Our First Summer Trip! 3 Canucks Tackle Orlando in August: A Trip Report (Complete!)

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

I forgot to mention a few things about our Aquatica day. We had purchased one annual pass (for DH) and two “weekday passes” (for DS and I) since we wanted to spend more than one day at the waterpark. We expected hot weather and wanted to be sure we had ample opportunity to cool off. The annual pass gave us free parking for both of our planned days, a discount on both our cabana rentals (we also had a cabana rented for Thursday .... more on that in a later post), discounts on food purchases within the park, and a very substantial discount on our Discovery Cove admission for August 29th. So the AP was definitely the right purchase and more than paid for itself (probably twice over or more). The unlimited admission weekday passes for DS and I were cheaper than purchasing two single day admissions, plus they are valid for the remainder of 2012. Considering the awesome quality of the slides and attractions at SeaWorld, we thought that overall the pricing was a great value for our vacation.

As you can see from the sky in my photos, the weather was pretty darn perfect on Tuesday, August 28th. Isaac had turned westward, the rain had moved out and we thought the temps were very moderate. The big digital sign at the wave pool read 27 degrees mid-day. Thank you, Mother Nature!
VERY surprisingly, the park was not busy. I think the longest slide line for the boys all day was Dolphin Plunge in mid-afternoon, and they waited about 15 minutes start to finish. I know the locals were all back-to-school by the time of our visit, but we truly expected it to be far busier than it was.

If you asked us what our overall favourite attraction at the park would be, Roa’s Rapids would get the nod from all three of us.

A no-tube “lazy river”, it has a strong current with varying water depths, islands and turns that create “speed zones” throughout the course. Upon first glance, you might wonder why everyone is wearing a life jacket.....but it doesn’t take long for you to figure it out. Even at 280 lbs and 6’ 4” tall, the current was strong enough to sweep my hubby down the river as if he was a small child (yet let me stress it did not have any kind of a dangerous feel....with the lifejackets, you could just lift your feet off the bottom and GO!).

I lost track of how much time we spent here on our two days at the park. It was a hoot. Add in the beach tunes rockin’ from the speakers along the Rapids, and it was truly our little corner of paradise. Note regarding some of the pics......most in this area were taken with a disposable Kodak underwater camera, and put on a CD by Walgreens, so the quality in some cases isn’t so great....but hopefully you will get the general idea).

Roa’s Rapids, Loggerhead Lane (the tube lazy river) and the wave pool were pretty much where you could find me at any given time. The boys joined me in each location between riding and sliding the day away. One of Jake’s fave’s was the 8-person racer that calculated each slider’s speed on the giant digital display at the bottom. Just watching them ride made me want to hurl. I am such a shmuck.

For lunch, we went to the Banana Beach Cook-Out. You have two options here....an “eat all day” pass for $17.99 or an all-you-can-eat-at-one-visit price of $14.99. Passmembers save 10% off each. Its buffet-style and included pulled pork, chicken tenders, barbecued chicken, pizza, hot dogs, watermelon, macaroni and cheese, salad, chocolate cake, garlic buns, and a variety of Coke products....it was a good selection there was lots of it. Since we had dinner plans outside of the park, we went for the one-visit option. Should we have decided to go back, with our receipt we could have upgraded for $3 per person at any time later in the day. We did get a little bit of rain during our lunch break, the only rain we saw all day. As the dark clouds blew in, Aquatica announced that they would be closing the water rides temporarily due to inclement weather (we were literally on our way to Banana Beach when the announcement came over the speakers). It rained all during our lunch, and then the sun returned and they re-opened the rides just after we returned to our cabana. We could not have timed it better.

We left the park about 4:30, totally spent after an amazing and enjoyable day. Time to slather some aloe gel on our sunburns (we had underanticipated the affects of the hotter Florida sun....ouch!) and then what shall we do this evening?

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

After heading back to the resort just long enough to dry off, change clothes, and aloe gel the shoulders and faces, we decided to make our way up International Drive to take in a round of mini golf at Volcano Island. I had a Groupon for 18 holes for 4 people (why on earth does everything come in 2’s or 4’? Ugh!) and we thought it would be fun to do something “dry” for a while.

Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other plans. While we had noticed the clouds rolling in as afternoon turned to early evening, it didn’t look that menacing. But then the rain started, just about the time we hit the 4th hole. Big fat drops. Steve did the Olympic sprint to the rental car for our ponchos and umbrellas but frankly, its impossible to golf when you are holding an umbrella!!! (and let’s just say my golfing skills are lacking at best even on a good day, LOL!). By the time we finished, we were WET (the ponchos helped, but just not enough). Too bad too, because when we initially arrived, the sweet young lady running the course offered for us to golf the second 18 holes for free since our Groupon was for 4 people and we didn’t have 4 in our family (I thought that was very kind). Needless to say, we took a pass and opted to pursue our dinner plans instead.

The resident ducks quacked their appreciation of the wet weather. Jake declared the activity a roaring success, wet or not.

The course itself was “okay” . Not nearly as nice as others along I-Drive. I was glad we snagged a deeply discounted price via the Groupon as full cost is better spent elsewhere, such as Pirates Cove or Congo River.

Dinner that Tuesday evening was Jake’s pick, and we knew exactly where we’d be headed. Buffalo Wild Wing.

He had wanted to dine here on our January trip, and we had so many must-do’s that we simply ran out of days to do them. So we promised him a stop here in August, and we very rarely ever go back on our word.

Wing lovers that they are, the boys were in heaven. We opted for an order of 50 wings (10 each of 5 different flavours) plus a family size order of fries, one of onion rings, and a chicken alfredo pizza/flatbread kinda thing (it was the closest they had to garlic bread). Needless to say, we had a couple of boxes of wings to take back to the villa for late-night snacking later on in the week.

By the time we left the restaurant, we were full, tired, and ready to kick back and relax. We changed into our jammies, caught some weather updates on the TV (watching the progression of Isaac as it whipped the west coast of Florida and beyond), then headed to bed. We had another big day planned for tomorrow, possibly our most-anticipated day of the week......we were heading back to our Orlando favourite, Discovery Cove!

 

[retiredkid]

Great update and pics.

Yay!! Discovery Cove coming up!!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Great update and pics.

Yay!! Discovery Cove coming up!!

Thank you Cathy! Are you a DC lover too?

Let me take this opportunity to say that if anyone has any specific questions, don't hesitate to toss 'em out. I will do my best to answer them for you!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Wednesday, August 29th: our long-awaited and much-anticipated return to one of our most beloved Orlando attractions, Discovery Cove.

We visited for the first time on January 1st and fell in love with the relaxed pace, lush surroundings and all-inclusiveness of this park. While our New Years Day visit had spectacular weather, we were very eager to see how a summer visit compared. We had booked for the crazy-low Passmember price of $69 pp which was the rate without the dolphin swim (as we did the dolphin experience in January) so we splurged for a private cabana. We were soooo excited!!

Arriving shortly after 8 am (after checking in at the main building and having our complimentary family photo taken by DC photographers), we were directed to enjoy breakfast before being escorted to our cabana. We find the food here really quite good, and my faves at breakfast are the French toast sticks and the friend potatoes. If I don’t gain 10 pounds before this vacation is over, it will be a small miracle. We grabbed a table and enjoyed our early morning meal in the soft summer breeze under beautifully sunny skies. There were alot of people here by that time......I am guessing many families wanted to ensure an early dolphin swim in the event that the infamous Florida thunderstorms rolled through in the afternoon.

After breakfast, we were taken to our cabana and got settled in. The Team Member from the registration desk who took us to our cabana also stopped to outfit us in our choice of a wetsuit or vest, and picked up our snorkels and masks. Our personal cabana attendant, “June from Georgia”, came by soon afterwards to say hello and determine how she could best assist us during the upcoming day. We’re really pretty low-maintenance people so we assured her that a stocked fridge would be just about all we would need. She promised to check on us often and God love her, she was true to her word. We have never been better cared for in our lives.

On the table in the cabana, our Premium Package inclusions were artfully displayed and waiting for our arrival. As part of the cabana package, we received a DC sling pack, a DC t-shirt (was a child’s medium but they changed it to an adult size for us with no hesitation), a personalized buoy, a beautiful glass DC frame for a 6 x 8 photo, a Kodak disposable underwater camera, and a card entitling us to a free 6 x 8 adventure photo of our choice. What a nice way to kick off our day! It felt like Christmas!

