We have been wanting to try these parks for years! Our DH19 is a huge Harry Potter fan and she was so excited to finally be going. Overall, we had a wonderful time - but it was one of THOSE trips, where things keep going wrong. None of those things were the fault of the parks though.

We were completely wowed by the Harry Potter sections of the parks! The girls both got wands and I think they hit every interactive spot there was. The ride on the Hogwarts Express wasn't quite what I was expecting, but it was a fun ride. I liked Diagon Alley much more than Hogsmead, but both were a lot of fun.

The rest of the park - we stayed at the Royal Pacific, so we had express pass for every ride except Hagrid's Motorbike Adventure. Really enjoyed what the rest of the parks had to offer. They put on a good show and had really fun theming. It didn't feel quite as immersive as Disney though. They're also really heavy on the simulator rides. I thought the graphics could have been much better, and they need more airflow. The Forbidden Journey did me in for the night! It was just too much and I'd even taken a Bonine. Loved the Gringott's ride though!

I was so impressed with the employees in the parks!! I just cannot say enough how upbeat and helpful they all were. When DD15 got sick after a ride, I was scrambling to get her new clothes. When they found out why I was buying the clothes, they would not let me pay for them! Wow!!

The food was good, we did not have a bad meal there. However, it seemed WAY more expensive than at Disney! I questioned whether I was just mis-remembering the cost at Disney, but DH said the same thing. We ate at both the Leaky Cauldron and the Three Broomsticks, and had great meals at both. We also had some counter service and had one meal at the Chocolate Emporium in City Walk. All good meals.

The hotel - we were not impressed with the hotel unfortunately. I'm guessing Royal Pacific is maybe a partner hotel and not an official Universal hotel? It was a beautiful place, and the employees were pleasant, but having two different counters for check in and park tickets was kinda brutal. And, having two different kinds of tickets to carry around was not ideal. Especially since one was a paper ticket. DH's got pretty beat up looking after the water rides. Our room was spacious and nicely decorated, but the wall and one headboard had stains. Our fridge and our Keurig didn't work. And housekeeping was definitely sub-par.

The crowds - were not bad AT ALL! I was floored actually. Just before Christmas, and a new ride in one of the HP lands, I thought it would really be busy. There was one evening where Hogsmead was pretty full, but other than that, totally manageable, I would even say light. We were there for Thursday 12/19, Friday 12/20 and Saturday 12/21 - and even Saturday's crowds were fine!

We would love to go back again! None of us would choose it over Disney, but we'd definitely do a 3 day visit if the opportunity came up again.