My first ever trip report!

[SheriN]

Cast
Dh- Steven - Formally known as Mr Disney Grump.
Myself – Sheri - Who's waited 20 long years to go back to WDW!
SS – Ethan, age 11
DD – Caitlin, age 6
DS – Joshua, age 3

My report of our first ever family trip to Disney. Dh and I had both been to WDW years and years ago. Roughly 20 years ago for me, and 10 for Steven. Ethan went to Disney World as well, but at 1yo can you really count that as a trip? Yes, but do they remember it? Not in his case anyway so this was a whole new trip for him.

Not getting to come on this trip were my 3 older boys, there was several reasons they didn’t get to go, reasons I won’t go into here. One good note was that they had gotten to go before with their dad and they’ll get to go again. Hopefully with us next time.

Day 1.

Let's see. Left here early, early Friday morning. Wanted to leave at 4AM and actually left at 4AM. A first in travel history! We're usually at least an hour later then we'd planned. But we must have done something right.

Well, actually we didn't, we left one bag here that had another camera...which would have been our 3rd, but it does take really good , even if it is bigger then BOTH of the other 2 combined! LOL So I wasn't too horribly upset by it. But was a bummer we'd left it in the first place, couldn't help but wonder what else we left.

Although we did find that one out too soon as well. Deodorant. Yep we forgot it. Thankfully it wasn't too hot or we'd really be missing it! LOL

Left here at 4am and didn't get in til 4am. 2 extra hours thanks to Miss "got to go to the bathroom again" Caitlin. Yep, every time we'd stop for EVERYONE to go we'd get back into the car and what would we hear not even 30 mins later? Mom I've got to go again. Oh boy. Oh boy, what fun. So stop we'd go again.

But we finally made it, checked into our room and stayed for the rest of the day. Yes we could have been out doing something but would you really want to uncage the animals into civilization after they've been cooped up in a car all day?

I know I wouldn't! And we didn't. The few times we had them out for feeding purposes was more then enough!

So ends Day 1. LOL Not much of a day but try spending all day in the car with animals...I mean children...and let's see what you want to do once you reach your destination!

 

[erikthewise]

Hi Sheri! Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip.
I can sympathize with Caitlin. I'm the same way when I have too much diet coke for lunch. It helps when you're the driver -- you can just say "we're stopping at this rest area"!

 

[SheriN]

Should begin this by stating that there is nothing wrong with Caitlin, she just likes to check out all the bathrooms. That said, let's move on to

Day 2

My morning starts at 4am. Way too excited to sleep! That’s ok because what Mom can’t use a few hours to herself once in a while. Everyone was either awake or had to be wakened….I know he likes to sleep in but sheesh kid you’re at Walt Disney World join the living already so we can go! So needless to say he was roused out of bed, but was fine with it once he remembered where he was. Sheesh. <notice this, this seems to be the theme around here…not remembering things>

We eat breakfast and head off to the Magic Kingdom! Yeah! *Real* Disney to me and tops on my list of things I want to do! First oh-oh of the day, didn’t grab a map. Thankfully a nice couple gave me their extra map when I’d asked them if they knew where I could find one. He did add that he’d come and hunt me down if they lost theirs and needed mine back. Ya know, I never saw them again so they must have kept their map.

Went up Main Street. Why is it that not a single CM taking pictures stops you to take your picture when you’re fresh and happy? But get the day started off with everyone in a bad mood and they all try to get your picture? Which is exactly what happened here. MK, no pictures. Sea World and what happened getting into the park, they wanted pictures. Needless to say I told them No. I wasn’t getting a pic taken of 2 grumpy adults and 1 11yo full of attitude.

So we moved on, saw the Crystal Palace where our ADR was for lunch. And went to the Left. Now that might not be a good tip for 2005 but it was a great tip back in 1985! No one knew to go to the left unless you paid for the guides. Now everyone goes to the left. Oh well. We still had fun. First stop on our trip…why the bathroom of course.