Our cabana bordered the Grand Reef, so we didn’t have to go far to snorkel with the sting rays and the multitude of different tropical fish that are found in this great area of the park. In the locker located inside our cabana, there was actually a checklist of the different fish (complete with names and photos) on a wristband that you could take into the reef so you look for the various fish types while snorkeling. Very cool idea.

We were very excited to test out the brand-new Freshwater Oasis, a new part of the park that was in the process of being built during our visit in January. This beautiful, lush freshwater attraction boasts a sunken lounge area (strategically located next to a snack bar offering food and beverages.......and keep in mind all meals, snacks, drinks, and alcoholic beverages are all included, and unlimited, as part of your day resort admission), waterfalls, wonderfully warm water, marmoset monkeys playing quietly on the centre island, and the stars of the attraction, five little Asian otters. These siblings (3 boys, 2 girls) are an absolute hoot to watch and capture your heart within seconds. They are SO busy.....frolicking here and there, jumping on each other, chasing each other mercilessly, and providing some pretty nifty entertainment for the daily visitors.

But the Freshwater Oasis and the Grand Reef were only part of the awesome features of Discovery Cove. Our day was just getting started. There was so much more to do!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Arriving back at our cabana for a break, we found Joan had been by with a basket of snacks....

All that food, sunshine and water can sure make a person sleepy. Steve utilizes our cabana to the fullest and takes a short siesta. Now this is what vacation is all about.

And now Photobucket has frozen on me yet again...... . More to come!!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

One of the things we love about Discovery Cove is not having to have the day totally planned out before we get there. With no crowds, and everything included from food to activities, we can completely relax and just “go with the flow”. For us, in addition to the new Freshwater Oasis, our other favourite spot to spend time is the lazy river. It’s so warm, so beautiful and so peaceful, we could stay in there for hours. We love the way the depth changes in the various sections of the river, we love seeing the birds in the portion that runs through the free flying aviary, and we totally loved the kind fellow from the UK who helped find DH’s sunglasses after they disappeared under one of the waterfalls .

The only rain we saw all day was brief.....maybe 5 minutes long, and it occurred while we were checking out the birds in the aviary. The birds certainly didn’t seem to mind, and neither did we.

The rest of the day was sunny, beautiful, and just as relaxing as we had hoped. We had so much fun as a family and it really was just as perfect as I had planned. About 4 pm, we started to pack up all our goodies and begin to ready ourselves to head out. We were getting to the stage that it was hard to put one foot in front of the other so we knew we were “done”. We stopped to personally thank Joan for all her kind attention and give her a small tip in appreciation. We made our way to Adventure Photo, selected the picture we wanted for the free 6 x 8 that came with the cabana (got a great one of the three of us by the small waterfall in the Freshwater Oasis) and picked up our complimentary 6 x 8 family photo that was taken upon arrival at the entrance of the park.

Back to the resort to dry off and change. Then what?

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

After DC, Jake declared that a little shopping was in order before dinner. You would think that at some point, this child would finally get shopped out, but when it comes to retail therapy he's like the Energizer Bunny. He was on a mission to fill those empty carry-ons and no one was quite ready to eat yet, so we were okay with a few stops along the way.

You know what they say about big shoes to fill..... :

After our short shopping expedition, we headed to MY favourite restaurant, TGI Fridays!

I have no idea what Steve had just said to Jake before he snapped this picture, but look at the look on Jake's face.

We love their food, we love their service, but we really, really, REALLY love their desserts. Steve has a thing for their vanilla bean cheesecake, so after his "perfect" steak, he was happy to see the final course arrive.

Jake and I are not cheesecake lovers. For me, cheese belongs on a pizza, not in dessert . We had our sights set elsewhere.....and we couldn't wait..........

The Reese's Peanut Butter Pie. Worth a trip to Orlando all on its own. Heaven on plate. Pardon me while I drool.

After dinner, it was back to the resort for a lengthy swim under the stars.....we had a million calories to burn after our indulgences at TGI Fridays .

Tomorrow was another full day of fun in the sun. Coming up, day 2 at Aquatica!

 

[mtmbyck]

Hey Gina. We stay at Marriott Grande Vista. About a block from Aquatica and Sea World. We always get a 2 bedroom unit. It's beautiful and we're booked for our 3rd time this March. We love Aquatica. It's a must every visit. And Roa Rapids is all of our favourite. So we have DC on the agenda this March. Kids really want to try it. Don't think we'll try a Disney Park again - it was insanely busy this past trip and with new Fantasyland it should be nuts.

