After our super late night, we crawled into bed thinking we’d just sleep in a teeny bit and get there around official park opening, not necessarily early park admission. Well the next morning, adrenaline kicked in as usual and we were up and getting ready to walk to IoA. I believe we entered the park around 8:25am. It was about a 10 minute walk from our room to the security checkpoint. We mobile ordered some muffins from Croissant Moon Bakery and headed over to the tables by Green Eggs and Ham to eat then. Tables/seats were wet but we found some dry seats along a wall on the lower deck overlooking the water. Ahhhh peaceful and relaxing way to start off the day!
We thought this sight was so comical… real birds relaxing on some Dr Seuss characters:
After our delicious moist muffins, we hurried over to Velocicoaster and waited about 30 minutes if that, to ride. This is one of our favorites! The acceleration right before the top hat is my favorite part. The first time I rode it, in August, this past was my scariest moment of the ride as it totally took my breath away. Just love it!! We then headed to Forbidden Journey and walked right on using single rider line. Next, we took Hogwarts Express over to Studios. We usually just walk over but it had been awhile since we rode the train and wanted to experience it again. It’s so wonderful! We then used the single rider line for Gringott’s, Men in Black and Transformers which were all walk-ons (or almost walk-on).
We certainly accomplished a lot before lunch without Express during the day on a very busy Saturday. We next headed out to Citywalk and looked through a shop or two before heading in to our lunch reservation at NBC Grill. This was our first time at this restaurant and let’s just say we will definitely be back. Service was great and the food was tasty! We split the huge warm soft pretzel between the three of us and never completely polished it off; came very close though.
I forget the exact dipping sauces but one was a mustard based one (I don’t care for mustard but hubby liked it) and a queso type sauce which was great. I wasn’t going to get a burger because I had just had one at Jake’s the night before but the burger varieties and descriptions just looked so good and with it being a sports bar and all, burger it was.
This is the burger I got with menu description:
Smokehouse Stack* - $17.95
Beef burger, smoked brisket, smoked pork, smoked Gouda, BBQ sauce, caramelized onions, toasted brioche bun
Oh this was so good and filling! Daughter and I split it easily. Jake’s burger however still has the slight edge for taste and quality but almost a tie.
Hubby got the Bang Bang chicken (a Thai dish) and wow this was packed full of flavor!! I’d highly recommend this dish even though the picture doesn’t do it justice.
As we rolled out of NBC Sports Grill, we headed to Studios and went on Spider-Man, Cat in the Hat, and Forbidden Journey. We then ventured back out to Citywalk where hubby and I got our favorite drinks at the side Margaritaville window. We get the ‘Perfect Margarita’ and perfect it is!! Very potent, limey with some salt. We sat and people watched and just relaxed a bit as fatigue has kicked in from our previous late night. We are not ones to typically go back to the resort midday though especially on these short weekend trips. Usually sitting for a half hour does the trick to keep us going through the evening.
Then we decided to get some snacks and/or early dinner. So off to Studios to try some Mardi Gras sweets that I’ve been hearing about. Oh my they were delicious! We split a king cake (huge!) and a marshmallow pie which was very chocolatey.
The sugar gave us an extra kick of energy for sure!! These were both delightful. It was so enjoyable checking out all of the Mardi Gras decorations too.
Oh, and I forgot to mention… as we were ordering our first treat, the king cake, we purchased a food/beverage card from that stand. We got the $150 card for $120. On top of that, they accept AP discounts on each food item (no AP discounts for alcohol but can use food/beverage card to purchase alcohol). This was a great savings and we used it for other purchases such as at quick service places. I believe you can use it everywhere except at hotels and it never expires.
We figured we’d get some substance and got some yummy salads with chicken at Today’s Cafe. It was beautiful outside so we decided to grab a table outside and eat while taking all of the sights and sounds in. We still had plenty of time before the 7:45pm parade started so we went on ET and then Gringott’s. Funny thing… near the end of Gringott’s ride there were technical difficulties and we were facing away from the screen. We had quite a few chuckles as this has never happened to us on this ride. We were about to exit the ride but a TM told everybody in the car that due to technical difficulties we can stay in and re-ride if we’d like. Heck Yeah! I thought this was so kind of him and thanked him plenty.
We were then off to seek out a parade spot as it was about to start in 20 minutes. I had tried all day long to ride a float but no spots ever opened up. Oh well, maybe next time. I have to say though, I was kind of glad we didn’t get a spot on the float because being this was our first time ever seeing the Mardi Gras parade, it was fantastic being a spectator and catching beads!!
Up next, promise this time, parade and then Diana Ross