On the second full day of our trip we decided to use one of our "Plus" options on our hopper tickets. We hit Blizzard Beach at about 11:00 (again, we aren't early risers). It was a nice day, lots of sun and not too hot (at least it started that way).
We started out on the lazy river then we hit the slides. First the family raft ride and then the tube rides on the back of the mountain. The kids loved the wave pool and me and my partner enjoyed a couple of Rum Runners at the bar.
At about 3:00 it started to lightly rain and then lightning & thunder could be seen and heard. An announcement came on and it said all Blizzard Beach water attractions were temporarily closed due to inclimate weather. Everone was ordered out of the water and told to take shelter (no complaint from us as we knew the dangers and also figured it would pass quickly). Then it poured.
It seemed like it cleared up in about 25 minutes and the park opened back up. A cast member told us that as long as lightning was at least 5 miles from the park that the park allowed guests to stay in the water. We headed back up the slides and did those for about another hour. We were in line for one of the slides when out of nowhere we all saw a flash and heard the thunder instantaneously. I thought I had be shot. It was the loudest and closest I have ever been to a lightning strike. It was so loud I felt deaf as did everyone else in line for the slides in that area. It scared a lot of little kids and I saw more than a few crying. Well, nedless to say, it took no announcement for everyone to head down the slide mountain this time. Everyone immediately got off the mountain and out of the water (very smart). About a minute later the announcement came on that the park was again closed due to the weather.
We had had enough water and sun for the day and it was nearly 6:00 so we decided to call it a day. Two of us also had dinner reservations at Jiko at the Animal Kingdom Lodge so we needed to head back to the room to get cleaned up for that anyway.
After getting cleaned up at the hotel me and my partner headed for Jiko. The rest of the family headed for some Lobster buffett on 192. My sister's boyfriend is no connoisseur of food and sticks to quanity rather than quality, the lobtser deal was his idea and I knew I didn't want any part of it. My parents wanted to eat with my sister and her boyfriend this night since they had eaten with us the night before at the Rose and Crown so they reluctently went to the Lobster whatever on 192. Based on my parent's report it was pretty gross and they were pretty jealous when we told them about Jiko the next day.
Jiko was the best! We got there shortly before 8:00, checked out the lodge, had a martini in the Victoria Falls Lounge and then ate a wonderful meal at Jiko. The service was great! I had filet mignon with macaroni and cheese (not the Kraft kind) and my partner had monkfish. All together we spent about $100.00 and I know it was well worth it especially since we avoided the lobster trough that the rest of the family ate on 192. After our meal we went out on the back of the hotel and watched the animals. It was a great end to another great day on our vactaion.
We started out on the lazy river then we hit the slides. First the family raft ride and then the tube rides on the back of the mountain. The kids loved the wave pool and me and my partner enjoyed a couple of Rum Runners at the bar.
At about 3:00 it started to lightly rain and then lightning & thunder could be seen and heard. An announcement came on and it said all Blizzard Beach water attractions were temporarily closed due to inclimate weather. Everone was ordered out of the water and told to take shelter (no complaint from us as we knew the dangers and also figured it would pass quickly). Then it poured.
It seemed like it cleared up in about 25 minutes and the park opened back up. A cast member told us that as long as lightning was at least 5 miles from the park that the park allowed guests to stay in the water. We headed back up the slides and did those for about another hour. We were in line for one of the slides when out of nowhere we all saw a flash and heard the thunder instantaneously. I thought I had be shot. It was the loudest and closest I have ever been to a lightning strike. It was so loud I felt deaf as did everyone else in line for the slides in that area. It scared a lot of little kids and I saw more than a few crying. Well, nedless to say, it took no announcement for everyone to head down the slide mountain this time. Everyone immediately got off the mountain and out of the water (very smart). About a minute later the announcement came on that the park was again closed due to the weather.
We had had enough water and sun for the day and it was nearly 6:00 so we decided to call it a day. Two of us also had dinner reservations at Jiko at the Animal Kingdom Lodge so we needed to head back to the room to get cleaned up for that anyway.
After getting cleaned up at the hotel me and my partner headed for Jiko. The rest of the family headed for some Lobster buffett on 192. My sister's boyfriend is no connoisseur of food and sticks to quanity rather than quality, the lobtser deal was his idea and I knew I didn't want any part of it. My parents wanted to eat with my sister and her boyfriend this night since they had eaten with us the night before at the Rose and Crown so they reluctently went to the Lobster whatever on 192. Based on my parent's report it was pretty gross and they were pretty jealous when we told them about Jiko the next day.
Jiko was the best! We got there shortly before 8:00, checked out the lodge, had a martini in the Victoria Falls Lounge and then ate a wonderful meal at Jiko. The service was great! I had filet mignon with macaroni and cheese (not the Kraft kind) and my partner had monkfish. All together we spent about $100.00 and I know it was well worth it especially since we avoided the lobster trough that the rest of the family ate on 192. After our meal we went out on the back of the hotel and watched the animals. It was a great end to another great day on our vactaion.
