Universal Studios

Cat and I would be staying in Florida for several more days, but Ben and the younger kids flew home on Monday evening.  I didn't have a plan for that day because  I wanted some flexibility so that we could figure it out when the time came, unsure of how we would feel at the end of a whirlwind trip or what we would really want to do, and also not wanting to cram too much in and feel overly exhausted before Ben and the younger kids headed home.  But after discussing it Sunday evening, everyone was up for one more theme park, so we decided to head to Universal Studios on Monday.

Ben got up early on Monday morning and bought us tickets to the park online, then we quickly got ready and loaded up the car.  This was no easy task, since it was the first time we actually had all of the members of the family and all of our luggage (which included sleeping bags and snorkel gear for Cat and me) in this smaller-than-what-we-reserved SUV.  Prior to this we were able to split luggage between our car and Mema and Papa's, and also stow unneeded luggage at the hotel so as not to have it in the car with everyone.  But we squished together (or, the kids in the back did) and were on our way early enough to get to Universal shortly after it opened.

Our first destination was Diagon Alley so that we could ride "Escape from Gringotts," the ride we chose not to wait in line for several hours to ride the last time we were at that park (Jan. 2018).  This time we waited for about 20 minutes.  The ride was really fun, but I think the queue was pretty amazing.  I loved feeling like I was stepping into Gringotts and all of the magic of Harry's world.

We also used the stragegy of preparing to eat lunch at a normal time by getting in line extra early and were excited to actually get to sit in the Three Broomsticks and have a big yummy English-ish lunch (something else we couldn't do last time because the lines were too long).

Other fun rides (and queues) included MIB, the Fast and the Furious, and the Woody Woodpecker roller coaster.  And the Jason Bourne stunt show was seriously amazing.

Playing a game on Cat's phone while waiting for Jason Bourne to start.
We waited for about half an hour, and just before the show started, Luke
HAD to go to the bathroom, so he and I left.  But we were able to go back
and watch the next one - I'm glad we did!

The kids were disappointed that the line was too long to
ride on the new Transformers ride, but maybe we can hit
that one next time.

We left at just the right time to stop at Voodoo Doughnuts in CityWalk on our way back to the parking garage.  I've been curious about this place for years and we really liked it!  The creative flavor combinations and decorations were really fun.  And since we hadn't been eating enough sugar, it was nice to get a jolt while we walked.  (Kidding.)

Ben and the younger kids were ready and waiting when it was time to depart on their direct flight to SLC.  Unfortunately, it was not the smooth and easy trip it usually is.  The departure was delayed due to technical issues at another airport, and then once they finally left, their crew couldn't fly all the way to Utah because they'd be going over their hours.  So they had to make a stop in Atlanta and wait for over an hour until a new crew could board.  All in all, Ben and the kids were on the plane for about 9 hours, arriving in SLC at 12:30am instead of the expected 9:30pm.

Meanwhile, Cat and I took the rental car down south.  The plan was to meet Cat's two friends who would be accompanying us on the Winterim trip to Miami and the Keys.  They were supposed to have flown into Miami earlier in the afternoon (direct from SLC) and be waiting for us when we arrived in the evening.  We would pick them up on our way to Florida City.  But they had weather-related travel troubles of their own, with their itinerary now taking them on two connecting flights and ending up in Ft. Lauderdale at about 11pm.  Cat and I had time to drive to Florida City, check into the hotel, pick up some food for breakfast and snacks the next day, and then drive the 45 minutes to the airport.  It was a bit of a crazy travel day for everyone.