Biscuit's Grand Adventure | An epic tale three decades in the making!

[PrincessV]

'Scuse me while I dab the tears from my eyes.

I'm moved. Enlightened. Filled with joy. Enraptured, even.

That just may be the most beautiful spread sheet I've ever seen!

And I'm totally stealing your formatting for my own use. Thanks GB!

Will it all happen like I foresee?

Nope. But...

But that’s the great thing about 8 days. It brings a flexibility that I have not had before.

Exactly!

 

[jordanyosh]

Great One

I am still searching for the DISer who had the photo TR of restrooms....I spent 45 minutes the other night and couldn't locate her. If I could only remember her name....

 

[brookelizabeth]

GB-that is one beautiful spreadsheet. How very handy to have it easily accessable, color coded and the format-quick and simple. I LOVE the three ratings of rides as well. So smart.

I hope you and FLGB are able to get onto some of the bigger rides that you may enjoy. Maybe Nana & Poppa can take the girls in a gift shop, or to get ice cream while you ride! Or, if one wants to ride, and one doesn't-Child Swap! Love love love that!

Great One

I am still searching for the DISer who had the photo TR of restrooms....I spent 45 minutes the other night and couldn't locate her. If I could only remember her name....

The only report I recall reading about bathrooms was YOURS!

 

[GreatBiscuit]

'Scuse me while I dab the tears from my eyes.

I'm moved. Enlightened. Filled with joy. Enraptured, even.

That just may be the most beautiful spread sheet I've ever seen!

And I'm totally stealing your formatting for my own use. Thanks GB!

I'm glad you like it! Feel free to use it as you wish. If you (or anyone else for that matter) wants a blank copy that is already formatted, just PM me and I'll strip down our and email it to you.

Great One

I am still searching for the DISer who had the photo TR of restrooms....I spent 45 minutes the other night and couldn't locate her. If I could only remember her name....

Thanks Jordan! I have good news! I FOUND IT! YEAH GOOGLE SITE SEARCH! The DIS thread is HERE and the link in the first post takes you HERE.

GB-that is one beautiful spreadsheet. How very handy to have it easily accessable, color coded and the format-quick and simple. I LOVE the three ratings of rides as well. So smart.

Thanks! Glad you liked it!

I hope you and FLGB are able to get onto some of the bigger rides that you may enjoy. Maybe Nana & Poppa can take the girls in a gift shop, or to get ice cream while you ride! Or, if one wants to ride, and one doesn't-Child Swap! Love love love that!

That is definitely my hope as well! (Hint to Nana who is reading along on this epic.)

The only report I recall reading about bathrooms was YOURS!

 

[jordanyosh]

Why didn't I think to do that?

I guess I don't need to when I have the Great One to do all the work...

I knew it started her name started with a C.....

That Restroom TR is crazy.....crazy good.

 

[Normangirls]

That Restroom TR is crazy.....crazy good.

You know, I went through her report and looked at all the pictures.

Every. Single. One.

And I loved it!

I was like: OOOH! I know that one! Oh, that's a good bathroom. Wow, look at the castle bathroom! Hmmm, that one looks pretty. Gee, I'll have to stop at that one.

Seriously, I need help. That was my best Disney fix of the day.

 

[GreatBiscuit]

That Restroom TR is crazy.....crazy good.

No Doubt! I

You know, I went through her report and looked at all the pictures.

Every. Single. One.

And I loved it!

I was like: OOOH! I know that one! Oh, that's a good bathroom. Wow, look at the castle bathroom! Hmmm, that one looks pretty. Gee, I'll have to stop at that one.

Seriously, I need help. That was my best Disney fix of the day.

Awesome!

 

[GreatBiscuit]

Episode 43 - Fiesta My Biscuit!

At the end of the last school year, my daughter brought home a certificate good for a free day at Six Flags Fiesta Texas. She was awarded said certificate through some sort of reading program. Six Flags gets all the PR, the school gets a nifty prize, and the parents, well we get to pay for it all. Six Flags knows good and well that six year olds are not going to drive themselves to the park and walk around alone all day. They, in their infinite wisdom, have concluded that if they give kids a "free pass" that said kids will pester their parents incessantly to use it.

In anticipation of this inevitable outcome, Six Flags added a promo website to the ticket where you can log in to purchase "Companion Passes". Then of course there is the paying to park and paying to eat and all the little extras they get to stick you for. Not that I'm a hater. Goodness knows if the school passed out a free pass to Disney World, I'd be singing praises and hitting the travel sites.

And so it was that last summer, I found myself planning a trip to Six Flags Fiesta Texas, in San Antonio. After the initial bitter indignation wore off, I actually found myself looking forward to it. I love San Antonio. It was the first place in Texas I ever lived. We love Sea World, the River Walk, the Zoo, everything about it. Yet as fond as I am of San Antonio as a destination, I had another reason for planning this trip.

