Regroupin'...

... Just in time to take a trip around the world!

Spent the first part of this day doing laundry, cleaning up, and getting things in order. For the first time this trip, I feel like everything is where it needs to be in order to launch out each day... and it only took four hours... ugh!

In the late afternoon, we decided to go to Epcot, where we visited the World Showcase. An Epcot cast member got a pretty good kick out of Grace at the map stand when she decided to take a map printed in Japanese, and then she couldn't figure out how to read it! In the end, we decided it would be best if she saved the Japanese map as a souvenir and took an English one for navigating. Caleb, also, decided he should probably have one that was printed in English which brought even more laughter, because he can't read yet, so it didn't really matter which map he picked!


Last time we were here, we skipped on the Kidcot Fun Stops, but not this time! All of the kids made masks and collected the "charms" from each of the eleven countries! Then they got prizes (posters and buttons proclaiming that they are Walt Disney World Honorary Citizens) for all their hard work! We had a great time exploring the world! Here's my favorite pic:


The kids are getting on each other's nerves just a bit at this point. Seth and Caleb were having a pretty good fight, so I instructed them to stand and pose for a picture in Canada... like they loved each other! This was the result... Then they stopped fighting for a while...


Probably the best part was an interactive street show in the UK, because at the end one of the actresses said a line about the king being happy... and the people being happy... and, "Even the shreiking baby was happy!" Which was a reference to Ian who had screamed intermittently throughout the performance... hehehe...

We met Jasmine (again), Aladdin, and Genie in Morocco. Jasmine made a good save when she didn't "remember" having met Grace yesterday morning and explained that it must be because Grace wasn't wearing her jacket at breakfast... hehehe... Ian would not acknowledge Aladdin and was scared to death of Genie. But he liked Jasmine... hmmm... just like someone else I know...


I bought a passport and had fun collecting stamps from each country as well, even though this is something that kids usually do... I thought it was a blast!

We had all of our names written in Japanese and Chinese, and we found out that I was born in the year of the Ram (stubborn...yeah...), Seth was born in the year of the Dragon, Grace was born in the year of the Snake, Caleb was born in the year of the Monkey (no surprise there), and Ian was born in the year of the Dog. Phil didn't have anything to stamp or sign, so we don't know what his name looks like or when he was born... hehehe...

Here are a few pics. of our trip around the world. It took us several hours this time around, as opposed to our sprint around the world in an hour and forty-five minutes last time! Truthfully, I could probably spend at least a couple of days there, but that will be an adventure for some years down the road, when the kids can appreciate World Showcase yet a little better...

My only real disappointment is that I discovered that there are smashed penny machines in each country... after we were almost finished with the showcase... I smashed one generic Epcot World Showcase penny, but if I have time to run through by myself, I'd like to get them all...

Everyone was exhausted by the time we were done. Phil and the kids took a nap at Guest Relations, while I claimed the prizes I mentioned earlier:


The kiddos were asleep again when we arrived back at the house to watch the election results. I fell asleep, too... on the couch... and woke up to announcements of president elect Obama. And the world didn't go up in flames contrary to some popular opinion... And with that let me say that I have no idea what the next four years will bring. Some ideals that Obama holds to are a little scary to me, but he has many good ideas, as well, and I trust that God is the one who is really in control of all things, so one election isn't going to make or break the world.

I'm out...

Lisa

Pure Magic...

Day 9… The Magic Kingdom...

We have been anticipating this day for a really… really long time now! It was pretty close to everything we hoped for!

My day began at 4:30am… yikes! There was much to do and many people to get ready and out the door by 6:30! We actually left the driveway at 6:45, but no worries… we still arrived in plenty of time at the Magic Kingdom parking lot, and as an added bonus, the parking attendants weren’t quite ready for traffic, so they let us park for free in pretty much the most prime parking spot you can get at the MK!

