If you know us at all, you know that even without kids, we were up early and ready to enter the park as soon as possible. We left the hotel early with our coffee in hand.
We were rewarded by only a few people in front of us at the gate of Island of Adventures.
It didn't take long though, for the crowds to arrive behind us.
Although Velocicoaster was the new (and better) ride, we made the decision to go to Hagrid's Motorbike Adventure first. I don't know if Velocicoaster is too intense for some guest, or if the taller height requirement is to blame, but Hagrid's line was consistently longer (and therefore a virtual line once the park's extra morning hour was over.) So, we enjoyed our ride on Hagrid's and then decided to see how long Velocicoaster's line had already grown. We were shocked that it was practically still a walk on wait.
After these two heavy hitters, the park was officially open. We may have even rode Forbidden Journey at this time as well. Since we were kid free and had the luxury of those express passes, we did something we normally would never do. We ate breakfast inside the park. In fact, we went to The Three Broomsticks and had a delicious breakfast with absolutely no wait.
I've realized, that without cute little girls to take pictures of, I don't take that many pictures. Therefore, I don't remember if we did anything else in this park before we boarded the Hogwarts Express and made our way to Diagon Alley.
Again, once we made it to Universal Studios, I don't remember what rides we rode first. I do know that throughout our weekend there, we did ride everything at least once, and many more times for our favorites. We did get some pictures inside the Jurassic Park/World Tribute Store.
We enjoyed all the details that they put into this store. When we moved on, we also caught the Blues Brothers show.
Believe it or not, after riding everything here, we actually rode the Hogwarts Express back to Islands of Adventure. It truly is amazing how much you can get done with those express passes.
We ended up eating lunch at Thunder Falls. This meal was very tasty.
After our lunch, I feel like we rode Velocicoaster again, but maybe I just remember being near by it while we were making our next decision whether we rode it or not. What was that decision, you ask? To head back to the room. We could tell a storm was about to pass and we debated staying in the park since this is what we would normally do when we are at the parks. However, with our room just a short walk away, we decided to walk back to the room and hung out at the hotel while we waited for the rain to stop.
This also gave us time to decide what we wanted to do this evening. We decided it would be fun to dress up a bit and have a nice dinner. We're not as familiar with table service restaurants at Universal, so we ended up making a reservation at Lombard's.
So, with the rain out of the way and our spiffy clothes on, we made our way back to Universal Studios.
So, I'm not sure what this restaurant is normally like, but I don't feel like our reservations were needed. It seemed pretty empty to me, but maybe we were just too early for the dinner rush?
Regardless, we had a nice dinner together, even if I wasn't overly impressed with the restaurant itself. There was nothing wrong with the food, but I didn't find it amazing either, and for the price I think there are better options on property.
After dinner, we chatted with the driver of the Knight Bus, which I always recommend as these conversations are so fun.
We also decided to have a fun and fancy adult beverage since we normally don't when we're here with the kids. With my shark attack drink in hand, we took a must take photo with Bruce.
For the first time this trip, we decided to walk over to IOA instead of taking the train. Upon entering this park, we stopped in at the Christmas store, to take a picture for Patrick's mom since she loves Christmas.
Since Patrick was not excited about my shark attack drink, he opted for the specialty beer located in the Jurassic Park area. I don't remember the specific name, but I know it's only available here on Isla Nublar.
We then of course, had to end our night with another ride on Velocicoaster.
This queue is really impressive, and I'm glad that when we do go back with the girls, they can experience all this part with us before we are separated for the rider switch.
This ride truly is exhilarating and a must do for any thrill seeker. This was the perfect ending to a great day!
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