Today was our last full day at the Universal parks. We arrived at IOA about 7:55 a.m. The crowds were very large but seemed slightly smaller than over the weekend. We went straight to FJoHP. The wait was posted at 30 minutes when we got there. The line slowed for the first time on the ramp in the greenhouses. This is about what we have experienced in past years arriving about the same time. I tried to time my wait but there is no cell coverage near the sorting hat so I could not re-open the app. The wait seemed to be pretty close to the posted wait. The ride was extremely fun.
We tried picking up our ride photo but the team member suggested doing so at the front of the park. I later learned that this is not possible. It you want a physical copy of the picture get it at the end of the ride.
We the tried to ride Hippogriff with express passes. The EP line was about 5 times longer than the standby wait so we decided to come back later. The DDs did a bunch of spells and had a great time. We took HE over to Diagon Alley around 9:20 a.m. The wait was posted at 25 minutes but we timed it at 11 minutes. We still had our special express passes from the difficulty with Gringotts on Saturday. We showd them to the team member at the entrance and were on the ride in less than 10 minutes when the standby line was 120 minutes. When we got off the ride the wait had grown to 150 minutes.
DDs did more interactive wands and explored. We finally saw the Celestina Warbuck show. It was fun!
After this we went to Simpsons. This was another ride with a very line EP a wait. We were told the wait was over 30 minutes. DD11 and I gave up and rode HRRR a instead. DD8 and DH rode the Woody Woodpecker ride after Simpsons. We all went to IOA for lunch at Thunder Falls. We usually eat lunch before noon when touring. We did not get there until 12:30 and paid the price with a long line. We finally got our food and were feeling refreshed. The DDs and I went back to ride Hippogriff twice. We then rode Spiderman and then split up to DD11 and DH could ride Ripsaw Falls and DD8 and I rode Dr. Doom.
We then rode Blutos Barges three times and got soaked. It was then time for the pool and margaritas.
We went to dinner at Cow Fish and had a nice time. Despite being told it was a 20 minute wait at 6:30 p.m. we were seated in less than 5 minuts and our food came in about 30 minutes. My only complaint is that the appetizers and main course came about the same time. The food was good.
We then went back to US to ride Despicable Me with EP. There was basically no wait. DD8 and DH rode Transformers and DD11 and I rode HRRR. That was really fun. We had never ridden it at night before.
We check out tomorrow. We will be spending the morning in the parks before going to Wet & Wild in the afternoon. We then will be heading over to Caribe Royale.
It was another fun day with great (if quite hot) weather.