This was it. Departure day. We were headed back home. Our vacation was coming to an end, but we still had a little time left to squeeze in some last minute fun before our flight. We had done just about everything we had set out to do this week. But there was one small objective left. It was a very minor thing, but since we had time we were going back to Islands of Adventure to do it.
As always, we started our day with breakfast at the Portofino Club. We had eaten breakfast here every morning, had dessert more often than not, loaded up on snacks and drinks – so many drinks – and even enjoyed a few dinners here. All in all, it was well worth the upcharge for our family.
We weren’t in any kind of hurry, so we lingered in the club during this final morning. That’s when the bookshelf caught my eye. I wondered what kind of books would be on the shelves. I assumed they would be Italian, but no. They were just a random assortment of books. I want to give a shout out to whoever put Captain Stubing’s autobiography on the shelf!
After breakfast, we went back to our room and made sure we hadn’t left anything behind. The girls do not pack light. There’s an entire suitcase filled with nothing but stuffed animals and it’s always heavier on the way home than it was when we left. Once we were satisfied that we had all our stuff, we rolled everything down to baggage claim to store it while we went to the park.
Before we boarded the water taxi, the girls wanted to stop at Starbucks. They pretty much always want Starbucks.
We didn’t have a big plan for the day, but we had a few hours to kill. There were two things the girls were interested in. Kara wanted to spend some more time in Seuss Landing. She had become really fond of this land and we kept going back for little visits. And both girls wanted to check out Camp Jurassic if we had time.
I had a secret objective of my own. Josie’s birthday was right around the corner and I wanted to pick up the Bart and Lisa dolls that went with the Homer and Marge she had bought as souvenirs. But I wanted to do it when Josie wouldn’t see me.
It was a hot one! Easily the hottest day of our trip and the most crowded we had seen the parks all week. I was glad it hadn’t been like this for the entire vacation! We weren’t going to spend a lot of time riding rides today. The lines were just too dang long.
The one attraction in Seuss Landing that we hadn’t been on yet this trip was the Caro-Seuss-El. Josie decided to sit this one out. As a teen, she was too grown up for a merry-go-round I guess. But Kara still enjoyed it so I rode with her.
We also took one more ride on the Cat in the Hat dark ride. It has really become a family favorite after this trip. I lost track of how many times we rode it.
Before we left Seuss Landing, Josie needed a potty break. As it turned out, Thing 1 and Thing 2 were doing meet and greets nearby. Josie couldn’t have been less interested in posing for a picture with them. She has a thing about the mute characters which is why I can’t get her to meet the Simpsons. But Kara feels a connection with these characters based on a Halloween costume, so the rest of us posed while Josie did her business.
Once we were satisfied that we had spent sufficient time in Seuss Landing, we headed over to the Lost Continent. Kara hadn’t eaten much breakfast this morning and she was getting hungry for lunch. I suggested checking out Mythos since it had been such a hit last time. The girls eagerly agreed.
Last time, we were able to get seated at Mythos without a reservation. But we weren’t going to be so lucky this time. They quoted an hour and a half wait for lunch. I went ahead and placed the reservation. They took my phone number and promised to text when our table was ready so we could go explore the parks.
Kara wasn’t happy with this development. She was hungry and she had set her mind to Mythos. Like her mom, once Kara has her mind set on something, nothing else will do. We gathered by the talking fountain to formulate a plan.
We had to leave the park by 2:00 in order to make our flight. It was just shy of noon. I told the girls that people would cancel their reservations and the wait would probably be more like an hour. If they really wanted Mythos, we could probably end our day there with lunch around 1:00. Or, if they didn’t feel they could wait that long, we could find something else to eat along the way.
While we were making up our minds about what to do, the fountain was up to its usual tricks. There was a group from New York, so it started playing New York, New York while trying to spray the kids. One kid was wearing bright yellow sneakers, so the fountain kept asking him why he was wearing bananas on his feet. We enjoyed the show from a safe distance.
Eventually, we decided to make our way to Camp Jurassic. But Kara’s mind was still on lunch. We stopped at Three Broomsticks to see if anything on the menu appealed to her. She didn’t see anything she liked which was just as well. There was a very long line just to get into the place.
I could see where this was going. Kara had burgers on her mind and nothing but a burger was going to do the trick. She wasn’t going to be able to have fun until she had eaten a hamburger. Fortunately, Burger Digs was close by. I had read mostly negative reviews of the place, but it didn’t matter. We need a burger for Kara as quickly as possible.
Unfortunately, the line at Burger Digs was insane. It looked like at least a twenty minute wait for burgers that would mostly like be standard amusement park food. I wasn’t thrilled with this plan. If only Kara had eaten more at breakfast, we would have been able to hold out for Mythos, but there was nothing to do now but make the best of the situation.
I did the only sensible thing one could do given the long line we were faced with. I placed a mobile order on the app. The girls each got burgers and Mindy wanted a grilled chicken sandwich. We had our food within minutes. Seriously, the food was up two-to-three minutes after I hit the “prepare food” button on my phone. People need to start using the app. It’s a major time saver.
The food was okay. As expected, it was a standard theme park burger. Nothing to get excited about but it will fill up your hungry kid. There was ample indoor seating and a pretty impressive toppings bar to doctor up your sandwich. You put enough stuff on your burger and it can salvage a mediocre patty.