I swear my daughter is turning into my sister. Every where we went she just HAD to check out the bathrooms. In any given restaurant I could tell you how to get to the bathroom, In the stores, I could tell you where the bathrooms are. And now it seems as if the torch has passed to my daughter.

So now we’re all done with the bathroom so decide to hit the Swiss Family Treehouse. Boy that was a waste of time. I’d forgotten that. But the kids enjoyed it, I think, so guess it was worth it.

Got off that and immediately did the Magic Carpets and the Jungle Cruise. Now I know they had fun doing those! We all did. I think by this time DH was even having fun. Although he was getting a bit fed up with people walking right in front of him with the stroller.

What is it with people, they don’t see people in wheelchairs and they don’t see strollers. Its’ like “I can make it across” but they can’t. They never can, so why can’t they do the polite thing and wait? Or better yet make a bigger loop around when they cross over? Now I know for every one of these people there’s an equal number of people pushing strollers anywhere they want to. They should be shot for giving the rest of us a bad name. Have a stroller, be aware and get it out of the way. Same thing for people with no strollers or those in wheelchairs. Look around you, not just to where you’re going.

Sadly this is something I had to tell my stepson many times while we were there. What is with crowds and no attention span in people? Anyway back to the story, that’s enough preaching to the congregation!

There be Pirates! Had to hit Pirates of the Caribbean. Only thing that would have made this better is if Rupert had been there! He was the ultimate Pirate in Survivor: Pearl Island. Kids liked the ride, think the 3yo found it a bit boring but we made it through ok.

And why is it that almost every ride exits you out via the Gift Shop? Sneaky varmints. Think there’s a bit of Pirate in everyone who works at WDW! There’s some definitely in the designers.

Next we headed over and did Big Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain. Found out that the 3yo is just barely 40 inches tall so 99% of everything at MK he got to do! Same at Epcot, but not so at Sea World. Remind me, I’ll do a rant about that little tidbit later.

He was scared on BTM, until we got off, then he wanted to do it again! LOL Told him we’d try to come back to it and went over and hit Splash Mountain, which he loved! All day he kept asking if we could go see if that bunny was stuck in the honey hive still. Too cute!

Don’t think we did a single thing in Frontier Land. I was not sitting through the Presidents thing. I remember my folks taking us to that one, and while it was neat, in an gee look what they can do with mechanics, I was not impressed. So we skipped that one. I don’t know if the kids knew how lucky they were! LOL

Unfortunately that also meant we skipped the Haunted Mansion. Which was fine because I wasn’t real sure how the 6yo and the 3yo would handle it. Maybe next time…because there will be a next time!

Now it’s getting close to our ADR time of 2:25..keep that time noted because there will be a test. We’ve got about an hour to waste so decide to go on It’s a Small World. Ok everyone you KNOW you know the words to this song, let’s sing! Ugh not again you cry! That’s ok, because I’m sick of that song and will make no man or woman submit to that song against their will. Now if you’re into that sort of thing let’s talk, but you normal people we won’t go there. Riding this ride is a must if you’ve never been. But you sick people that ride it over and over again you’re either my kind of people or you’re one sick sick puppy.
Got off that and see we have just enough time to ride one more ride if it’s a short one. Ok so Peter Pan has a 20 minute wait. Yeah right, more like 30 or 40. We thought we’d get over to Crystal Palace with time to spare instead we waited and waited. Just as we were about to ditch this ride we’re up next. Until the CM stops us to let some Fast Pass people on. Which is fine, except they kept coming and coming and coming. I thought we were never gonna get on. But yep here we go!

The kids LOVED it. Josh rode with Dad, he doesn’t seem to have any fears when he rides with dad so we keep it that way. Would hate to have a 3yo ruin his adrenaline career so early in life, he’s going to have to keep up with Mom when he gets older after all, so we’ll play it safe these first few years. I got to ride with the enchanted 6yo who is on the look out for anything to do with Tinkerbell. And find her we did. She was so cute hangin...I mean flying around up there.

