Lights Camera Action - Universal Studios

So much happened today. I really do hope I don't forget anything. People kept telling us about Harry Potter rides and areas in Universal (cause as a guest of a Universal resort you can get early access). Being a family that hasn't seen any of them, it was no interest to us so we took the opportunity to start our day later and head out from our room about 8.30am. The bus ride is short and the walk to the gates was short. I'd pre purchased our tickets online so no waiting in lines. Something else I'd purchased was an Express Pass which basically got us to the head of the queue for every ride. I didn't realise what a God send this would be when I was buying them but definitely my number one tip for Universal. There are a limited amount sold each day and you just need to be organised enough to pick your date ahead of time. Obviously a cost on top of your park entry but in my opinion worth every cent.

There was a life lesson that continues to work for us while we are here and that is being friendly goes a long way. We manage to have stuff bending over backwards to help get us "1st visit badges" and get our Express Passes into lanyards. It was a muggy morning and quite foggy too. 

The girls giggle at me every time I seen characters cause I get so excited. This time it was Woody Woodpecker. I was sad to hear Boston say "who?" When I pointed him out. Different generation. 

We head off for a couple of rides and 4D experiences to really kick off our day. We see 'child swap' on the signs and I wonder whether that means I can switch out my kids for better ones when they get out of hand. Ha ha ha! I discover it's a great initiative that means if you have a smaller child that can't ride and a parent needs to stay behind, they don't have to endure the queue. 

We make our way through so many cool experiences including meeting some Transformers. Very impressive. There is so much I want to tell you about the rides, but then it wouldn't be a surprise if you ever come here. We manage to get into every single ride so quickly thanks to our pass. It even gave you preferential access to live shows.

 The first one we saw was Fear Factor Live. We were approached earlier to be contestants however I declined. They said something about gross food and I immediately feel like being sick. My weak stomach has never afforded my the ability to even watch that segment of the show on tv, let alone participate in it. 

It ends up being a pretty cool show. With real stunts being done by real people. Someone even put their head in one of those cases and had scorpions crawling all over their scalp. Ewwwwwwww. 

The car in the picture below actually was raised up and covered in water wile the contestants had to get the flags off the bonnet by climbing over the windshield. 

We are told about a pre paid Photopass option which is also a great idea giving you access to every photo taken both with characters and on rides. 

It was great as we checked out all the pics throughout the day on the app. Got to love modern technology these days. One thing that did happen on the Men In Black ride was our photo didn't work. So we were chaperoned back to the head of the queue VIP style so we could go again just to get the picture. It's a very awesome and interactive ride. You get to shoot aliens. 

They offer free lockers for those rides that are too crazy to take your belongings. 

Meeting Shrek, Fiona and Donkey was cool. Donkey was a head in the wall but spoke to us at length about our travels and where we were from. I couldn't help but think how Boston could have been the Fiona character with her red hair. Shrek in true form farted right near us and we all laughed. 

We decide to stop for lunch at Moes Tavern in Krustyland. Lots of options for lunch. And yes you can have a Duff beer or a Flaming Moe at the bar. 

I loved the way they ran their food court in here. You go and get your food then the staff work the seating once you've got your food. So no crazy dash to reserve a table while the rest of you grab food. Very impressed. 

Feels like everything is perfectly planned and we very much enjoy the Animal Actors show. It's incredible to see the variety of animals they train. Pigs, skunks, macaws, dogs, cats, otters. There were  a number of superstars in the show. We met Marley (from Marley and Me), Beethoven & the dog from Men In Black. 

I could watch that all day. 

The girls thought they'd hit one of the roller coasters they went on earlier to fill in time before the parade. The girls took the long way back to me before settling in for the parade. There are lots of cool characters and floats. 

We finish off our day by farewelling Universal and go to a sports restaurant called NBC sports Grill & Brew. They have a number of food options and we sit in and enjoy dinner. 

All aboard the shuttle bus with full stomachs and the girls decide they'd like to go for a swim before settling in for the night. 

A very enjoyable day had by all. But once again exhausted and looking forward to hitting the pillow.