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View Full Version : Universal Long Memorial Day Weekend - Day 4 and Departure



MizMissy
06-11-2011, 10:49 AM
Last park day and departure day:

Monday, May 30th – Memorial Day. Fourth and last day at the parks (and vacation).

Plans today: Hold onto your hats, folks! All parks, all day. :thumbsup:

Once again, most of the group (well, the main four families who hung out together during the trip) met downstairs by the pool entrance at 7:30 a.m. The kids and I were ready a few minutes early. DH was not moving as quickly this morning … he kept wondering why we were up at 6 a.m. (5 a.m. our time) every morning on vacation … poor darling, he should know by now just to follow my plans and not question. Anyway, the kids and I grabbed breakfast for them (and another coffee for daddy) at the quick serve place and waited for the rest of the crew. There was an elderly gentleman in Starbucks while we were there; he was dressed in his VFW outfit. It reminded me that it was Memorial Day. I showed him which coffee was the darkest and we exchanged pleasantries. He was in line in front of me and the manager told him his coffee was “on the house” that morning and thanked him for his service. I thought that was a very nice gesture.

Our group (including DH) enjoyed our stroll over to IOA and was at the park before 8. Straight to Harry Potter World. DH and kids rode Forbidden Journey again. Next was Dueling Dragons – multiple times for the kids again. We window shopped a little on our way out of the park and then to US for park opening. Surprisingly, Harry Potter World did not seem very crowded this morning, but I still recall a fairly long line for Olivander’s. On Rip Ride Rock It, DS and I rode in the front seat with DD and DH behind us. DS LOVES the front seat. As we were exiting to ride again, I told DH he absolutely had to ride in the front. He was a bit hesitant … and, honestly, going straight up multiple stories with nothing but sky in front of you … WHEW, it is a bit intense but the rest of the ride makes it all worth it. DH rode in front with DD and declared as he was leaving that “Daddy’s hogging the front row from now on!” Obviously, he loved it. Another great thing about this ride, they not only take a picture of you on the ride, but there’s a video of you on the ride. That’s pretty funny to watch. It was still posting a 5 minute wait time so we rode again. Then, the adults waited outside for all the kids to ride a few more times.

After tearing the kids away from Rip Ride Rock It – you guessed it, Mummy once again. Next the kids wanted to play in the Curious George ball room. Other than my kids, this entire group has been to Universal several times before. The “kids” I refer to range from age 8-20. They had so much fun in the Curious George playground, we had to literally tear them away after an hour. My DD declared she could have stayed there all day. Personally, I’m glad my kids learned about it on the last day instead of the first day. There is a wet area to the playground (although they managed not to get too wet), but it’s the inside ball room where they had a blast. There are all these different guns to shoot the balls and climbing areas, they basically had a ball war. They also had the place to themselves. To me, US never seemed crowded, but today, there really were not many people in the park.

I would have liked to ride ET again, but lots of the group were getting hungry and we were heading out of the park. However, we wanted to see Terminator 2 before we left for lunch. We also saw the Blues Brothers driving into the park on the way to their “gig” … and there was a fun 50s band playing outside a diner on the way. To me, US had a nice vibe, laid back but lots of interesting things going on all around. We did take pictures in front of the Back to the Future car and train on display and the “Furious Five” cars on display. We made it into the Terminator show just as they were closing the doors … perfect timing. My DS loved this show. He had never seen the T2 movie (He continued to talk about it since returning, so I found it at Target this week and gave him the movie … he loved it). This show has a mix of live actors along with the 3D movie and it is a good show. I’m glad we saw it. My BFF said the Horror Make Up show was a good show also, but we missed it this time around.

