I Can't Believe We are Here!

[Seeker615]

Well our last day had arrived. We got up around 7:30 and showered and heated up leftover pizza for breakfast. We were out of the hotel by 8:30 and on the shuttle at 8:40.

We already planned out the day. We were going to split up between IOA and the Studios and then spend some time on City Walk. We were really going to hit everything hard!

We arrived at IOA just as the gates were opening to the general public. We were quickly through the scanning process and seeing that everyone was going right toward Potter we went left towards Marvel and Toon Lagoon.

Wow! This side of the park was empty and I do mean empty! We took pictures and there is nobody in front of us. We went right to Spiderman and we were on and off in about 15 minutes (maybe less). (Hint – front seats are better and if you ask to sit up front they will do it for you.)

We headed down toward Toon Lagoon and had a great time taking pictures. Visually this part is just amazing. There are cute “cloud” captions you can use for photo ops. Being the area was empty we spent a lot of time posing for pics! If you want a lot of cute pictures then head to this side early when nobody is around. We had a lot of fun.

It was already very hot and sunny so Sheila popped in one of the shops and got a new pair of sunglasses. Then we headed over to Jurassic Park. We didn’t do the discovery area so we headed in to check it out.

The discovery area is set up with a lot of hands on activities. We played a round of trivia which is set up like a game show. (I won!) Then we each had our DNA merged with a dino with hilarious results! (I make a pretty bad dino!) Next we went over to the dino nursery. As we arrived one of the “scientists” announced and baby was hatching so we joined the small group of kids to watch. It was pretty cute but the kids in the group seemed less than impressed. They were asked for suggestions on what to name it and nobody responded. I felt bad for the poor scientist.

We looked around at the gift shop for a bit and then headed over to Harry Potter. It was around 10am. We headed right over to Forbidden Journey and did the single rider line. We were in and out in about 15 minutes. Again I am just amazed by this ride. Every time I get on it I see something new! Sheila told me after she exited that the group she was with had an issue with somebody being too big for the seats and they had to tell him he couldn’t ride. She felt bad because it was a dad wanting to ride with his wife and daughter.

We decided after FJ to do the wand ceremony at Ollivanders. The line was long but not as bad as we have seen it the past two days. It was about a 20 minute wait. Well it was the longest 20 minutes I have ever waited. It was HOT! There is no shade where you queue up for this ride and it got brutal. I think this was the only time where the heat really bothered me.
We finally got into Ollivanders and two little sisters were picked for the wand experience. It was really cute. When the first girl tried her wand and made the boxes crash she remarked “this is really magic!” Too cute. The wand show lasted about 5 minutes and it was cute but the room is crowded and it is hard to see over other people. I would go again only if there was no line. But if you are a huge HP fan like we are then do it at least once.

After Ollivanders we browsed the shops again. We were looking around for souvenirs that we were going to buy at the end of the day. Honeydukes was crowded but manageable. We got some pictures while we were in there.

We decided to grab lunch in Jurrasic Park area. We headed over and grabbed chicken fingers and fries. We discussed what we wanted to do next and we decided to head over to the studios for a good part of the afternoon. Then we would head back and finish up at IOA.

 

[SharonK0527]

Nice day so far! Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your day

 

[Seeker615]

After lunch we headed out and took the quick walk over to the Studios. It’s really great how easy it is to get from one park to the other. I would say a roughly 5-6 minutes walk.

I wanted to see the make up show again so we went to see what time the next show was. We had about an hour so we decided to ride the Simpsons again. It was about a 15 minute wait so we queued up. We ended up in the back on this ride. It is a simulator and wow it was fun. I did get a little queasy in certain parts but nothing major.

We finished up the Simpsons and headed back to the make up show. We took some photos and watched Lucy interact with Marilyn Monroe. We still had a little time before the make up show so went through the Lucy Tribute exhibit. There is memorabilia and videos of Lucy as well as a little trivia game we played. We spent about 15 minutes in there and then went back to queue up for the make up show.

Again the show was a blast! There was a different host but the same actor was back as Mark. Kudos to this actor as he really made the show for me. Sheila agreed that he was a riot. There were a few different jokes thrown in this time but overall basically the same show. (I could have actually watched it again as it is so funny!)

