Day 5 - January 18
Aside from this being a short day since it was our departure day, I also don't have too many more photos to share because I had some issues with my phone. I had been having intermittent trouble with my phone screen - it would go through spells of being unresponsive and then on our trip I developed "lines of death" which eventually ate my whole screen into white abyss. I did get it repaired immediately after the trip - my LCD needed replacing. Anyway, just an aside...
We "slept in" again this morning until 8, finished up packing, checked out on the tv, and took our bags to the car
The last boat ride to Citywalk was bittersweet. What a fun adventure we'd had! Upgrading to APs made the parting a little easier but since I didn't have a trip planned yet, I was still feeling the pangs of real life creep back into my theme park euphoria. (At the time, R had made it known that he wanted a beach trip for a spring vacation, but he's now acquiesced to my desire to go back to Orlando so we'll be incorporating a beach day and more pool time into the April plans. He's a good partner.)
Our first task was Rip Ride Rockit. And we were going to Rip Ride Request the front row!
But we didn't have to since we were assigned that row by chance. It was fantastic. I tried to actually notice the park landmarks as we swooped, spun, and spiraled. This is one of my favorite roller coasters now. It's funny to think how scared I was the first go round!
[broken iPhone captured some sweet lens flare]
We hadn't had any breakfast so we grabbed a pretzel from a stand near the former Twister. It tasted like yesterday's batch, but plastic cheese and mustard helped. It was nice to enjoy this little snack on a bench across from the future home of the Jimmy Fallon attraction and just enjoy the weather
We made our way over to the mummy, which we rode twice and I was much more careful with my legs this time. We kept going, around London and on to Men in Black, but it seemed like the guns weren't working well this time. Not an excuse for poor scores! It was our whole car and the red button couldn't even help us this time. The other car spun us into oblivion.
The pretzel had worn off by this time and we were feeling the effects of departure day blues... Only one thing could fix this. Florean Fortescue's! R chose one scoop of peanut butter and jelly, one scoop of salted caramel blondie. I chose chocolate raspberry and salted caramel blondie. We both got waffle cones. ($11.49 after tax and discount)
R wanted to have another look in Borgin and Burks and I wanted to take another look around in Knockturn Alley. We took our ice creams in and watched little witches and wizards do some spells. We liked the shrunken heads best I think. R got a set of magnetic bookmarks with the Deathly Hallows on them and he has shared one with me. Hogwarts Express had a long line so we decided to walk back out the front of the park.
Needing fuel for our voyage (or to lift our moods), I suggested we stop at Chez Alcatraz and check out the bar offerings there since I'd read good things. Bartender Luis was great and upsold us to souvenir glasses we didn't need, but we got a lot more drink for just a couple dollars and now we have plastic glasses clogging up our cabinets.... I mean... As lovely souvenirs.
R chose the Rock (like a mint julep, Luis said) and I chose the Breakout. I really liked mine, and we paid $23.43 for the pair after tax but before tip. We didn't finish them by the time we got to the front, so we had to sit and people watch while we finished our drinks. I'm not sure why you can take beer on the Hogwarts Express but not a drink to IOA on foot, but it was no problem sitting in the sunshine finishing our cocktails.
We walked over to IOA and went straight for Dr. Doom (after debating the practicality of a half dozen pistachio muffins to go...) and rode that twice. This time we noticed the marvel tricycle motorcycles parked backstage and thought that was kinda neat. We debated other attractions and decided to call it a wrap.
I took these last few photos "blind" as my phone was totally failing by this point.
We decided to bookend our trip with the NBC Sports Grill and Brew. This time, the host was a total goofus. We asked to sit outside and he took my name and number. We passed a few minutes waiting behind Auntie Anne's by the water with our feet up... This was the last of the glorious Florida weather we'd get for a while. I got the text and we were seated inside (?) near the bar by the elevators. Though they didn't grant my request to sit outside, we were hungry and I was sad and didn't want to make a fuss.
Probably because I was already feeling blue, our server seemed EXTRA CHEERFUL and recited a rehearsed spiel about the restaurant and its beer selection. Okay dude, calm down. I ordered an Orange Blossom Pilsner and got it at 2:00. Last picture of the trip.
I ordered the chicken nachos from the appetizers portion of the menu - they were massive and very good. (Pulled chicken, jalapeño queso, beans, tomatoes, fresh jalapeño - served with pico de gallo, guacamole, and sour cream on the side - $13) I probably left a full portion of chips after we'd eaten all the toppings and as many chips as I could. R had the California burger (lettuce, tomato, avocado, sprouts, red onions, garlic aioli, multigrain bun - $15) with kettle chips as his side as we'd liked those on Thursday. This was another very good meal and good service, even though we saw Shawna at one point and were disappointed we didn't ask for her section. The wait staff here combined with the great food really bumps this place out of the "good for a sports bar" category and into just plain good food. I wasn't driving so I had a second beer. $56.16 before tip - didn't ask for AP discount. We'll be back.
We sadly returned back to the Portofino, collected the car, and let ourselves out of the parking garage for the last time. It was time to go home.
Final thoughts:
We did a LOT and repeated a lot of things. I felt like construction didn't really impact us but I also don't know what I'm missing. I remember very little from my visit to Universal as a child within the first few years after the park opened - Kongfrontation scared the ever loving patootle out of me and I loved ET. I vaguely remember Earthquake and I remember being too small for Back to the Future. Aside from that, this may as well have been my very first visit.
The Wizarding World has been done very very true to the films. Thrill rides were done well - even if sometimes crudely themed. The food options at Universal offered a good selection and the prices made my Disney budget look absurdly expensive, even though I had some sticker shock over Universal's drink prices.
Hotels at Universal squarely beat Disney and the deluxes we've done "off-site" (Hilton Bonnet Creek, Wyndham Bonnet Creek, Swan (though the new rooms at the Swan do compete, service and amenities don't), Dolphin, and the moderate Caribe Royale. We got a great rate at Portofino and man, was that a value.
We definitely plan to return and I am looking forward to experiencing the other resorts, the shows and attractions we missed, and showing my sister around.
Please feel free to continue asking questions. To rip off IOA, though my trip report has concluded,
the adventure lives on...