4th Time Lucky Day 8 A Universally Good Day

[karalma]

14.12.21

Today we had booked a night at The Royal Pacific as this with 2 day park tickets was cheaper then the 4 day ticket we were going to buy and this way we got front of line passes. We didn’t intend staying the night as Alix didn’t want to share a room but we would use the room to have a break.

After our disappointment at SW we had checked the Busch Gardens website and Cheetah Hunt was closed until the day after our visit. Before we set off today Alix rang ATD to see if we could change our quick queue tickets to another day. They kindly offered to change them from the Friday to Saturday but couldn’t change them to the Monday as the prices went up the following week. Alix decided to leave them as Friday and just miss Cheetah Hunt this year.

This meant we set off a little later than planned, at 8.15, but we didn’t need to get there for opening, thanks to the FOLPs. The traffic was really bad this morning so we didn’t arrive until 9.20. Check in was easy but no leis given this time.



We had a little wait for the water taxi but we were soon arriving and I told Darren and Alix to go ahead and I would catch them up. Despite borrowing a pair of Alix's trainers I limped slowly around the park today. I entered the park at 10.00 and browsed the shops before waiting for Darren and Alix at RRR.



They soon joined me, after riding twice. We then headed back to Despicable Me and all enjoyed, particularly Alix as she had never ridden this before.







Next up was my favourite Jimmy Fallon and I loved this and wanted to go back on. I was promised another go later. We stopped for a pic of the amazing tree.





The Mummy was next, which we had a bit of a wait for and weren’t sure we were in the correct line. This was faster than I remembered so I let Darren and Alix ride again while I browsed the shop as this is one of my favourite shops. I bought a top and a pair of trousers. It was then time for Fast n Furios.



We strolled to Gringotts and Darren sat this one out.



Alix and I enjoyed it, especially as we could get a butterbeer next. I prefer the regular but they only sell the frozen here but it still tasted as good as we remembered. MIB was delayed as we walked past so we headed to Simpsons.



There are lots of memories of Matt in this park as this was his favourite park when he was younger. He was so excited the year we got to ride Simpsons in soft opening.

We were now ready for a break so we decided on Krusty Burger where Darren had a burger and Alix and I had pizza. Alix brought our pizzas but we were nearly finished by the time Darren joined us. He had had to wait for his burger and then there had been a long line to pay. As a result his fries were now cold so he took them back and they replaced them.





After lunch it was back to MIB where Alix destroyed us with a score of over 106,000. Neither of us managed to score from the red button. Transformers was going to be our last ride before heading back to the hotel for a rest. But Alix noticed that the Bourne stunt show started in 10 minutes so we headed there. Darren told Alix about the old Terminator show as she couldn’t remember it and filled me in on the Bourne movies so I woukd have some idea of what I was watching. The problem here was we had to stand in a packed auditorium for 10 minutes. By this time I was getting tired. My feet weren’t too bad when I walked but they throbbed when I stood still. I couldn’t see the point in keeping us all standing. And as there was no social distancing and masks were not mandatory, just recommended in Universal I did not like this. However, once in, we all enjoyed the show and Darren thought it was amazing, one of the highlights of the holiday.

By now it was 3.40 so we had a seat and decided what to do next. As Macy's Parade started at 5.30 we didn’t really have time to get back to the hotel and back. I also didn’t fancy the walking backwards and forwards. So we decided to stay and do our favourite rides again.

But first was Transformers that we had missed. Darren had never been on this and probably won’t again as he didn’t enjoy it. It was then back to ride The Mummy again but on the way I saw The Blues Brothers were playing so I said I would stay and watch while they rode again. I wish I had seen more of this but was so glad I caught the end. The female singer was brilliant, particularly singing “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.”



Everybody was singing and dancing and snow was falling. It felt very Christmassy and I loved it.



I then had a seat while I waited, before I got my second ride on Jimmy Fallon and I loved riding around New York again. I found a seat at 4.45 opposite Jimmy Fallon and Darren and Alix went to ride RRR again. When they returned Darren had a seat while I went with Alix to take some photos of Diagon Alley. Had I remembered how far it was I wouldn't have gone with her, but we did get another Butterbeer, which was worth the walk and took a few more pics.







On the way back everybody was sitting on the walkways, waiting for the parade, while we walked the parade route. I felt like a marathon runner limping home, but I couldn’t even walk a marathon at the minute. I got a wave from some stilt walkers.



We got back a few minutes before the parade and sat and enjoyed our Butterbeer as we listened to fun Xmas songs. The panda entertained the crowds and I loved the party atmosphere.





Macy's Parade was great, even if the ballons were not carried upright. We guessed this was because it was quite breezy tonight. The children holding them did a great job. It was lovely to sit back and enjoy this, with a great view.











































When it finished we took some pics of the tree that was lit by Santa.





Then we headed to the exit but I had to call to get a nut marshmallow stick that I buy every time in this park. Unfortunately they didn’t have any so we left Universal at 6.15 But had to take one final pic.



We took the water taxi back, admiring the view.



We quickly found our room on the ground floor for a rest. I would have been very happy to stay the night as I was so tired now but we hadn’t brought any clothes to stay over.



We wished we had as there was an accident on our route home, which meant we didn’t get home till 8.30. I was so tired I had something to eat and went to bed.

It had been a great day and had really felt like Christmas. We hadn’t needed the FOLPs, particularly in the morning as most rides were 15/20 minutes but we got everything done quickly, which meant I didn’t have to stand long, which was good. It was one of my favourite days.

[Floridadreams]

Sounds like a fabulous day! I loved Universal as it was so much more relaxed. I didn’t realise they did the Macy’s parade at Christmas though…..now you have me thinking!

[karalma]

Originally Posted by Floridadreams

Sounds like a fabulous day! I loved Universal as it was so much more relaxed. I didn’t realise they did the Macy’s parade at Christmas though…..now you have me thinking!

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It was so relaxed and Xmassy. It was possibly my favourite day.

[Goldia]

Your poor feet! It sounded like you were in agony at the end of the day, you did really well to last all day. It sounds like a fab day at universal. Lots of rides and the parade.

[karalma]

Originally Posted by Goldia

Your poor feet! It sounded like you were in agony at the end of the day, you did really well to last all day. It sounds like a fab day at universal. Lots of rides and the parade.

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Yes I felt a bit silly letting my feet get into such a state. But we did enjoy the day.

[katebush95]

Lovely pics of the parade 😍