Can't wait to hear more about the trip.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Hey Gina. We stay at Marriott Grande Vista. About a block from Aquatica and Sea World. We always get a 2 bedroom unit. It's beautiful and we're booked for our 3rd time this March. We love Aquatica. It's a must every visit. And Roa Rapids is all of our favourite. So we have DC on the agenda this March. Kids really want to try it. Don't think we'll try a Disney Park again - it was insanely busy this past trip and with new Fantasyland it should be nuts.

Can't wait to hear more about the trip.

Oooohh, just looked up the Grande Vista and its gorgeous! Great location too (we are SeaWorld Parks lovers....so this is our "area of choice" for Orlando). Its not considered an "onsite" hote though, it is? (ie free Quick Queue?) I am wondering why not when its so close by.

I hear you on the business of the Disney parks .... that's why we won't consider a day at Disney for our Christmas trip. We have a character breakfast reservation at O'hana and a dinner ressie for T-Rex but other than some time in DTD and a tour of the deluxe resorts via monorail, that will probably be all we will need for our Disney fix. Unfortunately, with our DS in grade 11, we can only travel when he's not in school. And of course, that's always Disney's busy time!

This will a first DC trip for you guys? You won't be disappointed! There's so much to do but in such a relaxing kind of way (sounds weird, I know). The day goes by so fast. Will you do the dolphin swim or the day resort only? If the budget allows, I highly recommend the dolphin swim for a first time visitor. Its an awesome experience and so memorable.

 

[greenclan67]

Oooohh, just looked up the Grande Vista and its gorgeous! Great location too (we are SeaWorld Parks lovers....so this is our "area of choice" for Orlando). Its not considered an "onsite" hote though, it is? (ie free Quick Queue?) I am wondering why not when its so close by.

I hear you on the business of the Disney parks .... that's why we won't consider a day at Disney for our Christmas trip. We have a character breakfast reservation at O'hana and a dinner ressie for T-Rex but other than some time in DTD and a tour of the deluxe resorts via monorail, that will probably be all we will need for our Disney fix. Unfortunately, with our DS in grade 11, we can only travel when he's not in school. And of course, that's always Disney's busy time!

This will a first DC trip for you guys? You won't be disappointed! There's so much to do but in such a relaxing kind of way (sounds weird, I know). The day goes by so fast. Will you do the dolphin swim or the day resort only? If the budget allows, I highly recommend the dolphin swim for a first time visitor. Its an awesome experience and so memorable.

I dont' think you or I could be any more alike in our way of thinking!!! Roa's Rapids is my fav thing to do while there. I hang out there most of the day! I am a chicken when it comes to rides! We will be making our 4th visit to DC this March, with the discount I might even go twice, once the first week and once the 2nd week when all of our friends join us! We did Disney a few times, but Seaworld is def our "home" park feel! Love it! We are staying at Westgate Town Center for the first time this year, after having been at Cypress Pointe Grand villas the last 3 years, there prices have went way up! So something new is always a great thing! We are doing DC, SW, Aquatica, and Busch Gardens this trip. Only because we have 2 weeks, and we are taking our 21 year old niece that has never left Ontario with us, she has never flown, and has only been to Canada's wonderland as an amusement park! So we are doing all of the parks for her to see them. We may only do 1 full day in each, but who knows, because I really like having my quieter days as well! We tried Buffalo Wild wings for the first time last year and loved it! My kids are big fans of wings! We also love Sweet Tomatoes and of course Chili's is always a big hit. Love your trip report and am very much loving the pictures!

 

[WifeofZeusse]

Hi Gina,

I just stumbled across your trip report and was like I know that person. Loved both trip reports. I'm always on these boards soaking up all the wealth of information that people provide. I'm also obsessed with planning our family vacations. I noticed you guys were at the Royal Pacific hotel in January. What did you think of the hotel..... was looking at booking for next May for a couple of nights after our cruise. We haven't visited Universal since Harry Potter opened and Melissa really wants to see it. Did you try both the frozen and not frozen Butterbeer? I see you guys are going to Orlando again at Christmas.... that's exciting!