After the show we headed over to ride Men in Black again. I got the high score this time! We found a Ben and Jerry’s and grabbed an ice cream and strolled around and enjoyed the scenery. For some reason I find the studios relaxing as far as walking around. It is more subdued than IOA and I never feel a rush to get anywhere.

We took another spin on the Mummy ride and then I decided I had to ride Rip Ride Rocket. Sheila chickened out so it was single rider line for me. After I was all belted in and picked my music (Born to be Wild) I got a little nervous. Usually I have my hubby or one of my other kids next to me but this time it was a random guy. As we headed up that steep straight hill we looked at each and agreed we were nuts! As we whooshed down the hill I screamed and then we headed into the loops and another hill and…wow! Me and my ride partner agreed it was crazy but in a good way! I was glad I did it.

We saw that Shrek and Donkey were out so we headed over to meet them and get our pictures done. Donkey and Sheila had a nice conversation about waffles and pizza!

We also managed to get photos with the Simpsons too! Universal’s photo ops with characters are plenty and easy to access!

We decided we did everything we wanted to see and do at the Studios so we made our way out and headed back to IOA.

 

[Seeker615]

We entered IOA and I was a bit sad as it would be our last trip through before going home.

On our way in we ran into Woody Woodpecker so we stopped and did a photo op!

We started at Suessland first. We queued up but there was a technical issue. It was resolved quickly though and we were on the ride in about 10 minutes. I love the Cat and the Hat and it was fun reliving the story through the ride. After we finished we browsed the stores and I made a note to myself to maybe get the “mother of all things”
t-shirt.

I wanted to ride The Hulk so we headed over. As we got near the Marvel area the X-Men were just zipping through on their ATV’s so we went to see if we could some pictures. I always had a little thing for Wolverine so I was thrilled when I found him with a short line. We had a short conversation and he told me he was just roasting in his costume. (BTW…he is a real cutie!) Sheila posed with him next and then we were off to ride the Hulk.

Again Sheila opted out so I went through the single rider lane. I was on quickly. Wow – I love the launch on this ride. It is the best part of the ride. The rest is pretty intense too. Overall a great ride.

We made a stop at the café in Toon Lagoon and grabbed a couple of sodas and relaxed. This one was the Blondie themed place. It was totally empty so we sat and sipped our sodas and just enjoyed a few minutes of relaxation.

We decided to head over to Potter and get a couple of more rides in. We went through the regular line first and took a lot of pictures and then boarded the ride. Now here is where the castmembers totally cracked us up. We jumped into our seats and one of the ride attendants noticed my Slytherin T-shirt. He stepped back and said “Slytherin?” Nope I am not fastening your harness and he started to walk away!!! I was all like hey come back and he laughed and turned his back on me. Meanwhile a Slythern loving castmember came over and hooked me in! We were all cracking up and I am sure we amused a few people!

Again the ride was a total blast. I could spend the whole day in the castle and on the ride. We left the ride and then quickly did the single rider line. This time nobody left me hanging because of my love for Slytherin!

After we finished we took a quick trip through a few stores and then bid farewell to Hogwarts and Hogsmeade. We did a picture with the conductor of the train on our way out.

We were in the Lost Continent and we browsed a few shops and we were asked if we wanted to see a magic show. It sounded fun so we went in the store and were seated in a small room. The magician was already there setting up so we chatted for awhile. We found out he attended college in our home town and has a friend who was currently attending college there. The magic show was basically an introduction to some products that they sell in their shop. It was fun though and the magician was very engaging.

We headed back to the Jurassic Park area because my son wanted a JP T-Shirt. On our way through Sheila mentioned she wanted one more ride on the River Adventure. Being I didn’t get wet last time I figured why not. Big Mistake!!!

It appeared that today the ride was in perfect working order. We sat in the same place we did the other day but the spitting dino’s were spitting fine this time and I got it right in the ear and another one got me in the face! Oh well.

Then it was time for the big splash down. We whooshed down the hill and….SPLASH!!! I ducked but it didn’t matter…I was soaked! I looked over at Sheila and we both cracked up. The lady next to me was shaking off and laughing too! Oh well. It was a very hot day anyway! Luckily though my shorts were pretty dry. I hate wet pants!

