nighttowll
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2013
- Messages
- 1,818
2nd Universal Day (US) – Monday Evening – Off to IOA, Dinner, & Home
By the time we finished, the Hogwarts Express was down to a 20-minute wait, so we took it over to IOA, so I could get my Christmas sweater. I knew if I didn’t get it tonight, I wouldn’t have another chance. They didn’t have my size in the Citywalk store, so it was now or never.
So late at night the train was a complete walk-on, so we didn’t have much time to take anything in. I did manage to record S vanishing through Platform 9 ¾. She thought that was cool. I’m not sure either of us paid much attention to the actual ride, though. We were both half asleep by this point. If we could have gotten a compartment to ourselves, I think we would have both laid down and taken a quick 5 minute nap.
It was right at 6:25 when we arrived at Hogsmeade, but I underestimated how long it would take to get through the crowds and out of the park, so we ended up a few minutes late to meet the rest of our group for dinner. Hopefully, they weren’t too annoyed. Our reservation was for 7:00, so I pushed it back to 7:15, so we wouldn’t be recorded as late. I wasn’t sure how strict Universal is about those kinds of things. We ended up arriving right around 7:10, and they sat us immediately.
That was one thing about the trip, reservations were super smooth. We arrived around 5 to 15 minutes early for each of our reservations, and they set us within 5 minutes or less of checking in every time.
We ate at Antojitos that night, and it was probably one of our better meals as far as the food, but it’s hard to mess up Mexican. It wasn’t anything amazing, but it wasn’t wrong, slow, or overcooked, so it was a huge improvement over many of our other meals. We did the tableside guacamole which everyone loved. The venue was loud like everywhere in Citywalk, and the live music didn’t help with that, but the service and food were good for what it was. Everyone enjoyed it. It was a fun last meal.
S and I made one last stop in the Universal Citywalk gift shop for some last-minute souvenir shopping. I did more looking than buying as my Hogwarts Sweater maxed out my souvenir budget in one go, but I did get a cute minion onesie for my niece.
The next morning it was off to the airport super early.
By the time we finished, the Hogwarts Express was down to a 20-minute wait, so we took it over to IOA, so I could get my Christmas sweater. I knew if I didn’t get it tonight, I wouldn’t have another chance. They didn’t have my size in the Citywalk store, so it was now or never.
So late at night the train was a complete walk-on, so we didn’t have much time to take anything in. I did manage to record S vanishing through Platform 9 ¾. She thought that was cool. I’m not sure either of us paid much attention to the actual ride, though. We were both half asleep by this point. If we could have gotten a compartment to ourselves, I think we would have both laid down and taken a quick 5 minute nap.
It was right at 6:25 when we arrived at Hogsmeade, but I underestimated how long it would take to get through the crowds and out of the park, so we ended up a few minutes late to meet the rest of our group for dinner. Hopefully, they weren’t too annoyed. Our reservation was for 7:00, so I pushed it back to 7:15, so we wouldn’t be recorded as late. I wasn’t sure how strict Universal is about those kinds of things. We ended up arriving right around 7:10, and they sat us immediately.
That was one thing about the trip, reservations were super smooth. We arrived around 5 to 15 minutes early for each of our reservations, and they set us within 5 minutes or less of checking in every time.
We ate at Antojitos that night, and it was probably one of our better meals as far as the food, but it’s hard to mess up Mexican. It wasn’t anything amazing, but it wasn’t wrong, slow, or overcooked, so it was a huge improvement over many of our other meals. We did the tableside guacamole which everyone loved. The venue was loud like everywhere in Citywalk, and the live music didn’t help with that, but the service and food were good for what it was. Everyone enjoyed it. It was a fun last meal.
S and I made one last stop in the Universal Citywalk gift shop for some last-minute souvenir shopping. I did more looking than buying as my Hogwarts Sweater maxed out my souvenir budget in one go, but I did get a cute minion onesie for my niece.
The next morning it was off to the airport super early.
… I love this too! I usually get a hot chai tea with some almond milk in it to enjoy along that lovely walk. When I get that same drink here at home, I feel like I’m there again 
