New wands, Butter Beer Season and our last day | Florida February 2025: Day 6

Ahhh noooooo…I knew I should have booked a fortnight here…”did somebody say Fortnite?”…no Grayson, stop Flossing (let’s see how well this ages). No sooner have we arrived, it’s time to leave. We’re all pretty gutted, but honestly, I’m knackered and need to return to normality before I Augustus Gloop myself; I think all I’ve done is buy merch and eat.

Ok, so yeah it’s our last full day here…tomorrow we return back to the dreary old UK with its not Universal theme parks (yet), and terrible weather. Boo…Hiss!!! Best make the most of it then…Saturday brings extended park hours, and an hour early entry at 8am; perfect for hitting up Hagrids and Velocicoaster before the rest of the crowds pile in for the day. Ok, so apparently I’d forgotten to translate the plan across to Jo and the kids…7am comes, I’m up, dressed and ready for my morning coffee. Jo, I’m off to get my caffeine fix. “Hhhmmmph”. I think that translates to “Ok babes, I’ll get the kids up and dressed within half hour ready to make rope drop at 8am”. Perfect, thanks Jo, see you in half hour or so.

Line from hell at Cabana-bucks, just as well Jo is currently getting the kids ready for my return. Full of joy at the perfect day planned I whistle my down the corridor to classic Universal Studios tunes…I was rocking the Jaws theme; I swear I thought a shark was stalking me at one point.

Ok family, I have returned…to a dark room, full of snores and sleep farts. Wait, this wasn’t the plan we discussed when I left Jordan…you clearly said “Hhhmmmph”; you know what that translates to. Clearly a catastrophic miscommunication…no fault of mine obviously. Ruined my chance at a few early morning Velocicoaster rides… well to be fair, so did the Starbucks line.

Fine…I guess I’ll help get the kids ready, if you could be so kind as to emerge from your beauty sleep (insert joke regarding beauty sleep…I value my life too much) that would be grand. Furious at the early morning slow pokes buggering up my last day (come on mun, it’s not like we’re here twice a year or anything), I pick up a new skill to subdue my anger and start to fury braid Alaskas hair. New skill acquired…always wanted to learn how to braid, perfected it; Alaska looks amazing…obviously.

Right, finally ready…bugger…forgot the cups, what will we do without 2 cupfuls of sugary goodness before we manage to get to the park…how will we cope with the 20 minute walk otherwise??!! Off you go then Jo and Alaska; me and Gray got this.

As they power off to Islands of Adventure, we return to the room, fuel up on any Vanilla Coke goodness and head on the walking path to catch up with Jo and Loo. Well, so I thought…you’ve heard of the Wild Robot and the Iron Giant??, well step aside; Grayson had for some unbeknownst reason transformed into ‘The City Walk Robot’ and was showcasing his best robot impression all the damn way through the walking path from Cabana Bay…all the way!!! “Beep boop I’m a robot”. Hurry the hell up mun!! “Beep boop, I’m going as fast as I can, I’m a robot”. Just as I’m about to decommission the  piece of scrap (get it? That’s a hilarious play on words)…”powering up”. Holy hell, what’s going on here? Grayson erupts in energy and like some strange Pinocchio/Transformers hybrid; he legs it the rest of the way and makes it to City Walk security check faster than you could say ‘I’m a real boy!’. Thank god for that, he’d have been driving the metal detectors at security crazy.

Mental busy here today…thank the passholder gods there is a super secret entrance way for us Annual Passholders…literally got back the time lost thanks to the robot.

We catch up with Jordan and Alaska finally who are waiting impatiently for breakfast outside Croissant Moon bakery…ooo, always fancies trying this but today is designated for Cinnabon; I think Paige will kill me if I waste this opportunity. After a giving myself a stern talking to (‘you’re your own man Dean, Paige can’t hurt you from 4500 miles away, you can just pretend you had sweet sweet bons for brekkie instead’), we settled on a Croissant Moon pastry; Paige would be disappointed…sshhhh, she’ll never find out 🤫. Ironically, we bypassed any croissants as opted for muffins, cakes and pop-tarts…and more coffee, always more coffee.

Bloody tasty, deliciously unhealthy breakfast, but hey, it’s out last day in vacay!!! Destroy those calories Dean…the diet starts Monday. Added bonus; we interrupted some lovely couples quiet post Spider-Man breakfast with some Welsh Valley charm, and Jordan’s big reveal that she was besties with the monarchy…who knew? Turns out she once brushed past Camilla in Tesco while she was out getting a loaf of bread before a snowstorm or something, swapped numbers and then had bottomless brunch…cool story Jo. Ok, so I take the p*ss, but apparently she’d met a few royals over the years and translates to a great little anecdote when discussing with new friends this side of the Atlantic.