Got off that and dashed across to the Crystal Palace just in time for our ADR. Here’s the Test. What time did I saw our reservations were for? Did you say 2:25??? You’re correct!!! But there’s no prize because we had to wait another 30 minutes!

Why is it that you can have a reservation well in advance, but anyone else can walk up that day and get a reservation that puts them ahead of you? Why are not previous reservations given priority over those who just came up that day?

And to be so close, see the characters we know and love just inches from us and to not be able to do anything about it? Where’s the justice in that??? There is none I tell you NONE!

And then to have the cruelest joke of all played on us by my 11yo stepson! Floggings, pestilence and chicken pox are too nice of things to torment him with! 50 Bazillion lashes with a wet noodle only begin to serve as his eternal torment. What did he do you ask? I’ll tell you. 10 minutes into our wait I ask him to hold the buzzer so that I can go back to the stroller and get our books…which I stupidly forgot, which I guess makes up for us having to wait in the first place. Before leaving I tell him to watch for it to buzz and light up. Just a few minutes later he tells me it’s buzzing, it’s lighting up. We hop up get all excited we’re going to be told, no we didn’t call you. Yep you guessed it, Mr. Obvious saw the little blinking battery light flashing, ya know the one that tells you it’s working!, and spazzes out saying it’s time to go. Needless to say we were not happy.

Exactly how does 1 steady blinking light compare to the buzzing and flashing when it finally does work? It doesn’t! There is NO comparison!

Suffice it to say when it did finally go off his dad and I both held it in front of him and told him that THIS is what buzzing and flashing looks like. I think he got the point. Especially since the next ADR he got it right. He is teachable! Hey, when they are 11 you begin to worry sometimes.

If I only had one thing to say about this place it was We had a Blast! Ok so that’s more then one thing but you get the picture. Yes it was loud yes it was crowded, but the food was great, I love trying new things and luckily we have kids that will try almost anything. Course they know if they say “Yuck” to anything before tasting it they are required to take a bite. So they are learning to try it before expressing dislike for it. I loved the bread for kids. Daughter proclaimed it no different from regular bread, even with the blue and yellow swirls! I didn’t try it for I was too busy eating everything else. The 11yo went back 8 times. Yes *8* times he liked the food so much. Ok so maybe 2 of them were just for dessert but hey who’s counting! LOL

We saw Pooh and Piglet came out to play. Was bounced by Tigger and said hello to Eeyore. The fun thing was, when Pooh came over we told him we had a cat named Pooh…course he’s black and white where the real Pooh is orange, but hey we didn’t name him, he was a Shelter pet but we didn’t change his name either. And Pooh wrote for us to say Hi from him to “our” Pooh! It was so cute and the kids loved it!

After eating we headed back over to Fantasy Land to try to finish up there. Got waylaid by watching Cinderellabration in which while having the children on our shoulders the 3yo promptly fell asleep. Now this is interesting to watch I’m sure, even more interesting to have it happen to you. Dh had the 6yo, I had the 3yo. He rested his head on my head and down he went for the count. Now if you’ve ever held a sleeping child and moved them from one shoulder to the other you know how difficult that can be. Now, try removing a sleeping child who is sitting on your shoulders into your arms then into the stroller. Not easy. Requires help in most cases. But we did it and he transferred easily to the stroller. Where he proceeded to sleep for the rest of the afternoon. Did I mention this was around 4:40 to 5 time frame. And the park stayed open til 8 I believe it was. If not later.