The group went to City Walk for lunch. We ate at fast food places (Moe’s for some, Burger King for a few, and TCBY for one). The plan was to return to HRH to change and hit IOA’s water rides. At this point, I was getting nervous because I had purchased no souvenirs or t-shirts from our trip. Really, I had not taken the time to do any shopping other than for the wands and candy the first day. DD and I first stopped in the Element store in City Walk first. She wanted Toms, but even though she is 11, she has a small foot and they did not have her size. We bought DD and DS each a t-shirt. DD and I returned to US to look around. Wow. I was very underwhelmed with the selection. The HP/Hogwarts shirts were awful. DD found one shirt she liked, but I could not find a second shirt that was marginally acceptable for DS. I purchased him a Rip Ride Rock It shirt instead. There was nothing for DH at all (and especially not for me). DH prefers a more muted t-shirt and none of these fit the bill. We only looked in a couple of shops, maybe that was the problem. However, I do not recall anything in any of the shops while exiting the rides that caught my attention either.

Back at the hotel, the kids and DH changed into swimsuits for the water rides. I had no intention of walking around in my swimsuit. Also, I did not see any use in wearing a bathing suit under t-shirt and shorts. Instead, I wore thin cotton shorts and a sleeveless shirt that I hoped would dry quickly. We had a set meeting time, but since my crew was a little early, we texted the rest to let them know we would meet by Hulk. The kids and DH wanted to ride Hulk and I wanted to at least peek in the Christmas shop along Main Street in IOA. The kids and DH rode Hulk (no way was I going to risk another one of those intense headaches), “tea cup” ride, and Dr. Doom Fall while I looked inside the Christmas store. Once again, I’m not sure what I was expecting, but nothing in the Christmas store grabbed my attention. I am not much of a shopper, but usually on our family trips I purchase a Christmas ornament and a refrigerator magnet as souvenirs. Their Christmas selection was Grinch, Simpsons, and a few Betty Boop items. While I like Grinch and the Betty Boop as an elf was cute, I did not find any “must haves” – no Christmas souvenir from this trip. Oh well. I also looked in the shop across the street to see the Harry Potter and Universal t-shirts. Once again, I was underwhelmed with the selection. Re-joining my crew and meeting up with the rest of our group, we rode Spider Man on the way to the water rides.

We had twelve in our group so we had a raft to ourselves on Bluto’s Barges. We had so much fun on this ride. I guess it is like Kali River Rapids at Disney but I’ve only ridden KRR once in all our trips. My kids love KRR, but I hate being soaking wet in the park and an hour away from our hotel to change. We all laughed so much on this ride while everyone took turns getting soaked. We rode it three times together. Then, we moved onto Dudley Do-Right for multiple rides. This area of the park seemed busy, but I think the standby ride waits were not terrible (not as much as previous days) and when we entered the park, the board said Forbidden Journey was less than an hour. After Ripsaw Falls, we all rode Jurassic Park River Adventure together. The kids also enjoyed the splash zone for a while.


(continued below)

