After eating a mediocre breakfast at the Sheraton, we headed out to Griffith Observatory. I was the only one in our family who had been there before. It is one of those iconic places in Southern California that everyone should visit. I wonder how much the visitor count went up after LaLaLand came out?

I had planned for us to watch a show at the Planetarium, but unfortunately it was closed due to “technical difficulties”. We had already pre-paid parking by the hour so that was a bummer.

However, we were able to check out all of the cool solar system exhibits.

I always like going on educational field trips. Wherever you live, I am sure there are a lots of places to discover. Make 2019 the year you go out and explore!

The nice thing about staying overnight when visiting a theme park is the ability to take a break at the hotel room to recharge. We made reservations at the Sheraton Universal Hotel, conveniently located about five minutes from Universal Studios. From the outside, the hotel did not look too impressive. They were doing some construction, so maybe they will be working on a facelift.

The interiors and the room itself were quite nice, minus the odd odor that greeted us every time we got off the elevator.

Somehow, D has maintained his Platinum status at Marriott, so we had access to the Club Lounge. We filled up on the evening appetizers (pizza bites, cheese and crackers, veggies, etc.) so that we would not have to buy a full dinner!

At nighttime, Universal City Walk felt like a PG version of Las Vegas!

We splurged on a large boba drink from Mini Monster. Thankfully, security let us bring in the empty glass jar (I didn’t think about it until after I had already bought the drink). I am not sure if that is standard protocol, or we just got lucky. The mason jar says California, and does make a nice souvenir!

The periodic snowfall in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter added even more magic to the ambience.

The lighting of Hogwarts Castle was pretty spectacular! Our viewpoint from the stand where they sell Pumpkin Juice was nice because it was not too crowded.

We were also able to catch one of the Whoville Christmas tree lightings. What a fun way to start off our winter break and celebrate k’s birthday!

While we enjoyed trying out all of the newer rides at Universal Studios, the tram tour is still one of our favorites. It is nice to just be able to sit back and relax for an extended amount of time.

Before checking into our hotel room, we made a stop at Whoville to see the decorations. We also caught a performance by the Whoville Singers.

We kicked off our Winter Break at Universal Studios.  It also happened to be k’s 12th birthday, so we made it a mini staycation.  A few months ago we bought the three day pass from Costco and went with my parents in October.  It was nice not feeling like we had to see everything in one day.

Harry Potter World was all dressed up for Christmas.  The Christmas scenes are some of my favorite in the movie, so it was nice to see it come to life.

All Aboard the Hogwarts Express!

Going down the massive escalators…

…and back up again.  D and the kids each walked up one of the adjacent flights of stairs for fun.  The only ride we went on in the Lower Lot was Transformers.  The kids were not up to doing The Mummy ride again!

Minion tree!

We ate lunch at The Three Broomsticks.  It was crowded, but the lines to order the food and seating system were quite efficient.

The namesake, “Three Broomsticks”.

D and I shared The Holiday Feast (turkey) and a chicken salad.  I was impressed with the brussel sprouts and the overall freshness of the food.

The kids shared Fish & Chips and Mac & Cheese.

I thought it would be more crowded, but I think some kids were still in school and others were busy preparing for Christmas.  The Christmas decorations really added to the magical feeling all around the park.