Ok, enjoy the rest of your breakfast guys, we’ll be on our way and leave you in peace. First Islands of the day…Marvel Superhero Island. Oooo, which of the awesome rides should we do here…Hulk? Spider-Man? Dr Doom?…nah, the only ride we did here today was Storm force Accelatron 🤮🤮. Terrible, terrible teacups…had to tone it down for the kids, I would have spun us right off the platform otherwise. Yeah it’s just a basic teacup ride, Alaska enjoyed it…Gray was disappointed that he didn’t come off feeling like he’d been chucked in a tumble drier and set free amongst the Marvel Islanders; I came off disappointed that none of my family wanted to ride Spider-Man. Today was a sad day…the day I realised my family were a bunch of losers. Honestly, you come to IOA, you need to ride Spider-Man…been here 6 days, no Spider-Man, but of course they insisted we do the inferior version of the ride across the road. Ok Dean, you’re starting to sound like a miserable bugger now, move on.

Ok, passing Spider-Man, the ambience changes as Celine Dion starts playing, Spidey and I lock eyes, I could here Peter calling out to me…”Dean, don’t forget me, I’ll be right here…in you’re heart”; don’t worry Spidey, I’ll be back in 6 months. DAMN IT DEAN I SAID LET IT GO!!

FINE!!! I’m just very disappointed (I mean I could have gone by myself, but where’s the fun in that?). Dancing through the rock scene that is Marvel Superhero Island, we try our best to dissuade Alaska from joining the Sinister Syndicate and manage to snap some badass pics of yours truly in full on berserker mode…not very noteworthy I must say, but Wolverine would have been proud.

UOAP lounge to spend more money I no longer possess on yet more unnecessary merchandise…well I just needed the Gator shoulder pal…Grayson insisted; and all the shirts and jackets…yeah I needed them too. I have difficult adulting I must say…imagine you gave a child your credit card and said…”crack on, spend as much as you want, get anything you want”…that’s me on vacation; I become obsessed with collecting merchandise like Pokemon cards…this is why I’m poor 😂

Ooops, what’s that time? Oh yeah, it’s tantrum time…11am, and Alaska doesn’t quite feel her sugar quota has been met. Foolishly wander into a shop in Gasoline Alley. Lollipops line the shelves…here we go…”I want candy!!”. Bloody hell Alaska Gloop, you’re not having it this side of lunch…or come to think of it, the other side of lunch either; we know you’d end up sticky, you’d give up, Grayson would then be sticky, and in the end so would me and Mammy…not happening babes. Bloody park, I know they don’t on purpose to incite riot and tantrums and embarrass parents into purchasing them…not cool Universal, not cool.

Calmed down, we head into Jurassic Park, where word of Alaska’s thunderous tantrum had already had the Raptor keepers assembling, mistaking her for an escaped Dino…stand down guys, stand down. River Adventure for me and Gray; front row, Great. A guaranteed soaking was in store following the pesky Parasaurolophus knocking us off course once again. Grayson tells me some complete rubbish about how there is a second ride route, and an alternate version where we all have a nice day, the Parasaurolophus doesn’t send us to our doom, and we all come off jauntily whistling the Jurassic Park theme. This is a lie…

Love the ride, never gets old, and the T-Rex animatronic and drop are insane.

Right…time to meet a real life Dino…Jo and Alaska has began to line up to meet Bloop herself!!! Bloop? Ahhh you mean Blue (that’s a weird ‘in’ joke we’ll forget by next week). It was all going well until Blue spotted Alaska and went in to hiding for a while as her keepers talked her back out to meet the masses. Poor thing was shaking when she spotted Alaska round the corner. Raptor experience in hold, Blue was having a bit of a breakdown (actually was to be fair…the animatronic had given up for a bit). Finally over her stage fright, we manage to avoid narrowly being eaten by her. Great fun, great pics…great memories. No Grayson, we can’t get our own Blue…Dinos don’t exist…yet (give it 10 years or so).

Thunder Falls Terrace for lunch…been wanting to try this place; heard it had good food and a great view of the River Adventure drop…and a bloody splash zone!!! Of course the kids got in a pre lunch soaking curiously of the T-Rex chucking people to their doom…why not. Food was great, and always fun to have the ambience of intermittent screams to accompany some pork nachos…Guacamole tastes so much better seasoned by terror.

After a mile long walk to find a freestyle machine, we finish our lunch and then head to Velocicoaster for likely the last ride of the trip…quick, 35 minutes!!! Luckily caught it just after reopening; they had just finished cleaning up the paddock following one guests misfortune at being Raptor din dins…to be fair, Owen does warn us in the safety brief…everyone thinks it’s a joke, no one is laughing now. Line moved fast, not as fast as a Raptor though…more at Dale the Snail pace (little Easter egg there for those following). Managed to try this front down thing out…damn I can see why Jordan has been screwing us over for the front row…it is incredible!!! Honestly everyone needs to ride front row, it s a different experience. Amazing ride, let’s move on to Potterland.

Alaska gets chosen for a dance party with King Julien along the way; she breaks out her signature splits and the crown goes wild. She’s so confident and I love it!! No idea what Julien was doing in the lost continent…movie magic I guess. Had fun though.

