Harry Potter area.

Our family made our way to Diagon Alley next, and on the way, we stopped to see the Knight Bus.  Olivia and I walked up to see the shrunken head AKA Dre Head, and as we approached, he started talking to us.  I assumed it was a recording, so I was shocked when I realized that he was really having a conversation with us.  Haha.  We ended up talking to him for a bit, and he joked about how I shouldn’t be drinking coffee – I should be drinking butter beer (a Harry Potter reference for those of you who don’t know) – and he was super funny.  He had lots of jokes, and it was one of my favorite parts of the whole day – clearly – just look at my face.  Haha.

We made our way inside Diagon Alley after that and met up with Jeannine and her family again.  Brian, Jeannine, James, and Mack wanted to ride Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts, so I took Jacob, Olivia, and Buckley while they went to ride.  The wait was pretty long at that point, so the kids and I set out to explore while everyone else rode.

First up, the kids wanted to go in the Magical Menagerie, which is a “pet shop” where you can purchase loads of different stuffed animal characters from the Harry Potter movies.  We spent a good amount of time in there before they were ready to move on.  Unbeknownst to me, Buckley had his wand with him, and he set it down in the store while we were there.  I had no clue any of that had transpired until a couple of hours later when everyone was back together again, and Jeannine realized it was missing.  We had no clue where to even start to look for it, but I knew he didn’t have a wand for all of the spells that we did later on, and I knew we’d spent a lot of time in there, so we figured that was the logical place it would be.  Jeannine walked over there, and thankfully, someone had turned it in so she was able to recover it.  Whew.  Those wands are not cheap, so it would have been devastating if somebody had taken it.  It’s so good to know that there are still honest people in the world!

Anyhoo, before the missing wand debacle transpired, the kids and I walked around a bit more, Olivia and Buckley took turns using her wand to cast spells at the various spell-casting stations, and we watched the dragon breathe fire.  The kids wanted to sit and rest for a bit after that, so we found an empty bench and did just that. 

Brian finished up at Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts first since he’d done the single rider line, so he rejoined the kids and me, and we all went to Knockturn Alley while Jeannine’s family finished up on the ride. 

It is PITCH BLACK in Knockturn Alley – you seriously cannot see a thing in there other than the displays where you cast spells – so I kept hands on the kids at all times because I didn’t want to lose anyone.  All three of them took turns using Olivia’s wand to cast spells, and they were all so cool!  Our favorite was a skeleton that mimics your moves when you cast the spell on him.  We were all cracking up when Buckley made him dance, and then Jacob made him hit the griddy.  Lol. 

Once we were done in Knockturn Alley, we went back to our spot to sit, but the bench was taken, so the kids sat down right outside this little potion shop, and I got the cutest pictures of them. 

Jeannine’s family got off the roller coaster right after that, and we all headed to one of the places to get butter beer.  Brian opted for the frozen butter beer, I grabbed the traditional, and the kids got butter beer pops.  It was surprisingly delicious – it tastes like butterscotch which is one of my favorite things – but it was also really rich, so I ended up drinking less than half of mine.  It was too sweet for me. 

In the butter beer line was when Jeannine realized Buckles had lost his wand, so we brainstormed, and she ran over to the pet shop and recovered it while we waited in line for butter beer.  Whew. 

After everyone had butter beers in hand, we decided to go hop on the Hogwarts Express.  It connects Diagon Allery in Universal Studios to Hogsmeade in Islands of Adventure.  We had park-hopper passes the last two days of our trip, so we were able to jump from park to park. 

When we looked at the wait time for the train, it was pretty short – 15 minutes, maybe? – but by the time we got in line, the wait had jumped to 45 minutes, I think?  Thankfully, the wait is all indoors, though, so we were able to be out of the sun and enjoy our butter beers while we waited. 

When we got to Hogsmeade, we walked around for a little bit, and then we went in search of food because it was way past lunchtime, and nobody had any real food in their bellies.  We ended up going to Three Broomsticks, which is another place where you order in the app and then they bring it out to you, but the line to get in for a table was pretty long, and we ended up having to wait for about 15-20 minutes for tables to open up.  They were able to seat us back-to-back, and everyone was so relieved to have food… and to rest our feet and legs.

After everyone had full bellies, we walked over to Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey – the ride that’s in the big castle.  I didn’t want to ride because it’s one of those that moves all around and I was worried it might trigger my vertigo and/or dizziness, but I was able to walk through the castle with everyone to see inside.  Then when they boarded, I walked through the gate into the gift shop and waited.  Olivia was very hesitant about riding, and at first, she said she wasn’t going to go, but she ended up deciding at the last minute to ride, and she was so glad she did because it ended up being her favorite ride on the whole trip.  While they rode, I bought Olivia an ornament from the gift shop. 

We all walked to Seuss Landing AKA the Dr. Seuss area of Islands of Adventure after that, and we rode Caro-Seuss-el and The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride!

Brian, Jacob, James, and Mack all wanted to ride Spider-Man, so they headed that way, and there was a bit of a wait for it, so Jeannine and I settled in with Olivia and Buckley in Seuss Landing to hang out while they were gone.