From there we walked over to the monorail station, and hopped on a train… completely by ourselves! In fact, Phil, Seth, Grace, and Caleb even got to ride in front, in essence “driving” the monorail… oh… yeah… very sweet!

When we got off the monorail and headed for the MK entrance we had to wait in line, because they weren’t letting anyone in just yet. Grace’s appointment at Bibbidi Bobbidi boutique was scheduled for 45 minutes before the park opened, so we got in early!

Phil and the boys waited in the castle by the roped off area to Fantasyland, while Grace and I visited the BBB. And let me tell ya… it was just amazing! It was worth every single cent, and I would do it all over again in a heartbeat! By the way… I don’t think I ever stopped smiling… start to finish!

Since the park still wasn’t open when we were done, we all waited by the ropes… well… except for Ian who thought it would be more fun to run under the ropes into the closed park… and then… well… Caleb thought it was a pretty good opportunity to get in early, while looking like he was chasing the baby… And then… well… Phil couldn’t just let them both run around in there, so he had to jump the ropes, of course! I wish I’d gotten all of this on video, but I was laughing way too hard to even think of it at the time!

Finally, the ropes were taken down, and we proceeded to be the first family into the park, slapping “high fours” with all of the Disney Cast Members and their Mickey Mouse hands! We rode Dumbo (my classic all time favorite), Peter Pan, Small World, and Cinderella’s Golden Carousel in record time (seriously, around 20 minutes)! And then… after all of this excitement… It was time to eat Breakfast in the castle, at Cinderella’s Royal Table… where they actually managed to accommodate our entire party of 15, even though we only had 12 reserved seats! Yes, dreams really do come true at Disney!

We met the fairy godmother, Cinderella, Jasmine (yeah… check it out… that’s Phil in that pic.), Snow White, and Belle! Grace was pretty much in Princess Heaven, and my three little princes cracked a few smiles, too… I think the highlight for the boys, though, was getting souvenir swords. I have already hidden them…

After breakfast, we continued our adventure through Fantasyland, riding everything else there, and then we went to Mickey’s Toontown Fair. This was especially exciting for me, as we missed a lot of this part of the park last time around. We explored Mickey and Minnie’s houses, and I glanced at the Pixie Hollow sign long enough to gasp at the 90 minute wait… I have a plan for this on another day… Amazingly, Grace didn’t catch the sign and still doesn’t realize that she is going to get to meet Tink live and in person! I cannot wait to capture the look on her face!

We rode The Barnstormer, and I got some pretty decent video of Grace’s ride. It’s hard to know exactly what I’m taping, because I can’t flip the screen. Unfortunately, blogger is acting up again, so no video footage for this post!

After we’d covered Toontown, we hopped on the train and took a spin around the entire park (dropping Grandma off in Frontierland to hook up with the rest of the family). And then on to Tomorrowland, where we ate at Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café, now a tradition…

We skipped the Indy Speedway due to the long line, but we’ll be back to catch a ride later in the week! We rode Tomorrowland Transit Authority (The People Mover), Astro Orbiter, and Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin (oh… love that ride)! Then we checked out the Monster’s Inc. Laugh Floor, which was a lot of fun, and Seth, Grace, Caleb, and I went into Stitch’s Great Escape (which was not fun at all… worst waste of time I have ever spent in an amusement park, hands down… Grace was terrified… Caleb was completely confused… Seth was irritated… and, frankly, I was disgusted… did I mention it was a huge waste of time?)

Tomorrowland was apparently having some ride issues, because Space Ranger Spin shut down just before we got on, and Stitch’s Great Escape (which is a huge waste of time… did I mention this?) also shut down briefly before we got on… The second delay cost us some time getting in position for the Spectromagic Parade, but we still got pretty good seats, and once everyone was settled, I went to get us all ice cream, which was delicious… and messy… hehehe…

Steve, Nancy, Elizabeth, Audrey, Brad, Sheri, and Abby all joined us for the parade. The kids were really into it this time around, especially because they are more familiar with the characters than last time. Ian loved the “fishies”, which brought back memories for me of when Caleb was a baby.

