The Many Drinks of Jo: DCL & US/IoA Sep/Oct 15 Day 17 - Not you again?!: Final Day *COMPLETE*

[Stewboy]

Sunday 4th October 2015

Morning - Loews Royal Pacific Resort - Universal Orlando

So here it is. We’ve finally reached the last day of our holiday.

After waking and breakfasting in the room, Jo began packing while I helped Isabella finish off her remaining drawings. Once packed we called luggage services and they came to take our luggage and store it for us as we needed to be out of the room by 11:00 and our flight wasn’t until 8:15. The advantage of this of course is that we still had a day in the parks ahead of us.


Breakfast of champions


Artist at work

We left the room and walked to Universal; by 11:30 we were in Diagon Alley queuing for Gringotts – finally!. The queue moved swiftly and we were soon inside; within 20 minutes we were down in the vaults and onto the ride. We did child swap and Isabella got to see all the pre-ride stuff and we even went down in our own (gold) lift to the child swap area. Jo and I both enjoyed the ride, it’s much better than The Forbidden Journey ride IMO.


Last walk to Universal




Here be dragons














Gringotts - just like Santander but with better customer service


General Hux Bill Weasley and Blordak

Around about this time we received a WhatsApp from the Hardings very kindly inviting us to join them for lunch and help use up their remaining 8 table service credits. Unfortunately they were at Disney Springs and we didn’t have time to get over there to meet up

We left Gringotts and decided to give the Leaky Cauldron another try after being defeated by the large queue a couple of days ago. Fortunately it was less busy today so we headed in. Jo and I both ordered Banger Sandwiches (basically a hot dog with sauerkraut) and Isabella had Mac and Cheese. The theming inside is good, but the food wasn’t great; we preferred the Three Broomsticks.




Inside the Leaky Cauldron




Lunch

Afternoon - Universal Studios - Universal Orlando
We finished lunch and decided to leave Diagon Alley and head over to Woody Woodpecker’s Kidszone to ride E.T. Adventure and Woody Woodpecker’s Nuthouse Coaster.

E.T. was up first. Jo and I decided to give fake names, substituting our own for the Hardings’ names. I was Brett and Jo was Jo… Isabella wanted to use her imaginary friend’s name. Her imaginary friend is called Isabella...

As we all know the ride has aged badly and I think it’s a terrible ride, although Isabella enjoyed it. As we left the ride through the shop selling E.T. related stuff I did wonder if anyone still buys this stuff?!




Excited!


Map reading

We followed E.T. with another ride that Isabella enjoyed – the Woody Woodpecker Nuthouse Coaster. And then, after all that excitement, it was time for a coffee from Starbucks.

Isabella was on a coaster high and wanted to ride the Minions ride again, so off we went. Unfortunately this time around she didn’t find it as enjoyable. This may have been down to our seats, which were not in as good a place as the previous visit.




Coffee for Joe


Taking a load off







It was 3:00 and our time in the parks was coming to an end. We had time for one last attraction – Animal Actors On Location!.

We headed over to the arena and got seated. As we waited for the show to start a dog appeared on stage and was supposed to pick up and recycle some plastic bottles in the recycling bin. Now, either this dog was having a bad day or he was some kind of canine anarchist. He ran back and forth and back and forth over and over again, eventually deciding to wee in a bush and investigate the audience rather than do what he’d been trained to! At one point the trainer appeared to get him back on track but he was having none of it.

Fortunately the rest of the show was smoother and Isabella enjoyed the various animal routines; she even tried to volunteer to go on stage at one point!








The canine anarchist



The show finished at about 3:30 and it was time to say goodbye. We had mixed emotions about our visit to Universal and IOA. Some parts were very good, Harry Potter especially – although we probably didn’t really spend enough time there. Obviously the day we spent with Brett and Jo was great fun too, we’re just not sure how soon we’d bother going back there for a while – it doesn’t have the same appeal as WDW that’s for sure. The irony of this is that until we stayed on Disney property for the first time in 2011 (our 8th visit to Orlando together) we’d always said we preferred Universal, specifically IOA which we considered our favourite park.

We left the park and headed back to the hotel via the boat. After a visit to luggage services I went to retrieve the car from the car park, driving round to the front of the hotel to meet the porter with our luggage. Jo and Isabella got in the car while I loaded our luggage and away we went.

We really enjoyed our stay at Royal Pacific. The refurbished room was lovely, the pool area is really nice and the walkway and boats make it really convenient to get to the parks and CityWalk. We definitely recommend it if you’re planning on a visit to Universal.

We made a quick stop at Walgreens as we left Universal and then we were on our way to the airport, arriving at about 4:45. We dropped off the car and headed to terminal building B and checked in. I waited with the bags while Isabella and Jo got changed in the toilet.

Whilst waiting I received another message from the Hardings saying that they were in the same terminal as us so arrangements were made to meet by the Kennedy Space Centre shop. I got changed then we made our way over to meet them. We joined them and Brett had a little rant about the German family with the luggage trolley. Isabella showed Jo her drawings – I think it’s safe to say that she really took a shine to Jo


Not you again?!




