137 THE SUPER BLOW

No, that’s not a typo.  It’s Superbowl Sunday and I for one could care less.  I don’t like the NFL.  Too much political bullshit from grossly overpaid prima donnas.  A league full of criminals.  But I digress.  The plan for today is to go back to Universal for the first time since being turned away by security.  I plan to go late in the day and be there for when it gets dark, so I can see the light show at Hogwarts Castle.

The weather seems to have other plans.  It’s cold and raining and I have no intention of walking around in the rain.  I’ve established a routine since I’ve been here.  I’m usually up by 8:00 AM.  Mostly because that’s when I wake up, but a lot of times it’s because of all the activity and noise in the hallway.

The turnover rate I the hotel is usually quick, less than a week for the most part and some of the people are very good and respectful, others not so much.  There’s a group on my floor right now, and I think they are all connected, but they seem to think nothing about slamming doors late at night and early morning.  They also don’t seem to have a problem with talking, very loudly in the halls at the same time.

The other night, I was wandering down the hall to get ice and there was a group of kids all under 10, playing of all things, soccer in the hallway.  There was not a parent or adult to be seen.  This went on to about 10:30 PM.  Now, I do go to bed, late, but my TV is off no later than 11:00 PM and if I am using my iPad, I have the Bluetooth headphones on.

Finally, at about 4:00 PM, the weather changed.  The clouds broke and the sun came out.  It was already 18 Celsius anyway, but it didn’t take long to warm up considerably.  I grabbed my gear with some important changes.  I left the 150-600 zoom in the hotel.  It also took me this long to clue in.  I completely emptied my pockets of everything and put it in the backpack or left it behind.  It made going through security so much easier, and less sitting exposed in the tray.  I even put the camera with the stubby 50mm lens in there.

My calculation was that being Super Bowl Sunday, maybe the park would be less busy, since so many people would be watching it elsewhere.  It appeared to be holding true as there was a mass exodus of people out of the park and I just went through the admission gates with no lines.  Lots of people were hitting bars like NBC, Margaritaville and The Hard Rock Café, to watch there, but that was on City Walk.

Sure enough, I breezed through security and by now it was hot and really muggy.  It was 26C and I was dripping sweat all through the visit tonight.  I didn’t realize that there is two separate parks and two separate entrances.  The sun was going down quickly.  The Universal Studios side holds Diagon Alley and the Islands of Adventure holds Hogwarts Castle.

I went through the Universal Studios gate and when asking the quickest way to Hogwarts, is when I found out about the distinction.  This involved making a beeline to Kings Cross Station to catch the train to Hogwarts.  The first time I did the train, I breezed right through.  Not tonight, it was a 40-minute wait for the train.  It was still quicker than walking and trying to find my way there.  By being cooped up inside the station, I had no idea how dark it was getting.

We arrived in Hogsmead and the area in front of the castle was absolutely jammed with people waiting for the show.  I found a place in front and got set.  I had arrived less than 5 minutes before the start.  It wasn’t fully dark but close.  It gave the sky a really nice dark blue hue.  Anyway, the show started and really was kind of disappointing.  It was just lights projected on the walls and voices from the Harry Potter movies.  But it was done.

On to the next plan, or so I thought.  Boarding the train again, was far less busy, in fact I got on in less than 5 minutes, but was told along with everyone else, by the time I got to Universal the park would be closed.  It was now just a few minutes before 7:00 PM.  Sure enough, when I got out of the station, the grand finale was halfway down, but I was at a different angle, so got to see more fireworks.

I asked directions back to Mel’s Drive In, to have dinner there but was told that since it was after 7:00 PM, it was already closed.  I tried to follow the complex set of directions but was not able to find it again to confirm.  So, that’s one goal unfulfilled, unless I go back one more time, but that’s doubtful.