So, since he was asleep we headed over to do what we could. We managed to ride the Tea cups and see Ariel in her grotto. Ah yes where I will pause and pass on this bit of wisdom. December in Florida can be chilly. Particularly December evenings when the sun has gone down. Do not, I repeat do not let your children get suckered into laying with the jumping water at Ariel’s Grotto. Why? Because they will get soaked! Especially if their 11yo brother is bored so decides to play a game of let’s run when the water is down. Now, I don’t know many adults who have quick reflexes and I know even fewer children who have quick reflexes, no matter how many video games they play. You will NOT outrun the jumping water and you will get soaked!

Not a good thing to have happen once the sun has gone down and the wind has picked up. No Sir, it can’t be done. Did they try? Oh heck yes. Often. So much so that Caitlin did not want to sit next to Ariel by the time we got there cause she didn’t want to get her wet. Thankfully Ariel didn’t mind and she had a great time meeting her.

Now if I’d only had that camera I’d forgotten back at the house, the one with the working flash. Then that picture would have come out great. Oh well, maybe I can Photoshop it enough we can see it.
So now with 2 wet children and 1 sleeping child we headed for the exit. Figured they’d freeze if we didn’t get them home soon.

So headed up Main Street again…or is that down? And still didn’t get stopped by photographers, but that’s ok, but did get waylaid at the big floating wastes of money… I mean balloons. Where Caitlin just had to have the big Tinkerbell. And since we just knew little brother would want one if he was asleep bought him the Mickey/Minnie balloons.

Thankfully I remembered the tip about the straws and they managed to come home with us.

So ends Day 2, a very long day in which the crowds after 2pm got too much and the wait time got longer and longer. Oh well, it did enable us to return later in the week!

 

[swankybeth]

Sounds like a fun, busy day at the Magic Kingdom! Looking forward to reading more.

 

[byoung]

nice reports.

 

[nana2tots]

Hey, Nice reports!!!!!While i was working, Ha Ha, You were doing the Disney Thing, Not Fair !!
nana2tots

 

[ckmommy]

So far so good!! What is the straw tip you mentioned about the balloons??

 

[fabumouse]

Even in the beginning of November, when my dd 4.5 started heading toward Ariel's Grotto (what's over here?) I was too fast for her - nothing to see here, just keep moving, folks! Once Donald's Boat is refurbished, that will be another mine field to avoid. =)
Great report - and so envious about the bravery of your 3 year old! My dd went to WDW when she was 3.5 and loved the people, did not like any of the rides besides Dumbo, Carousel, etc.

 

[SheriN]

Day 3

Tip about straw and balloons, you can stick a straw up the section (Ya know that raises some ugly visuals!) that they blow the air into. It’ll allow the air to escape while keeping it in good condition for you to get them refilled once you’re home.

Now to Day 3. Loaded up the kids and heading to Sea World! I haven’t been since I was roughly 5 and that was in Ohio. That Sea World is no longer there.

Got there at a great time, hardly anyone there and immediately got in line for our 2nd Day Free tickets! Turned out we didn’t use them because we went back to MK instead, but we didn’t know that at the time so was glad I was told we could do that.

Now this is where the attitudes of 11yo boys really makes trips fun. Or is that attention span deficit? It also is the contributing factor in why we didn’t let anyone take our picture at the entrance like they like to. They ambush you, don’t you know.

Why is it when you ask a child to go over there, pointing while saying it, and pick up a map do they look in the direction you are pointing, look back at you and say “Huh?” and my personal favor “Where?”? UGH! Maps. You know those things stuck all over that huge ‘Wall’ (in quotes because it wasn’t really a wall, but not a sculpture either) that has at least 3 sections with maps on it oh and let’s not forget the people standing around reading these maps. Can you not see it???

Apparently not. Nor was he distracted by things around him. There’s not much to see in that area. So I got to go get one. No big deal but it would have saved time not to mention frustration levels if he’d taken a moment to walk in that direction and actually SEE the maps. UGH!

Anyway moving on, neither Dh or I tossed him in the river but we were not pleased. Course this is standard procedure with him it seems so we should be used to it by now. But guess not. But things shaped up to be a pretty decent day regardless.

