Oh, The Places We’ll Go! From the “stars” to the “sea”: Universal, SeaWorld & beyond - Spring 2016

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

I'm Scotish/Irish. I inherited. The pasty, milky whiteness. Thankfully my girls got their dads Filipino skin. Both of them can get a tan with a 50 SPF.

Yes, another vote for Ombrelle. My dermatologist likes that and Neutrogena products.

Perhaps the sunscreen your DD used was expired. I've repeated been told to buy new ones every 6 months. Regardless of the expiration date on the bottle.

Interesting. Maybe its time for me to toss out the old (though the expiry is still OK) and start with new. It can't hurt.

I have really enjoyed your trip report. It is so nice to see a family having so much fun together!

Thank you, Becky . We never lose sight of how blessed we are to have each other. And the fact that we are all so compatible, personality-wise, makes us a good trio to travel together.

hehe, I always enjoy when the kids one up ya. Only time I did that when I was little, was the ping pong game. Put the ping pong ball in the glass bowl, you win a big prize. Yes, I still have that huge mountain dog stuffie.

Great pictures of the fish. Those aquariums are my go to also, when the kids ride the rides I won't.

Sorry that the penguin ride was not working. We've done the mild and wild, and neither was that awesome. Penguins though, are always awesome.

So ready to revisit in December. I might even sneak a day in October. I'll bring my pass just in case.

I think the reason we were so bummed to have the penguin ride down was because its one of the attractions we can all enjoy together. We've done both the wild and mild versions, too, and all much prefer the mild. The herky-jerky movements of the wild side don't really add anything to the experience for us.

Well you left it on a cliffhanger........

Hopefully not too long, though! Work got in the way temporarily, but I'm working on the rest of the story. Stay tuned .

Does the Red Cross need to be standing by with buckets to collect their donation...?

Must be the Irish blood that causes sunburn. I'm mostly Scottish (with a bit of Brit and German) and would barely toast under a blowtorch sun - which I know makes no sense as Scotland is SO well known for its sunny shores. SPF 45 applied once in the morning (if I remember to), sun be damned. I spent a couple of weeks in Jamaica in my early 20's and have a pic with one of the locals on my last day. My legs were darker than his...
Funny story too. We ran out of sunscreen half way through the second week. Sunscreen is a US import there. Something like $20 a bottle. Wandered around the grocery store, and saw coconut oil. They put that in sunscreen right? Smelled fantastic putting it on. Later lying out in the sun, I started to wonder why I kept on smelling frying bacon...

Somewhat better than smelling burnt toast, though .

Glad you guys rallied for the final day!

I've found the brand of sunscreen really matters. We are extremely pale and only use Coppertone Sport 50. I think it's water-resistant. Cream, not the spray.

How does that stuffed dolphin get home to Canada?!?

Ugh, please don't tell me we need to switch to cream. I hate the cream type. Spray is so much faster and easier .

The conclusion of the dolphin dilemma is coming up soon!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Monday, May 2nd: continued


We stood in the walkway with Jake holding that mammoth, should-have-been-impossible-to-win stuffie, and we pondered our dilemma. We asked the game attendant if we could leave the giant dolphin at her kiosk and pick it up later (perhaps during that time we could come up with the answer to the Question of the Day: How do we get it home?) but we received a flat out “No” and a scowl to boot . In fact, she seemed clearly annoyed that he had won the prize in the first place, and had been short and clipped in our verbal exchanges since that third ball went in the basket. Carrying it around, then, would be a necessity…..at least for the time being.


With the dolphin now down off the netting and actually into our hands, it became very clear, very quickly: this wasn’t getting on a plane. It wasn’t even getting in the rental car . Even if, by some sprinkle of pixie dust, we managed to get it back to the hotel in Buffalo (almost an impossibility due to its size, let alone the TSA), we’d need to put it on the roof racks of our Journey for the 4 hour commute home. Let’s not even factor in what the Canadian Border Service Agency would say when we tried to cross at Lewiston/Queenston: I can only imagine the delays we would face there .


