The next morning we got up and ate our delicious Voodoo doughnuts. They tasted very fresh and soft… even since purchasing them the night prior. We then packed up our things which didn’t take long at all since we each had just one small suitcase and dropped them at luggage services. We had a pleasant walk over to IoA and hit some rides. Believe it or not, we did an almost repeat of rides from the previous morning minus Hulk and I didn’t get sick. We started again with Velocicoaster which posted a 45 minute wait and ended up being around 30 minutes including a short wait for the front seat. Love that front seat view!! Then Forbidden Journey, then Hagrid’s. Hagrid’s was also posted at a 45 minute wait but we only waited about 30 minutes. We did notice the pre-show this time around. Hubby said the day prior (when I skipped out from motion sickness that day) no pre-show but today it was on! We never saw this during last month’s trip so this was completely new to us. It was in the room where Hagrid’s dog walked around on the digital screen. The queue lines disappeared in this room and turned into a holding room where Hagrid and Mr. Weasley put on a show. This was so enlightening as it was the first time we’ve ever witnessed it. After this show we funneled into the egg room. The pre-show fulfilled its purpose: entertaining and made it feel like you were getting somewhere a little quicker. “And look, she’s a Mum!” Love that line!
Almost forgot: right before hopping in the Hagrid’s line, I was craving a Butterbeer of course so I went in the back door of Hogshead but the line looked long but low and behold, when I went around the corner the Butterbeer cart had no line at all! I stepped right up and ordered a frozen Butterbeer on that very warm morning. Hit the spot while in line for Hagrid’s.
Shortly after some rides we headed to our lunch reservation at Confisco’s. Wow this seems like a hidden gem! First time there and didn’t know what to expect because I haven’t heard of many reviews. This place was amazing! The atmosphere was so wonderful, service was great and the food was scrumptious!! I saw several weeks prior, an AP appreciation days menu for specific restaurants. I had remembered that Confisco’s offered a Wagyu beef burger on that AP menu. So glad I ordered it!! Daughter and I split it and I wish I had a pic of it. It was sooooo good! Juicy and flavorful. Definitely best burger I had on property so far. Hubby had chicken and shrimp pad thai and loved it. We will definitely come back to this restaurant next trip. Combined with its location right in the park, great service, and excellent quality of food, this was one of our favorites so far from our two trips.
After lunch we hit up a few more rides then took the glorious train over to Studios. It was almost a walk-on at Rip Ride Rockit and got front seats! We stopped in the lounge to pick up our pins and magnets. They were sadly out of pins but mentioned they might still have a few left over in the Beetle Bailey store back at IoA. (We did check back there later and scored pins.) Our son was at college attending his first home football game of the season so we also showed his AP and they gave us his pin and magnet after scanning his AP, no questions asked.
After Transformers, we exited into pouring rain, actually torrential rain. We dug out our small umbrellas and made our way across the road to an awning (otherwise the gift shop at Transformers was packed shoulder to shoulder with no one moving). I was surprised the TMs weren’t telling people to exit like they do at Disney. Doesn’t matter to me, just surprised. It slowed to a regular rain and we were on our way to ET. Such a cute, light-hearted ride that brings back fond memories of watching the movie when I was little.
After several more rides we headed back to CB to dine and get ready to leave. Waaah! To be continued…
