And then it was the last day...so we planned to sleep in a little, and we did, but not by much. We finally took time to enjoy a Voodoo donut that we had been seeing all week, and they were very good. Sam had the voodoo doll (raspberry "blood" filling), Davis had the creamsicle, Ruby had the maple bacon and skipped the donut and just ate the bacon off the top, Mom had the cake one, then I just got some regular glazed and a Miami Vice (see if you can figure out which one it was) for me and Belle and everyone to try. And honestly all were good, but the best was the regular glazed to me.
Ugh, the pictures below frustrate me, first one of the month that loaded backwards. Since it was our last day, we all just tried to do the one last thing we wanted to do in US. For me, I wanted to ride Mummy one last time. Sam and Belle joined me on the single ride line, and belle ended up getting to ride right beside me. Mom wanted to go through the Jimmy Fallon ride, not to ride, just to see the pictures, and they ended up getting their own personal tour guide through all the artifacts. We caught the blues brothers performing in the street (Week after this trip, me and the boys watched this for their first time, and it stands up...still very funny..."We're on a mission from God"). And Sam traded some money for some Gringotts money...and then I made him spend it on butterbeer. Those that wanted to, Granny, Wyatt, Davis...maybe others went and rode Gringotts one last time. Then we got in an extremely long line for the Hogwarts express, and I think waited 15 minutes for Granny to get up the elevator with her stroller...haha, her stroller with no kid. I am sure the people at the bottom kinda questioned this.
When we finally got to the front of Hogwarts, something happened that has always been a dumb dad joke that I share with the kids. I always joke that no one ever asks for a group of 6, they always need a group of 1 or 2 or maybe 3...but never 6. So we always smile when we don't get picked, because it never happens that they need a group of 6. But on this day, for probably the first time ever in all theme park history, we got to the very front of the line, and they needed a group of 6! Yes, we had finally done it. The clouds have opened, and the Junkins have finally been picked. But on this day, with Granny, Granddad, and Wyatt, we were 9, and thus turned down the only opportunity for a family of 6 ever. It then got a little more weird as I wanted Granddad and Granny to be with the kids, so I just told them I would ride by myself, assuming I would just be that strange guy in the cabin all my himself with another family. Only 8 would fit into a cabin, so we told them 8 and a single. So they loaded 8 into one area, then me by myself into another area, and then loaded us on the train without putting anyone else with me. And thus another first...I rode the train in a cabin all to myself. I really did not know what to do other than take a few pictures, prop my feet up, and just smile and a weird sequence of events.
On the IOA side of things, Belle and Davis went off to do their own thing while Sam (I think pretty much done with the parks...perhaps yesterday) just hung out with little sis in Suessland. We did our final pictures and rides there, and since Ruby was in full seuss gear, we met the characters...twice. Sam's one last ride was the River Adventure, then we all ended up back where the first day had ended at the Hulk coaster. So me and Davis handed all our stuff over to Sam and Belle (bad planning as this forced them to wait with us...should have just put my phone in a locker...note for next time) and Davis and I went on his "One last ride" of Hulk. Wow, It is fun, but my retirement from these things may also be soon. That was a little intense.
After leaving the park, saying our goodbyes, getting a random selfie with the IOA tower, we walked over to Anteojitos (or something like this) where they told us that it would be a 35 minute wait for inside, or the patio was open for seating now. Maybe we surprised them, but we were in no rush, we said "We'll wait", then the lady immediately said "Ok, we have a table that is ready now". haha. I think the girls were craving some Mexican, because again, there was no food left behind. It was a really great meal. And at the end, we even got to listen to a live Mariachi band...and they were playing the German chicken dance...so yeah, that all happened.
One last ride of the amazing escalator at Citywalk (hands up), and then we were back at the hotel. And Ruby kept letting me know that she had an extra swimsuit. So in we went to the pool. We played in the lazy river for a little while. Then jumped into the pool, where there was a random duck swimming around. You can see the duck in the swimming pool pictures. Before the pool, we did get to meet Gru in the lobby, and some Universal magic was shared to get Ruby a Minion and Belle a Luna Lovegood stuffed toy. And while Mom stayed and packed up a bit that night, we all did something we had not done all week...we sat in the lobby and ate our cafeteria food there. It was a really great week, but I think Universal is ready for a third park, as days 6 and 7 were a little light. While the family vacation was coming to a close, the girls were excited for the next week of Disney. ...To be continued...