Until the rain came. And came it did. A lot. Did we let it stop us? Heck no! But that wasn’t til later in the day, first we had to go feed the Sting Rays!

And the kids had a ball! The youngest loved feeding them, the funniest thing happened over there, one of the younger stingrays thought Joshua’s empty fingers was one of the fish and tried to nibble on his fingers. He got the biggest kick out of it! We did too. We weren’t too sure what he’d do once he touched them, or even if he’d touch them but he doesn’t let too much stop him. Especially if his big sis is doing it! He’s got to keep up after all.

Next we went to see the Dolphins. Didn’t even think about the fact we could feed those, or I would have shelled out the money in a heartbeat! And maybe next time we go down we can actually swim with the dolphins! Oh that would be a dream come true!

Wondered over to the Manatees and I just had to ask the…are they called CM’s over at Sea World? Or are they called Sea Worldians? LOL Anyway asked one of the, we’ll just call them CM’s to make it easier…if any of the manatees were named Barbara. She laughed and said No. Oh well.

For those that don’t know there is a cartoon character named Larry, from the VeggieTales, who sings of his love for Barbara Manatee. It’s a hoot!

So of course seeing one of these I just had to ask. Would have died laughing had one of them been named Barbara!

Upon exiting we once again find ourselves in the land of Shopping. Taking a 3yo into stores normally is a pain in the butt. Take him to a store full of the animals he’s just seen, and he’s even more a pain in the butt. We talked him out of getting anything, and fully intended to go back and get him the big manatee later in the day, we were not carrying it since the day had just started! But sadly we forgot and he’s now Manatee-less. He doesn’t seem to mind so I’m ok with it.

Upon escaping the store we headed over just in time for the Blue Horizon show. OMG Stop here, go here, Sit and SEE! If we had had to leave immediately following this show I would have been happy. I laughed, I cried, it moved me, Bob. (Another VeggieTale reverence) but it really did. When it was over I turned to Dh and kissed him and thanked him again for bringing us to Florida. This show is out of this world.

How many times have I wished I could swim with the dolphins, fly with the birds, be one with the Ocean. I’m a Pisces and it suits me. To say I love the ocean is an understatement. Unless of course I’m swimming in it and thoughts of Jaws interrupt, then I’d rather not be in the water thank you very much. Course it’s also why I could be a vegetarian, think about how they prepare food and I could stop eating it. Yes I know what they do, I lived on a farm once upon a time, but I’m still gonna eat meat. I just won’t think about it too often.

Sadly the children missed what the whole show was about, but they still liked it. I won’t go into the premise of the show unless you PM me asking, but this is a show worth seeing.

The older 2 also sat in the front and got wet…but not as wet as they did later in the day…And not from the rain! LOL

Moving on. We tried to do the Journey to Atlantis but it was broken, from comments I heard seems like this is a common thing. Don’t know, but we didn’t get to ride it then anyway.

So we headed over to Kraken. Where I had to talk the 11yo into riding it with me. Yes talk him into it. Do I regret it? Nope. Does he? Heck no! He loved it! He thanked me for making him get on it. Ok I didn’t make him get on it, but I knew based on things he did before that he would like it once he got over his initial fear of it. And I was right!

We got to go on it twice! Asked Dh if he wanted to ride but he’s having problems with his ears and gets dizzy easily so he didn’t ride it. Too bad he’s not a blond then I could make comments about him being a dizzy blond! LOL Hey he did it enough to me before I dyed my hair auburn! LOL

Half way through the second ride it started raining. And raining, and raining. Heading to one of the shops and picked up a couple ponchos. Gave 1 to my stepson, gave 1 to my daughter and put one on our Sit N Stand stroller. Dh, I and the 3yo had jackets the water just runs off of so wasn’t worried about us. Funny thing is we did the one on the stroller in such a way that the 3yo could sit on the back and put his head out through the hood of the poncho. He Loved it! LOL

And off we go. We missed somehow the Penguins and the Pacific Point Preserve. Not sure how we did that. The show was about to start for Clyde and Seamore but I figured with the rain everyone would be up under the canopy and there would only be seats in the rain so we’d skip it and head back later. Sadly we never made it back. Oh well, good reason to go back isn’t it! LOL Hey works for me!