After the parade we headed toward the castle to get into a better position for Wishes. Each time we found a better spot, Phil would run ahead and look for another place, while the kids and I stood our ground. In the end, we got almost to the statue of Walt Disney and Mickey Mouse and enjoyed a very good viewing area for the show.

Wishes is the most amazing fireworks show ever! Even though I have seen it before and own the soundtrack, I was still in tears at the first note! There is nothing in all the world like sitting on the concrete at the happiest place on Earth and snuggling your kids while the whole sky explodes in color overhead…

After the show, we took our time getting out of the park. We even stopped for pictures in front of the castle in two different locations. It was a beautiful end to a wonderful day:

While we were waiting in line for the monorail, I turned to Phil and laughed, saying, “There’s no rush to get out of the Magic Kingdom… I mean, who wants to leave?” And I meant it…

I know it doesn’t really compare, but if a place like the Magic Kingdom can inspire such amazement, what must the Kingdom of Heaven be like… No doubt it will be so overwhelming we could never begin to comprehend it here on Earth…

We stopped or slurpies at 7-11 on the way back to the house… Well, Phil and I did, anyway… All of our little people were sound asleep within moments of buckling their seat belts:

And our vacation continues…

Lisa

I Am Ever Tired...

... Day 8

Today we moved from our hotel suite to an amazing rental house...

In between we played mini golf at Fantasia Gardens... which was awesome... especially when it started raining... but I lost by one putt... and that wasn't awesome... because I play mini golf for blood...

Unfortunately, the batteries for the Powershot died... and I didn't have the XTi or the Olympus on me... so there are only a couple of pics, and Phil hasn't downloaded them yet... so you don't get to see them... hehehe...

Then we went to DisneyQuest. It is not baby friendly. I knew there was a no stroller rule, but come on, there weren't even high chairs at the restaurant! Ian wasn't interested in doing anything... well, except for running away from me... so he and I left after lunch (which was only an hour or so into our time there). That was fine, because Phil and our "big kids" got to stay and play, while Ian and I cruised Downtown Disney Westside and looked in some stores. I found a statue of a giraffe that I really wanted. It only cost $3,200.00, but I figured I didn't really need it, so I resisted the impulse buy... hehehe... Who the heck pays $3200.00 for a statue? You could finance your next Disney trip with that kind of cash... Yes... I had sticker shock...

I have one pic to post, tonight, of all the cousins (minus Ian) running through Downtown Disney and almost knocking people over... it was pretty funny....

There will be much... much more to write about tomorrow! I guess you could call this an "off" day... So, why am I so exhausted?

Lisa

Aquatica...

... Amazing!

Day Seven...

We have long been anticipating our trip to Aquatica... like since the day SeaWorld announced it was being built! Sometimes when you set your hopes too high, you are disappointed. We were not disappointed today!

It's hard to know where to begin. The slides were incredible... from the little kid slides... to the bigger kid slides... to the racing mat slide... to the tube slides... to the funnel slide... to the family raft slides... to "Dolphin Plunge", Aquatica's signature slide that actually goes through a dolphin habitat! Just... Wow! I actually rode that one twice, because the first time the dolphins weren't swimming near me, so I didn't see them. The second time I saw one, and it was just awesome!


Over the course of this trip, our kids have really discovered a love for pools in general... and specifically for wave pools! Here they are, having a blast:


One of my favorite parts of the day was when I took Caleb down all of the "big" kiddie slides! He had so much fun and was very animated. He actually stopped to tell a stranger that he got wet, which cracked me up!