Olivia and Buckley rode One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, and Jeannine and I happily opted out of that one because there’s a very good chance that you can get very wet, and I wasn’t trying to have soggy shoes for the rest of the day.  Haha.  Then, Jeannine, Olivia, Buckley, and I all rode The Cat in the Hat.  After that, the four of us went to hang out on the playground in Seuss Landing until the boys came back to meet up with us.  They’d all loved the Spider-Man ride, and they agreed it was worth the wait. 

All eight of us walked over to the Jurassic Park area after that, and we explored for a bit.  There was a huge outdoor playground in that area, so the kids walked all over that while the adults rested and decided what to do next.  At that point, it was getting late-ish, and the park closed at 8, so we didn’t have much time. 

We decided to go ride Skull Island: Reign of Kong since it was something that everyone could do.  The line for that one was long, and it felt like we waited for that one longer than any other ride on the trip, but I think it was just because the queue is just so deceiving in there.  Every time we would get out of one room, it would put it in yet another room with a bunch of weaving lines, and it became a running joke to see how long it was going to take us to get out of there.  I think we probably only waited about 45 minutes, but it felt much longer.  At least there were interesting things to look at, though!  And the ride was SO NEAT.  It was so immersive, and I loved it.  The kids weren’t that impressed, though… they all said that it wasn’t worth the wait.  Haha.

By the time we got out of there, it was dark out and 8 PM was rapidly approaching.  We stopped by the bathrooms on the way out of the park and then exited for the day.

It was dinner time at that point, and CityWalk was JUMPING, so we went in search of food.  Brian, Jacob, and I were all craving Mexican food, so we decided to try Antojitos for dinner much to Olivia’s dismay.  She was tired and she said she didn’t want Mexican food (which is shocking since she always loves it), but I think she just wanted something fast so we could go to bed, and she was worried the wait would be long.  They told us there would be a 15-20 minute wait, but we ended up being seated immediately, so it wasn’t a big deal in the long run.

Jeannine’s family was tired, so they split off from us and got THE BIGGEST HOT DOG I’VE EVER SEEN from Hot Dog Hall of Fame.  She texted this picture to me while we were eating and our family was cracking up because we’ve never seen such a thing.  Haha.

Antojitos ended up being absolutely delicious and we were all happy we decided to go there.  The atmosphere was awesome, they had live entertainment, and the food was fresh and delicious.  The margaritas were excellent, too.  And Jacob loved that he got 6-7 lemons for his water.  (IYKYK.)  Olivia loved that the girls came over to talk to her after they finished dancing, but by the end of dinner, she was exhausted.  Haha.   

When we were done eating, we made our way back to the buses, and we got back to the hotel around 9:30.  The kids wanted to swing by the gift shop because Jacob wanted to get a souvenir from there, and then the kids got showered and we were all in bed by 10:15!

And just in case you want to see our entire day summarized, here it is…

 

Summary:

Hours spent in parks – 12 (8 AM – 8 PM)

Rides/Attractions – 15

Characters met – 3

Steps taken – 15,941

Miles walked – 6.39

Weather – Partly cloudy, misty rain in the AM, high of 77 degrees, low of 73 degrees

 

Schedule:

Wake at 6:30 AM

Meet in hotel lobby at 7:30 AM

Bus to Universal Studios at 7:30 AM

Arrive 8:00 AM

Trolls Trollercoaster (everyone)

Trolls Trollercoaster (Brian, Lindsay, Jacob, Olivia, Jeannine, Mack, Buckley)

Kung Foo Panda Area (everyone)

E.T. Adventure (everyone)

E.T. Adventure (everyone)

Met Gabby from Gabby’s Dollhouse (Buckley)

Met Doc Brown from Back to the Future (everyone)

Kang & Kodos’ Twirl ‘n’ Hurl (Brian, Lindsay, Jacob, Olivia, Jeannine, Mack, Buckley)

Men in Black Alien Attack (everyone)

Donut break (Brian, Lindsay, Jacob, Olivia)

Met Dre Head (Brian, Lindsay, Jacob, Olivia)

Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts (Brian, James, Jeannine, Mack)

Explore Diagon Alley (Lindsay, Jacob, Olivia, Buckley)

Knockturn Alley (Brian, Lindsay, Jacob, Olivia, Buckley)

Butter beer break (everyone)

Hogwarts Express (everyone)

Lunch at Three Broomsticks (everyone)

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey (Brian, Jacob, Olivia, James, Jeannine, Mack, Buckley)

Caro-Seuss-el (Brian, Lindsay, Jacob, Olivia, James, Mack, Buckley)

The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride! (everyone)

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish (Olivia, Buckley)

The Cat in the Hat (Lindsay, Jeannine, Olivia, Buckley)

Playground in Seuss Landing (Lindsay, Jeannine, Olivia, Buckley)

The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man (Brian, Jacob, James, Mack)

Camp Jurassic (Jacob, Olivia, Mack, Buckley)

Skull Island: Reign of Kong (everyone)

Left park at 8 PM (everyone)

Dinner at Antojitos Authentic Mexican Food (Brian, Lindsay, Jacob, Olivia)

Dinner at Hot Dog Hall of Fame (James, Jeannine, Mack, Buckley)

 

Happy Wednesday, y’all!