MizMissy
06-11-2011, 10:50 AM
We returned to HRH to shower and change. There were several friends hanging out at the pool and DH wanted to join them for some relaxation time. My kids needed more rides before the end of the trip. Several in the group had not really had an opportunity to shop in Harry Potter World, so that was our plan. When we arrived at HP World, to our surprise, it was not very crowded and FJ only had a 20 minute wait. My kids rode it again. I shopped in the Castle store and looked around the carts while waiting for them. Nope, I still did not find any great shirts (well, except for a rugby shirt that was way overpriced and not exactly a summer shirt). Next, we saw that Olivander’s had a very short line (maybe only 10 people in line). We stood in line for the show. Let me tell you, if I had stood in that line for more than 5 minutes, I would have been highly disappointed. Even my 8 year old son, who is wide-eyed and accepts most things on face value said “well, that wasn’t real!” At least we saw it. We looked around Owl Post for a while, but the rest of the group was hitting a wall. They decided to find a place for dinner. My kids looked at me with crest-fallen faces … they did not want to spend their last few hours in the parks sitting in a restaurant! They wanted to ride rides! We bid adieu to the group and I took my kids to Dueling Dragons. They rode it twice and wanted to go again, but I reminded them that US closed at 8 and if they wanted to ride Rip Ride Rock It one more time, it was time to leave. We made it to US at 7:30. Rip Ride Rock It had a 20 minute wait time, but since the park did not look very crowded, I suggested that if we hurried, we could ride Mummy one more time, then return to Rip Ride for the last ride. We rode Mummy and hurried back to Rip Ride. At 7:40 pm, there was a 15 minute wait time posted. We stood in line for our last ride. The kids waited to ride in the front seat and I rode behind them. We exited the ride at 7:55 and I noticed the ride line was still open … One More Ride??? Absolutely!!! It was their favorite ride and only fitting that it was their last ride. DH had been texting asking to meet for dinner at City Walk, I told him we could meet him after the park closed, but the kids wanted to ride until the end. After US closed, IOA was open until 9. The kids asked if we could head back to IOA, but I was very, very tired at this point and my feet were beginning to protest after the days of walking. I suggested that there had to be a last ride … and it was better to make it your favorite one. They agreed so we headed out. DH had texted that he was staying at the pool and eating dinner there. We decided to meet him at the hotel and eat there also. We probably should have eaten at the pool restaurant, but DH suggested trying the Kitchenary (even though he had eaten earlier, he joined us for a drink). We were all so tired and the kids were starving. I ordered an appetizer because they were so hungry, but I should have known better. By the time the food arrived, DD was no longer hungry. She also complained that her stomach was hurting and she was ready to return to the room. Clearly, sitting down for more than a few minutes made her realize that she was completely out of gas. And, I really can’t blame her. It had been a very busy couple of days. DH volunteered to go with her – he had had several adult drinks by the pool during our time at the parks and he was fading fast also. We had planned to meet BFF and others at the pool after dinner. At this point, I sent her a text that “they were dropping like flies around me.” Her youngest DS had already hit a wall earlier in the parks (that’s why they needed to stop to feed him) and she understood completely.

After dinner (10% off Kitchenary with All Access pass), DS and I stopped by the pool to say goodnight and goodbye to everyone, but he was still going strong. He wanted to swim, but did not feel like going to the room to change into his swimsuit (I guess he was afraid he would not get his mommy to leave the room – a fair guess). I let him swim in his basketball shorts and I had a very nice and relaxing visit with friends while he swam. After an hour or so, we joined sleeping DH and DD for our last night on property.

Tuesday, May 31st. Going home day. :(

We had no set schedule today other than the 11-12 hour drive home. Surprisingly, we were all packed and had the car loaded by 9. Frustrated with not finding a t-shirt for DH, I was determined to find something at HRH store. This was actually the first time I walked into the gift shop at the hotel. It’s on the 3rd floor with the lobby and we always met on the first floor near the pool entrance. Also, because we only left the property one time, we spent very little time in the hotel’s lobby (although it was very nice). I found a couple shirts for DH and one for me. 10% off purchase with my All Access pass, nice bonus. We took a few last pictures around the lobby and outside and started our long trip home. I will add my final thoughts in a separate post, but we really had a wonderful trip. Maybe my family is just easy to please on vacation, but we always seem to have great vacations. My only complaint is that we had to cut our vacation short because of work…a few extra days on a beach on the way home would have been welcome.

NJGIRL
06-14-2011, 11:39 AM
Sounds like you had a great vacation. Welcome....you have officially come to the dark side...you are now a Universal Fan :D.

MizMissy
06-14-2011, 12:36 PM
Sounds like you had a great vacation. Welcome....you have officially come to the dark side...you are now a Universal Fan :D.

I know. :secret: I feel like you and I are a in the minority on this board (obviously, it is a Disney board), but I am feeling like a bit of a traitor for having such a great trip and not complaining about anything at Universal. :blush:

NJGIRL
06-14-2011, 04:21 PM
They are great parks and I can't see why some people think if you like Disney you have to hate Universal.:confused:

IMO Universal was never meant to mirror Disney. Again this is my opinion, it's just the opposite, Universal is there giving you something totally different. Are they in competition with each other? Yes, for your vacation dollars, but the atmosphere of these two parks are totally different and this was not done by accident.

I can't see why people can't like them both. We do.:thumbsup: