If you have been one of the lucky friends or family chosen by a couple to be a part of their wedding party, you’ve probably learned that as the nuptials have risen in cost, so have the pre-wedding festivities. Destination bachelor and bachelorette parties are on the rise. As travel reopens, many are opting to enjoy celebrations that were long postponed by escaping the everyday surroundings they have been subjected to since March 2020. I can attest, as a maid of honor, this brought both additional stress, and excitement.
December 28, 2021. The date was set. The dog sledding was booked. The details were all sorted for what I dreamed would be the blissful reunion that my sister and her friends deserved. My sister has always been a big fan of winter, so Montreal and outdoor fun sounded like the perfect gift I could give her to express my joy in her upcoming celebration. Alas, Covid won once again. A string of exposers the week of led everyone on the guest list to have to cancel; future bride included.
Back to the drawing board… With very few weekends available due to my sister’s teaching schedule, we did a 180. Instead of sleighing through the snow we would be screaming in the summer sun. This brings me to tip number one:
1. General Bachelorette Party Advice
One of the best things that you can do to create a sense of seamlessness across the bachelorette trip is to pick a theme. Looking for something different, we landed on Harry Potter. This then dictated our location: Universal’s Harry Potter World in Orlando Florida, a place we hadn’t been together since childhood.
In a group effort, dreams of personalized Marauder’s Map shirts, potion flasks, and mimOsa not mimosA glasses were made a reality. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. As the maid of honor, it can feel like it is your responsibility to put everything on your shoulders, but actually pulling everyone into the planning can help them feel more involved in the overall finances and their enjoyment.
While we had planned some games for within the parks (such as bingo involving asking a stranger if you could stroke their wand in Harry Potter World), we found that there was so much to do we didn’t have time to play them. These gave us some laughs back in the Airbnb, but our exhaustion from the days made us realize having moments to just sit and relax were essential, and we probably could have done less planning in regards to additional entertainment.
2. Plan Ahead and Pay Ahead
To make the most of our time, we meticulously planned our day to Universal Orlando. We knew we wanted to ride the Hogwarts Express between parks, something that hadn’t existed during our last visit. Buying the two-park-one-day tickets cost us just over $200 per person in the peak season (end of June) after fees. Going on other weekends would be cheaper. Knowing this was pricey, we made sure to ask everyone which were their top rides to make it on for the day so that they could feel they got their money’s worth as well.
Prior to them committing, try to give guests a rough financial estimate for the trip and deadlines for which you will need payments (if you are booking on behalf of the group). Create a group chat for flights so that those coming from the same regions can try to get similar flight times and save costs on ubers. After the trip, our group used the app Splitwise to divy up who owed who what. All major purchases, such as park tickets and airbnb, were paid off ahead of time so that everyone could focus on the fun.
3. Get a 2-Park Pass for Universal
Harry Potter World Orlando, Islands of Adventure (Hogsmeade)
Unfortunately, staying at a resort was more than we were looking to spend, so we did not get to take advantage of the one hour early admission perk that those guests receive. Luckily, our Airbnb was equidistant from the airport to the parks so getting there bright and early for the 9 A.M. general opening was a breeze. The Airbnb was nothing extraordinary, but it got the job done and was comfortable for our party size.
We started our day at Universal Islands of Adventure, where we ran straight to the line for Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure. This ride is relatively new, opening in 2019, and reaches speeds of 50 mph. Although the ride is only three minutes in length, it can get a wait time of several hours. When we jumped in line, we had a predicted wait time of 200 minutes, which was accurate. Later in the day, this went down to around 120 minutes, but never below two hours and some days even requires a virtual line. Make sure you download the app ahead of time to view maps and wait times.
The Motorbike Adventure became the Harry Potter fans’ favorite ride of the day, giving just enough thrill and magic to be exciting for all. Next, we of course had to hop onto the tried and true Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. This ride implements motion sensory, 3D, and 4D technology to create an exciting ride unmatched in the Wizarding World. Wait times did go down to 25 minutes throughout the day.