I knew at the time that we were leaning towards a trip to The World. To that end, I began to view this trip as a "Training Run" if you will. Now before you go crying Sacrilege, allow me to explain. I wanted to see what type of rides the girls enjoyed, how they handled touring in the heat, and how they handled characters. I also wanted to have any "bad experiences" associated with Six Flags and NOT with Walt Disney World. Say for instance that Hailee meets a character and totally flips out. I'd rather her associate the fear with Foghorn Leghorn than with Mickey. Or say we discovered that the girls hated getting wet on a ride. Better they associate it with The Gully Washer than with Kali River Rapids.

While I know that not every attractions has a duplicate parallel, and that there is a HUGE difference between the two parks, it gave me a least a starting point in planning out this summer.

Because of other scheduling conflicts, we had to take our trip in August. While this was convenient for our summer schedule, it was a pain in the pistol as far as weather goes. August here is HOT brother! (or Sister) The day we went, the heat index was 105. While the humidity may not have been quite as high as Orlando, lemme tell you I felt every tick of the mercury. While I won't bore with the details of our ride by ride touring, I will share with a few things that I learned.

1. The girls can only handle a few hours without a major break. We took two of them. For the first, we ate at an indoor dining facility which featured a Looney Toons stage show. After about an hour, the girls were cooled down and ready to go again. The second break we took was in the water park which happens to be inside of Fiesta Texas. (More on that later.)

2. The girls like characters. (YEAH!) We met Bugs Bunny just as we entered the park and they both posed for hugs and photos. They also both enjoyed the stage show.

3. The girls both LOVE water rides. Their favorite two rides of the day were The Gully Washer (river rapids ride similar to Kali) and the Bugs' White Water Rapids (aka "the log ride"). Looking over the guides and planning video, they both went nuts over Kali River Rapids and Splash Mountain.

4. The girls both LOVE riding the train. Tied with or shortly trailing the water rides, the train was something that both girls really enjoyed doing. It is a MUST do on our visit this summer.

5. Hailee does NOT like dark rides. There is a ride at Fiesta Texas called Scooby Doo Ghostbusters in which you ride through a haunted house and shoot ghosts with laser guns. She DID NOT like this ride at all. She was afraid of being in the dark. When we mentioned the trip later, she would say "I didn't like the ghost ride." For this reason, I added the dark rides at Disney to the "Parent's Strongly Cautioned" column. Two things may make a difference. One, she is a year older, and two I have a DIS learned tip for helping young ones with dark rides. (But you'll have to wait until Monday to see what it is.)

6. The girls are not big enough to enjoy a water park yet. We spent a good 2-3 hours in Whitewater Bay, but the only things we did were the kiddy pool (where we spent the VAST majority of our time), lazy river, wave pool (which they enjoyed more with NO waves) and a family tube ride. When looking at our options for this summer, I read over the different water park attractions, factored in the resort pool and play area and finally decided that I couldn't justify the extra expense of the tickets. When the girls are a few years older and a little more secure in their swimming skills, the water parks will be a must do.

7. Tahli likes smaller coasters, but is still a bit scared of the larger ones. I took her on the Roadrunner Express which is listed as a Moderate Coaster. It was BIT more intense than Dad initially realized. (You can't see the track until it is too late.) Tahli latched onto my arm with a death grip and wanted off. We've talked at length about Big Thunder Mountain this summer, but she says she wants to try it. If she changes her mind, I won't press the issue.

8. The girls have a limit to how much they handle in one day. On our trip, we did about 2 hours of touring, took a break indoors, did another hour or two of touring and hit the water park for a couple of hours, toured another 2-3 hours and they were done. For this summer, my plan is 3-4 hours in the morning; a long break at the resort with swimming, napping, etc.; and then 3-4 hours at night. We won't be able to see as much in a day as those who do the open to close commando runs, but even if my kids could handle such a thing, my body cannot.

9. The girls can handle the heat okay, but we HAVE to pay attention. We kept the girls well hydrated, took AC breaks, and I was consciously looking out for signs of heat exhaustion.

So there you have it. Who says learning can't be fun? I did actually enjoy the day there, but wish there were more "family" rides that we could all do together. I also wish I hadn't left the camera in the car. Not lugging it around all day seemed like a good idea at the time, but now I wish I had taken pictures. . (Maybe that is lesson 10 - Memories trump convenience Bubba! As we shall see in Episode 44!)


Coming up on Episode 44 "This Ain't Your Granny's Fanny Pack!"

 

[chicagoshannon]

Your girls like doing the same things I like at water parks. LOL I'm really glad they liked the characters!

 

[Backstage_Gal]

14 days. WOOHOO!

 

[jcc0621]

THose poll breaks are just the thing for little one's. I forget how old your girls are (and I'm too lazy to go back and read) but DS is 5 and we have toured three different ways.

the 1st going early in the am and stayng until we feel like leaving (usually around dinner time) heading back, eating, and then hitting the pool for the evening.

the 2nd going early in the am, taking a mid day break, and swimming or just hanging in the room for bit and then going back to the park

and the third is not even going until later in the day (hangingout the room, pool and/or arcade for most of the day) and staying until close.