Looking forward to that trip report!

Monica

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

I dont' think you or I could be any more alike in our way of thinking!!! Roa's Rapids is my fav thing to do while there. I hang out there most of the day! I am a chicken when it comes to rides! We will be making our 4th visit to DC this March, with the discount I might even go twice, once the first week and once the 2nd week when all of our friends join us! We did Disney a few times, but Seaworld is def our "home" park feel! Love it! We are staying at Westgate Town Center for the first time this year, after having been at Cypress Pointe Grand villas the last 3 years, there prices have went way up! So something new is always a great thing! We are doing DC, SW, Aquatica, and Busch Gardens this trip. Only because we have 2 weeks, and we are taking our 21 year old niece that has never left Ontario with us, she has never flown, and has only been to Canada's wonderland as an amusement park! So we are doing all of the parks for her to see them. We may only do 1 full day in each, but who knows, because I really like having my quieter days as well! We tried Buffalo Wild wings for the first time last year and loved it! My kids are big fans of wings! We also love Sweet Tomatoes and of course Chili's is always a big hit. Love your trip report and am very much loving the pictures!

Glad to hear I'm not alone in my distaste for rides. I think that's one of the reasons I developed such a love of taking photos.....it gave me something fun to do (safely on the ground and not shaken or stirred ) while the other fear-seekers were getting their kicks!!

What an awesome thing you are doing for your niece . She must be sooooo excited about the trip!!! (which sounds awesome, by the way). Bet she's nervous, too......first time flying is always kind of stressful.

I would love to hear more about your Busch Gardens visit and your experience at Westgate Town Center. I am always on the look out for new parks to visit and new places to stay! And I'm interested to hear how the two Westgate properties compare.

Hi Gina,

I just stumbled across your trip report and was like I know that person. Loved both trip reports. I'm always on these boards soaking up all the wealth of information that people provide. I'm also obsessed with planning our family vacations. I noticed you guys were at the Royal Pacific hotel in January. What did you think of the hotel..... was looking at booking for next May for a couple of nights after our cruise. We haven't visited Universal since Harry Potter opened and Melissa really wants to see it. Did you try both the frozen and not frozen Butterbeer? I see you guys are going to Orlando again at Christmas.... that's exciting!

Looking forward to that trip report!

Monica

Aw, thank you so much Monica!!!

We loved the Royal Pacific. It was a beautiful resort and the room finishings were top-notch. Loved the theme, loved the beach and pool, loved the water taxi to Universal. And we really loved the free Express Pass . The staff were very friendly as well.

AS for the Butterbeer......yup, we tried them both . Definitely preferred the non-frozen. But both were DIVINE!!!!!!!!!

More updates to come later tonight, Photobucket permitting!!!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Thursday, August 30th: once again it was a bright, sunny, gorgeous morning. Today, it was also HOT….our DC day was also a very, very warm day, but we could tell early on that this one was going to be a scortcher. We were completely pumped to spend another full day at Aquatica’s amazing waterpark!

We anticipated higher crowds on today’s visit, simply because the temperatures were scheduled to soar. So, with that in mind, we wanted to keep breakfast plans quick and easy (so we could get to the park as early as possible) but still somewhere “fun”. By unanimous vote, we opted to enjoy our morning meal at the World’s Largest Entertainment McDonald’s and Playplace on Sand Lake Road.

Their Bistro menu allowed us to have something a little more refined that your standard Egg McMuffin. While we took the time to enjoy all the games and activities during our visit to this restaurant in January, today we opted to just eat, take a few pics, and dash. It was just too early in the morning for arcade games or bowling!

And what was that we heard in the distance? Oh yes, it was the waterslides calling our names……

We arrived at Aquatica shortly after 9 am (which was park opening) and there were already a reasonable selection of cars in the lot. Quite obviously other people had the same plan that we did! We moved quickly through the parking lot attendant’s station (enjoying another day of free vehicle parking thanks to our Aquatica annual pass) and we were on our way through the gates.

