While the hotel was a dump with terrible parking in a not great neighborhood (it is Hollywood after all) it was very nice to be within walking distance, even if all of the walking was straight uphill.
We got to the front gates with plenty of time before opening. And while they did try to persuade us to buy their early entry (to only get in for one ride), we declined and decided to wait in the non-existent general admission line. I was so glad we didn't do it because I was the only person in line for a very long time! (Chris went to get coffee at City Walk while I held our place.)
We were even more happy about not buy early entry passes when they let us in 30 minutes before the park was supposed to open! :)
We assumed that everyone would go to Harry Potter first but the crowds seemed to be heading en masse the opposite direction. So Chris headed to Hogsmeade and I followed the mob to see where they were going. As soon as I realized everyone was heading to Super Nintendo World, I went ahead to meet Chris at the Forbidden Journey ride.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was so deserted we began to question whether or not it was even open. But it was and we were able to ride Forbidden Journey and the Flight of the Hippogriff twice before the park even officially opened!
Then we decided we should make our way down the massive escalators to Super Nintendo World before the lines got any longer.
It really is so immersive and between the bright colors and music it is just like stepping into the game! There was such a short line for the Mario Kart Bowser's Challenge ride that we snapped a couple of quick pics and got right in line. There really wasn't a line and it was super fun!
Then we went to walk through the queues for The Mummy, Transformers and Jurassic World...
Since there still didn't seem to be any lines, we headed back to Super Nintendo World to take more pictures and ride again...
Then we did the same for the other three...
Then it was back to where we started for shows and the rest of the rides...
First up was the Kung Fu Panda show...
Next: the Water World Stunt Show. It was a really great show! And even though they don't warn you at all, we wisely chose not to sit in the "wet zone" seats. They actually throw buckets of water on you, spray you with water cannons and the just skis really have it out for you during the show. Wow!
By this time we were ready for a hearty lunch and butterbeer at The Three Broomsticks...
In celebration of the 60th anniversary of the studio tour, we got the opportunity to get off the tram, wander around and take a few pics before completing the ride. I miss the parting of the Red Sea and Jaws but I still like the earthquake... :)
We were pleasantly surprised at the quality of both the giant Lard Lad chocolate donut and the virtual roller coaster Simpsons Ride. The donut was really tasty and the ride was funny and pretty thrilling for a ride that really didn't move much. In fact, I was kinda glad we ate our donut after the ride and not before... :)
Then we only had Off the Leash and Minion Mayhem left to ride...
We got off the ride just in time to catch the final showing of the Triwizard Spirit Rally and to do a bit of shopping in Hogsmeade before the park closed...
The park closed early for a private event, so we snapped a quick pic of the Mystery Machine before leaving and grabbing dinner at the Mexican restaurant at City Walk. Thankfully this was a much better meal than on Cinco de Mayo!
We wandered back to the hotel, showered, packed the van and went to sleep.
The next morning we were all ready to leave and the van told us one of our tires was low. So we stopped at a nearby gas station, pumped it up and hit the road.
There was no traffic, the weather was great and we made great time to northern California by dinner time. But we also noticed that our tire pressure was getting lower and lower. So we grabbed dinner at Panera (thanks to a gift card from Glenna) stopped at the closest Les Schwab and had it fixed.
The weather was beautiful for the entire trip home! We were able to spend the night with Zack and Tatum, have breakfast with Zack before leaving for home and we still made it in time for music Bingo at Downtime for dinner! :)
