Welcome to an extremely busy Sunday here at the Universal Orlando Resort. Although the parks did not hit capacity today, it was very crowded and a lot crazier than we had anticipated. The bad weather yesterday seemed to hold off the crowds, but today the sun is shining and everyone is ready to visit the parks.

Even as we made our way through CityWalk, we spotted tons of people out playing mini golf.

Outside the NBC Sports Grill and Brew, there’s a pop up bar for The Players where you can grab a cocktail and enter for a chance to win these limited edition glasses.

We went to the park late in the afternoon and were very surprised to find such large crowds. The Mardi Gras floats and beads are a big hit with guests! Yesterday was so slow compared to today, but Spring Break is right around the corner, so we’re prepared for things to get worse.

There’s a lot of people out enjoying a Sunday afternoon in the parks.

Since it’s a busy day, additional food carts can be found around the park. There are usually quick options from these carts, so lines generally move quickly, even if they’re long.

We love Central Park Crepes, but not enough to wait in this long line. The Poached Pear Creme Brulee Crepe is amazing, though.

Mardi Gras food booth lines are long, so just be prepared. Most of the lines move very quickly, though.

Attraction wait times were high around the park, so today would be a great time to have an Express Pass! Be sure to bring your patience if you’ll be visiting over the next few weeks.

We get the feeling some of these wait times are a little inflated, though. Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts had a 250 minute wait posted towards the end of the day, which would mean you wouldn’t even get on the ride until long after park close.

We came to the park hungry today, so we decided to put our Tasting Lanyard to good use for some snacks. The Nutella Donut from the Canada booth was even better than we remembered!

We grabbed a Charcuterie from Spain, although it looks like it’s missing the grapes.

Can Andouille Twisted Taters with Queso be a permanent addition to Universal Studios, please? Since our review, they’ve improved a lot in getting the taters perfectly cooked and crispy.

We took a moment to appreciate the rainbow created over the lagoon by the fountains.

People are everywhere! As the sun started to set and temperatures began to drop, we noticed the crowds thinning out a lot.

Due to the weather, Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit was closed today.

We made our way over to Islands of Adventure for the rest of the evening. Seuss Landing is always pretty at sunset, especially when you take a ride on the High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride.

The crowds were much more relaxed at the end of the day, especially since it was getting colder.

The stage in Hogsmeade is looking great after a brief refurbishment last week.

We really would like to see two torches (or four) lit at the same time. With so many refurbishments going on around the land, this arch deserves some attention!

When we got to Jurassic Park, Baby Sierra was hanging out at the entrance of Raptor Encounter. She’s a cutie!

Jurassic World VelociCoaster looks even better at night! Look at all those curves. It’s going to be even more exciting to ride this after dark. Check out more photos of VelociCoaster at night in our post here.

Thanks for joining us around the parks today. Be sure to stay tuned to WDWNT and Universal Parks News Today for all the latest updates!