We had one scary incident while riding "Roa's Rapids", an incredible action river in which no tubes are allowed! The current is very strong, and as we went to get on, Grace got scared and held back. I tried to wait for her, but I was holding Ian, and even if I hadn't been, there was simply no possible way to swim against this current... so down the river Ian and I flew... and so did Phil and Caleb, because they got in before us! The only thing I could do was to scream, "WAIT HERE" to Grace (and Seth, by the way, who wouldn't come without her, which I found surprising... but I was rather proud of him nonetheless...), and I made eye contact with a life guard who I saw move their way. But we really didn't know if we would find them there or not until we rode the entire river! Thankfully, Uncle Brad, Aunt Sheri, and Abby were in the river (although we didn't know it) and came out and found Seth and Grace long before we got around to them! Uncle Brad even took Seth into the river to try to find us. In the end, Grace got a pretty good chewing out, and then we all managed to catch the current (which I am now fondly referring to as the E.A.C... if you haven't found Nemo, that won't make any sense). I have some video footage to upload, but blogger is giving me trouble tonight, so hopefully I'll be able to put it up sometime tomorrow...

"Loggerhead Lane", the lazy river, was pretty good, too. It went through a small fish grotto and the Commerson Dolphin exhibit. Ian kept telling me that he needed "more fishies"... a phrase we've heard a lot this past week! Here are a couple of pics. of us riding the river. The one of Ian with the fish is my favorite picture of the day:



Aquatica is... by far... the best waterpark I have ever visited! And that's saying a lot! By the way, I counted up all of the water parks our kids have been to, and it comes to ten! I then told them that I didn't go to a water park until I was 13 years old, to which Seth replied, "Mom, when you were thirteen, did you even know what water was?" Of course I told him no... that when I was born, all there was on the Earth was dirt... hehehe... Oh, comic relief for a very tired Mommy!

Steve, Nancy, Elizabeth, and Audrey arrived tonight, and we're off to the rental house tomorrow for the next week of our trip! Disney, here we come!

Lisa

Happy Halloween...

... From our ocean to yours!

Day six brought us back to SeaWorld for the Halloween Spooktacular among other things... We had a nautical theme going on, which included Ariel, Sebastian, Nemo, and Squirt. Phil and I dressed as the ocean...


We started the day off at the show, "Clyde and Seamore Take Pirate Island". I missed this show two years ago, because Caleb would not sit still. As it turns out, Ian is pretty good about sitting through shows. That's not to say he doesn't ever whine or cry (as was the case with the last show tonight, since he was tired), but I actually was able to take in a total of six SeaWorld shows on this trip, four of them today! I am happy! The other three shows were "Blue Horizons", which I thought was fantastic; "Count Down to Halloween", which... hey... was Sesame Street... and Ian loved dancing to the music, so I can't complain about that one; and "Shamu Rocks" which was fantabulous!

Today we also had the opportunity to play with dolphins and pet stingrays! Since we rode everything in "Shamu's Happy Harbor" on Wednesday, we were able to concentrate more on the animals today! We enjoyed sharks, alligators, manatee, beluga whales, a polar bear, seals, sea lions, a walrus, sea turtles... and I am no doubt missing something!

We also experienced the "big rides" today! Phil and I walked on to Krakken, and Phil, Grace, Caleb, and I rode "Journey to Atlantis"! I am posting video of Caleb's ride:



We ate at "Shark's Underwater Grill" which was a great experience, but the food was not outstanding. I am glad we ate there, but I wouldn't do it again... if that makes sense. I am posting a picture of my plate. I know that there is steak in the middle of it. That was pretty good. The other things are foreign to me. I think they're called vegetables... or something like that. I ate the orange ones... hehehe... That pile of stuff to the right of the meat was supposed to be mashed potatoes of some sort... but I don't believe it... I mean, why would there be a tree growing out of my mashed potatoes?

The kids loved Trick-or -Treating, and Spooktacular was definitely Spectacular! After having researched amusement parks and their Halloween activities, and after having visited Cedar Point on Halloweekends, I was a little nervous about attending another Halloween event, even though it was advertised as family friendly. However, SeaWorld really lived up to it's reputation, with friendly sea creatures roaming throughout the midways and posing for photo opportunities. There were even Pumpkin Fish! There was nothing scary about this Halloween event at all! It was the way Halloween is meant to be... in my opinion! And they even let the adults Trick-or-Treat, so I have a little bag of candy, myself!

