Islands of Adventure

 Our second park day we stayed in Islands of Adventure. We loved Hagrid's rollercoaster so much that we decided to get in line for rope drop early and rush to the back to get on that ride before the park got crowded. About 500 other people had that thought too! You weren't allowed to run, but we did a very fast walk to get to the back. Think 5K race at the starting line and you can barely move. What helped a lot was that we had all our stuff in the stroller and did not have to join the crowds in putting all their personal belongings in a locker before getting in line for the ride. A short 10 minute wait and we were blasting off!

Yep, it is a way awesome ride and might be more so when you didn't have to wait hours in line!

We were excited to explore other areas of the park and check out some cool stuff. We first made our way into Seuss Land and were excited to learn it was Dr. Seuss' birthday!

We saw this cute photo op and I suggested to Charlie that it would be cute if he climbed up a little and peeked out. He was happy to oblige and next thing you know, security was headed our way telling me to get my child down. I said I was sorry, quickly snapped some pictures, told Charlie it wasn't okay to climb on the structures, and giggled as we ran away!

The weather was beautiful and all the bright colors and whimsical designs made this section so fun!

One attraction that was way better than expected was Poseidon's Adventure. The kids were a little irritated to do it and then we walked through a tunnel of swirling water, had a room come alive with fire and other cool effects that awed all of us. 

We made our way along to the front of the park and had a delicious lunch at Confisco's. The food was good, the service was great, and the restaurant was not crowded, which made it a relaxing lunch!

We rode this fun zipline swing type ride that is only for kids 54 inches and below and their adult buddy. So glad SG wasn't any taller because it was a beautiful view and a fun ride!

It put you out at a fun playground area that was quiet and so pretty. Even daddy went down the slide!

Spinny rides are fun!

Spider-Man ride was a delightful surprise - way more fun than we expected!

Charlie wasn't tall enough for The Hulk, which we knew, but he was still bummed to wait in the child swap room. Sarah Graves loved the coaster and was happy to ride twice!

A giant bag of cotton candy definitely helped raise his spirits!

We couldn't resist going back to Hogsmeade for a bit more!

We were excited to see Dumbledore's pensieve. 

The flight over Hogwarts did not disapoint!

Casting a few more spells. 

For dinner we had a Marvel character dinner at Cafe 4. Coming from Disney experiences this was very relaxed. You could show up anytime during the time window, it wasn't very crowded, and the characters slowly made their way around. 

Rogue was very chatty and friendly with the kids. 

We ran into Storm earlier in the park and she remembered meeting the kids. 

Captain America was very friendly and took his time talking to the kids about what they enjoyed and what we had done in the park. 

Wolverine was neat to meet. His "nails" were something!

Spider-Man was awesome and had lots of questions for all of us. We told him how much we loved his ride!

Another great park day with lots of fun memories!

The hotel had a heated pool that both kids were dying to check out. I knew the weather was too breezy and too cool for my desire to get in, but we agreed we would go out and watch. Sarah Graves put her feet in and came to that conclusion herself. Charlie found a buddy and stayed in the water for about an hour before Aaron was ready to come in,