So off to the sharks! Kids asked if we could feed them, those ones in the little pool. I said sure we’d just toss you in. But they didn’t like that idea. Not quite sure why. ::grin::

Had a good time inside, but after doing Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas I wasn’t too impressed. Would have been nice to stop and stand and actually watch the sharks swim by. But they put you on the moving walkway and it’s over before you know it.

By this time we’re getting hungry. Dh asked if we wanted to just eat at the Underwater Grill but I’m not crazy about seafood and didn’t want to order expensive steak so opted out of it. Course had I remembered there’s a huge wall where you can see the sharks I probably would have ok’d it. Oh well, live and learn I guess.


Man we missed Odyssea. Completely missed it. Oh well I guess. Maybe next time.

Went down and ate at Smokey Creek Grill cause the 3yo had been wanting ribs for a while. My kids are weird, they get on these kicks for certain food and they’ll keep asking for it. Surprised me he didn’t ask for Sushi while there. Although I do have to add that when we left Sea World and was looking for something to eat that night even though we love Sushi and there was a sushi place right by the store we needed to go to, I just could not bring myself to eat it after we’d been smelling fish all day. ::shudder::

After eating we headed across the bridge and saw the Clydesdales . Hmm, horses at an Ocean based theme park? Seems a bit odd to me, but I love these horses so I’m not complaining. Hate the beer, hate all beer in general, but love the horses.

From there we went to see the Shamu show. Ah yes the Shamu show. Did you know you will get wet if you sit in the first 14 rows? Did you know that 11yo boys and 6yo girls have this thing for getting splashed by cold salt water? You didn’t? Well you do now.

Dh and I parked these two rapscallions in row 5, not too close, not too far. And told them not to move from this spot. Only apparently one of them decided they weren’t getting wet enough so they moved to Row *1* You know that one by the stage/platform they breach themselves on? Yes, prime soaking range.

All was well and good. Not sure how wet they were getting, but know they were having fun. Dh and I could see them from where we were sitting in Row 20. Then, they bring out the big guns. They reiterated the fact that you WILL get wet in the first 14 rows. The first few rows in the second section will probably get wet, but you WILL get wet if you’re in the first 14. Hmm, wonder if the kids will get wet in the FIRST row. You better believe it!

I can’t remember how big they said this guy was but he was huge. No let me correct that, he was HUGE. Freakingly huge! So he does his bit, he flicks the water on the audience, and in his final move of the show he breaches himself on the platform. Right in front of the kids.

Ok, you’re in the bathtub and you move your hand from side to side. What happens? The water moves with you, right? Splashes onto the sides, right? Sometimes even going over, right? Right. Ok, now imagine how much water gets moved from the force of a 12,000lb killer whale. (Not sure if that was the actual weight, but like I said, this thing was HUGE!) Can you imagine how much water he moved? A lot right? Right…a LOT of water. All over these 2 crazy children in Row 1!

Did I mention it was cool that day? Did I mention that while both kids had ponchos on the 11yo decided he was going to put the hood down on it and that the 6yo had punched a hole in the front with her thumb (don’t ask, I have no idea why or how she did it) and had proceeded to make it bigger while sitting there? No I didn’t tell you this did I? Why? Because we didn’t know until after the show! UGH! So while the 11yo was dry from the shoulders done, he was completely drenched, not soaked but drenched from the shoulders up! Talking wringing the water from the hood of his thin jacket and hair. 6yo girl was dry on her head but completely soaked at her chest where she’d torn the hole bigger and the water slammed into her. Course both of their shoes were wet but hey can’t cover everything with those ponchos. Shoot in the case of these 2 they might as well not even had the ponchos! Ugh. Strange children.

