Sunday morning I declared it “Get Wet!” day. We dressed to get splashed a lot, with the plan to come change and rest midday.

Walking to the parks seemed faster than the water taxis, and you get to see the lizards along the way.

Arriving at IOA:

First stop was the Spider-Man ride. We raced through the express queue, hence the blurry photos of Peter Parker’s office.

I didn’t know this ride has a photo spot, so we hadn’t taken our masks off:

Oh, not pictured on our first day was a ride on the King Kong. It was right after the Jurassic River ride and Jack was very stressed about riding it. It was scary themed and I didn’t know much about it to describe the ride. We kinda forced him on. Afterward, with some reflection, everyone agreed it was a great ride and we were so very brave. So we snapped this pic as we passed by the queue on the second day.

Walking through more Jurassic photo-ops

Back to Jurassic River Adventure. The line was super short, even without our Express Passes, so I asked them to seat us in the front row. While we waited for the next empty boat the kids were confused why I would request that. “It’s a better view!” I said with a wild glint in my eye.

Sam sharing dino facts as w approach
Jack thinks I’m being sus
Da da DA na na, Da da DA na na
Another thumbs up from Sam
Ok, time to put the cameras away!

Bwaa ha ha ha, completely soaked! It’s Get Wet day!

Now that we were totally wet, it was over to Toon Lagoon for Bluto’s Bilge Rat Barges and Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls.

They laughed all through the ride
The barges soaked us well
Still dripping, we entered the Ripsaw Falls queue
Stuck in this hallway a long time
Sam got more and more nervous
He did it!
Poor kid cried the whole time 🙁
“Baby Llama mad at mama”
Catching our breath and warming up in the sun.

Poor Sam. He protested this ride, remembering that he skipped Splash Mountain last time at Disneyland. We tried to reassure him that the drop was similar to the Jurassic ride, and that he could sit between me and Dad. When we got to the loading dock they made him sit in front because he was the smallest. I tried to protest and bargain with no luck. I gripped his shoulders for comfort and talked him through the whole ride. He was very brave to go through with it, but I’m afraid he will always be anti-flume ride after this experience. The rest of us loved it 🙂

To make amends we let Sam pick lunch, choosing a pizza place in Jurassic land. I also let him eat my garlic bread. Then we took the water taxi back to the hotel.

The kids dried off and watched cartoons while we laid back for an hour or so. Refreshed a bit, we walked back to UOS, stopping for butterflies along the way.

Getting drinks
a smile?
Minions queue
Thanks, Jack

The Minions ride wasn’t anyone’s favorite, but it was ok. Long line for a very short 4D movie.

Great Scott!

Next we did the ET ride. It was very weird for the kids. I loved the queue in the woods, but the ride itself is very dated and not well kept compared to the similar Peter Pan ride at Disney.

We were near the kiddie coaster for Woody Woodpecker. This was by far the hottest and worst queue of the trip. The express line was so slow despite a short posted wait, and there was no shade or fans while on the hot pavement. We were melting. The coaster was fine but short and not worth it.

We cooled off in the nearby misting area and refilled water bottles. The kids were done with the non-wizard stuff.

We walked through the Simpsons land for a quick pic, and skipped MIB for another visit to Diagon Alley. The boys promised me they were ready for Gringotts, yipee! Jack forgot to switch his sunglasses before putting packs in the locker. Whoops! It was a great ride!

More spells, and then another trip on the Hogwarts Express.

The Monster Book of Monsters is behind us

Passing through the wall to Platform 9 3/4, you can see them disappear from this angle.

Time for more spells and rides in Hogsmeade:

With Hedwig!
By now they were showing other kids how to do it
Hoggy Hogwarts!
Another Flight of the Hippogriff
We got stuck for a moment!
Beautiful views
Smiling?

Me and the boys had another round on The Forbidden Journey, and this time the photos were working:

The boys: pure wonder, Me: trying not to be sick

It was near the end of the park hours. Ben went took a rest, while the boys and I went on the wildest ride yet – Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motor Bike Adventure. This is the most popular ride in the park (tied with Velocicoaster) and there is no express queue. My research said that going at the end of the day is the best time to ensure a shorter wait. Indeed, we were only in the line for about 60 minutes. The queue was lovely and the ride was amazing. Totally worth it, the boys said.

We spotted a baby dragon!
Norbert?

Ben met us with dinner on the Three Broomsticks patio. We cheered with butterbeer to our exhilarating end to the day while the Hogwarts fireworks crackled.