Originally Posted By Autopia Deb Day 8: I very nearly flamed out on the TRs before getting to the end, but after taking the weekend plus off, I’ve returned for day 8. After staying up a bit late packing and organizing and also being a little burned out from our exciting week, we got moving a bit slowly and today was the first of our three days at Universal that we weren’t at the turnstiles before 9 AM. Realizing how crazy busy WWHP is in the mornings and knowing how the crowds disappear at night, we decided not to try Hogsmeade first thing. We walked right onto Spiderman, I can hardly wait to see what this will be like when it goes high def, because it is very impressive even now without it. I imagine some of the 3D “doubling” I notice may very well be gone. I know the 3D in the new Star Tours is easier for me than the old show. We then decided to ride Hulk, I was feeling pretty good that morning, no headaches or tummy troubles so it was a good time to give it a shot, the line was also short so that didn’t hurt. After a week of riding big coasters and getting accustomed to them again, I really enjoyed The Hulk. I was a real coaster hound in my youth, but with all the little pains of aging, a tendency toward headaches, backaches and shortness of breath, and worrying about the kid when he was little I had gotten away from really enjoying big coasters like I once did. I think all the mega coasters I was exposed to on this trip really helped me get back to loving them again. I just have to not think about what would happen if the cars were to derail or something similarly horrible, ahh the wonders of imagination! We were getting hungry, so I decided we would try the dining plan. I think it came out to just over $22 each with tax and we could get an entrée and dessert each time through the food line. The only problem is there are only 3 places in the entire park you can eat on the plan. We hadn’t had much to eat for breakfast so we thought we’d get something to eat right away. After waiting 5 or 10 minutes in the very slow Circus McGurkus line (it was slower than the other food locations later in the day too) I noticed a sign stating the food plan wouldn’t start until 11:00 and it wasn’t quite 10:45 yet. So we jumped out of line and made our way to the other side of the park. Our other food choices were in Toon Lagoon and Jurassic Park. Rather than attempt eating right away, we decided to ride the Dudley Dooright Ripsaw Rapids while it was early. K was wearing swim trunks and I had a poncho. Guess what? That poncho didn’t do much. It was a cheep-o one that wasn’t quite enough. I tried to sit on it and wrap it around my legs so my thighs wouldn’t chafe like before… no joy. That water found away to get where I didn’t want it, and of course the last place to dry that day was exactly where I didn’t want to get wet in the first place. Captain Swim Trunks ended up looking like a drowned rat. I love the theming on that ride and think it’s done as well as Splash Mountain, or nearly as well. But it is just silly how wet you get on the thing. Since we were already wet we rode Jurassic Park again so we could see it in daylight. I think the version in Hollywood gets you wetter, so I really wasn’t any worse for water wear having ridden it. It was funny though, we rode with a couple of fluffies like me and poor K on the end, skinny teen that he is, had the lap bar hovering several inches above his lap. I actually felt the need to ask if he’d be OK with the bar that far off his lap. Apparently so, at least that was what I was told and since K is currently in school and not in a hospital, I guess they told me correctly. We finally decided to grab a bite to eat at the Burger Digs. They list a double cheeseburger on the menu, but I was able to get a single without cheese. The burgers are pretty good, and the desserts seemed to offer the same choices in all three locations. K got the chocolate mousse cake and I got the Jell-O. K looked at me like I was crazy when I ordered it, but he went back just for Jell-O a couple of times during the day, I liked it too. Since the Burger Digs is in the Discover Center we checked it out some. It’s well done, but I was somewhat disappointed the experience wasn’t more like the tour in the movie. We even got to see a raptor hatch although my son saw pretty quickly how they managed that trick without having a cracked egg in view all the time. Even though I had planned to return to Hogsmeade in the evening, K wanted to go back and since we were already most of the way there, we did. I still had my three Universal Dollars from my yogurt tasting so we decided to spend it and $3.25 on a pumpkin juice. YUCK!!! Even at $3.25 instead of $6.25 it was a waste of money. The first couple of sips were okay, but the more we drank the worse it got. If you’ve had over-spiced apple cider, you’ll get an idea of what it tastes like, except it’s VERY over spiced, with just a hint of pumpkin. As good as the butterbeer was, I had hoped the pumpkin juice would at least have been drinkable, but after only drinking a third of the bottle with both of us working on it, I drained the bottle in a plant. I never, never, never throw away food or drinks I’ve paid for unless there is spoilage involved, this stuff was just that bad. Those reading this for planning purposes take note: butterbeer good, pumpkin juice bad. We thought this would be a good time to head over to the studios. We rode some favorites like Men in Black, Jaws and Mummy and also tried out some new stuff. We took the time to wander the Lucy exhibit, which I enjoyed more than K because I grew up watching Lucy and he grew up watching Sponge Bob. After that we watched the Horror Makeup Show. It’s similar to Hollywood’s, except you stay seated in one room instead of visiting multiple sets. The host and makeup artist were both very funny making this the best of this type of show we saw all week. I think I said in day 6 that we rode ET and the Woody Woodpecker coaster, looking back I think we actually rode those attractions on day 8. No matter, if I go back to USO with my nephew or either niece while they are still young I will ride them, and older niece is sneaking up on too old at 7, but chances are I will give them a pass on future visits. About the time we were getting ready to leave and return to IoA, I got a text from –em asking if we were still at Universal and if we were available to meet. She and I had communicated on Facebook and through text a couple of time during the week, so I was expecting to hear from her. We made arrangements for her to meet us while we were having dinner at Circus McGurkus, where I tried the third dessert and was very disappointed and wished I’d gotten the Jell-o again. We explored Seuss Landing a bit after catching up over dinner and rode Cat in the Hat together. Then we walked through the Lost Continent and discussed how we hoped the menu and setting for Mythos would remain the same or at least same quality after Potter 2.0. Here I finally got my picture taken in front of the Hogwarts Express! Em took my picture with K and K took my picture with –em. We then took our final rides on Dragon Challenge, Flight of the Hypogryph and Forbidden Journey. The lines really are much better in the last hours of the day than in the first. K, -em and I decided sharing butterbeers would be a wonderful way to take in WWHP before leaving. They each got the draft and I got the frozen again, although the frozen was still good and I managed to get a cold hand and brain freeze, it was less frozen than before. It was a little too liquid compared to my first one. Before leaving Universal Orlando for the last time on this trip, we decided one last ride on Spiderman would be in order. So we ended our day as we started it. Well, almost ended our day. We all waved to the cast from various areas in the park who had lined up to bid guests farewell and did one last bit of shopping where I bought K a Jurassic Park T shirt. Then chatting with –em we made our way to the parking structure before parting ways.
