School is Out! Time to Vacation: a June 2017 PTR/TR

I'm so delighted you came back to share with us!

This sounds like a great trip and I'm in for the read
 
Following along too. I believe the 6 flags you mentioned is the one near me in St Louis.
 


Wednesday June 21st: Part 1

***I think we’re in the minority here, but I purchased the summer special photo package and we absolutely loved having it and felt like we easily got our money's worth. We always stopped for a photo on the way in, found many characters with photographers, and are fans of getting the ride photos. The free prints that came with gave the girls easy souvenirs and were quick and painless to get.***

This may have been the only day we actually woke up when we wanted to and were out the door for early entry on time. Arriving at Universal Studios, we stopped to pick up our photo package lanyard.

61399_062117_000684522 by KConklin1028, on Flickr

Side question: What is this taxi from? The photographer really wanted us to stand in front of it for the photo.

Although we were planning to go straight to Diagon Alley, we stopped at Despicable Me Minion Madness since the wait was only at 5 minutes. So fun and we really enjoyed the queue!
Then came our first entry (of many, many, many) into Diagon Alley. WOW. :love: It was everything everyone said it would be and more. Definitely something everyone should experience.

Forgot that we met the Knight Bus driver before heading into DA!

20170621_083409(0) by KConklin1028, on Flickr

We booked it straight to Escape from Gringotts. This was one of my favorite rides from our whole trip! The beginning is so cool how it leaves you hanging in the dark. We found the lockers here and at Forbidden Journey the most difficult because of the space and congestion, but it never was a huge deal.

62599_062117_000251998 by KConklin1028, on Flickr

Side note: I was so worried about motion sickness, but I wore these all natural patches as well as taking Bonine in the morning the whole trip and was completely fine on every ride. I cannot recommend these patches enough (not an affiliate link - just sharing)! I know it was the patches because taking only Dramamine or Bonine here at home still leaves me nauseous on most rides.

Becca was itching to get a wand, so we headed to Ollivanders. At Ollivanders, there was something going on with the cast members - they were waiting for the person who does the show or something, so there was no line. Honestly, we didn’t know what we were doing but I realized afterwards that we got extremely lucky. We ended up chatting with one of the attendants and found out he used to live 20 minutes from where we are from and in the same area I teach. Small world. Anyways, when we went into the show it was only us three, and two others. Rebecca was the youngest in the group and also the only wearing Hogwards apparel, and was selected for the show! We know it was a burst of good luck for our group to end up being so small and her being selected, but it made her entire trip. We thought the show was cute and ended up purchasing the wand “that chose her” as well as a wand for myself. Rachel didn’t want to spend her money on one. With our wands in hand we went out to try some of the spells.

20170621_091421 by KConklin1028, on Flickr

After doing a few spells in DA, we took the Hogwarts express to IOA. Everything about this felt so real. We were able to get this video of Becca walking into the wall...such a simple, yet amazing effect (click on picture if you're interested in seeing the video).

20170627_124946 by KConklin1028, on Flickr

In Hogsmeade, we went first to Forbidden Journey. I didn’t write down wait times, but the most we waited for any ride was 70 minutes (Rip Saw Falls in the burning afternoon), and the rest were all 45 minutes or less. Like I said in my ptr, wait times don’t bother us, we are just happy to be there! Forbidden Journey was easily Becca’s favorite ride of the trip. Both queues for the Harry Potter rides were so fantastic and worth spending some time to going through.

62104_062117_000027143 by KConklin1028, on Flickr

Then we rode Flight of the Hippogriff which was enjoyable, but more of a one and done for us. This was the only time we rode it our entire trip, but I’m glad we did it.

Becca wanted to check out the shops so we looked around for a while. We both found a must buy Gryffindor sweatshirt that we decided we would come back for. At this point we were starting to get hungry but made the decision to just buy a snack at Honeydukes. I got a chocolate pretzel wand, Rachel got chocolate fudge, and Becca got a what-were-you-thinking-buying-this-in-the-boiling-hot-afternoon dark chocolate chip coated caramel apple. :confused: Honestly, this made me go crazy. What was she thinking? If you want to buy this - DO NOT BUY IT ON A SUMMER AFTERNOON!

Rachel isn’t a big Harry Potter fan and had enough of those areas by this time (she loved the rides but was tired of looking in the shops) so we took the HE back to Universal Studios and set out to do some things that were more up her alley. We had booked a reservation for Jimmy Fallon’s Race Though New York and it was close to our window so we headed here first. Again, minority I think, but we really enjoyed the ride. The queue was a little confusing because no one was waiting in the museum area. People were looking at what was down there but then going upstairs at their own leisure. Upstairs, the entertainment was enjoyable. They had screens with interactive games, couches to sit on, and then the farther room with the live Ragtime Gals act. We loved how the pre-show was different every time we came. It seemed to take a bit long to turn to our color to get into the actual line, but not a huge deal. The ride itself was fun - it was Rachel’s favorite of the day.