Harry Potter World Islands of Adventure allows fans to walk through the snow topped village of Hogsmeade while wearing only shorts and a t-shirt. They can see performances from the Beauxbatons and buy chocolate frogs from Honeydukes. If you pick up a wand from Ollivanders early in the day, you will be able to take turns using it throughout both sides of the park at designated zones to make the world really come to life.
Before heading over to the other park, we split up, with some doing the 4D simulator ride Skull Island: Reign of Kong while others went to ride the high-thrill Jurassic World VelociCoaster. These rides were both well reviewed by our group.
Back in Harry Potter world, we couldn’t resist getting lunch at the Three Broomsticks. The cozy interior of the cottage well known to Potter fans is a quick service meal stop that boasts cuisine of the UK while being delicious, on-theme, and affordable. A few of your options are beef pasties, fish and chips, turkey legs, shepherds pie, and of course, Butterbeer. They had vegan and vegetarian options. This would hold us over as we took the hours-long journey on the Hogwarts Express.
Harry Potter World Orlando, Universal Studios (Diagon Alley)
Ok, so it wasn’t hours long, though we did wait about 45 minutes because everyone had the same genius idea that we did to wait out the rain aboard the Hogwarts Express. The ride itself zips you from one park to the other, I mean Hogsmeade to Diagon Alley, in just under 5 minutes. You’ll ride in a car matching those from the films, gaze out the windows at the English countryside (with visits from familiar friends and foes), and disembark at Platform 9 ¾ in the iconic Kings Cross Station. Note, they do check your tickets to ensure you paid for the park-to-park, and you cannot ride this ride unless you have done so.
Leaving Kings Cross, you enter the streets of London right outside of Number 12 Grimmauld Place. You can get photos with the building, the Knight Bus, and the famous red telephone booths before you walk down the dark path to…
Diagon Alley. It seems to be the place that every fan desires to visit most (after Hogwarts of course). Universal spared no expense, and like many of their other “worlds,” Diagon Alley exceeds every expectation. While it can be easy to get distracted, make sure you hop in line for Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts, as this is the only Wizarding World ride on this side of the park and can get a long line. Where this ride really shines is its 3D effects as you escape from terrifying Bellatrix Lestrange and Lord Voldemort.
When you leave the ride, watch out for the dragon on top of Gringotts bank, who spits fire which is, according to Universal, up to 3,560 degrees fahrenheit. Peruse the shops in Diagon Alley and use an interactive wand on even more props. Our group particularly loved seeing the costumes in Madam Malkin’s Robes for all Occasions, entering the dark zone that is Knockturn Alley to shop at Borgin and Burkes, and eating quintessentially English lavender earl grey ice cream from Florean Fortescue’s Ice-Cream Parlour.
There is so much more to the parks than just Harry Potter World, and you’ll often find these other sections to be less crowded. Before dinner, a group of us walked through the New York and Los Angeles sections of the park, which were remarkably accurate, while the other group went to ride Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, a high speed, big thrill coaster that plays your choice of music. We then met up at none other than The Leaky Cauldron. They had a variety of English and Scottish dishes that differed from The Three Broomsticks, but had, of course, more Butterbeer, allowing those who had gotten a regular one early in the day to now try it frozen.
After dinner, we headed back to Kings Cross Station. Note that the hours of the park differ by the day throughout different seasons, and you’ll want to check their website before you make your plans. On the day we were visiting, Islands of Adventure was open one hour longer than Universal Studios, so we rode the Hogwarts Express back to the other park. The Hogwarts Express shows different images through the windows depending on the direction you are riding, so riding it twice was exactly what we wanted.
