Postcards from Orlando #4 - Wizarding World of Harry Potter Hogwarts Express

In a week that has brought much sadness to both the Orlando community and people across the world I dedicate the remaining eight videos of this series to all the people affected by the tragic shooting on Sunday.

In video 4 we take a wander around the ride line for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogwarts Express.

Jurassic Park River Adventure at Islands of Adventure POV

One of my favourite rides at Islands of Adventure has to be the Jurassic Park River Adventure.

There is a great amount of theming which anyone who either loves the original films or Jurassic World will appreciate.


I had an interesting experience on this ride, despite walking past several cast members and being safety checked before the ride started we were told-off for wearing the GoPro towards the end of the ride.  If you listen carefully you will hear an announcement telling me to take off my GoPro or the ride will stop!

Did you know? When the ride was first opened the 85 foot drop was one of the largest in the world for a water ride.

Lake Buena Vista Resort Village & Spa Review August 2015

We have just come back from a great holiday in Orlando where we stayed at Lake Buena Vista Resort Village & Spa. They are located very close to Disney and about 25 mins drive from Universal Studios so provide a great location for visiting all the parks. 

Do check out their website here



The condo was very clean and well equipped and we had great service from the staff there. If you are looking for a good location not too far from the airport and close to all the parks this is an excellent choice. 

There is plenty of parking both covered and outside. The complex has a great pool with pirate slide and a very nice poolside bar area.

A little more detail ...

Following a delayed flight from Gatwick we arrived at 1.30am and had a very warm welcome when we checked in. We were in building 1 on the fourth floor and could see the Disney fireworks from our windows! It was a lovely touch the big bottle of juice on arrival and really helped us. The next morning we went down to the bar for the complimentary breakfast (Virgin package) which was very well received. Our boys loved the pool - especially the water slide!

You are not allowed to take outside food and drinks into the pool area and this will be checked by the security guard.  Food and drinks are available at the poolside bar and was set at a reasonable price.  There is a second pool between buildings 1 and 2 which provides a quieter swimming experience.

A number of people have commented on trip advisor that the furnishings look tired and dated, we didn't find that all.  The accommodation was clean and tidy and the appliances in the kitchen were more than adequate for our self-catering needs.

A couple of highlights ...

- Our cooked breakfast in the Irish bar was really nice, great service with a smile and at a good price.
- The shop (whilst being more expensive that Walmart) had a very good selection.
- The WIFI was fast and I had no problems connecting our devices to it.
- The staff on reception were extremely polite and helpful and genuinely cared about what we needed
- The room was very clean and tidy on arrival and contained everything we needed to cook

We are very pleased we stayed there, it was an excellent choice in a very good location. 

Can't fault it!

CityWalk Hot Dog Hall of Fame - Trip Report

During our recent vacation in Orlando my sons became obsessed with eating hot dogs.  Everywhere we went all they wanted was a nice hot dog, so an obvious choice for us had to be the CityWalk Hot Dog Hall of Fame at Universal Studios.

Check out this link from Universal Studios CityWalk.

Do check out their website here with menu details.

Current opening times are Sunday to Thursday 11am - 10pm and Friday to Saturday 11am - 1am.

They are a quick service restaurant with plenty of outside seating in a nicely themed ballpark style area.  The food is priced in the $9 - $14 range and we thought that it was definitely very good value for money.

Our experience was really positive, it was very clean and tidy, service was excellent and the food was freshly prepared quickly.  Ordering the food was very efficient and we were talked through all the different options and toppings available.

I had the legendary 2 foot long dog with extra pulled pork.  It was beautiful, tasty and so well presented!

This is definitely a place to eat and I would thoroughly recommend it.

Lake Buena Vista Resort Village & Spa - Room Tour Summer 2015

We have just come back from a great holiday in Orlando where we stated at Lake Buena Vista Resort Village & Spa. They are located very close to Disney and about 25 mins drive from Universal Studios so provide a great location for visiting all the parks.  

The condo was very clean and well equipped and we had great service from the staff there.  If you are looking for a good location not too far from the airport and close to all the parks this is an excellent choice.  

There is plenty of parking both covered and outside.  The complex has a great pool with pirate slide and a very nice poolside bar area.

We hope this room tour gives you a flavour of the condo. We would definitely recommend staying here.

Check out their website here http://www.lbvorlandoresort.com

We will be adding a more in-depth review and trip report later.

Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Hogsmeade - trip photos

Having spent an amazing day at Diagon Alley we spent our second Universal Studios day at Hogsmeade.  We arrived with very high expectations and were not disappointed at all.

To make our day more memorable we started at Kings Cross in Universal Studios and took the train to Hogsmeade station.  The train ride was really good and we loved the video and the shadows on the compartment windows.

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey is a great ride experience which includes a huge amount of theming during the ride line.  It was quite scary and intense in places!


Check out our trip photos below and click on any to enlarge.

Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley - Trip report

We recently visited the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios and loved every second of our visit.  Diagon Alley is amazing and Escape from Gringotts was an awesome ride.  The attention to detail in the theming is stunning.

Click on any photo to see full size.