I don’t know if you can really tell how LARGE this thing was, but Jake is 6’ 1” tall and 220 pounds, and it made him look small. It also wasn’t at all squishy, so there was no compacting it down. Jake optimistically proposed taking it on the plane as his carry-on item: good grief, child, that wouldn’t even fit between the seats .





Steve, always the most pragmatic of our trio, suggested that Jake quickly find a child that looked like they deserved a little surprise, and bequeath that mammoth dolphin to them … but in good conscience, as a mother myself, I couldn’t allow him to do that. Much as it was tempting to make this monster someone else’s problem, I wouldn’t let that happen. We trundled over to Guest Services to chat with someone there……..perhaps they could offer us a solution!…….all the while, passing guest after guest who commented with some version of “Oh my gosh, did you really win that? Way to go, buddy!” or “Good luck getting that thing home!” (followed by a distinctly evil laugh ). My favourite was an older gent from the UK who, very honestly (if not painfully) quipped: "What the dickens were you thinking, you silly bloke?"


Guest Services, unfortunately, was no help: they sent us over to the Emporium with the explanation that the Merchandising Team would be the ones to assist. Merchandising, however, was less than appreciative of the referral (“Why would Guest Services send you here? Merchandising has nothing to do with the games”). While they were genuinely empathetic (and indulged in a little giggle at our expense), ultimately they were pretty much unhelpful too.


In the meantime, while I ping-ponged between Guest Services and the Emporium, Jake and Steve had to stay outside with the dolphin. It was almost too large to fit through the door of Guest Services, and there was no way to fit him through the aisles of the store without clearing every shelf they had. I headed back outside to find Jake busy taking pictures of his winnings and posting them to Facebook and Twitter .





He grinned broadly as I emerged from speaking with the manager at the Emporium. “Don’t worry Mom. If we can’t get it home, it’s no big deal. This was worth it for the photos alone. Do you know how many likes I’ve got already?”.


Oh, Jake .


With the clock ticking (we had our Behind the Scenes Tour that morning, and our time to remedy this conundrum was running out), we headed back to the games area where I approached a wonderful young lady named Summer who was working at one of the kiosks. Time to throw ourselves at the mercy of someone who had a sympathetic looking face. We explained our dilemma to her as she, too, worked hard to stifle a laugh while listening to our tale of the morning. Summer…..who by some stroke of luck was one of the senior employees for that area…. looked apologetic as she explained that all she could do for us was exchange the gigantic stuffie for something smaller from one of the other game kiosks. SOLD! As the old saying goes, “beggars can’t be choosers”: our only options were to return the giant dolphin back to Surf’s Up Hoops and go home empty handed, or exchange it for something smaller and at least have something to show for his amazing basketball prowess. We would happily take the latter .


We gave Jake a final moment alone with his beloved dolphin before shooing him off to return it to the Surf’s Up attendant (who was still, apparently, annoyed with him). He returned to Summer’s balloon game, and she graciously gave him the pick of her prizes. A penguin it would be.





A wonderful souvenir, but alas…..it definitely didn’t possess the “wow” factor of the dolphin . At least we had photos.


With literally just a few moments to spare, we headed off to our meeting place for the tour, a small area next to the retail store at Turtle Trek.





Our much anticipated, super-awesome Behind The Scenes Tour is next!

 

[Raeven]

That was hilarious, I'm glad they let you get something smaller though that dolphin was huge!

 

[Mrs Doubtfire]

That was so funny but you might have been surprised that someone else may have accepted that gigantic dolphin! Our daughter had to give 2 of her 3 soft toy prizes one Christmas from SW as we couldn't fit them in the cases. Luckily they were a lot smaller and appreciated by a younger child!

 

[JaxDad]

Hi Gina! We actually have the pink sister of that giant dolphin Jake won. It serves as a bean bag chair in the children's fort!

 

[KathyM2]

That's a really funny story...about the giant dolphin...seemed to perk everyone up at least lol. Glad you found a workable solution!!

We love Olive Garden too but also always have the problem of eating too much salad and breadsticks...sometimes I do actually just order that and I'm always happy I did...even though the pasta is sooo good! Usually I can snag a few bites of someone else's

 

[pigletto]

DDS, I didn't know that about replacing sunscreen every six months but she said it was something she had taken up to school with her from my stash in the cupboard so I guarantee it was a year old if she grabbed it last September. I bet that was it! Good to know.

