02 Oct

Day 10 – Last Day!

Today we woke up at 2 am! No we did no set an alarm for 2 am, the hotel alarm went off! At 2 am!! The lights flashed, the announcements, oy. And they didn’t stop! For 10 good minutes! It was not fun! 

Dang it, Joan!

We finally went back to sleep and then Chase and Olivia had to catch the shuttle at 7 am. Stephen went down with them. Bye Chase and Olivia! It was so much fun!  

We were the final five today! Ohana means family until everyone else has to leave. We left the room at 8:30.

Here’s Dad and Mom’s room:

We dropped off our bags in the lobby.

We ate breakfast in the hotel coffee shop. We really had no plan today! We were leaving at 1, but we kind of felt like we’d seen it all! The combination of the Express Passes and the rides being so similar, really made us feel that way.

We decided to go back to Diagon. Because Diagon Alley never gets old.

While we were walking we passed this crazy little squirrel! He was just climbing up the side of the building!

We rode Gringotts again, and then Ally declared she was done! Her words were something along the lines of “No one should ever spend 3 days at Universal”.

Oh snap! And this from one of the biggest Harry Potter fans on the planet! This could have been a combination of tiredness and hanger speaking though.

We hadn’t ridden the Simpsons yet (because we aren’t really fans), but we decided to try it. It was cute, I’m sure Simpsons fans love it. Another simulator in case you were wondering.

Next we stopped for a popcorn break.

Then we decided to go back to Hogwart’s Express again. Of course.

We stopped to talk to Dre Head:

Back in the Wizarding World:

Around this time Stephen left us to go back to work in the lobby for a few hours. Emails were piling up after this long of a trip! Ohana means family until you don’t want a lot of emails waiting for you at home.

We had walked by the Raptor Encounter before and it was closed, so I wanted to try it. I LOVE dinosaurs. I mean love. All my life. I read Jurassic Park way before it was cool.

Ally was not up for standing in line and The Pneumonia didn’t know what it was so they sat down. Dad and I (he also read Jurassic Park before it was cool) stuck it out.

And I am so glad we did! It was the coolest thing! You stand in front of the raptor paddock, and a raptor moves around behind you and then comes to breathe menacingly on your neck and snarl. Completely random movements that could really freak a child out! Or a grown adult…

Next we were in search of lunch. We passed Kong, which was looking quite impressive:

Lunch!

Next we stopped by Spiderman. Dad and Mom were on a mission to buy the Spiderman meet and greet picture with Carter. They regretted not buying it for him when he did it, so we were hoping they’d find it. Dang it, Joan!

I stopped in the restroom and they went and asked. They were told they didn’t keep any pictures past midnight.

No way that sounded right to me. So while Mom and Dad shopped I walked up to the counter where a new person was, and asked if we could look up a picture from Friday night. She said we should be able to, and messed around for a while. I showed her the picture on my phone I’d taken of it, and the time stamp. And she found it!! I called my parents over (to the embarrassment of the dude that had just told them no way) and they bought it.

Woot woot!

Walking out:

These pedicabs were waiting for us almost every time we walked back to the room, and Ally always asked to ride one and we always said no. Big meanies. Today she got smart and asked Grandmom instead! Ohana always means family to grandparents.

We camped out in the lobby until our shuttle came.

Goodbye, Hotel!

We were finally headed back to the real world! Hey, the shuttle was playing Harry Potter! That’s rather awesome!

Flight was uneventful and we made it safely home through the snow that had fallen while we left!

It was such a great trip! We loved the time with family and made the best of the crowds. Animal Kingdom Lodge is an amazing resort, I will never get tired of it. This trip reinforced my personal touring plan with breaks in the afternoon, and I didn’t mind a one day break in the middle either! Three days at Universal may be a little much, but one or two days is a must for all Harry Potter and/or big roller coaster fans. Hulk was down, which would have made a difference I think. It really is a great park.

Can’t wait to do the whole thing again! Thanks for reading!

Ohana Means Family – Unless… November 21-29, 2015
Day 1 – Arrival
Day 2 – Check-in!
Day 3 – Epcot and Giant Pizzas
Day 4 – Hollywood Studios and Dang It Joan!
Day 5 – Animal Kingdom and Kathy with a “K”
Day 6 – Magic Kingdom and the Actual Ohana
Day 7 – Thanksgiving at Animal Kingdom Lodge!
Day 8 – Universal at O’Dark Thirty
Day 9 – Universal Alllll Day 
Day 10 – Last Day!