We headed over to the JP gift shop and got my son his t-shirt and then we started to head toward the front of the park. It was about an hour till closing. We still did not get our shopping done. We figured we could get a few things on Citywalk and also grab supper.

As we headed toward the exit we decided to ride the Fear Fall ride one more time. We zipped through the loooooooong queue and did another nerve-wracking wait for the ride to zip you up high. Again that 3 second rush is amazing. The waiting for it to actually happen just about gives me a heart attack though. I wish there was more to the ride than one quick zip up and down.

On the way out Dr Doom was standing near the entrance to the ride. We got a few pictures of him.

We bid farewell to the park and headed out to City Walk to get souvenirs and dinner and drinks

Up next…I don’t know what to get anyone.(or a race back into IOA)

 

[Seeker615]

The Great Souvenir Hunt
After we bid our final farewells to IOA we headed out to City Walk to get dinner and buy a few souvenirs. We didn’t plan on a lot just a nice frame for my parents and then something small for my hubby and a t-shirt for me and also something for my granddaughter.

Well I thought City Walk had more shops than it did and the one bigger Universal Store did not have anything I was looking for. Panic set in as I realized I might be buying stuff at the airport! We booked it back to IOA with only a half an hour left before park closing.
Somehow I managed to get the frame I wanted for my parents as well a few other things. My big regret was not buying the HP t-shirt I wanted in Hogsmeade as well as frame I liked there too. It was way too late to book it back to the HP area at this point and we were both tired and hungry.

We exited IOA again and I went back to the Universal Store on City Walk and bought my hubby a t-shirt with “Father of all Things” on it. I ended up getting myself the “Mother of all Things” t-shirt to match. They were too cute. I got my granddaughter a Curious George stuffed toy or “Bunky” as she calls him.

Well with the souvenir shopping finally done we could relax and take in City Walk. The area was lit up as it was well after 8pm. We strolled around and enjoyed the music and lights. We ended up at Hard Rock Café and asked to be seated outside. Once seated we got a couple of glasses of wine and a big appetizer basket. We relaxed and toasted the end of a wonderful vacation. We rehashed our funny moments and the awe we felt at seeing Harry Potter come to life and being in Hogwarts! We agreed it was a perfect vacation and wished we could have a few extra days. Sadly the real world was expecting us back tomorrow.

We finished up and headed out to catch a cab back to our hotel. There is a cab stand out where the shuttles are and we were quickly escorted to a cab and back to our hotel in less then 10 minutes.

Not wanting to go to bed just yet we sat out by the pool and relaxed for a bit. There was nobody else out there so it was pretty quiet. After about an hour we called it a night and went back to pack up and get ready for tomorrow.

The trip home was uneventful. Our flight left Orlando at 1:30 and we had a layover in Cleveland and we boarded that flight at 6pm. We arrived back in Syracuse around 7:30 and wouldn’t you know it….the minute I stepped outside in Syracuse I had a full blown allergy attack! My eyes were itching and I started stuffing up and sneezing. I hate my seasonal allergies!

Well I guess that is the end of my trip report. We had a wonderful time and I would love to go back again. I am going to add a few random thoughts to this report. Just observations we made along the way.

 

[natebenma]

I really enjoyed your report! Great details!

Your last day sounds like a lot of fun!

Very cool (but not surprising) that the other parts of IoA were so empty when you went there first.

Sounds like you had fun in the JP Discovery Center- this is a relly neat area.

Glad you were able to see the Olivanders show. It is cute, but not worth a wait of more than 30 minutes, so you done good! With the heat you experienced in 20 minutes, can you imagine the folks waiting for hours in line in the afternoon?

I'm very jealous that you saw the Horror Makeup Show. Twice!!!

It's great that you tried Rip Ride Rocket. I read on these boards that one of the riders who choose secret song or mystery song or something like that got the Muppets "Rainbow Connection" How cool is that!

Too funny about the Slytherin comment from the FJ ride attendant.

Also funny that you got soaked on the JP ride this time. Like you said, at least it wasn't the shorts, that could be uncomfortable. We mostly got our shirts wet on this.

I'm glad you were able to snag some decent soveniers!

Looking forward to reading your wrap-up comments.

I plan on doing a Top Ten Tips when I conclude my report, which is coming up in a few updates!