The only potentially negative thing that happened during our Trick-or-Treating time was that I set off an incident that I am now referring to as "Smoke Rage"... Most parks are now non-smoking, except in designated areas, which is a really good thing... especially for families with multiple asthmatics! So... I really have no shame when it comes to letting people know that they need to put out their cigarettes if they are not in a designated smoking area. Well... one particular guy didn't seem to have gotten the memo about designated smoking areas, and he was smoking right there on the Trick-or-Treating path, so as my kids ran by... holding their breath... I shouted out to him that SeaWorld is a smoke free park and that he wasn't in a designated smoking area... which he completely ignored... but I figured "no harm done". Then... a lady in front of me... with two little kids... turned around, thanked me, and proceeded to yell back at the guy about what an idiot he was... and she kind of went on about it, which made me laugh... even though the guy continued to ignore her... Moral of the story... If you smoke, that's your business, but don't do it where it's illegal, because there's no sense killing my family just because you want to kill yourself... Besides... I might call you out on it... and you never know what kind of riot that might start!

The best part of our Trick-or-Treating experience was probably the singing bug... This guy had a line of people waiting to have their pictures taken with him, but he took a liking to our family and walked down the midway with us for quite some time... serenading us... with made up verses to popular songs from "The Little Mermaid"! We promised him we'd upload it to youtube... and we will... soon... It was absolutely hilarious!

That pretty much sums up our day! I think the lack of sleep is getting to me just a bit, as I am feeling sort of crabby. However, it doesn't look like there's any hope of things gettin' better in the sleep department, so on we press toward theme park domination!

Lisa

Which Way Do We Go...

... Which way do we go?

Day 5 began with a bit of mass chaos, as we originally planned to set out for Wet and Wild but then changed our minds, because we didn't have tickets yet... and it looked like Saturday was going to be kinda rainy... and we'd planned to go to Aquatica on Saturday, because we had seven day passes that included Busch Gardens, SeaWorld, and Aquatica... except we are really looking forward to going to Aquatica... so we didn't want to risk the rain...

With all of that in mind, we decided to go to Aquatica... until we found out that we actually have 14 day passes to Busch, SeaWorld, and Aquatica... at which point we realized that we could visit Aquatica on a better weather day if Saturday really does turn out to be yucky... and at which point we discussed the value of going to Wet and Wild today, because we were going to be able to get a substantial discount for being college students (see... really does pay to be in school all these years later)...

And so we went to Wet and Wild...


I had never been there before, but Phil has wonderful memories of Wet and Wild from previous family vacations! Now I know why... Today was a blast!

We started out on the "Bubba Tub"... which you have to be 36" tall to ride, and since Ian is 35 1/2" tall, they let him on... this probably has something to do with the way Ian's Mommy was huffing and puffing after carrying him up all those stairs! I think they took pity on me! At any rate, a split second into the ride, Ian says, "I need up"... which can really be translated into, "I am going to try to stand up and escape now, even though we are plummeting down a hill"... I held onto him, and he was all smiles at the end.

Then, Phil, Seth, and Grace rode "Brain Wash", which neither of the kids wanted to ride again, but I was able to talk Seth into going one more time, because I really wanted to ride! It was a great ride, but it was very difficult to carry the four person clover leaf tube to the top... by myself! Here's a video:



After this, we played in the wave pool for a while, which all of the kids loved, even though it made me nervous! Then we went in search of the lazy river but took a short detour to "Bubble Up", which I can't really describe, but I can post a pic. Seth and Grace both managed to climb to the top, but only Seth slid down. Grace kind of inched her way back down, holding the rope, and I'm shocked that she does not have rope burn!


