USA Trip : Day 28 – Last day at the parks

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This morning we were up and out the door by 7.20am and patiently waited in line for the gates of Universal Studios to open at 7.45am. It was sprinkling a little but wasn’t too bad. And it was a LOT cooler, only 14C.

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Luckily when we made our way to Hogsmede today, Escape from Gringotts was open and we were able to ride. Athena hadn’t fitted in the test set but I knew that many people had still been able to ride – which was the case for Athena.

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The bank is amazing.

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And I thought the ride was really cool. So glad I got to ride it.

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Then it was time for some more spell casting.

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and pretending to be Hagrid.

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We then caught the train back to Hogwarts.

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So happy to get to enjoy it with less crowds.

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Christy went to ride Dragon Challenge.

IMG_9114.jpgWe We still hadn’t had breakfast so opted to have breakfast in the 3 Broomsticks.

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It’s the same menu as the other day but I was happy to have potatoes again. And a pancake.

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It was still only 14C and Athena was very cold (the rest of us were warmer because we were walking) so Athena and I went back around to the Super Hero area so they could get a jumper.

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Meanwhile Kevin did the dinosaur encounter, which was really cute, while Christy went to ride Jurassic Park.

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Time for another traditional photo.

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Since Christy was already wet from Jurassic Park, she decided to do ALL the wet rides and ended up soaked.

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As we left the park we stopped to do some more shopping and Christy finally decided to buy herself a Hufflepuff robe (from Harry Potter).

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We then went to the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch. The first time we ever went to one was on our last trip here in 2012.

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Kevin was feeling the effects of just a few sips of his Long Island Iced Tea.

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Thee’s burger came in a little guitar plate (they had already bought one to take home)…

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as did Christy’s mac n cheese…

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Since they didn’t have the same salad I’ve always gotten before (sadly) I opted to have nachos instead. Thankfully they were delicious.

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Kevin had potato skins.

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We then went back to the room for a bit. Unfortunately it was too cold for a last swim so I just played on my laptop.

Then about 4pm we headed back to the parks for the last time.

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Thee bought these light up cat ears and let Christy borrow them.

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We went back into Universal Studios and all did the Mummy ride together. So fun, but my back hurt in the same part again :-(.

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We decided to have dinner at Finnegan’s Bar and Grill – which we’d enjoyed on our last trip.

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We were able to get a table right away which was good, but our meal did take some time to arrive.

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The kids and I all had the potato and leek soup.

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The live music was good, though a little loud (for us anyway).

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After dinner it was time for some last spell casting in Hogsmede.

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Before catching the train back to Hogswart. Christy, with her robe on, looked quite the part.

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Both the Harry Potter areas are absolutely stunning at night and it was a lovely way to end our trip (even if the kids did end up arguing for a bit 🙁 ).

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Kevin and Christy rode the castle ride, while Athena and I enjoyed some people watching.

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We actually finished right when the park closed at 10am so walked back through a very empty park – which was great.

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We were all tired, but very happy, with our last day of theme parks. But also sad that the holiday was over and were heading home in the morning.

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One thought on “USA Trip : Day 28 – Last day at the parks

  1. Thanks for the photos Libby. The food looks yummy and so sorry about Kristy’s nasty bump!

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