Disney Trip Part 4

By far the most exciting day for Tory and me was our trip to Universal Studios because of the new Harry Potter section of the park!  It wasn't originally in the plan, but we were lucky to have Mae join us so we could brainwash (um, er, I mean teach) her about Harry!  I left Skyla for what was to be our longest separation, and it wasn't easy saying goodbye to her but I knew Harry wouldn't let me down.  We got there early as usual and went straight over to Hogsmeade.  They did a great job transporting you right into the world of our favorite wizard.

There were lots of things to see but we went straight to Hogwarts for literally the best ride I've ever been on in my life!  We liked it so much that we went on it again before going to different parts of the park while the line was short.  The second time through I made sure to get a bunch of pictures because it really felt like we were in Hogwarts.  Some of them are pretty dark but still cool.  Perhaps the best one was of me and Mae after we got snowed on inside!

We went on rides in the rest of the park but saved time to return to Harry Potter World for some more photos and refreshments :)  I'm not sure who was more excited about going to Honeydukes candy store -- me or Mae!  We made sure to get some Bertie Botts every flavour beans (and had lots of fun giving them to people later and lying about the flavors -- sorry for the grass/booger debacle Brenda but thanks for being such a good sport!)  We also got Mara a wand made out of chocolate.  I could have easily bought that whole store!

 Right after Honeydukes we got a group pic, then the best treats of all: Butterbeer and Pumpkin Juice!  They were even better than I imagined all those times I read about Harry and Co. drinking them.  The butterbeer was a flavor I can't even describe, and it was poured to order so it took forever, but it was worth the wait!  Be sure to check out my cutie husband in his new Harry Potter track jacket :)

The Harry part of our day was definitely the best, but it was also fun exploring the rest of the park.  Tory and I had gone there when we were just kids and I had a few memories that were fun to relive.  We had some silly times in Jurassic Park, and I had a great time splashing Tory and Mae with two splashy fountain machine things on the water ride.  The second-best part of the day, though, had to be the Spiderman ride -- 3D, fighting bad guys, dips, turns, what's not to love?

Thank you Mae for helping us have such a wonderful day!  Just in case you thought the fun was all over, no way!  We weren't even done for the day!  We went home really early so I could tend to my little pumpkin and so we could escape the sun.  We had a really nice relaxing afternoon and reprised our home-made Apples to Apples game with cards Mara made.  Then Tory and I went out on a hot date to City Walk and had a great time.  They had a dj on a huge outdoor stage with lots of people dancing, drink stands, and of course tons of cool clubs.  We danced outside for a bit then relaxed at the surprisingly calm Hark Rock Cafe.  The picture of us in front of the famous Universal sign turned out perfect, which was a small miracle; I asked a nice-looking woman to take the picture and she only spoke Portuguese, so I asked her to do it in Italian and it worked!