For me vacations tend to be thoroughly planned. I like to have an idea of what we will be doing, where we will be going, and all the reservations in hand to prevent ‘disappointment’. This trip was a touch free form. We were not sure if Keith would be able to come until a few weeks prior, so our itinerary was left wide open. If we traveled as a trio, I decided I wanted to limit what we did by location. Did I want to be stuck in traffic for hours if I didn’t have my co-pilot? Nope! I did know I wanted to take the kids to Universal Studios Hollywood and maybe tour Warner Brothers Studio. We are extreme Harry Potter fans and the kids insisted our budget be focused on this main aspect. Warner Brother made the films, Universal shares the marketing license, so both have interesting aspects to explore. I selected our rental home based mostly on the location (~1 mile from Universal, ~5 from Warner Brothers) and we purchased discount military tickets from MWR prior to visiting. Harry Potter would happen, even if we didn’t do anything else all week!
Wednesday brought us clear, but cool weather. Again, I didn’t bring a jacket, but it gave me a good excuse to pick up a Ravenclaw hoodie at the shops right outside the park. We arrived before before opening, which was the perfect time to browse our options. Aiden spied a How to Train Your Dragon tee-shirt, but held out purchasing to make sure there wasn’t anything he liked better inside the park. Come to find out, there wasn’t. Sometimes the best thing is the first item you see!
Hogwarts Express 
Entering Hogsmeade 
Lemon Drop! 
Due to the fact that the Hollywood Universal is a working movie studio, the ride / entertainment / public access was significantly smaller than the Florida park. Honestly, I found it to be refreshing. Spending two days would be relaxing if you wanted to do everything, but because we had visited the sister park in Florida we streamlined our visit to the back lot tour, doing everything Harry Potter, and hitting our favorite rides. As with Disney, there are enough differences between the parks to make visiting both fun. The studio tour was worth the price of admission alone, incorporating both studio information, ride design, special effects, and how movies are produced in the mix. It is several different rides and a tour in one!
That’s a big donut 
Time to get sick! 
Don’t open that book! 
Water World stunt show. We all enjoyed this, even if we did get soaked!
Cost: We purchased Military discounted tickets through MWR, which are heavily discounted off the regular cost of $139 per adult and $133 per child. The discount varies by year. They do offer a very small $3 dollar per ticket discount for military at the gate, but it is far better to buy ahead if you can swing it.
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