The first order of business was to check in for our cabana. We could already feel the sun’s piercing rays getting warmer and warmer so we knew it was going to be a great investment yet again. And today’s cabana was an absolute STEAL. A little background: both cabana rentals were reserved and paid for long in advance….’cause I’m weird like that. We received a 10% discount for being a passmember, so each cabana cost $89.99 plus tax ($95.84 total). That included the cabana, 8 towels (reg. $4 each), 12 bottles of Dasani water (about $3 each), and a large locker ($29.95 according to the website). When we checked in on day 1, they offered us the ability to book the Makahiki Luau or another cabana rental at half price for use anytime within the next 14 days. When I mentioned that we already had a cabana rental paid for two days from that time, she offered to credit us back the difference and gave me a receipt indicating $42.80 would be refunded to my credit card. Woot! But wait….it gets better. When we returned home and found the credit had not yet been processed, I called Aquatica to inquire. A brief wait on hold determined that the transaction had become “hung up” in their system. With their apologies, they expedited a $63.90 refund to my credit card so the entire second day’s rental (with the inclusions of the locker, towels, and water) cost us only $32.04. Happy dance!

So….what can I say about our second day at Aquatica? Just that it was as awesome as the first and NO RAIN AT ALL. It was busier than Tuesday but the boys still never waited more than 15 minutes for a slide. Boy, was it hot though. Like standing-on-the-equator hot. We don’t know how people do theme parks in that kind of heat……at least we were wet and cool. It became so hot in the afternoon that it was impossible to walk on the pavement without water shoes. But it was the perfect day for waterparkin’ and the cabana was a lifesaver.

For lunch we enjoyed a great meal at the Waterstone Grill, again enjoying 10% off all purchases with our annual pass.

And we got some fun desserts too. The cookies and chocolate icing came in a souvenir life raft. The souvenir popcorn bucket was an awesome $4.39 tax included with the discount, and refills were 95 cents taxes in with the discount, and its good for all SeaWorld parks for the life of the bucket. Guess we’ll be packing this baby when we return for our Christmas trip! Oh yeah, and the bucket can double as a sandcastle maker thanks to the little bumps on the bottom. Now there’s value for you.

We even managed an hour’s snooze to re-energize us for the balance of the afternoon. Priceless.

We were baked by 4 pm and bid Aquatica and fond adieu. Great memories.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Back at the resort, we unloaded all our wet gear, I dried and straightened my hair yet again (I would fight the Florida humidity to the bitter end) and we relaxed for while before in the blessedly cool air conditioning. For supper, we enjoyed a hearty buffet at Golden Corral.

This is one of those good-value meals of each trip, with something for everyone and a ridiculously low price (considering hubby makes a good dent in their all-you-can-eat cooked to order steak). And the chocolate Wonderfall is heavenly...... .

After dinner, we shopped at the Premium Outlets on Vineland......a first for us! We had only been to the one on the north end of International Drive, and this location did not disappoint.

We headed back to the resort once again, enjoyed another leisurely swim in the Citrus Breeze pool, then sank into our beds for a good night's sleep. We had another full day planned for Friday, and the weatherman said the weather was going to be picture-perfect!

 

[retiredkid]

great update and pics. Your 'boy' looks so happy in the waterpark.
he has such a nice smile.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

great update and pics. Your 'boy' looks so happy in the waterpark.
he has such a nice smile.

Aw, thanks!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Friday, August 31st.....

We have learned, over the course of past family getaways, to build a “recuperation morning” into the latter part of our vacation. Without it, we seem to hit the melt-down stage when we least expect it. It makes for happier parents AND a happier teenager. We need it just as badly as the boy does (maybe more....man, are we getting old!!). So Friday was the pre-determined day to sleep in. We didn’t even have breakfast outside of the resort (which we generally enjoy). We picked up a couple of pizzas from Cici’s the night before, stuck them in the fridge in the villa, and enjoyed them mid-morning at our leisure. And boy, did we all ever feel better for it.

Rested and refreshed, we left the resort around 12:30 and stopped at Popeye’s for a quick lunch (love those biscuits!). Then we piled into the rental car and embarked on the short drive to Kissimmee.....Mom had another Groupon to use and today was the perfect day to do so!

Where were we headed? Several places, in fact. The first stop (the Groupon stop) was selected for my boys: Kissimmee Go-Karts!

Jake has his G1 and drives regularly here at home. He had been missing his opportunity to get behind the wheel over the course of this vacation and mentioned it multiple times. I also think men, by nature, seem to feel that “need for speed”. They definitely wasted no time in piling into their cars and zipping around the track. With the Groupon, each of them got 11 laps......and the course was pretty long, so it took a decent time for them to complete them all.