Isabella and her friend Jo


Bye bye Hardings


#DADC

Evening - Orlando International Airport - Orlando
After chatting for about half an hour we finally got rid of the Hardings ( ) as they made their way to the gate. It was now about 5:45 and time for some dinner. Isabella and I settled for McDonald’s (Chicken Nugget Happy Meal for Isabella; Big Mac Meal for me) and Jo had Panda Express – probably the meal she’d been looking forward to the most of the entire holiday!


Jo is reunited with Panda Express

Once we’d eaten it was time to go through. Looking at our tickets we noticed that the flight time printed on it said 7:15 – it was presently 6:40. Now, we *knew* that the flight time was supposed to be 8:15 but that didn’t stop us having a little panic.

Fortunately there was no queue through passport control this time (last time we were here in February the queue was terrible) and, making sure we got the correct tram out to the gate, we arrived quickly. As we got off the monorail we checked the flight time on the screens we confirmed the flight time was 8:15 – panic over. Phew.

We bought some water and wipes from the shop, some gin for Jo’s mum from duty free and some coffee from Starbucks. While I waited for the coffee Jo and Isabella walked down to the gate.

I arrived at the gate a few minutes later to find Jo and Isabella once again talking to those damn Hardings! We just couldn’t get rid of them… Turns out they were boarding at the gate opposite ours.

After a few minutes their flight was called so we said goodbye for the final time and watched with relief as they got on the plane. Finally….

We sat and drank our coffee and finally it was our turn. We boarded, got to our seats and made ourselves comfortable. We had a row of four seats for the three of us and no one else joined us so we had the luxury of a bit of room.

The plane journey was uneventful. Isabella played her Hudl and watched some tv. The food was really poor quality. For some reason they didn’t turn the cabin lights off until gone 11:30. I think we all managed a little bit of sleep.


On the Hudl


Sleeping


Call this breakfast?!


Day 17 by Isabella

[Stewboy]

Next morning - Manchester Airport - Manchester
Arriving at Manchester was new experience for us. We live in Hertfordshire which is a 3 hour drive away, and our usual airport for Florida is Gatwick. The reason for being at Manchester was one of cost.

We exited the plane and headed down to baggage collection. Once we’d got our bags we headed out to find the shuttle bus to take us to the car hire.

Unlike car hire in Orlando we didn’t get to choose a car, our car was assigned to us. Also unlike Orlando the cars aren’t kept in a big garage, they’re in car park that you have to get a bus to, and this being England on the day you arrive home from holiday, it was raining.

We squeezed all the luggage into the car, just about, and then we were on our way south. After a detour to a Currys/PC World in Altrincham to purchase a new DVD player for Isabella (which also involved a vomiting incident and a confirmation that people really are kinder in the north) we really were on our way.

The drive home was uneventful and we were soon back in the unfamiliar surroundings of our own house.

The End.


Isabella arriving home

Epilogue
Well it’s done. Another holiday over with. Another trip report written. Both felt epic!

The holiday itself was great. The cruise was a wonderful experience. Jo and I had done two cruises on the Disney Magic pre-Isabella and enjoyed them, and we were pleased that this one was as enjoyable. Isabella loved the kids clubs and Jo and I enjoyed spending some time together. The places we stopped at, although there weren’t many, were brilliant. The only downside was Jo’s illness at the beginning which really reached it’s peak in Madeira which was a shame. Castaway Cay was gorgeous and I was glad that Jo talked me into the 5k.

The food onboard was amazing and our serving team and tablemates made for enjoyable dinner times.

Spending some time at Universal was a great end to the holiday and meeting up with Brett & Jo was a highlight. Obviously we’ve been out with them a few times back home but this was the first time Isabella had met them, and the first time we’d all remained sober! Isabella loved meeting them and had fun getting them wet.

Thanks to everyone that has read along and commented, it’s nice to know that people enjoy what I write. Jo and I read all the comments and really appreciate them.

What’s next
Whilst onboard we booked another cruise, taking advantage of the onboard booking discount. On the Magic again but this time it’s 7 nights from Dover to Norway and around the fjords. There’s a pre-trip report here, it’s less than month away already! I hope some of you will come back and read that one too.

Looking further ahead we have another WDW holiday in October (not August as previously stated - that's 2017!), staying at Saratoga Springs again, and we’ve already partially sorted out 2017 as well! Lots to look forward to

Once again, thanks for reading.

Stew, Jo & Isabella x

[smythy21]

great trip report and some cool pics

[EllieP]

Fabulous report again, really enjoyed reading along. We are in Saratoga springs from 28/7 - 2/8. It's our first onsite stay so really excited.

[EJSakaAnna]

Thanks for a great report, I really enjoyed reading about your trip

[Cutiepie]

Another great report, thanks for sharing & I will look forward to reading about your next Adventure

[Redrach1903]

Totally agree that Gringotts is better than FJ!

Not sure I like the look of that hot dog thing…..

Aww that wee dog and Isabella – such a cute photo!

Another great report, thanks for sharing yet again!

Loving all your exciting plans coming up! Can’t wait to read the reports!


Rach xx

[vics18]

Fantastic trip and have loved your report. Isabella's picture summaries were a particular highlight
Enjoy the fjords, I have a friend who's done that cruise and the scenery is phenomenal.

[choccielover]

Loved this report, we are definitely going to look st a cruise now, they look amazing!

Thought you were there in October not August? Change of plans?

[nasty]

Fantastic report loved reading it.

Might see you round the pool in August then ! 😝