Sunday, May 1st: continued
After a hearty lunch, we headed back to the cabana for a little post-meal rest and relaxation
.
The boys stretched out on the lounge chairs and were literally snoring in a matter of seconds
. The water activities combined with the high heat and the big lunch had done them in. Apparently, it was nap time
.
THIS is the reason we love to get a cabana
. A nice, private place to stretch out in the shade and enjoy a little rest when a rest is called for. I left Junior and Senior sleeping while I went on tour once again......as a general rule, I'm not much of a napper......especially when there's so much other fun stuff to entertain me.
I stopped over to see the massive turtles who were smartly seeking solace from the sun in their shaded enclosure.
I also took some time to admire the tropical birds who call the park home.
I visited the Adventure Photo kiosk to have our pictures added to our Photokey AP....a process that only takes a few minutes if there aren't 20 other people waiting to chat with a team member. We have learned from experience that it is much better to do that before the end of the day, when lines are always ridiculously long.
Winding myself back towards the cabana, I stowed the camera in the locker and headed to Roa’s Rapids for a couple of leisurely (?) rotations while the boys rested....seriously, I could spend all day there and never get bored. I let the fellows sleep for about an hour before I finally roused them so that they could enjoy the park for a few more hours before closing. Once they were up, rehydrated with the bottles of water from our cabana fridge (the rental included 12 bottles of Dasani) and re-sunscreened, we were on our way for more water fun.
Since the guys had done all of the slides that morning with their Quick Queue passes, we stuck mostly to the line-free attractions during the very busy (and ridiculously steamy) afternoon. We pretty much rotated between the wave pools, Roa’s Rapids, and Loggerhead Lane, with the guys taking short breaks to grabbing more beverages and snacks from the buffet from time to time. Unlike on previous visits, when the park grew noticeably emptier after 3 pm, the crowds were in full force until the rides closed promptly at 5 pm. Even as the reminder announcements rang out every fifteen minutes from the one-hour-until-closing mark, hardly a soul was seen leaving the park. It was a spectacular day for water activities and everyone (including us!) was choosing to squeeze every single minute of fun out of the day that we could
.
A few miscellaneous thoughts on our day at Aquatica:
* considering the crowds and the heat, the cabana was still a Godsend, even at the higher-than-we-are-accustomed-to price we paid ($134.99). If I cringed a bit when I was entering my credit card information during the booking process, I was patting myself on the back as we left the park at the end of our day.
* the introduction of Quick Queue is a superb idea, especially when they restrict the number sold to a very small amount. That said, it was so new that most guests didn't yet yet know that it even existed, and guys received more than one dirty look or nasty remark as they excused themselves to get past the people waiting in the general line (the QQ entrance was often well ahead of the end of the standby line, which necessitated a squeeze past of those who were waiting without QQ). I am sure this will change as more people learn about the new add-on and additional signage is incorporated throughout the park. We had an amazing day despite the crowds, but I'm not sure we would have had the same opinion if they had spent hours and hours waiting in a line in that heat just to ride a slide. In fact, they probably wouldn't have done many slides at all without the QQ passes.
The parking lot was completely clogged as the masses all exited at once…….it was as if we were back at Tropicana Field after the Rays game let out. It took us forever to get out of the lot, so we were very grateful for the super-short drive back to the Residence Inn.
We were all pretty weary as we dragged our waterlogged bodies into the elevators and up to our suite. And speaking of the elevators, I thought it was pretty cute that this property painted a SeaWorld scene on the inside of each of the doors: so, as you rode the short distance up to your floor (or down to the lobby), you had something cheery and fun to look at
:
With all of our grazing at the buffet that afternoon, no one was hungry or ready for dinner by the time we returned to the hotel: we would need at least a couple of hours between now and our evening meal. We hung up our wet swimwear and the guys stretched out in their respective rooms to catch up on the sports scores as well as their Facebook and email messages while I took a stroll around the property to take some photos of the recreational areas.
