From Minions to Mummies: Micah’s First Universal Trip
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Being a long-time Universal Annual Passholder, I love showing people around the parks who have never been before. My sister and parents have only been to the parks once and my sister’s boyfriend Jack and my friend Micah had never been at all. Spending the day hopping between Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure was so fun seeing their reactions to everything!
Micah and I started off in Universal Studios. Since I was playing tour guide, I suggested starting in that park over Islands because Islands has SO much more to offer. I wanted to spend most of the day there, so we had to get all of the rides I wanted to take him on in Studios out of the way first. Our first stop was Villain-Con, which was actually new for me too. It’s a moving walkway shooter attraction, which was a very unique twist on the shooting games at Disney World where you are in a moving vehicle.
After that, we rode Men in Black: Alien Attack. This was another shooting game, but this time we were in a moving vehicle. We then made our way over to DreamWorks Land where we rode The Trolls Trollercoaster (another new one for me!) and Micah met Squidward and Patrick.
Amping it up a little bit, we then rode the Mummy! This ride always gives me whiplash. When Micah and I got on the ride, the girl next to me asked if I liked it. Before the ride started moving, I said I didn’t really like it because I always feel like my neck is going to snap and then I asked her if she liked it. She said, “I’ve never been on it. It’s our first time at Universal.” So I hope I didn’t scare her too much LOL.
Before meeting up with my family, we watched a group of actors dancing in the San Francisco area of the theme park. Micah jumped right in and danced with them - watch the full clip here. I, however, do not dance. Ever. At all. So when one of the actors tried to get me to go dance with them, I think I said no at least 4 times. But when he had his hand out and said it was a group effort and Micah was telling me to come, I had to. Two of the actors taught us a little dance, and I actually enjoyed myself. And if you know me, you know how intimidating that was for me.
My parents, Amelia, and Jack then met up with us and we went on Transformers before they wanted to go on Hollywood Rip Ride Rocket. This is the coaster that climbs the sky at a 90 degree angle which is TERRIFYING. I’ve only been on this once before and I said that was enough for me. But everybody else was going and I didn’t want Micah to sit alone and I figured if I just danced in front of everybody, nothing could be as scary as that. So I went with them. The climb literally feels like you’re going to flip over backwards but once you get past that, the rest of the ride is fun. And I was double proud of myself this day.
We grabbed a quick bite at the Minion’s Cafe where I split the Crispy Cauliflower with Amelia and Jack. Then it was time to park hop! We went over to Diagon Alley where I gave everyone a brief tour of Diagon and Knockturn before we all rode Gringott’s. Best ride in Universal Studios, hands down. But that is coming from someone with a Harry Potter tattoo who has read the series 8 times, so take that with a grain of salt.
We rode the Hogwarts Express to Islands, which is such a fun experience in itself. Our first call was to Butterbeer. I prefer the Pumpkin Juice, which is what I opted for at first, but after seeing everyone else enjoying their butterbeers, I ordered a vegan one, Micah ordered a Pumpkin Fizz, and Amelia and Jack ordered a Pumpkin Juice too. We all ate at The Three Broomsticks and got a gorgeous table by the window! And of course, we got on Forbidden Journey (one of my favorites) and Flight of the Hippogriff.
Hagrid’s Motorbike Adventure is without a doubt my favorite ride in Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios combined. (Stardust Racers at Epic Universe took the ultimate crown for Universal.) We saved Hagrid’s for last so we rode Velocicoaster and Hulk first. I forgot how INSANE Velocicoaster is, in the best way possible. Hulk was great too, but it always hurts my ears from my head hitting the sides, so major points deducted there. But Hagrid’s was so much fun as always. Again, I absolutely love Harry Potter so this is the clear winner for me.
We ended up going back to Studios just to go on the Jimmy Fallon ride before our dinner at CityWalk. This is my mom’s favorite ride and she wanted Micah to ride it, so we definitely had to get on it before we left.
My dad, Micah, and I had Antojitos for dinner at Citywalk which was delicious. I had vegan tacos that I wish I was eating right now as I’m typing this. Another favorite of mine at Universal is Voodoo Donuts, so we grabbed half a dozen that we could eat for breakfast the next morning. I was under the impression that we would all be eating them on our way back to the hotel, but everyone else said they were saving theirs for the morning (lame).
And with that, Micah’s first Universal day is officially in the books, and it couldn’t have been more fun. I’m already counting down until our next visit, and planning on showing my mom around Epic Universe later this month!
Watch our day here and hear all about our entire trip on episode 19 of Magical Moments With Mom & Mel!
