Opening Day at Diagon Alley in Universal Studios

So, let's take a break from my depressing posts about leaving Nemo and handing out Olaf and talk about something super exciting I did last week: OPENED DIAGON ALLEY AT UNIVERSAL! On July 8, Universal Studios had its grand opening of Diagon Alley and King's Cross Station. My friends and I took the day off and decided to go to Universal to celebrate opening day with all of our fellow Potter fans.

Opening day at Diagon Alley

Gringotts Bank (The dragon breathed fire)

Inside Gringotts

We arrived at 6:30 AM (the park didn't open until 9) and did a lot of waiting around. Luckily, we arrived early enough that we were among the first few hundred people to get into the land. At 8 AM, they opened only Diagon Alley, and did a fun opening ceremony where they shot off fireworks. Even with being some of the first people there, we still had to wait 3 hours to get on the ride inside Gringotts Bank. It was a long three hour wait, but finally we got inside Gringotts and onto the ride. Honestly, I found the ride to be disappointing. It definitely was not worth the three hour wait and certainly not worth the 7 hour wait it was later on in the day. Part of the problem may have been that we stopped in the middle of the ride, which took away from the experience, but it still was mediocre at best. Personally, I prefer the ride inside Hogwarts.

Diagon Alley

Although the ride was a slight disappointment, Diagon Alley, King's Cross, and the Hogwarts Express were all really impressive. It was a lot of fun to look around the stores in Diagon Alley, and the ride on the Hogwarts Express was really cool. It was a unanimous decision that the best part of the day was the Butterbeer ice cream (AMAZING). If you're a Harry Potter fan, I definitely recommend checking out Universal Studios and all of the Harry Potter fun there. It was a great (but exhausting) day, and I am so glad that I could have this experience with my Disney friends!

Butterbeer ice cream

Ride selfie

Our new Gryffindor souvenirs 

Universal Studios

Yes, it's true, Disney Cast Members do occasionally cheat on Disney. About a week ago, my roommates and I went to Universal Studios Orlando, and we had a BLAST! It was so much fun to spend time with one another, and as much as I hate to admit it, it was a nice break from Disney as well!

For those of you who don't know me, I am a big Harry Potter fan, so visiting the Wizarding World of Harry Potter was definitely the highlight of the day for me. We had butterbeer, bought chocolate frogs, and rode the ride inside Hogwarts! It was great. I also got to check out some other cool rides, including ET, Men in Black, Spiderman, Dr. Seuss, and many, many others. Universal is broken up into two parks: Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. Islands of Adventure has more of the thrill rides (and Harry Potter), while Universal Studios has more of a variety of attractions. I really liked both parks, so much so that I bought an annual pass! Basically, it didn't make sense for me to only buy a one-day-two-park pass, since I am planning on coming back at least one more time before I leave. If you go twice, it's worth it to buy an annual pass. Plus, now I have free parking and 10% discounts at restaurants and merchandise stores in the theme park!

Obligatory first Butterbeer selfie

Hogwarts Express Conductor

Hogwarts

It was also awesome, because we had a lot of celebrity sightings while there! Matthew Lewis and the Phelps twins (Neville Longbottom and George & Fred Weasley) were there doing a press event to promote the new Harry Potter areas opening soon. Jimmy Fallon was also shooting The Tonight Show in Universal all that week, and his musical guest was Pitbull, so I got to see a mini Pitbull concert and see Jimmy Fallon join him on stage! It was really cool to see some celebrities so close. I've now officially seen more celebrities in Universal than I have while working at Animal Kingdom!

Jimmy Fallon & Pitbull

The Phelps Twins & Matthew Lewis

A big part of the reason I bought an annual pass was because on July 8th, the new part of Harry Potter is opening. They are opening Diagon Alley, Gringotts, King's Cross, and the Hogwarts Express, so I am really excited to go back and check out the new additions to Universal Studios. 

So, yes it's true, Disney Cast Members do cheat on Disney; we even buy annual passes to competing theme parks! Jokes aside, Universal was a great time, and I'm so glad I got to spend some quality time with my roommates in the parks.