DAY 3 - Islands of Adventure
This is the third time we've been here and we STILL haven't seen everything! This is by far my favorite theme park! I believe it is Ed's favorite as well. I've always loved art and color and so being here was so awesome because of the colors, plants, structures and attention to detail. It is a whimsy and magical place. I'm so excited to bring Finn and Thor here in the future!
These photos were taken near the entrance of the park. Ed and I have still never eaten at Margaritaville, but the face cutouts were fun. This duck reminded me of something that Oliver would love. The last time we were here with him, one of the things he loved the most was just sitting and watching the animals, the ducks, the birds, the rabbits and squirrels. We laughed that the bird was just chilling out on one leg. I could just hear Oliver's laugh in my head as well. He will always be with us when we vacation here because of all the sweet memories we got to make together.
SEUSS LANDING
This is the whimsy I was talking about. The colors and the fun decor just make me think of all the Dr. Seuss books I've read to my kids in the past. 
THE LOST CONTINENT
We've never really spent much time in this 'island', but the views and colors were amazing as always.
THE WIZARDING WORLD OF HARRY POTTER
This is my favorite island of all of them. I will always have a special place in my heart for these books and movies as Oliver loved them just as much as I did! Sadly, I only got to the middle of book 5 when Oliver passed away. Our whole family loves to have movie marathons together and make food from the movies. Oliver got me the Harry Potter cookbook for Christmas one year. Several months before Oliver passed we dressed up for Halloween, had a Harry Potter New Year's party and we even incorporated Ollie's love of Harry Potter on his headstone.
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| Halloween 2011 - Moaning Myrtle, Hagrid, Hernione, Ron, Draco, Harry |
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| New Year's Eve 2011 - Oliver as Professor Trelawny |
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| We had to have a Harry Potter reference on his headstone! Can you see it?! |
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| I wish I could attend Hogwarts myself... |
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| Me and Ed in front of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. |
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| The village of Hogsmeade |
We never got our picture taken in front of the Hogwarts Express before. I wish we had one of Oliver in front of it. I'll take a cutout picture of him next time! I loved the crooked rooftops and chimneys in the village. Butterbeer... of course and the Hog's Head tavern.
We ate dinner at The Three Broomsticks for the first time! Ed ordered the fish and chips and I ordered cornish pasties which were really quite tasty. We had to get some delicious butterbeer to drink of course! While we were eating we were sitting next to a couple who were talking and I heard what I thought was an English accent so of course I asked if they were visiting from England and they were. They were on their honeymoon as they just got married and wanted to see all of the Florida theme parks. We talked for a long time and saw them like three more times that day! We sat and chatted on a bench by a misting fan for about 45 minutes! They were so much fun and now we are facebook friends, so if I ever get to go on my dream trip to England I'm going to look them up! I was sad to have forgotten to snap a picture of them! Clark and Tracey, it was so fun chatting with you and learning about 'beasties' and other fun English terms!
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| Honeydukes sweet shop |
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| Gladrags Wizardwear, Ollivander's Wands, Spintwitches Sporting Needs, Zonkos Joke Shop |
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| The Owl Post |
When we went on the ride "Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey" the last time, we took a different way through because of Ollie's wheelchair. We waited in line this time and got to see all of the different rooms and holograms of the various characters. The sorting hat was the last thing that spoke to you as you got on the ride. I have motion sickness, but the ride was worth feeling woozy for a bit!!
We don't usually spend much time in 'Jurassic Park' either, but I had to stop and take some photos of the gorgeous flowers! I love my handsome husband in the top picture as well! I don't know what kind of turtle that is below, but I dub it the nipplenose turtle. Oliver would have gotten a kick out of his nose!
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| Seussland from across the lake. |
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| The Lost Continent from across the lake. I'd never noticed the man standing under the rock before! |
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| The Hulk roller coaster that goes from like 0-60 right off the bat! I love the spray from the water as the coaster went through it! |
Toon Lagoon was fun and so colorful! The flower petals on the flower below reminded me of Oliver as they were shaped like hearts! This time we went on the Bilge Barges ride and got SOAKED! I had to buy some flip flops as my shoes and socks were so wet!
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| Toon Lagoon |
Me and Ed look like total nerds with Captain America! Two thumbs up! I love Ed's face checking out Iron man's undercarriage! This was the first time I'd seen the new bikes the superheroes rode in on. They used to have 4 wheelers, but these are way cooler! They really need to hire someone to play Thor!!
After the park closed, we went to Universal's City Walk and ate at the Latin Quarter. It was really good! We had a cheese fondue with chorizo in it. It was the first time I'd ever tasted it!
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