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.
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.
The bank is amazing.
And I thought the ride was really cool. So glad I got to ride it.
Then it was time for some more spell casting.
and pretending to be Hagrid.
We then caught the train back to Hogwarts.
So happy to get to enjoy it with less crowds.
Christy went to ride Dragon Challenge.
We We still hadn’t had breakfast so opted to have breakfast in the 3 Broomsticks.
It’s the same menu as the other day but I was happy to have potatoes again. And a pancake.
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.
Meanwhile Kevin did the dinosaur encounter, which was really cute, while Christy went to ride Jurassic Park.
Time for another traditional photo.
Since Christy was already wet from Jurassic Park, she decided to do ALL the wet rides and ended up soaked.
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).
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.
Kevin was feeling the effects of just a few sips of his Long Island Iced Tea.
Thee’s burger came in a little guitar plate (they had already bought one to take home)…
as did Christy’s mac n cheese…
Since they didn’t have the same salad I’ve always gotten before (sadly) I opted to have nachos instead. Thankfully they were delicious.
Kevin had potato skins.
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.
Thee bought these light up cat ears and let Christy borrow them.
We went back into Universal Studios and all did the Mummy ride together. So fun, but my back hurt in the same part again :-(.
We decided to have dinner at Finnegan’s Bar and Grill – which we’d enjoyed on our last trip.
We were able to get a table right away which was good, but our meal did take some time to arrive.
The kids and I all had the potato and leek soup.
The live music was good, though a little loud (for us anyway).
After dinner it was time for some last spell casting in Hogsmede.
Before catching the train back to Hogswart. Christy, with her robe on, looked quite the part.
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 🙁 ).
Kevin and Christy rode the castle ride, while Athena and I enjoyed some people watching.
We actually finished right when the park closed at 10am so walked back through a very empty park – which was great.
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.
Thanks for the photos Libby. The food looks yummy and so sorry about Kristy’s nasty bump!