All of these have prevented melt-downs. The melt downs have occurred when we tried the whole commando thing - going at rope drop and trying to stay until close...it was ugly

 

[jordanyosh]

Great One,

I would like to transplant your brain into my head..although I don't think you'd want mine....

You are not only a crazy planner, but a thoughtful one at that....looking out for your little ones. What a great pop.

 

[GreatBiscuit]

Your girls like doing the same things I like at water parks. LOL I'm really glad they liked the characters!

Me too! I was nervous about the character thing, but they did really wel.

14 days. WOOHOO!

I'm in a state of perma-smile.

THose poll breaks are just the thing for little one's. I forget how old your girls are (and I'm too lazy to go back and read) but DS is 5 and we have toured three different ways.

the 1st going early in the am and stayng until we feel like leaving (usually around dinner time) heading back, eating, and then hitting the pool for the evening.

the 2nd going early in the am, taking a mid day break, and swimming or just hanging in the room for bit and then going back to the park

and the third is not even going until later in the day (hangingout the room, pool and/or arcade for most of the day) and staying until close.

All of these have prevented melt-downs. The melt downs have occurred when we tried the whole commando thing - going at rope drop and trying to stay until close...it was ugly

I think our girls are just as excited about the pool as they are the rest of the trip! We may incorporate all three of your touring plans at one point or another.

Great One,

I would like to transplant your brain into my head..although I don't think you'd want mine....

You are not only a crazy planner, but a thoughtful one at that....looking out for your little ones. What a great pop.

Trust me, you wouldn't be any better off! Aside from my nack for breaking things (including myself), I tend to be a bit forgetful. Disney is the one and only area in which I am semi-organized!

 

[DisneyMomLiz]

GB...WOW, you are a gifted storyteller!

I just read all 36 pages of your multi-layered TR. We just came back from a trip to the world and I even made notes about our adventures, but I believe I'll stick to reading great TR's instead of writing them.

Thank you for sharing your story with us! Can't wait to read all of the future installments I'm especially looking forward to your DDP reviews as your upcoming Dining Choices are on my wishlist for our first ever DDP! (O'hanas, Chef Mickey's)

Thanks again and have a fantastic trip

 

[GreatBiscuit]

GB...WOW, you are a gifted storyteller!

I just read all 36 pages of your multi-layered TR. We just came back from a trip to the world and I even made notes about our adventures, but I believe I'll stick to reading great TR's instead of writing them.

Thank you for sharing your story with us! Can't wait to read all of the future installments I'm especially looking forward to your DDP reviews as your upcoming Dining Choices are on my wishlist for our first ever DDP! (O'hanas, Chef Mickey's)

Thanks again and have a fantastic trip

Thanks and I'm glod you enjoyed the TR. You should TOTALLY write one out, if for no other reason, to preserve the trip memories. I'll definitely be posting my thoughts and opionions on Dining. O'hanas and Chef Mickey's have been on my list of must do for years; so I am TOTALLY stoked about trying them out. (CM's in just 2 weeks from tonight! YEAHHHHHHHHH! )

 

[BellaSoleil]

Someone only has 13 days....

 

[GreatBiscuit]

Someone only has 13 days....

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOTY!

Indeed!

BTW as an official Biscuit poster!

 

[MrsWendyLady]

OH GREAT GRAND BISCUIT -

I noticed that you are flying out of Htown....if you are flying out of Hobby, I would love to recommend restaurants in the area...and I would also like to volunteer if you need a bit of help with Pixie Dust for your girls while in Htown!

I have enjoyed your trip report tremendously, and will do anything I can to help such a great Dad!

 

[GreatBiscuit]

OH GREAT GRAND BISCUIT -

I noticed that you are flying out of Htown....if you are flying out of Hobby, I would love to recommend restaurants in the area...and I would also like to volunteer if you need a bit of help with Pixie Dust for your girls while in Htown!

I have enjoyed your trip report tremendously, and will do anything I can to help such a great Dad!

Glad you are reading along! We are actually eating dinner at my sister's house on Thursday night. She lives somewhere in Houston, but I haven't been to her new place so I have no idea where. (NW side I think.) Our plan for now is to head down mid afternoon - spend a few hours at my sisters house, then head to the motel and try to sleep as much as possible. I appreciate the offer though. (I stink at surprise planning stuff.)

 

[burly]

Hi GB! Well back from the graduation celebration, it was fabulous.
While i didn't really "enjoy" Pop. It is a fabulous resort for families with "little kids". Remember to take some time to walk the resort and read signs/take photo's etc.
I am trying to get life in order to write a trippie. but Grad party next sunday is first so......
I would like to comment on San Antonio. I love love love that place. The feel of it, the look, the vibe. And Fiesta Texas, i could look up the coasters, but i won't, LAZY. I really loved the big fat wooden coaster.
Well its late so that means you have, maybe 11 days! Woot!.
Oh did TSM this trip. 3 times. Fun, fun fun.