But they had fun. And I guess that’s all that matters. Course I did tell them they are not allowed to get sick before Christmas. We’ll see how well they listen. So far so good though.

With the rain they’d closed down the Happy Harbor. Course those 2 had no idea why, after all they are wet, shouldn’t they be allowed to play in it? No we say, not even gonna try to go into the one that’s not roped off. Especially not since even more water was spraying over it. Sheesh. As if they weren’t wet enough! LOL

At least by this time it had stopped raining. We didn’t need them getting even wetter!

We did get to do the Wild Artic ride.

I’ll put my ride height restriction rant right here, since it plays a part later as well. The 3yo is just at 40 inches tall. Min height requirement for the Wild Artic ride is like 44 or so. But you can ‘walk’ to the Artic if you don’t meet the requirements. SO he got to ride it too. Sort of.

Now for my rant. Why is it that the height requirement is 44 on this and Journey to Atlantis? We finally got to ride it but he couldn’t because he wasn’t big enough. Yet Disney’s height requirement is 40 and he got to ride just about everything we did. Why??? There was nothing scary about Atlantis, yet he couldn’t ride it. Because they have the height too high. I was not pleased and he was very upset. Ticked me off, but nothing they can do about it unless lots more people complain about the height restriction on Atlantis. All the brave young kids that aren’t tall enough can not ride rides that they would be perfectly fine riding. Ugh!

Anyway. So the funny about the Wild Artic is that while Dh and the 3yo got to walk to the Artic they were told about us up in the helicopter having trouble in the snow storm and he was worried we wouldn’t make it. He was very relieved to see us upon “landing” And he was convinced we were actually in the Artic! He wondered how we were going to get back. It was so cute!

The sad thing about Wild Artic. Have you seen those animals? The poor Beluga whale was just swimming on it’s side around and around in a circle. Same for the Walrus, even though there was 2 one of them was just going around and around. The 1 polar bear they had was sleeping. From what I understand this is behavior ‘keepers’ don’t like. The animals get into a mindless habit and it’s not good for them. But these may have been rescued from even worse conditions. It didn’t seem like they had enough space. Certainly not as much as the Show animals had and that bothers me. They have the right to have as much room as the dolphins in Dolphin Cove had. But I guess Sea World knows what they are doing. Didn’t make me feel any better though.

So we finally made it back from the Artic and the 3yo wasn’t upset by the less then stellar trip back. They should have done some sort of feature to get us back, but it turned up ok.

By this time we’re getting tired. Want to head out but also want to see if we can do just a few more things.

Unfortunately this did not include a trip on the Sky Tower. Made it 2 minutes too late. They close it to get ready for the fireworks. So headed over to see if the Atlantis ride was working. Yep but the 3yo can not ride it. See rant above about the height restrictions.

So dh decides they are going to play “Shoot the riders (us) and see how wet we can get them” And they did. LOL Twice! Little stinkers. I felt I had to apologize to the girls in front of us because I don’t think they expected to get that wet! LOL

After that we headed home, stopping at the Dolphins and stingrays of course! LOL It was also a chance for us to feel glad we got there when we did in the morning because we didn’t have that far to walk! LOL

So ends Day 3, and I’ll try to get the last few days done quickly. Seems like I have the latter part of the day jumbled up some. We let the kids play a few games at the waste your money spot and the 2 younger got to slide several times. Oh and they formed a band on the metal drum things <yes I know there's a name for it but I can't remember what it was.>

Over all fun was had by all. Despite the chidlren getting wet both the natural and man-made versions. LOL

 

[tubachick]

Sounds like a good time was had by all. Glad you had a good time.