Redford Family: Universal Studios Florida

On the plane super excited to go!

Before the pandemic hit we had planned to visit The Seels in New York before they moved back to Minnesota. We were going to take the kids to New York City and then drive up to the Hill Cumorah pageant. Once everything was shut down and the Seels were back in Minnesota that plan was scrapped. However, we still wanted to do a fun family vacation. The twins are juniors in high school and we are running out of time before Brittan moves away to college. We had talked about Universal Studios in the past and decided to look into a trip to Florida. We discovered that they were promoting Buy 2 days get 3 days free. We decided to jump on it and scheduled the trip for the end of February. It was our first ever family vacation that was all on our own. Covid restrictions were not how we wanted to do it, BUT they didn't ruin our trip. We had the best time and would go back tomorrow if we could.

The day that we left Minnesota it was -5. That was a warmer day than what we had been experiencing. We had beautiful weather the first day in the park. 86 degrees was the high.

The end of the perfect first day was spent at the hotel pool. Brittan and I decided that we need to do this every February!

Just checking out what the Ministry of Magic had to say.

We didn't get to talk to the shrunken head on the knight bus the first round. The second time we came around he was up to talking to people.

Logan would only take this picture after the dragon blew his fire. He would not turn his back to the dragon if the fire was about to come.

The entrance of Hogwarts. It is just as cool as we were hoping it would be.

We found the best lady to take our picture for us. She waited until the Universal sign came around to get the best picture.

We loved everything about the Harry Potter world. The Hogwarts Express was super fun. We rode it multiple times- both ways.

This is the entrance to Hagrid's ride. It was everyone's favorite ride at Universal. Even with the many times it was shut down, we were able to ride it 6 times.

The Mermaid statue at the beginning of Hagrid's

Dragon Eggs in Hagrid's hut

There were only a couple of rides that Logan wasn't able to go on because of his height. The Hulk Coaster was one of them. It was one of Kason and Corbin's favorites.

Lunch at the Three Broomsticks. The Great Feast was awesome and the restaurant was a lot of fun.

Butterbeer definitely lived up to it's reputation! We tried it all: hot, cold, frozen, ice cream, and fudge. Yum!!

A better view of the Hogwart's castle. The picture does not do it justice. It is that cool.

Brittan and Kason have both read all the books. I read the first three books to Logan before we left. One of his favorite parts of the books is the house points and who wins the house cup.

Not a great photo, but its really hard to show how cool Hogwarts is in pictures. Some of the pictures move and talk, just like the book, making it super fun.

We were able to talk to the goblin and get some money exchanged.

The performance of the three bothers was very fun. We loved everything about the Harry Potter world!

Corbin doesn't do sit down restaurants so this was the only time we didn't eat in the hotel or grab something quick. The foosball table was a great idea for a dinner table! Corbin kept pointing to the park wanting to leave, but the rest of us didn't mind waiting for our food!

Hogsmeade at night. It was our favorite time to ride Hagrid's ride.

After we booked our tikets we found out that Mardi Gras would be happening while we were there. It was a fun addition to our trip! The floats around the park were fun and the kids enjoyed dancing for beads.

Instead of allowance for a couple months, they each were able to pick out an interactive wand. Brittan's wand wasn't working, but uckily they have a wand repair shop all ready for you.

Weaskey's Wizard Wheezes. We had a lot of fun exploring the many shops in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade.

We didn't spend much time in Dr. Seuss land. But Logan did want a picture taken of him by this arch.

The pink donut at Lard Lad Donut's was surprising. It was really good! We had to go back for a second one the last day we were there.

The kids using their interactive wands in Hogsmeade.

Part of Mardi Gras was food from around the world. We purchased a tasting lanyard and had fun trying new foods. Kason was excited when he saw the Spain Kiosk. It had a dessert that he had learned about in Spanish class.

The Despicable Me ride was Logan's go-to ride when everyone else was on Rip Ride Rocket.

Logan was the winner of the most beads. He loved to run to the floats to collect beads. He doesn't mind breaking out his dance moves.

Corbin didn't love the Harry Potter world as much as the rest of us, but he was a good sport. Luckily he enjoyed Hagrid's ride as much as the rest of us did so as long as we ended with a fun ride he was ok with the time we spent there.

The Hogswart Express was so fun!

Firebolt!

Knockturn Alley really lived up to being spooky. Logan wanted to leave as soon as we got there and didn't want to take any pictures.

The Escape from Gringott's ride was a top 5- for everyone but Logan. Logan didn't want to ride it a second time- but since everyone else wanted to, he was a good sport and rode with his eyes closed.

A replica of Hagrid's bike. You get to ride on a similar bike or side car on the ride.

Kason experimenting at one of the wand spots.

The leaky Cauldron was just as much fun as the Three Broomsticks.

Brittan showing Corbin the pigmy puff that she just bought.

The Butterbeer was our favorite, but the pumpkin juice was pretty good too!

Shaun was super excited to see the Delorean from Back to the Future.

Waiting to get on the train

Voodoo donuts at the City Walk were really good too. We let the kids each pick out their own fun donut.

Milkshakes at Toothsome Chocolate Emporium

This was a fun place to stand. It is a place to use your wand, but it also shoots out water from the top. If you aren't aware of what's going on and time it perfectly, you will get hit with water. Luckily most people are just super happy to be there and don't get angry when get hit unexpectedly with water.