If you have a large appetite (as does my teenage son who we always purchase this for!), this is an excellent deal as it offers unlimited meals for the whole day up until 30 minutes prior to park closing. 

The cost is $19.99 plus tax for adults and $9.99 plus tax for children (ages 9 and under) for a single park or you can also purchase a two park meal deal which includes both Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure for $23.99 plus tax for adults and $11.99 plus tax for children.  Beverages are not included, however, you can purchase a Meal Deal Souvenir Cup for $8.99 plus tax which is good for unlimited fountain drink refills on the day of purchase.

The way it works is that there are 3 participating restaurants in each of the parks. 

At Universal Studios, the participating locations are Louie’s Italian Restaurant, Mel’s Drive-In, and the International Food & Film Festival Food Court. 

At Islands of Adventure, the participating locations are Circus McGurkus Café Stoo-pendous, Comic Strip Café and Burger Digs.

Most of these locations serve the usual selection of burgers, pizza, and chicken.  You go through the line and select one entrée and one dessert and show your wrist band at check-out.  You are limited to only the one entrée and dessert per trip through the line.  Children must choose from the exclusive meal deal children’s menu only. 

My daughters and I won’t consume enough food to make this worth our while, however, for my 15 year old son and for my husband, we found this to be a very excellent value.  The downside is that you can only get one entrée per trip through the line, but being that my son inhales his food in about one third of the time as the rest of us, he had plenty of time to go through the line at least one or two more times while we finished eating.  And since he’s usually hungry again within the hour, it was quite nice for him (and really nice for my pocket book) to be able to just stop and grab another meal along the way.  Remember that sharing of meals is not permitted.

Unfortunately, I did not receive my green-inked letter, and to my utter astonishment and very real disappointment, I have never met anyone who has. 

So when the Wizarding World of Harry Potter opened and I heard that Universal was planning on building Hogwarts, I decided I would have to settle for the amusement park experience of our favorite magical school.  A visit to the park is considerably shorter than seven years of Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, and History of Magic, so I suppose that’s a plus. 

What I was not expecting was Hogwarts to be presented to the hoards of Potter fans as a ride entitled Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.

Gee, J.K. Rowling, why didn’t you name one of your seven highly acclaimed books that?  I can’t for the life of me see why. 

Anyway, so Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey;  first you walk through the dungeons, which are pretty artfully done, and then you proceed through a line that meanders about the Herbology greenhouses.  When you finally enter the castle, you find yourself in rooms that incorporate one of the best features of Hogwarts—talking portraits!

The paintings are adorable.  They bring to life several characters that you will surely remember from the books, and the magic starts to come to life.  They are followed by various statues, the entrance to Dumbledore’s office, the Fat Lady, the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, and several other artful touches that will enchant the true fan and the casual movie watcher alike. 

The Trio makes their appearance before the ride begins of course,  and when you board the ride you are hoisted into the air by one of Hermione’s spells—because nothing is complete without the genius witch’s wandwork!

What then follows is an absolutely ingenious conglomeration of the first four Harry Potter books which includes the Chamber of Secrets, a dragon, Aragog, dementors, Quidditch, and the stunning usage of bubbled screens that truly make you feel like you are flying with Harry himself. 

It was unlike any ride I have ever been on, and it was an absolute thrill.  My sister and I described it as crazy amazing—it was a bit crazy in that neither of us really knew what was going on, but amazing in its effects and ability to bring the series and the grounds of Hogwarts into stunning clarity before the awed visitor. 

So, despite my skepticism, it was a bloody brilliant ride.  It avoided all the elements of the series that I disliked (the entirety of the last three books) and rejoiced in the bright and exciting adventures of Harry in his early years.   Is Hogwarts finally accessible at Universal Orlando? Of course not.  But the Forbidden Journey offers us Muggles a superb taste of the magic that will always be just beyond our reach.

Yet again more changes to the Theme Park prices, there are so many packages now it is really difficult to choose the best deal that suits your family requirements.

In readiness for the opening of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Universal Orlando have announced a new ticket pricing structure called “U Select”. It is similar to the Disney “Magic Your Way” ticket system where you buy a base ticket for a number of days with the option to park hop if you wish. Presumably this is to encourage visitors to stay longer than just one or two days during their vacation. Just like Disney they want you in THEIR Parks to spend your money to make up for the smaller crowds.

You can buy either a one, two, three, four or seven day pass to Universal Studios and Universal’s Islands of Adventure theme parks (excluding separately ticketed events such as Halloween, Thanks Giving, Christmas Shows). If you wish to visit both parks on the same day, then you can upgrade to the park-to-park access option.

Though the adult one day ticket remains the same price at $79 plus tax, the two day ticket is considerably more expensive than it used to be. By buying three or more days then the “day rate” drops. Tickets are valid for up to 14 consecutive days from the date of first use but there is not a optional “no expiry” charge like the Disney tickets. If you are still not confused to which is the best for YOU there is more!!!

The joint Universal and SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment tickets known as Orlando Flex tickets have also gone up in price by $25.

We think everyone needs to get as much information that is going to help them get the best deal and save them some money. Most home owners will do their best to help but it will still come down the the guests prefered choice.

With all of this going on, we still feel the Fun, Entertainment, Shows and the Magic is still worthwhile.

Happy Holidays

Mary & Larry