We stopped to get popcorn and our water bottles filled up. I bought a Yeti water bottle for the trip and it was a godsend. Any ice stayed the entire day and the people at Universal were always happy to fill up our bottles. We only carried a string sack pack, the popcorn bucket, and our water bottles and easily fit everything into one locker when needed. While we were popcorn:: and rehydrating, some street performers came around, so we watched them sing for a little while.

With no plans, we just started walking and ran into The Mummy, so we found a locker and entered the queue. Probably one of my favorite rides here (although I feel like I say that about everything!). Rachel was truly tricked and thought the ride was over at the one point near the end which made it even funnier.

61110_062117_000063044 by KConklin1028, on Flickr

Up next: We take in a show, finally eat a meal, and find one of the best snacks in the park!
 


Yes it is Eureka. It's just called Six Flags St. Louis.

We are actually closer to Gurnee Six Flags, but went to St. Louis two years ago and really enjoyed it! This year Becca and I went to Six Flags New Jersey, but actually thought the other two were better. Thanks for joining in!
 
So fun to read this trip report

All look thrilled in the pictures

Before I moved south, lived ten minutes from Great America
 
After The Mummy we made our way to the Horror Makeup Show. It was nice to get inside for a little while and sit down. I had heard good things about the show, but didn’t read any spoilers. We loved the show. They choose a Vietnamese woman who spoke little English to be the on stage participant, but she was still so funny. I highly recommend catching this show if you haven’t seen it yet.


We were planning to have lunch next, but took a detour to ride ET. The line was short and we really enjoyed the ride, but didn’t catch ET saying our names at the end even though we listened for it. We did do the pictures after the ride which was fun.

61002_062117_000030093 by KConklin1028, on Flickr

61002_062117_000030084 by KConklin1028, on Flickr

61002_062117_000030087 by KConklin1028, on Flickr


Then we walked all the way to Potter World and jumped on the Hogwarts Express back to IOA where we would eat at what would become our favorite restaurant in the park...The Three Broomsticks! O.M.G. We ate here 3(!) times on our trip, and all voted for it to be our last meal. It was that good. We are not adventurous so the options fit our needs perfectly. There were other places I had on our list to try, but the type of food and quality at 3B was top notch and quickly became our favorite. I also prefer places where you aren’t waited on, just for time convenience, so 3B was an easy choice. Becca and I both got the chicken and ribs platter and Rachel got the turkey leg. We all also got a frozen butterbeer to go with it.

20170621_162406 by KConklin1028, on Flickr

20170621_162319 by KConklin1028, on Flickr

20170621_162308 by KConklin1028, on Flickr


We all loved our meals and also loved that it didn’t feel like we were eating theme park food. Feeling fully satisfied and happy, we began walking. We didn’t have any real plan, but stopped at the Kong ride and decided to try it. I hated walking through the queue knowing about the scare actors, but we only encountered scare actors once in the three times we went on it. We all really liked this ride as well and never encountered a huge wait for it. I think we waited maybe 20 minutes this time.

I had one last thing on my to do list for today and that was to try something I had seen mentioned on here and saw at the parks on our first day...frozen lemon slush! As we made our way to the front of IOA, I walked briskly to that amazing little stand. For $4 we each got the most delicious, refreshing, and large cup of lemonade or strawberry slush. Rebecca even got a mix with scoops of both lemonade and strawberry. This was easily my favorite snack in the park! It was so simple, inexpensive, and perfect to walk back to the bus with.


We headed back to the bus after getting our slush with the idea of swimming at the hotel for a little while before bed. It was too cold for me to swim, but the girls swam until storm clouds rolled in and cut our pool time short. We all showered, had a quick snack from the vending machines (should have bought chips at the store!), and went to sleep by 11.


Next we take the forum’s advice, try a fan favorite for lunch, and get some yummy ice cream!
 
Thanks for including beverages and food In your report

I'm always seeking what others say what they eat on vacation
 
Great report. And I love your photos!
The Fallon ride was my favorite of last trip. We did it four times in two days.
It must have been interesting having one non-HP fan in the group. Can't imagine not being a fan.
Looking forward to more.
 
Oh I missed your updates!!!

So glad you came back........and what fabulous picture of the three of you.......and glad to read the motion sickness was under control........

Can’t wait to read about the rest of your time there.....:D
 

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