Walt Disney World 2022 - Day 2: Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure

Up early to make the shuttle we hired (through Mears) to Universal in time for rope drop.  The parks were crowded but since we knew we only had one day to experience both parks we had shelled out in advance for the once-per-ride Express Pass.  Note that the Express pass is not good for the newest rides Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventures and Jurassic World VelociCoaster - you still have to wait in line for those.

Some of our group of eight opted for Hagrid's, but Todd and I did VelociCoaster.  Highlights of the day:  The Bourne Stuntacular live action/digital/projection uh-maze-ing! stunt show (YouTube videos did not compare to seeing it in person), and the coffee caramel from Sugarplum's Sweet Shop in Diagon Alley.

Omg that's a lot of people waiting to get in.  We're about in the middle of the pack.

VelociCoaster

Hogsmeade

Hogwarts

The entrance to Dumbledore's office in the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey queue

Getting sorted

Diagon Alley

The lobby of Gringotts Wizarding Bank in the queue for Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts

Knockturn Alley

Hogwarts Express

VelociCoaster - also known by its other name "Once Was Enough".
Very fun, but too many rapid transition/orientation changes for my age.

In the queue

Ghost riders in the sky

I actually like Hulk better, although I didn't ride it this trip

Jurassic Park River Adventure is always fun - and luckily not too wet this time...

...despite how it looks

Waiting to board Skull Island: Reign of Kong.  The movie stopped halfway through our ride and we didn't have time to ride it again.  Bummer.

Exiting through the Toon Lagoon section of Island of Adventure

The moon above the Toon Lagoon

Not this trip Spidey

Heading through CityWalk to the transportation hub with 15 minutes to spare before our scheduled shuttle back to the hotel.  Thought we'd quickly stop at Bread Box to grab a hot sandwich to go.  Huge mistake.  Absolute chaos, like it was every worker's first day - giving customers the wrong orders, having to unwrap  and re-wrap every sandwich to figure out which is which, causing a huge backlog, etc.  Finally just got a refund and had to make a mad dash for the bus.

Back at our hotel and taking a walk to shake off the chaotic end to the day