At that point in the day, it was pretty quiet in the common area off the main lobby. This is the section that is mainly used for breakfast seating in the morning, but you will also find guests relaxing there during non-breakfast hours, watching the news on one of the many flat screen TV’s or reading one of the complimentary newspapers
.
There are actually quite a few nice, relaxing places at this particular property to sit and recuperate after a long day at the parks. I especially love the rocking chairs that are all round the main level. So homey.
For guests wishing to enjoy their lunch or dinner right at the hotel, there is a lovely courtyard with tables, chairs and umbrellas, as well as a selection of gas grills for barbecuing.
For those that wish to leave the cooking to the experts, there is also a Pizza Hut Express onsite (located adjacent to the outdoor, covered bar). Prices are higher than your stand-alone Pizza Hut, but not crazy.
There is a large sport court (newly resurfaced since our last visit in 2012) with basketball nets on the opposite end of the courtyard from the pool and hot tub. The front desk has an assortment of sports equipment (basketballs and the like) for guest use: you just have to drop by and sign out the items you need.
These sofas, located near the sport court, looked pretty comfy. Maybe a good place to sit and enjoy a good book?
The pool, though, was definitely the most popular of all the recreational areas……especially for the younger guests.
The pool was zero-entry and featured several spitting fish that the little ones enjoyed being sprayed by. On that unusually warm May night, it was no wonder that the pool was the official “hot spot” of the hotel!
As I returned to our suite, I passed the guys getting into the elevator. They wanted to spend a little bit of time shooting hoops on the sport court to work off a little of their Aquatica indulgences before we set off in search of dinner. That worked perfectly for me: I had enough time to enjoy a leisurely chat with my mom (who by now was missing us like CRAZY and literally counting the hours until we returned home) and attempt to tame my crazy waterpark hair before showing my face in public
.
It was just after 8 when we headed out in search of dinner. Longhorns had been on the official itinerary for this night (which we were VERY excited about, as this would be a first visit for us) but it was PACKED when we arrived
. Checking in with the greeter at the podium, we were informed it would be at least an hour’s wait for a table…..and we were just too dog-tired to whittle away an hour or more before even being seated. Being the super-planner than I am, though, we had Plan B in our back pocket….and that restaurant wasn’t far away
.
Dinner wouldn’t be the new experience that we had anticipated, but a family favourite is often just as satisfying. Right?
The conclusion of our Sunday is next.
. Yes, early but after 3 days in a row of being at work all day and then going straight to the theatre until after 10pm each night I am beyond exhausted. 
. I looked at all the pictures we had taken by the park photographers that day and that was the only one I was willing to share 
. I surveyed them all and thought, I look like a drowned rat!! It's hard to have a good hair day at a water park, as you most certainly know 
.
I had no idea! It's been a while since I've been to the nation's capital (not much reason to go there since Jake's high school sports career ended) but I think I may have to look it up the next time we venture east.
for your job interview. It sounds like a great opportunity for you, Gina! 
Even if it takes a whole year to write it, we'll still follow along! 
.
. But I'm working on that!
. No matter how old you are, or how long they've been gone, the emotions of special days like today are just so much more raw. 
.
….but they quickly perked up when they heard what I was suggesting as an equally-as-pleasing alternate. I only had to get the words “Olive Garden” out of my mouth, and Steve was happily navigating the Kia toward Palm Parkway while Jake smiled broadly in the backseat 
. She took our beverage orders and had our drinks on the table in short order: water for Jake (we couldn’t convince him to be adventurous) and strawberry Italian sodas for Steve and I.
:
: we were already feeling full and our pasta dishes hadn’t even arrived yet. You would think we would learn from past experience, but apparently not 
. 
. Much as the spirits might have been willing (that caramel lasagna on the menu looked heavenly!) the stomachs most definitely were not. We covered our bill ($63.33 including tax, tip was additional) and dragged ourselves back to the Residence Inn.
.
is next.
