Living in Florida has many benefits. I have been a Walt Disney World Passholder for almost 1 year at the time of this post, and I love every time that I go to the parks. After about a year, I knew Orlando had many other theme parks. I did my research and looked at Sea World, Universal Orlando and Busch Gardens in Tampa, 30 miles from where I live. After checking out prices, and saving up money, I ended up going with Universal Studios Orlando.
It was the 16th of February when I first went to pick up my annual pass to Universal and the first time in 5 years that I have stepped foot on another theme parks property other than Disney. I walked in with my mother, and wow….my mouth dropped. I forgot how much fun Universal was. In 2011, I moved from the Los Angeles metro area to the New York City metro area and with that, I left the theme parks I knew and loved, Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure and Universal Studios Hollywood. When I got my pass almost 9 years later, it made me happy to be back to generally what I know, and had to learn some attractions and other park locations that weren’t in California.
I finally made the plunge on Universal because I am a big Harry Potter fan. I have been since I read the books both in the United Kingdom and the United States, and because I loved the films. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is amazing, and I will write a whole post just on Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley, but it was the main reason I took the plunge.