Gina, of course he won that gargantuan thing on your last day and of course it was your prediction that he wouldn't that made it happen.Kids... gotta love them, and gotta fit their giant stuffies on airplanes.

I'm sorry to hear you had last day blues. I love the first few days of a trip equal to the amount that I dislike the last few. Sometimes I'm ready to go home but more often than not I start getting down about leaving in the last 48 hours. I think it has a lot to do with being exhausted at the end of a trip too.

 

[toystoryduo]

Love the dolphin story! That is too funny! I'm glad you guys were able to exchange the dolphin for the much more portable penguin. Glad Jake got tons of likes on his picture too!

I completely understand about the last day blues. For us, we're so sad to be leaving Orlando, but at the same time, we are kind of ready to get back home and back to our routine and our puppy as well.

Looking forward to the Behind the Scenes Tour!

 

[Callie]

Oh dang that is one big Dolphin! One time, I signed up at Kohls for some giveaway....I ended up with a giant stuffed Character. I can't remember who it was, but I ended up giving it to my cousin for his birthday

 

[juniorbugman]

Okay not fair. I was reading your Dolphin escapades while riding the transit system in Toronto and was having a hard time not laughing out loud. The other passengers would have thought I was crazy.

 

[ArwenMarie]

So funny!! At least Jake got lots of Likes out of it!

 

[Joanna71985]

Dang!! That is one big dolphin (I wish I could have stood next to it to compare sizes)

 

[dancin Disney style]

Does the Red Cross need to be standing by with buckets to collect their donation...?

Must be the Irish blood that causes sunburn. I'm mostly Scottish (with a bit of Brit and German) and would barely toast under a blowtorch sun - which I know makes no sense as Scotland is SO well known for its sunny shores. SPF 45 applied once in the morning (if I remember to), sun be damned. I spent a couple of weeks in Jamaica in my early 20's and have a pic with one of the locals on my last day. My legs were darker than his...
Funny story too. We ran out of sunscreen half way through the second week. Sunscreen is a US import there. Something like $20 a bottle. Wandered around the grocery store, and saw coconut oil. They put that in sunscreen right? Smelled fantastic putting it on. Later lying out in the sun, I started to wonder why I kept on smelling frying bacon...

No..can't be the Irish side. I'm 3/4 Scot. My dad was born and raised there with no other mixes in his family history. In fact his family traces back to Bonnie Prince Charlie. Therefore, I'm part princess but if you ask my DH I'm pure princess.

frying bacon.....I'm just not gonna' go there.

 

[nancipants]

That was a fantastic story.

 

[dancin Disney style]

Interesting. Maybe its time for me to toss out the old (though the expiry is still OK) and start with new. It can't hurt.

If you burn that badly or like me, worry about skin cancer then I would definitely get new ones. I buy 3-4 bottles in the spring and then toss the left overs in the fall. If I'm going away over the winter I get new ones for that trip. I have face stuff that I use daily, year round. It doesn't last more than about 6 weeks so it's always fresh.

Somewhat better than smelling burnt toast, though .

I see you watch television too Dr. Penfield

 

[dancin Disney style]

Today's daily dose....

The ideal height for you to drop your buttered toast from if you want it to land butter side up is 8ft.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

That was hilarious, I'm glad they let you get something smaller though that dolphin was huge!

The poor young woman who ultimately arranged for the exchange felt so bad that something so grand was traded in for something so small. She kept saying to us, "This doesn't seem very fair!". What a sweetie she was, we were so appreciative of her help.

That was so funny but you might have been surprised that someone else may have accepted that gigantic dolphin! Our daughter had to give 2 of her 3 soft toy prizes one Christmas from SW as we couldn't fit them in the cases. Luckily they were a lot smaller and appreciated by a younger child!

Yes, we might have totally made someone's day (especially if they were a local). I couldn't run the risk, though. It would have torn a kid's heart out to be given something so remarkable and then have Mom or Dad tell them they couldn't keep it.