Speaking of The List Continent, the only attraction left her, Gray managed to annoy. The sassy Mystic Fountain got fed up of Grays hijinx and limited conversation was a construct of stone. Bad times kid, maybe say more than “Hi” repeatedly and things may work out better next time.

Ok, today is the release of 2 things for Potter fans…New wands and Butterbeer Season!! Yep, in anticipation for Epic opening soon, magic wand 2.0 have been release with full on interactive game modes and light up ends (everyone say it with me now…’Ooooooooo’). I have never seen so many grown ups acting like kids…childish buggers. What? Of course I got one of the new wands for me and Jo…I needed them; let’s not talk about how much they cost. The whole of Hogsmeade was rammed full of muggle folk playing wizard…filthy muggles…the Dark Lord must be turning in his dust (he didn’t make it to a grave thanks to Harry). These new wands are pretty cool to be fair, interact with your phone app and can be used across the 3 wizarding worlds to gather house points and stuff. Off we go then…begin the quest…best get Grayson to do a few spells so I don’t look like such a child; after all, what kind of parent would I be to buy myself a wand and let my children stand aside while I have fun and use it?? Jordan, that’s who I’d be 😂😂 to be fair I wouldn’t trust Alaska with my wand either, and the Wizarding World fun is meant for adults.

It was all going well, and we were having a great time until Jordan began inciting wizard riots…”Down with the Mudbloods and Muggles!!”. Bloody hell Jo, you’ve only done a handful of spells and now you’re claiming pureblood and Cruciatus’ing everyone that disagrees with your wizarding views. The battle between Gryffindor and Slytherin raged on until the magic po-po arrived to break it up…Jordan managed to escape under a poly juice disguise, but we dared not enter for the rest of the day.

Well, that was after we had Butter beer 3 ways. It’s the start of the season, so of course we needed to sample some delights…Fudge, Caramels and Frozen kinds…all bloody lovely. I think the only Butter beer I dislike is the OG, and that’s because it tastes like (and this is one for long time followers)…Fizzy P*ss.

Back to the Talking Fountain, where surprising Alaska strikes up a conversation and we get past one word wind ups. This is great fun and such as shame that it’s all that’s left of a really well themes area inside Islands of Adventure. Having blown the fountains mind we move along to see poor old Mythos still spewing endless reams of water from his mouth…poor guy sounds so unwell…

Seuss Landing for some tomfoolery and an evening meal at The Circus McGurkus. Grayson had been nagging for the last few days to come back here…he loves it, and couldn’t wait to go. Uh oh…turns out Poor Old Sneelock had shut up shop following the matinee performance. The Drum-Tummied Snum and Juggling Jott had had enough and decided to close early, dashing the hopes and dreams of a small child. Oh bugger, that plan really backfired didn’t it. In a rage, Alaska attempts a bit of light B&E in pure disbelief they would not keep the circus open for her to have some meatballs in a cone…that’s all she’s been banging on about all day. Sorry kids…bad planning on my part, I blame your mother for inciting wizard riots and holding us all up 🙄.

Disappointment abated, we had a quick play around in the ‘If I ran the zoo’ area before heading across the road to Universal Studios. We quickly popped in to check out the Chocolate Emporium, which in retrospect was a terrible idea given Alaska determination to have candy. No Alaska, these are grown up candies, you can’t have anything in here…sshhhh, don’t tell her. Awesome place this…great merchandise…no Dean, you don’t need anymore.

Ok, in to Universal, holy hell, we’re just in time for the parade. They have a later time today so I guess we’re collecting a few more beads for the trip home…why not. We park up in the special designated passholder area (these perks are getting better), whilst I forage for food in Springfield. Basket O’ Bait for us; it’s our go to always. Alaska manages to eat a whole fish before anyone else has chance to dig in. She’s getting her energy for bead collection clearly.  The parade starts. We dance and party…HAPPY MARDI GRAS!!! We bloody love this parade, we bloody love this event…and for some reason…we bloody love beads!!!

4th times a charm, we’ll be back for the parade next year for sure.

Quick blast on Minion Blast where Alaska chucks a pregame application for the Vicious 6 in by stealing beads off the Team Member guarding the entrance…I don’t think you can just do that mind Alaska. Then an exit dance party before leaving. It’s concert night so we managed to catch the intro tune from Foster the People before heading out…we just don’t have the energy to watch the show, we got a million beads to pack after all.

Dessert brought the mad wait for dough at Voodoo. Honestly the line was almost as long as my morning Starbucks line. It’s mad how many people are gagging for a yeast fix (eww that doesn’t sound appealing does it) following a day at the parks…us included. Love these doughnuts, great little pre packing snack.

Back at the hotel, the madness ensues as we weigh in 9kg of beads, take pics of the kids wearing their grand prize and work out our favourite game of packing Tetris.

Where the hell has this vacation re gone??  Home time tomorrow, best get some sleep if I want to make early park hours for Hagrid…you know that’s not happening right?