4. Be Willing to Split Up
As mentioned, our group split up a few times throughout the day and when we arrived back at Islands Adventure we did the same. While everyone went on Jurassic Park River Adventure, I wimped out and rode the Flight of the Hippogriff. It was very tame and my level of excitement, but truthfully the one Harry Potter ride you can skip. I also spontaneously caught the Nighttime Lights at Hogwarts Castle show, and as they lit up the castle in twinkling house colors, everyone in the audience felt as if magic could be real. This was the best lights show I have ever seen, and I highly recommend making it a priority if it occurs on a night you are visiting.
While for most of our trip we were attached to one another’s hips, it’s important for everyone in the party to get to know that they are welcome to explore as they choose when there is not something specifically planned. This helps everyone feel that they got their money’s worth and saw what they wanted.
5. Do Disney Springs (It’s FREE!)
If we had wanted to keep the party going at Universal, we could have spent the evening after the parks closed grabbing drinks and walking around Universal City Walk. This area before the park’s entrance sprawling with bars, restaurants, and shops is completely free, but we decided to reserve some energy and do the Disney equivalent the following day.
We planned our crazy theme park day for the first day knowing that we would still have energy and lack of hangovers to run around and ride all of the rides on our radar. The second day, we went to Disney Springs, what used to be known as Downtown Disney. Here, we walked from shop to shop, buying teas from The Spice & Tea Exchange, bath bombs from Basin, and gawking at the impossible builds at the Lego store. The number one request from the future bride was that she have one of her favorite desserts: Dole Whip. Right across from Rainforest Cafe, we found the stand Swirls on the Water and ordered a variety, each as pleasant as the next.
Keeping our energy up, we ordered chai lattes from Joffrey’s Coffee & Tea Company. Spiked of course, it is a bachelorette party after all. To escape yet another onslaught of rain, we escaped into Enzo’s Hideaway Tunnel Bar. Here we found an unassuming, upscale, speakeasy atmosphere with cocktails that were pricey yet tasted devine.
About a month prior to the trip, we made a reservation for dinner at Raglan Road Irish Pub using the app Opentable. Not only does this pub provide incredible Irish cuisine, but they do it while providing entertainment. Each evening from 6 P.M. – 10:30 P.M. patrons will be dazzled by the Raglan Road dancers as well as rotating singers and bands. The band Cailini Lua performed on the evening of our dinner and did not disappoint. We arrived at the pub about 15 minutes early to request a table with a good view of the stage, and we were delivered possibly the best view of them all.
Our day in Disney Springs offered reprieve, allowing us to stroll as opposed to gallivanting from spot to spot in the parks. While it can get crowded and much of the “activity” is shopping, there are plenty of amazing spots to post up and gaze at the water or aesthetically pleasing restaurants to peel off and grab a drink.
6. Experience Epcot
While our third and final day of the trip was going to be filled with mostly poolside mimosas, we spontaneously splurged and bought last minute tickets to Epcot. Looking back, we realized that instead of buying these individually, we should have had only one person purchase so that as we entered the virtual queue for the park’s newest ride we would all be placed together. Nevertheless, we woke up early (necessary on a peak day) to enter the virtual queue for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. We clicked our buttons right at 7 A.M. (the time the queue opened), and some of us still got stuck with slots later in the afternoon, so make sure to be diligent about this.
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is an enclosed coaster without any major drops but with a plethora of twists and turns as it reaches its max speed of 60 mph, bumping 80’s jams the whole way. Although our slots were spread out and some of us had to run across the park at odd times of the day to ride solo, we all agreed that this was Epcot’s best ride, and in my opinion the best ride anywhere.
The magnitude and majesty of Epcot and its 11 different country pavilions has to be seen to be understood. There is so much to do and it is impossible to squeeze it all into a day. Start by hitting one of the most popular rides right when you get to the park to utilize your early arrival. Then move onto the short wait time rides, as many of the others will drop in time as the day goes on. We rushed straight to Soarin’ and got in within 10 minutes. Next was Living with the Land and The Seas with Nemo and Friends. None of these are thrills but are a cute way to start the day. We looped back past Spaceship Earth (the giant ball) and coasted through Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros before grabbing lunch at La Cantina de San Angel, a quick service restaurant in the Mexico Pavilion that was good for time and wallets. Here, we started drinking around the world.