We finally did make our way to the lazy river, which we circled three times! Ian kept saying, "big boat"... which seems to be a recurring theme for him on this trip! Here's a pic of Phil and Grace:


We then checked out "The Storm", which was an amazing body slide funnel ride. As it emptied into 6 1/2 feet of water, with water still rushing down at you, I did not ride. The kids thought it was pretty funny that there was something there that Mommy couldn't ride, because I am not a strong enough swimmer! Phil did, however, take the challenge, and it was really fun to watch his adventure!

From there we proceeded to the "Kids Park", which was one of the nicest children's water play areas I have ever visited! There were at least 7 slides, 2 zip lines, a float area, a small pool, a kid sized lazy river, and a baby pool! We had an interesting experience on the tube slide when Caleb lost his tube and then proceeded to walk down the slide! I am posting video of Grace and Caleb on the zip line:





One of my favorite parts of the day was sitting with Ian in the baby pool, because we had it all to ourselves, and I was able to snag a tube from the kid sized lazy river and just spin him around and let him float! During this time, Phil took a brief... uh... nap (not really, but the pic. is incriminating) while Seth, Grace, and Caleb met some new friends from England who they played with in the other pool. We stayed here for around an hour, and it was so relaxing! My exact comment was, "this is vacation"...

Catchin' Some Zzzs...

Have You Ever Seen Anything Like This?

We decided to hit a few more slides after this. Caleb and I rode "The Blast"... which was a little surprising! I did not expect the forceful water jets, the waterfalls, or the steep drop at the end, but Caleb was all smiles coming off, so it's all good! As far as how I felt about it... well, the expression on my face in the pic. pretty much sums it up!

Grace rode with Phil after Caleb and I got off, but we couldn't talk Seth into riding this one. Seth was pretty much frozen at this point, even though it did turn out to be a nice day. It wasn't terribly hot, though, that's for sure...

Seth, Grace, Caleb and I rode "The Flyer" next, which was an incredibly fun family raft type ride! In fact, it was so fun that both Phil and I rode it with them twice!

We walked past a couple of rides that were closed for refurbishment... bummer... and then Grace and I took a spin on "The Black Hole: The Next Generation". It was tons of fun, and although Seth did not originally want to ride it, we talked him into going with Phil, and it ended up being his favorite ride of the day!

Then, Grace and Caleb read the map and decided we needed to go back to the wave pool again!!


Which we did...

We left the park around 3:30, after having ridden everything we wanted to... and, as mentioned, some of those things multiple times! It was a great day to go, because there were almost no lines, and we were able to maximize our fun!

We ate at Cicis Pizza, just down the road from the park, and then we returned to the hotel to find that Grandma and Grandpa had arrived!

After bath time for all the kids and a quick briefing on Grandma and Grandpa's trip as well as Brad, Sheri, and Abby's day at Hollywood Studios, it was time for all "little people" to go to bed... and apparently for most "big people" too... I am headed there shortly myself!

Lisa

I Love SeaWorld...

SeaWorld and I have history! I grew up going to SeaWorld… although it was the one in Columbus, OH rather than the one in Orlando. It is a calming place of sorts… or something like that. I love all of the animals (though I am rather partial to Stingrays as of late). I love to pet them! I have wonderful memories of going to SeaWorld with my parents and my grandparents. And even if everyone else in the whole world thinks it’s sad… SeaWorld is my favorite…

Now… We are planning to spend a whole day at SeaWorld later in the week. However, we had some unaccounted for time to enjoy today, and after my whining about wanting to see more shows than we have time for in one day at SeaWorld, Phil relented and took me there… Which is sort of the truth about how this all came about, but not entirely…

We were originally going to wake up early today, but that plan was blown when we got in so late last night, and it was totally blown when I stayed up until 2am, because blogger was being rather stupid, and I couldn’t get my post to look right… which it still doesn’t… but I’m OK with that now…

So… we woke up late (a little after 8), got everybody dressed and ready to go, ate breakfast outside (which would have been nice were it not freezing and had Grace not forgotten her coat in the hotel room, so I had to give her my sweatshirt), and then made our final decision to visit SeaWorld…


Of course, Shamu is the feature attraction, so we took many pictures of her in various settings:


We really enjoyed the “Believe” show this time around. When we were here two years ago, the overall presentation was more powerful, but they had added some things to the show that were just amazing, as well. The only disaster was when Ian fell off the bleachers and smacked his face on the row in front of us. He has quite a shiner, as the ice I was able to attain at the concession stand was too little, too late… poor guy!

