We love travelling, especially to theme parks for a truly exciting experience – but it can be difficult to manage not only cost-wise, but fitting in all that time away. Hearing about the meet up that Orlando Informer does a couple of times each year, I thought it could be the great weekend get-away, and it didn’t disappoint! Here’s all the things I loved the most about Our First Orlando Informer Meetup.

First of all, a bit about the Orlando Informer Meetup – it happens 2-3 times each year, and so far it’s usually 1 evening (ours was Saturday, April 27th). You can get into the parks as early as 5pm, then stay clear until 1:30am – meaning several hours after everyone else has to leave! You seriously feel like a VIP walking in, then getting on rides while others that aren’t a part of the event are turned away after their closing time.

Your admission ticket is these fun, light-up bracelets they give you at check-in. Once you pull the red tab, you can turn on the light-up feature so staff can easily see if you’re suppose to be there. And don’t worry, they have a table on each side of the park with Orlando Informer staff ready to help with any issues, such as if your bracelet isn’t working properly. We had that problem, and they replaced it without any hassle. Love the service!

Little-to-No Wait Times

People said that, because most of the crowds have to leave when the park ‘closes’, there’s hardly any wait times after that for rides – but I didn’t realize just how short they would be! Most of them were basically however long it took to walk through the line to the start of the ride, and those that did have some wait was like 5-10 minutes. Crazy!

Because of this, we were able to fit in so much in the 8.5 hours we were there, meaning it was a killer deal. The Orlando Informer Meetup cost about $182 after tax per person, and was totally worth it just for this part alone – but there’s EVEN MORE!

Lots of Free Food

I heard this was new for our event, but when we checked in each of us received a voucher that was good for 1 quick-service meal with drink, plus a snack and another drink to use in the parks anytime before they closed to the public. So not only do you kick-off your park time with some free food, but then once the public leaves and the actual event starts, they have TONS of places serving free food to try! This was really neat, since we were able to sample things from different restaurants and snack stands that normally we’d have to pay for (and since travel budgets can be tight, we rarely get to try much).

Yes, FREE BUTTERBEER (and pumpkin juice – my favorite), ice cream, and various foods like chicken strips, burgers, fried rice, veggies, rolls, popcorn, donuts – seriously, so many! Just check out our ‘food map’ we received at check in…

Easy Weekend Trip

Since one of the things that make trips difficult to manage is fitting in time away from work – but since this event is really only 1 night (though their upcoming one in December is TWO nights!), you can fit it into a weekend and not even miss any work! We flew in early Saturday morning, enjoyed some time around CityWalk (lunch at my favorite place – Toothsome), then were in the parks at 5pm. After we left totally exhausted but having had a complete blast, we crashed at the hotel about 2am, slept in until check-out, and flew home that evening. So two days for an incredible trip!

Less Crowds

Not just for ride wait times, but walking around a bunch of crowds in the park when you want to enjoy the scenery can be frustrating – but not during the Orlando Informer Meetup! We felt like some of only a few people in the park, not hitting crowds or anything once it was closed to the public. The girls were even able to break out into one of their dance routines randomly as we walked around the park without any fear of bumping into people!

This also meant plenty of fun, unobstructed photos all around the park where normally you’d have to fight with people to get a good shot.

Fun Characters & Activities

As if the food and rides weren’t enough, but they had characters all over the place for some added fun. Some of the characters were even part of an activity – finding the secret password for a speakeasy! Since I don’t drink, and had 2 minors with me, we didn’t participate in this – but we did watch plenty enjoying figuring out the clues. It seemed to be 1920’s mob-themed for this, which is really cool.

We’re big fans of music, so it was great that they had DJs all around the parks keeping people dancing and excited even into the wee hours of the morning.

I HIGHLY recommend checking out the Orlando Informer Meetup for an incredible experience at Universal Studios Orlando! Our first experience was better than we could have imagined, and we can’t wait to do it again in the future!

What’s your favorite thing about Universal Studios Orlando?

I participated in Family Forward 2015, resulting in extra experiences and discounts. See more info here.

I freely admit that I’m a HUGE fan of Harry Potter – and my girl is even more so! She was in the middle of the series when we had our First Harry Potter World Experience in Orlando, so it was a really magical experience. Literally! (originally shared February 2016)

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Since there’s so much to tell about the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, I’m breaking it up into a few posts – this one I’ll share our thoughts on the atmosphere, rides and just the overall experience. Now there’s TWO separate areas for Harry Potter world – Diagon Alley in Universal Studios and then in Universal’s Islands of Adventure you have Hogsmeade. Make sure you have the park-hopper ticket so you can go between the two. The easiest way is on the Hogwarts Express, or you can just exit one park and go in the normal entrance of the other – but it’s quite a bit more walking as the Harry Potter stuff is near the back of both parks.

The Hogwarts Express was a fun experience – you get put into your own private train compartment (the 8 of us fit perfectly fine). Watch out the window and you can see some favorite characters from the show like Hagrid, the Weasley twins, even Hedwig! You HAVE to try the train both directions because each is completely different. Heads up – on the way from Diagon Alley to Hogsmeade there’s a little dark moment with a ‘Dimentor’ (don’t worry, it’s just the screen and lights, not like a costumed person) that may scare little kids. Going the opposite way, those frightened of spiders may get a little ‘eeky’ moment, but again it’s just the screen. Our kids did fine after the first time, when they knew what to expect and just closed their eyes at that part. The train was one of their favorite things after that!Be prepared and nab your Free Printable Universal Studios Florida Height Requirements here!