If you are unfamiliar, there is a tradition of cocktail lovers and beer connoisseurs alike to have a drink in every one of the country pavilions. As we wanted to save time and our livers, we split many of these but nevertheless each had a sip in every one. Some of our favorite drinks were the margaritas in Mexico, Troll Kreme Spiked Slush in Norway, and the Ottawa Apple in Canada.
As we continued country hopping, we rode Frozen Ever After and Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, both of which were cute and would be enjoyed by all ages. While others rode Mission Space at the beginning of the day while I was waiting in line for my Guardians of the Galaxy time slot, I rode it at the end of the day, waiting only a mere 15 minutes compared to their 90. If your group is ok with all going on as solo riders, you’ll still get to wait together in the faster moving line but be able to fit more into your day. Mission Space offers two types of rides; a gentle Green mission with light movement that is similar to Soarin’, or the intense Orange mission that simulates G-force that can make your head light and your stomach sick. While I’m not typically one for thrills, I loved the Orange mission as it was unlike anything I have ever felt. Right after, I hopped in line for the Green mission and then headed over to Test Track. Both of these were fun, but missable if you are short on time. I was able to get on each ride quickly as everyone else was waiting for fireworks, so bear in mind going to these at the end of the day may be best if you’re not worried about the perfect seat for the fireworks show.
While the rides were great and the show mesmerizing, the highlight of this park is the country pavilions. It truly offers you the opportunity to feel like you’ve traveled the world in a mere day, though I’m sure the real Morocco doesn’t have as many Mickey Mouse ears. While you won’t get the sense of culture that you would visiting these countries in real life, they have worked hard to replicate the architecture and add areas to highlight histories. If you’re not big on rides, you could fill a whole day just walking from pavilion to pavilion in awe.
That being said, the best spot for the pyrotechnics and lights show titled Harmonious is in between the shops “Port of Entry” and “Disney Traders.” This puts Spaceship Earth at your back and the World Showcase directly in front of you. While anywhere surrounding the pond will give you a view, this will let you see right through the central arch. Weather permitting, the show begins at 9pm and lasts a whopping 20 minutes. Lights glimmer on the pavilions in the background and water shoots through laser beams as Disney classics as well as modern songs serenade you. Our only complaint was that while Disney has taken measures to make their pyrotechnics more eco-friendly, we felt that from our seats near the Canada pavilion, we were experiencing remnant effects of the fireworks and smoke.
7. Packing for the Parks
Particularly in the summer months, you’ll be hard pressed to find a day where Orlando evades the rain. When packing for the parks, you’ll want an easily packable poncho or raincoat with a hood, or you’ll have to wait out the storms in the safety of a shop or restaurant. With a poncho, you can jump in shorter lines to wait for rides while others avoid the rain. You’ll also want comfortable shoes that don’t retain water to make the most of your day. Don’t forget to wear sunscreen, and you may want to reapply throughout the day because after the clouds move on the sun will be severe.
While all of Epcot’s rides allow you to bring your valuables with you, Universal provides lockers for free use for their ones that don’t. If you want to bring a bag to the park, you’ll want to make sure it’s on the smaller side so that it will fit. Be thoughtful of your time as you will have to go out of your way to use the lockers, so the less you carry, the better. Their major downfall is that unless you have a smart watch, you will need a phone to reopen the locker via app, so you’ll have to take it with you and chance it in your pockets whilst riding.
While it is reasonably priced at the quick service restaurants, food and drinks in the park can add up quickly. If you want any non-quick service options, you’ll want to make reservations months in advance. Both Universal and Disney World allow you to pack your own snacks/food or drinks as long as they are non-alcoholic and not in glass containers.
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