We also rode all of the rides in “Shamu’s Happy Harbor”, and even Ian was big enough to ride everything except for the roller coaster:

Above and Below: "The Flying Fiddler"

Phil and Caleb on "The Shamu Express"

We saw “A’lure”, which I thought was beautiful, but Grace thought was scary… and I doubt I will ever talk Phil into going to Cirque du Soliel (which definitely wasn’t in the plan for this trip, anyhow)…

After a quick trip by the Dolphin Nursery, we left the park and headed to Pizza Hut… where we ate lots… and lots of food… and then made our first journey onto Disney soil:


We shopped just a bit at Downtown Disney, hitting the Lego store where all “five” of my “kids” enjoyed the lego pick-a-brick wall… Ian even stuffed legos under his bottom in the stroller, but don’t worry… we didn’t shoplift anything… I got them all out and returned them to the wall:


I also finally managed to secure a pressed penny holder, which is exciting for me, but probably everyone else is just laughing…

At any rate, we returned to the hotel after our short Downtown Disney excursion, and all of the kids were asleep shortly after that. I have been downloading pics. and typing ever since, and I need to go hang out with Brad and Sheri now, and then I need sleep… because tomorrow promises another exciting day… hopefully not quite so chilly!

Lisa

I Thought We Were Going To Florida...

... But, apparently, that was another one of Phil's "surprises"... because it feels a lot more like Alaska here!

We started our morning with the ever famous Holiday Inn Express breakfast. If you can believe it, I only had one cinnamon roll… That’s not to say I didn’t eat a million other things I shouldn’t have… but only one cinnamon roll… for real! We also didn’t have any repeats of the last trip… water being dumped all over the cinnamon rolls… and table… and the now infamous, “Uh…Oh”… Well… anyways… We also didn’t go outside to take any pics... or find any salamanders (although Uncle Brad did find a salamander inside… long story…) Did I mention it is cold? So cold that the Florida wildlife is taking refuge in local hotels!!! Brrrrr… Thankfully we packed jackets, but the boys were all in shorts…

We left for Busch Gardens just a little later than we’d planned and arrived to find a nearly empty parking lot, which seemed like a good sign to us! As the day went on, there were actually quite a few people in the park, but it wasn’t overly crowded, and the lines weren’t too bad.

Upon walking through the gates, I immediately lost my sense of direction, and from there the best laid plans were… well… just nonexistent to tell you the truth! Seth, Grace, Brad, Phil, and I waited in line for Gwazi first off, and I wouldn’t do it again! As much as I love coasters, this one just caught me by surprise! It took off quickly and never slowed, and it was very bumpy. I will be paying for it tomorrow. It was Seth’s favorite ride of the day…

I think my main goal in life for today was to get to Jungala at the back of the park! We got a bit sidetracked, though, when we walked right past “Land of the Dragons”… It seems that no one could resist the chance to hatch from an egg:

We also took a detour to ride the flume, and Ian got his first shot at a “big boat” and a big hill! Not quite sure what he thought about it, but I loved it! By the way, the sign said that no one under two could ride, but nobody asked how old he was, so I just kind of threw him in the boat… I thought I was going to have video of this, but apparently I pressed the wrong button! I am still getting used to my water camera, but I think it is going to solve my lack of video problem. Hopefully I will get it right tomorrow… keep your fingers crossed…