Diagon Alley at Universal Studios Florida

Right before you enter Diagon Alley from the Universal Park, you’ll see the Knight Bus – don’t forget to talk to the shrunken head and take some photos!

Head over to the famous ‘moving brick’ wall – the bricks don’t actually move, of course, but listen for the sound and your kids will be CERTAIN they can see them! Once through, there’s the path with plenty of shops and fun on both sides – and straight ahead is Gringotts bank, with the famous 60-ft Ukrainian Ironbelly dragon on top. He roars loudly and breathes fire every 10 minutes. You’ll hear a light rumble from him right before, so you have time to have your kids cover their ears if needed.

I LOVED the buildings and how well they did at making you truly feel like you were in Diagon Alley, even with all the ‘muggles’ around! A few stores down from the bank is the Gringotts Money Exchange – you can go in and talk to the head goblin, and even exchange your muggle money for some Gringotts Bank Notes (useable at Universal/Islands of Adventure as well as the Harry Potter lands – or keep as a souvenir). The kids thoughts this was AMAZING getting to use ‘wizard money’ to make some purchases.

Back by the Money Exchange is a out-of-the-way area which is less crowded than the main street – and has a lot of fun things to see such as a Mermaid well, The Hopping Pot (different beer brews, all FOUR varieties of Butter Beer, as well as some snacks and other drinks and Eternelle’s Elixers. The Elixer place is neat because you can buy different ‘potions’ (flavorings) to mix into your water for a fun little drink.

Both parks have PLENTY of photo opportunities – from a Hogwarts Express in Hogsmeade to a ton of fun window displays – try the Puking Pastilles at the Weasley’s joke shop in Diagon Alley. Check out the monster book or magical creatures at the pet shop, too!

I thought the Escape from Gringotts ride was remarkable – a 3-D, roller-coaster type ride where you need to get away from Voldemort, guards and more!

And yes, the top hat at Weasley’s store works just great – it’s right inside the brick entrance to Diagon Alley, and the Leaky Cauldron restaurant is right across from that. So much to do!

Rides in Diagon Alley: Escape from Gringotts, The Hogwarts Express

Where to eat in Diagon Alley: Leaky Cauldron, Florean Fortescue’s Ice-Cream Parlour

Shops at Diagon Alley: Ollivanders, Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes, Borgin & Burkes, Magical Menagerie, Madam Malkin’s Robes for all Occasions, Wiseacre’s Wizarding Equipment, Quality Quidditch Supplies

Hogsmead at Universal’s Islands of Adventure

Hogwarts castle is definitely a centerpiece of Hogsmeade – huge, beautiful and the detail is incredible! Inside is the Forbidden Journey ride (this was amazing – feet hanging in the air as you ‘fly’ through a Quidditch match, escape a dragon and brave the forbidden forest – warning if you get motion sickness easily!) – but you get to walk though the castle rooms on your way to the ride entrance! The pictures move and talk, there’s fun wizard newspapers, say hi to The Fat Lady and the Sorting Hat, plus hear some words from Dumbledore in his office.

The castle looks even more beautiful at night – and the rooftops were ‘snow-covered’, making the whole experience as real as possible! I seriously couldn’t get over the amount of detail that went into the whole village!

The Dragon Challenge was fun – a roller coaster where you’re almost ‘racing’ the other coaster! Red or blue – which do you pick? My kiddos absolute FAVORITE ride of the entire vacation was Flight of the Hippogriff – a kid-friendly roller coaster that was decently fun for the adults (which is good since they asked us to go on it dozens of times) but a real non-scary thrill for the younger ones! Don’t forget to bow to Buckbeak!

Rides at Hogsmeade: The Forbidden Journey, Dragon Challenge, Flight of the Hippogriff, The Hogwarts Express

Where to eat at Hogsmeade: Three Broomsticks

Shops at Hogsmeade: Dervish & Banges, Filch’s Emporium of Confiscated Goods, Honeydukes, Ollivanders

We only had a few days for all of Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure AND the Harry Potter stuff, so it was a bit rushed. I wish I had a whole day to truly look around into each thing – perhaps next time!

Coming Soon: Food at Harry Potter World, Great stuff for your visit to Harry Potter World

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Since we use to live in Utah, our vacations often took us to California for Disneyland or Universal. It was much closer than Florida – but we missed out on the awesome Harry Potter World stuff! Now that we’re in Texas, we’re pretty close to right smack in the middle…..and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is now at Universal Studios Hollywood, so California has just as much magic!

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We’ve been sharing some posts from our first trip to Harry Potter World in Orlando last September, and can’t wait to see how the California Hogsmeade compares! There will, of course, be some differences – it looks like the Dragon Challenge ride isn’t included. The castle looks AMAZING, though, and still includes the great ride Harry Potter & the Forbidden Journey. My kids’ absolutely FAVORITE ride, Flight of the Hippogriff, is there so that’s a big excitement!

You can still try a delish Butterbeer, and stop by Ollivanders to pick out your own wand. Plenty of shops, such as Zonke’s Joke Shop, Honeydukes and Gladrags Wizardwear. I’m sad that The Weasley’s store isn’t there, but not surprised since that’s a Diagon Alley thing. Don’t forget to eat at the Three Broomsticks, too!

I highly recommend trying their pumpkin juice – it was so yummy and refreshing! Honeydukes also has so many tasty treats, you have no shortage of options!

The grand opening is April 7th, so head on over to Get Away Today for the best deals on your vacation – then pack your robes and have a magical time!

Check out these other Harry Potter posts…