Our Groupon also included a supply of gator food to feed the alligators that were housed onsite in a little fenced in water area. Once the go-karting was complete, the boys traded in their vehicles for feeding poles as we dropped the gator nuggets to the waiting crowd below. It just wouldn’t be a trip to Florida without the chance to feed the gators, so I must say I enjoyed this part of the day immensely.

The final component of the Groupon was 80 tokens to use at the onsite arcade. By the time we had go-karted and fed the gators, I swear we had partly melted to the pavement (it was H-O-T outside!) so I was looking forward to some indoor activity in the air conditioning. Turned out it was still pretty steamy inside too .... I am sure there was supposed to be air, but it obviously wasn’t working very well. Despite the sticky temps, we all had fun in the arcade which was virtually empty, save for a couple of other visitors. One little fellow (maybe 5 years old) was pretty happy to benefit from the redemption tickets that we had accumulated (Steve gave them to him as we departed), and it was fun to do a little random act of kindness.

After Kissimmee go-karts, we decided to explore the area as we had never ventured to Kissimmee on either of our prior trips. This place was hard to miss:

Eli’s Orange World is a paradise for Florida orange enthusiasts. Of course, we had to enjoy some fresh Florida OJ while we were there....’cause you know it would have been wrong not to.

They had a wide array of orange souvenirs, from orange marmalade to orange candies. They also had some rather interesting items for the hard-to-buy for people back home:

Betcha can’t get that at your local corner store.

We ended up purchasing a few novel orange treats for Steve’s parents and grandfather, then decided it was time for a mid-afternoon snack. Such a hot day deserved something cool.......Dippin Dots store, anyone?

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Just a stone's throw away from Eli's Orange World was a stand-alone Dippin Dots store. Now while that may not be an "attraction" per se, let me assure you that my boys are HUGE lovers of this frosty treat, and we rarely ever indulge (it tends to be a theme park only food......thankfully for my hips, we don't get to theme parks on a "regular" basis ) so this was an exciting find.

Considering it was hot enought outside by mid afternoon that it felt like we were standing on the equator, it was the perfect day to cool off. And Mom had her first Dippin Dots experience.....yes, before that day, I was a Dippin Dots virgin.

Steve had a float. Jake enjoyed his in a Blue Jays baseball hat, and was super impressed to find his favourite baseball team's sports memorabilia was available so far south.

Our Dippin Dots experience behind us, we had one more item on the itinerary. Following a very productive stop at the stand-alone Nike Factory Outlet Store ($4.19 Nike t-shirts.....holy crap!!! ), we bid goodbye to Kissimmee and headed "home" to Westgate to enjoy some of the amenities at the resort.
Our activity of choice....the Pirate themed mini golf, conveniently located right beside our building .

Not sure how the shark fit into the theme, but Jake enjoyed hamming it up next to Big Mouth.

This was a fun course and it looked brand new. I have no idea how old it is, but it was in immaculate shape. The holes were challenging, the theming was awesome, and best of all…..it was FREE. I love free. We had a VIP card from Westgate that entitled us to complimentary access to all the extras at the resort, such as the mini golf, paddle boats, sports equipment rentals, bicycles, etc.

All I have to say is thank goodness there was a breeze, ‘cause it was hotter than blazes as we wrapped up our game about 6 pm. We learned quickly that the evening hours don’t bring the same cooling down that we experience here at home.

After catching our breath in the air conditioning, we decided to tend to our rumbly tumblies and embark on our highly anticipated dinner plans. My two “scoundrels” were hungry, and it was a good thing......we were off to Wonderworks on International Drive for all-you-can-eat pizza, salad, popcorn and cake at the Outta Control Comedy and Dinner Show. This is going to be fun........!!!!

 

[Practically_Perfect]

Steve had a float. Jake enjoyed his in a Blue Jays baseball hat, and was super impressed to find his favourite baseball team's sports memorabilia was available so far south.

I remember those "hat bowls"!! I used to get ice cream in them at the games (prior to Rogers taking over SkyDome).

I guess it's not all that surprising that there's Jays memorabilia - their Spring Training is in Dunedin, FL if I'm not mistaken, so there's bound to be some Jays fans in the area(ish).