Universal's Islands of Adventure

When we travel to Florida for spring break, we usually visit one of the many theme parks.  We had visited all of them, some several times, except Universal's Islands of Adventure.  One of their attractions that was new last year and very popular was the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.  We knew things would be busy and were unsure if we even wanted to go to a theme park this year.  They are so expensive!  We were staying in Daytona Beach and needed to go to Orlando for our hotel Saturday night.We figured we had two options.  We could take our time.  We could do some shopping and go to a dinner show, like Medieval Times.  Or, we could get up really early and head for Islands of Adventure.

We had looked at some reviews about the park.  The first one I saw was terrible.  It was a one rating out of five.  Then there were a couple that were good.  It made us a little nervous.  Would the crowds make it miserable?  Would the attractions be worth the big price?  We decided to let the kids decide.  They wanted to do the Harry Potter attraction, but they too were worried about the crowd, getting up early, and have it be "worth it" compared to taking our time and doing a dinner show.  They were really drawn to the Harry Potter thing, which was where the negative reviews came from.  This review talked about huge lines for everything, even the souvenir shops.  But, we had never been there, and the kids really wanted Harry Potter.

So, the decision was made to take a chance and brave the crowds and attractions of Islands of Adventure, even at the high price.  At least this way we could say that we had been there.  We could make up our own mind about the park!

We got up early and finished getting the rental vehicle packed so we could be at the park when it opened at 9:00.  We ended up getting there at 9:10.  We figured we should head right for Harry Potter.  That is the attraction the kids really wanted to see, so we might as well go right to it.  When we got the "Harry Potter World", it was very cool looking, but it was very crowded.  It was elbow to elbow people.  We tried to work our way right to the main attraction, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.  Even though we were at the park by 9:10, there was already an hour and a half wait, and there were tons of people in line just to go in the shops.  We figured we might as well get right at it, so we got in line!

The line moved pretty quickly, and much of the line was in the castle with many cool things to look at and listen to for entertainment while waiting in line.  We finally rode the ride, and it was very, very cool.  It was worth the wait, and the kids were able to do this attraction they wanted to so badly.  I guess I figured whatever we did after that was gravy.  There was a little roller coaster right beside this ride so we figured we might as well hit that.  We didn't take time to wait in any lines to go in the shops, but we did take time to wait in line for a Butter Beer.  I guess this is something they drink in Harry Potter books.  This was very sweet and pretty good.  Again, it was one of those cool things for the kids.

Once we got out of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, the lines were really not bad.  The park was still crowded, but it really didn't bother us.  We were able to ride the rides we wanted to ride and really wait very little, especially when compared to other theme park lines.  We had a really good day, did everything we wanted, and actually were able to go back to "Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey" to ride it one last time!

I think we made a good decision.  We can say we have been to Islands of Adventure.  We saw the Harry Potter attraction.  And, we had a good day!  The early morning, late night, and early Sunday morning for flight made us all pretty tired, but it was worth maximizing the fun on our spring break trip.

Kennedy Space Center - NASA

My son, Alex, really likes science and technology.  This year we stayed in Daytona Beach for spring break.  This is about an hour north of the Kennedy Space Center.  With Alex's love for science, technology and space, we thought he would really like KSC.  When we asked Alex about it, he sounded very interested.  Adri, on the other hand, did not really want to go.  So, on Friday, Alex, my mom and I headed to the Space Center, while Kristi and Adri had a pool and beach day.

Alex really liked the Space Center and seemed to be really impressed by the size of everything.  We were able to see the Shuttle Endeavor on the pad as it is getting ready for its final launch the end of this month.  One of the cool things that happened was that we saw the crew's "dress rehearsal" for that flight.  We were on the observation platform when convoy rushed to the pad.

It is truly amazing how we can go into space and land on the moon.  Alex really liked the Saturn V program.  We looked at all of the exhibits, though we didn't take time to read everything.  That would have taken a long time!  We did make sure we took the tour, walked through the exhibits and went to the IMAX shows.  There were two of them.  They were also very cool.



It was a good day, and it was good to see Alex so excited about this science.  The girls had their own fun at the pool and beach so the day worked out very well!