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Universal Studios Orlando

The highlight of our trip was definitely Universal Studios. We had such a great time! 

It was A LOT of walking but a very family friendly theme park.


The sign above our heads says it all, "The Adventure Begins."

We were given the advise to make sure we started off at the Harry Potter rides because you can't use your fast pass there and they get busy very quickly. It was sad to walk through the Dr. Seuss and Curious George section, knowing how much Ethan would really enjoy it but we were on a mission.

And we were NOT disappointed. I highly recommend the rides.

Some rides were very family friendly and some were only for big kids, but Universal Studios has the best set up called Family Swap -- you all stand in line together and then when you get close to the front they take you to a special section. The parent and child who can ride get on while the other parent waits with those that can't. Then when the first rides are done, you swap out and the other parent gets to ride right away and the child that can ride rides again - no waiting. It's brilliant! No having to wait outside and wonder when they'll show up, you all stay together.

 We were smart this time and got a stroller right away. We knew we had lots of walking to do and it was another hot day.

We got Jack on his first big roller coaster (flips and twists and all). He really didn't want to at first but Jason finally convinced him to try and it and then he never looked back - riding over and over. The other two liked some but not all. The Harry Potter rides were amazing. They really made you feel like you were flying.

Can you see the dragon on top of the building in the middle of the photo? Every few minutes it would roar and breathe fire - so cool!

We rode several 3-D rides, which were really difficult for Ethan, mostly because they were very loud and jerky. Plus, he didn't like it when it got pitch black. If we ever go back I'll be sure to bring some earphones for Ethan to help with the noise.

Ethan has been ALL ABOUT the minions this summer - we watch Despicable Me almost every day - so we were really excited about this ride. Unfortunately he did not like the ride (again it was the noise and the jerking around on the ride) but afterward we got to meet the minions and that was THE HIGHLIGHT of the day!

Ethan LOVED them and it was so hard to pull him away. 

Normally you just take a photo and move on but he didn't want to go. Luckily there was no one behind us and the minions were quite happy to give him some extra love and attention. One of the handlers even got a hug from Ethan which made her day. She said she never gets any attention and that Ethan could stay as long as he liked!!

Then it was off to some more rides. We were all getting tired but tried to make the most of it.

We did a family water ride through Jurassic Park. It was kind of scary but luckily both Wyatt and Ethan had been watching different dinosaur videos so we could play it off by saying, "oh look, the dinosaur is saying hi." So Ethan went through the whole ride waving and saying hi to all the dinosaurs that roared at him.

Again, if we come back, I would do it in two or three days because we didn't have any chance to visit the younger kid rides that I think Ethan and Wyatt would really like. But we all still had a great time.

Jack, I think, had the best!

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