h20skibum

Add me to the list of those wishing you well on the journey.

Yesterday, we made our third trip to Kennywood Amusement Park, but this time we had all three grandkids. It was busier than the other two times this year, but the kids (and us) had a blast. Lots of coaster rides and water rides This morning, I am waiting at the airport for my son’s flight to arrive. He will be here for a week and a half, before he takes our grandson back to California. Time for school to start soon, and for the final wrap up of Summer of Fun 3.

But then you get grandkids and start again.

+1

Evidently, I won the lottery. Not the money one, but I received an invitation from the census bureau to fill out the American Community Survey. What a long, and prying survey. In true government form, the program crashed when I was reviewing all my answers before submitting. I will have to log in later to see if my answers were saved. Anyone else lucky enough to get one?

Shhhhh! 🤫. We don’t want a crowd there.

It is $3.89 here in Western PA too. If we drive across the Ohio border to Sam’s club, it is $3.40.

There were plenty of them there. I can’t believe the number of kids (and some adults) wearing black, Harry Potter robes in that heat.

Today is National Lighthouse day. Gibbs Hill Lighthouse in Bermuda. I need to start looking at cruises to go back there.

I think that was what we enjoyed. Not knowing what to expect, we thought we would have a steep drop, then it stopped and went backwards. Also, when the track section dropped 10 feet or so, then reversed direction in the dark was a surprise.

We took Hogwarts Express five times between parks. There is a different experience, depending on which direction you are traveling. We repeated it going to IOA, so we could film the walking thru the wall illusion once we discovered it. Gringotts wasn’t a long wait, but they shut it down for about 10 minutes due to some technical difficulty, so that added to our wait. I think our favorite was Hagrid’s Motorbike Ride. We were among the first ones for early park entry that day, and made a beeline for that ride. It is one ride that doesn’t have an express lane. I think our wait was 30 minutes, but later the wait times were 120 to 150 minutes. I will edit to add that although we were doing the parks at a leisurely pace, we averaged around 22,000 steps each day.

A few final comments on the Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure Parks. I mentioned it had been years since we were there, and I think our kids were about our grandson’s age now. So many things have changed. I would hate to try to do everything in a day, or even two days, especially if you only had a regular admission ticket. Much like Royal, they use dynamic pricing, and some days are more expensive than others. For the days we were there, unlimited two park express passes were going for $240 per person, per day. Two park, one day tickets were going for $233 per person. Of course, they currently have promotional tickets that give you 2 day, 2 park tickets with 3 additional days free for $341 per person (this is without express pass costs) Doing several days with the express passes was much more relaxing, and we didn’t feel rushed. We were able to ride everything we wanted to ride, and see what we wanted to. I think maybe it was @bobmacliberty who commented that by the time he took a grandkid in 10 years, that it might cost as much as a cruise. Well, I can confirm that we could have taken an 8 day cruise for less, so that time is already here. So for a few last photos. This is what Diagonal Alley looks like when you are almost the first one there. We had early park admission to IOA and took the first train over to Universal and arrived before their main gate opened. We were also the first to breakfast at the Leaky Cauldron. We wanted to get there early, because we had a photo appointment that was part of our package. They filmed our grandson in front of a green screen and inserted him in some Harry Potter scenes and gave us a dvd. It was pretty amusing, and I don’t think acting will be in his career path. It also had an 8x10 included, and this is the one he wanted. Watch out for the fire breathing dragon. IMG_8484.mp4 What is up next, you might ask. Another day at Kennywood Amusement park, but this time we are taking our daughter and the other two grandkids as well.

We finished our trip to Universal Florida, and have returned home. I think I mentioned we had the Wizarding World of Harry Potter Vacation Package. Since we stayed at the Portofino Bay Hotel, I thought I would give you my impressions of it. The hotel is one of Universal’s Premier hotels, and one of three that includes unlimited express passes during your stay. We really enjoyed this hotel. Very quiet and picturesque. Every evening, they have performers singing opera and popera favorites from a balcony overlooking the plaza. Directly beneath this balcony is Sal’s. They have excellent pizza and their Italian sandwich was delicious. You can also get beer or wine at Sal’s, if you want some while listening to the music. We requested a room in the west wing, which is closest to the water taxi. The water taxi runs to a pier at City Walk between the two park entrances. It was nice to be able to look out our window, overlooking the harbor, and see if the boat was there. They ran every 10-12 minutes. Portofino has three pools, and the beach pool is the one by the west wing. We definitely enjoyed coming back for a swim, mid-day. I can recommend this hotel as a nice place to base a stay for the parks. I only wish the room would have had a microwave to heat some leftover pizza. (Yes, there is such a thing) It is a little on the pricey side, but the perks are worth it. I think I would stay there again if we ever return to the parks. Of course, now that we are home, we have a house full of wizards running around today.

Nope, our California grandson is with us. He went to Universal just after school was out, while we were in California getting that grandson.

News from the home front about our golfing grandson. I forgot to mention that his team won all of their golf scrambles. Yesterday, he was in a golf tournament, and placed first in the 14 and under group (he is still 10 for the next month and a half) I looked at the scores, and he shot lower than everyone in the 17 and under also, including all the girls grouping. It was only a 9 hole tournament, but his 31 was outstanding.

This is not a lighthouse, nor is it a lighthouse cookie. Or, maybe it is.

Sadly, the light show has not been running while we have been here. I would have liked to seen it.

We are back for another day at USF and IOA. I thought this was a neat little optical trick that some may not know about. If anyone watched the first Harry Potter movie, he had to walk through a brick wall at Kings Crossing to get to platform 9 3/4. Grandson and Susan both walk thru the wall. IMG_8464.mp4

I had big hopes of setting a good example of food choices today, for my grandson. Then lunch happened with this. and this. ok, there is still hope at supper. But this caught my eye. and Susan joined in with her own good choice. ok, he can have one too. I guess we can try again tomorrow.

Looks like another beautiful morning for the parks today. Last night’s dinner was at Mythos It has a very interesting interior. Started off with a potion of the gods Supper was Pad Thai Grandson was selected for the show in Ollivander’s Wand Shop, and this was the wand that selected him. It definitely helped that we watched the first two Harry Potter movies before we came. It made it easier to understand all the things we were seeing, knowing the story line. I can’t believe how many fans (not characters) were walking around in Harry Potter robes in this heat. Although, I must say, the heat and humidity hasn’t been too bad. Today, back to the parks for more.

We have two park passes for the days we are here, plus we have the unlimited express passes for the days we are here. It all came with some special Harry Potter package through the hotel. This was delivered to our house a couple weeks before we left. We have an hour early access to IOA this week. This was the line ahead of us at 7:43 am. and the line behind us. Once in, the crowds thinned Actually done quite a lot at both parks so far. Grandson trying to be eaten by Jaws. Time for pool time at the hotel before dinner.

Best I can do for a sunrise this morning.

we actually get two super moons this month. Another at the end of August.

what it looks like at our hotel

To all those cruising and planning family vacations at other parks, have a great time.