We did, indeed, finally make it back to Jungala, where we climbed through the various nets… and tubes… and stairways and enjoyed ourselves a lot… although it was kind of painful for a full sized adult in flip flops…

We also rode “Wild Surge”, which was very fun. The line for the glider ride was awfully long, and since Caleb, Abby, and Ian were too young (and short I might add), we skipped this one. The Tiger habitat in Jungala was very nice. Unfortunately, Seth was eaten:

I was rather impressed by the overall atmosphere of Busch Gardens. There was music in the streets, and we met a wide array of colorful characters:

The “Walking Stick” actually jumped over Seth, and I wish I had a picture or video of that, because it was very cute to watch!

Since I am a sucker… and Grace really wanted to ride Congo River Rapids (which is basically what it sounds like)… I got soaked on this very cold (remember) day… and I think I am still drying out… At any rate, there was no line… huh… wonder why…

We didn’t have a whole lot of time to work with today, as the park closed at 6:00, but we tried to cram in as many things as we could! We rode Rhino Rally, which was definitely worth the ½ hour wait! It was the best “Safari Ride” I have ever been on, hands down! Phil had to wait with Ian, because you had to be three to ride this one, and I didn’t figure we’d get away with that much of an age stretch. However, we were able to take advantage of the “Kid Swap” program, so after we all got off, Phil was able to go to the front of the line to ride, and they let Seth, Grace, and Caleb ride again with him! This was definitely a plus!

And... just because these pics. are worth posting, here we are filling some time while waiting for everyone to get done with a potty break:

We decided we’d better eat at this point, because it was getting later in the afternoon. Thankfully, we made the decision when we did, because the restaurant was about to close when we got there! We ate at the Crown Colony Restaurant, overlooking to Serengeti Plain. What that basically means is that we had a nice family style meal, while watching the giraffes… and Seth and I got “drunk” on the fish… Uh… I don’t know if I can really explain that, but in case anybody is really worried, we didn’t actually get drunk (I don’t even drink), and the fish was very good!

We took a quick trip through King Tut’s Tomb, which was pretty unimpressive and scared Grace half to death… For some reason, I was enamored with King Tut when I studied him in school, bu I could skip on this attraction if I was ever at Busch Gardens again…

Then we sort of ran to the train station… where we caught the last train of the day, which took us through the Serengeti Plain. Here are pics. Of Seth and Caleb waiting for the train and Ian once we had boarded:

We got off at the station nearest Sheikra, a very cool looking coaster that Phil and Brad went to wait in line for, even though we hadn’t seen it actually run in awhile, while Sheri and I took the kids back to Land of the Dragons, and I got to sit in an egg this time… It was a Ferris Wheel of sorts, and the amazingly kind ride operator, Amos, gave us a complimentary second ride, so I got to spin around... and around… and around… and he was going to let us have a third ride, but we finally convinced him to let us off instead!

The kids rode one more water kiddie ride, and then everything was closing, so we let them play in this little playground area until they kicked us out… and then we went and sat on some rocks until Phil and Brad finally emerged, having ridden Sheikra which they thoroughly enjoyed!

It was really a wonderful day, but there were still so many things we didn’t get to do! Ah… well… such is life when you’re trying to cram this much into 2 ½ weeks!

We arrived at our hotel some time later. Phil and Brad saw some trains first… I guess… but I mostly slept, because I am wiped out… and I am sneezing, which is probably because of the whole Congo River Rapids ordeal…

Our hotel is wonderful, but we haven’t really had a chance to explore or enjoy it just yet. We were too busy loading half asleep kids into beds and then unpacking the house… uh… I mean van! Finally got to munch some of my leftover Cheddar’s and more chocolate than anyone should ever eat in one sitting!

We don’t even know what we’re doing tomorrow, for sure! It was supposed to be our Typhoon Lagoon day, but since TL is closed for refurbishment we will have to make another choice. Sleeping in sounds good right about now…

Lisa