Once the kids were full, they wanted to go downstairs to the Jurassic Park Discovery Center. The last time we were here, we were drying off after riding in the front row of the River Adventure. We had spent most of our time in the nursery, but there were still some exhibits the kids wanted to check out.
There are a couple of areas where kids can climb up next to a dinosaur statue and look through a kind of Jurassic periscope to see through their eyes.
The girls are not overly fond of dinosaurs, but they do like interactive exhibits. So they had some fund playing around with these displays.
Just as we were getting ready to leave the Discovery Center, I got a text that our table at Mythos would be ready soon. It was about ten to one, so my prediction was pretty spot on. I asked the girls if they wanted to head back to Mythos for dessert or visit Camp Jurassic instead. They opted for Camp Jurassic, so I replied to the text with a “1” which cancelled our reservation.
We had been to Camp Jurassic once before when the kids were younger. That was our first visit to Universal as a family and we had tried to cram both parks into a single day. It was hot and we were exhausted, so we didn’t make it very far.
This was another hot day, but we were fresh on our feet and full from lunch. So climbing rope ladders and exploring caves seemed like just the thing. Or at least it appealed to the kids. Mindy and I could have done with fewer rope bridges and climby things.
As playgrounds go, Camp Jurassic is impressive. There are a variety of activities to keep kids occupied. This kid was getting soaked in a water gun fight. The spraying dino heads are cooler than the guns perched up high, but that comes at the cost of the high ground. You’re at a strategic disadvantage, kid. Might be why you were soaked.
If your kids like adventure movies like Jurassic Park, Camp Jurassic is sure to be a hit. You feel like you are walking through scenes from the movie. My kids don’t like those movies and they were having a ball. Mindy and I were having fun too even if it was kind of exhausting.
There are lots of levels to climb. Every time you turn a corner, there is somewhere else to go and you never know exactly where the next climb will take you. Since it was a hot day, we spent some time running through the splash zone.
The water cannons were nearby just in case you wanted to fight off the squirting dinos down below.
Most of the playground consists of bridges and things to climb. You just keep going round and round from one level to another. It’s a great place to let your kids burn off some of that pent up energy.
There were some slides, but the biggest one was closed for repair. The ones that were open were too small for my kids to be impressed. But I’m sure younger children would love them.
The top levels are pretty high up offering some cool vantage points to view the rest of the park. We could see Skull Island in the distance and hear the natives chanting for Kong.
Before we left, we explored the amber caves. Josie wasn’t too thrilled about this part of the Camp which she found creepy. Eventually, we triggered a dinosaur roar noise and the girls ran out of the caves like Scooby Doo from a haunted house. It was hilarious.
All in all, Camp Jurassic was a lot of fun and I was glad we got to check it out before we left. It’s not a must-see, but if you are spending a significant amount of time at the parks I would definitely make a point of dropping in for a bit. Especially if you have kids. They will love it.
We contemplated riding Pteranodon Flyers before we left. Kara was just under the height limit for this ride, so it was pretty much our last chance for the kids to ride it. Next time we come, whenever that is, everyone will be too tall. But ultimately the kids decided they were okay not riding the slow-moving, high-flying tour of Jurassic Park.
On our way out of Islands of Adventure, the girls wanted to stop for Icees because it was melt-your-face-off hot now. All week long I had been weighing the pros and cons of Spring Break vs. our usual early summer vacation. Spring Break was more expensive and crowded, but the temperatures we had experienced were more moderate. Today reminded me just how oppressive the summer heat could be. Spring Break wins hands down.
I ended up waiting in line for a good ten or fifteen minutes to get the frozen drinks while the girls waited in the shade. We had thought about swinging through Cartoon Lagoon and exploring Popeye’s boat, but we were running out of time to make it back to the hotel and meet our driver and we didn’t want to take any chances. So instead, we made our way to Port of Entry.
When we passed Croissant Moon, I asked the girls to sit down a bit and drink their Icees. I had something I needed to do. They assumed I was taking a potty break, but really I ran into the gift shop to pick up Josie’s Simpsons dolls. They didn’t have Maggie in stock, but that wasn’t a big deal. Once I had paid for Bart and Lisa, I met the girls and we left the park.
We made it back to Portofino Bay with time to spare. So we spent a little time just enjoying the atmosphere. I snapped a few more pictures before I got our bags.
The day before, when we returned from Volcano Bay by shuttle, we cut through some of the ballrooms where conventions are held. They were pretty impressive, so I wanted to run back there and take a few pictures for the report.
I am willing to bet most tourists don’t venture back here unless they are part of a business trip, but it’s worth checking out if you have the time.
Our time, unfortunately was up. The guy at luggage services brought out our bags as well as some cold bottles of water since we were clearly overheated from our time in the park. A short while later, our driver Ron texted to say he was pulling into the driveway. It was time to go home.
Everyone agreed that this was among our best family vacations. Maybe THE best. I had worried that we might get tired of Universal after having spent so much time here, but that did not turn out to be the case. A few months later and Mindy and the girls are already eager to go back.
I have very little doubt that we will return. It may not be next year. I am thinking it may be best to give Universal a bit of a break after three week-long trips in the span of two years. And of course, Fantastic Worlds looms on the horizon. We’ll definitely want to check that out when it opens. So I can’t say when we will be back, but I fully expect to write another Universal trip report some time in the future.
Thanks to everyone for reading along. I hope you enjoyed traveling with us vicariously and maybe got a few ideas for your next Universal vacation.