We weren’t up quite as early for Universal Studios, but we did get there when it opened at 9. We went to Islands of Adventure first…and walked straight to Hogsmeade. And it was amazing. 
We all just couldn’t stop looking around at everything. It’s so fun to see the books come to life! 
Our first ride was Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, which was inside the Hogwarts castle. There wasn’t a line…but we slowly walked our way through anyway because there was so much to see! Ben and I loved this ride. Claire and Max, however, were not fans of the dementors or the spiders and didn’t want to ride it again. 😂
After that we stopped for our first (of many) butterbeers. It is everything and more.
We then hopped on the Hogwarts Express and found ourselves in London when we got off.
We made our way into Diagon Alley and were once again in awe.
We decided to look in some shops first. Everything is so perfectly detailed, and we loved just browsing around. 
Next we headed to Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts. 
After the last ride, the kids were feeling a little nervous. Especially because the goblins were kinda realistic looking…
but they ended up loving it.
We looked around some more, and then had lunch at…
The Leaky Cauldron
with more butterbeer. 
Next we left Diagon Alley and went to some other rides, and this happened: 
they went on their first upside down roller coaster. Max JUST made the height requirement, and was feeling a little unsure about the whole thing, but also really wanted to do it. I am not afraid of roller coasters at all, but I admit that I did feel afraid taking my two kids on a big roller coaster. I hung onto Claire for dear life the entire ride and was yelling to Ben to do the same to Max.😂 But we all survived, and they both loved it!
After a few more rides, we headed back to Diagon Alley to board the Hogwarts Express back to Hogsmeade.
We stopped at Ollivanders and did a little wand shopping. 
Next we headed to the ride with the longest wait time during our entire trip: Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure. And let me tell you, that hour long wait was TOTALLY WORTH IT. 
This ride was unlike any other ride I have ever been on. It was so fast, contained so many surprises, and was so much fun. All four of us declared this to be our favorite ride, hands down (sorry Millennium Falcon).
We did a few more rides, and then called it a day and headed back to the resort to swim and soak our tired bodies in the hot tub.
Ben and I keep saying that this was one of our most favorite trips. It was a nice break to not have to worry about strollers, tired toddlers, or avoiding rides that were too scary for little ones. We really enjoyed just spending time with these two and doing everything together. We did miss the little girls, but I’m also really thankful for the time we had with just our “big kids”. They are growing so fast, and this was such a special time for all of us that we’ll always remember.❤️
