Universal Studios Epic Universe (cont'd)

Next, we walked back to Super Nintendo World. Gabe wanted to explore Donkey Kong Country, but the rain limited how much we could do. The wait to ride Yoshi's Adventure was pretty short, so we went on it in the rain.

Gabe found the letters K-O-N-G to complete some of his quests in the Universal Studios App.

Gabe was so excited to ride Yoshi!

It continued to rain on and off, so we went to eat dinner at the Toadstool Cafe. I was a pretty neat cafe. Very much Mario-themed with digital windows with a peak into Toad's kitchen. The entire are went dark at intervals when a Bullet Bill passed through. The food was good, but not great. I think the boys enjoyed it the most--they got to take home all the little decorations on their hamburger meal. Erik and I shared a pasta dish. Elisa ordered the mushroom soup. Too bad we didn't get to take home the bowl--it was pretty cool. At the end, we all shared the (way overpriced) Peach cake. 

The kids had a Mario burger, mushroom soup, and a kids Mario burger.

The Peach Cake didn't have peaches, but it did have a lot of whipped cream.

We spent the rest of the evening wandering around Super Nintendo World. We rode Mariokart again. The kids finished the rest of the activities they could access with their Mario bracelets. The final activity they unlocked was Bower Junior's Challenge, and they let all of us play it together. We waited to see if Minecart Madness would open up in Donkey Kong Country since the rain finally stopped, but it didn't. We went back to the Airbnb to get some sleep before our trip home the next day.

Mario and Luigi finally came out to visit after it stopped raining.

Grandpa bought the kids a Donkey Kong Crush Float.

Elisa spun the wheel in Goomba Crazy Crank to knock the goomba over.

Super Nintendo World was so much brighter at night.

For the Bob-omb Kaboom Room, the kids found parts of the key medallion and pieced them together.

For Bowser Junior's Challenge, we had to swing our arms to make our shadows bounce goombas and bombs away before they hit the ground. I guess we did good enough to beat the game.

Sunday, October 5, 2025

We had a long layover in Dallas, so we sat down for lunch at Chili's. Ian was very happy eating his mac n cheese!

Universal Studios Epic Universe

Saturday, October 4, 2025

Universal Studios Day. This time we went to the new Epic Universe instead of the other 2 parks. It rained a lot. We tried to get in line for Hiccup's Wing Gliders from How to Train Your Dragon, but it was delayed in opening. Instead, we headed to Super Nintendo World to ride Mariokart. Afterwards, we bought Mario bracelets for the kids so they could play all the Nintendo games. Next, we headed back to ride Hiccup's Wing Gliders in the rain. For lunch, we ate at the French Harry Potter restaurant, Cafe Lair de la Sirene.

Gabe was so excited!

Waiting in the single-riders line took about 45 minutes.

Most of us still got to sit close by each other.

So many Mario souvenirs!

Overlooking the Yoshi ride

The kids had to hit the POW block at just the right time to win Koopa Troopa POWer Punch.

Gabe couldn't beat Piranha Plant Nap Mishap by himself, but he beat it with Elisa and Ian's help later.

Everyone was dry just as the rain started coming down.

Completely drenched after riding Hiccup's Wing Gliders.

Butterbeer, Frozen Butterbeer, Dirigible Plum Juice, and Lavender Lemonade. I was cold since I was still wet from all that rain!

My Galette de Tomates et Fromage (tomato and cheese pastry)

Erik ordered us a Butterbeer Crepe for dessert.

After lunch, we waited in line for the Harry Potter Ministry of Magic ride, which was similar to Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey in that the ride is swung around on a mechanical arm. Next, we walked over to Dark World to ride Monster's Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment, which was exactly like the Forbidden Journey mechanism. Then we walked back to Super Nintendo World to ride Yoshi's Adventure in the rain. It continued to rain on and off, so we went to eat dinner at the Toadstool Cafe.

The "floo network" would erupt in green smoke every time someone walked through.

Getting in line for Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment

Disney Bahamas Cruise: Day 6 - Debarking

Friday, October 3, 2025

We decided to sleep in a little longer instead of going to breakfast, otherwise breakfast would have been at 6:45am—too early. We were to be out of the stateroom at 8am. Our departure went smoothly—not much to say about it. We stopped at a place called Maple Biscuits for brunch. I ordered the goat cheese breakfast tacos. They were alright. I felt slightly nauseous after eating them. Then we drove to our air bnb house in Storey Lakes Kissimmee area. The boys' room was an awesome Super Mario-themed room complete with painted wall murals, stuffies, and a game console. The boys were excited about it. Elisa’s room was almost as cool—she had a Frozen themed room that played the Let it Go song when she went in and out of the room. It also had painted wall murals of the Frozen characters. The house was pretty nice and had plenty of space for all of us. There was even a little pool in the backyard. I swam for a bit with Ian in the little pool. Erik and his dad went to check out the clubhouse that was included free with our stay. We decided that we all would go to the clubhouse. It was closer to a mini waterpark—it had slides, a lazy river, a splash pad, and a pool. I went around the lazy river a few times, swam in the pool, and watched the kids go down the slides. Erik bought a fun drink that we shared. Afterward, we debated and waited around for a few hours for someone to make up their mind on what they wanted to eat. The kids chose pizza, and after the kids ate, Erik and his parents finally went to pick up some Mexican food. I was starving by then. I took a bath and then we went to bed.

My chicken/goat cheese/chili/egg tacos. They were interesting. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either, mostly because of my slight nausea. I would try them again though.

Ian really liked his breakfast tacos.

Then we drove to our air bnb house in Storey Lakes Kissimmee area. The boys' room was an awesome Super Mario-themed room complete with painted wall murals, stuffies, and a game console. The boys were excited about it. Elisa’s room was almost as cool—she had a Frozen themed room that played the Let it Go song when she went in and out of the room. It also had painted wall murals of the Frozen characters. The house was pretty nice and had plenty of space for all of us. There was even a little pool in the backyard. I swam for a bit with Ian in the little pool.

Such a cool room! If Erik would have let me, I would have painted Ian or Gabe's room like this.

Elisa's room was pretty neat too. She wouldn't pose for the picture, so I got these weirdo ones.

Erik and his dad went to check out the clubhouse that was included free with our stay. We decided that we all would go to the clubhouse. It was closer to a mini waterpark—it had slides, a lazy river, a splash pad, and a pool. I went around the lazy river a few times, swam in the pool, and watched the kids go down the slides. Erik bought a fun drink that we shared.

Sittin' around

These two loved going down the slides

My little fish!

Afterward, we debated and waited around for a few hours for someone to make up their mind on what they wanted to eat. The kids chose pizza, and after the kids ate, Erik and his parents finally went to pick up some Mexican food. I was starving by then. I took a bath and then we went to bed.