Hi Gina! We actually have the pink sister of that giant dolphin Jake won. It serves as a bean bag chair in the children's fort!

Someone else is good at the Surf's Up Hoops game!!

How on earth did you get it home from the park, though? You must have a pick-up truck or a van?

That's a really funny story...about the giant dolphin...seemed to perk everyone up at least lol. Glad you found a workable solution!!

We love Olive Garden too but also always have the problem of eating too much salad and breadsticks...sometimes I do actually just order that and I'm always happy I did...even though the pasta is sooo good! Usually I can snag a few bites of someone else's

Yes, our crazy dolphin dilemma was good for a much-needed, last-day laugh. If there isn't a packing crisis at the end of our vacation, we know we have done something wrong . A few of you may remember this one from a couple of years ago.......and we thought THAT was a big one. Ha ha! Little did we know!



I don't think I mentioned yet.....the Radioactive Man stuffie that Steve won on the Sledgehomer game at Universal necessitated the purchase of a new expandable piece of luggage to ship home. He was so tall he couldn't fit in our full-size, soft-sided suitcases .

DDS, I didn't know that about replacing sunscreen every six months but she said it was something she had taken up to school with her from my stash in the cupboard so I guarantee it was a year old if she grabbed it last September. I bet that was it! Good to know.

Gina, of course he won that gargantuan thing on your last day and of course it was your prediction that he wouldn't that made it happen.Kids... gotta love them, and gotta fit their giant stuffies on airplanes.

I'm sorry to hear you had last day blues. I love the first few days of a trip equal to the amount that I dislike the last few. Sometimes I'm ready to go home but more often than not I start getting down about leaving in the last 48 hours. I think it has a lot to do with being exhausted at the end of a trip too.

I think we need to drive sometime rather than fly: if it's just Steve and I, we could take the second row seats out of the Journey, and win stuffies until our hearts were content. The only problem.....I have no idea where I'd put them when I get home!!!

Sadly, I've never felt ready to come home after a vacation.....even our two-week trip in August 2014 went by way too quickly. That said, having a full two weeks did feel like it was more "satisfying", if that made sense. I am hoping we find the same in October, which will be our first time doing a two week trip as a couple. I dare say if this one "feels" better, we may become two-week trippers from here on out. Especially if I have Jake home to take good care of my Momma while we're away.....that's such a relief and blessing.

Love the dolphin story! That is too funny! I'm glad you guys were able to exchange the dolphin for the much more portable penguin. Glad Jake got tons of likes on his picture too!

I completely understand about the last day blues. For us, we're so sad to be leaving Orlando, but at the same time, we are kind of ready to get back home and back to our routine and our puppy as well.

Looking forward to the Behind the Scenes Tour!

Having pets at home makes a huge difference....I, too, was always glad to return home to our precious Patches. Now that she's gone, we're just home to an empty house. Maybe that's what makes coming home feel even more profound?

Oh dang that is one big Dolphin! One time, I signed up at Kohls for some giveaway....I ended up with a giant stuffed Character. I can't remember who it was, but I ended up giving it to my cousin for his birthday

Aw, that was sweet of you! They must have been just delighted!

You know, I've never been to a Kohls, but have heard so many folks talk about that store on the boards. I will have to search one out in either Buffalo or Orlando sometime .

Okay not fair. I was reading your Dolphin escapades while riding the transit system in Toronto and was having a hard time not laughing out loud. The other passengers would have thought I was crazy.

LOL....sorry about that!! I'm betting you could have indulged in a hearty giggle and no one would have batted an eyelash, though. I have seen far crazier things while riding the GO train, even in my much more limited ridership!!

So funny!! At least Jake got lots of Likes out of it!

Ah, the things that are important to the next generation . As Jake so succinctly put it....."As long as it made it on Instagram, Mom, we're good". Priorities and all .

Dang!! That is one big dolphin (I wish I could have stood next to it to compare sizes)

It dwarfed me. Truly. At one point, Jake carried the front while Steve carried the tail, just so it wasn't so awkward! We must have been a sight to see, traversing the park with a life-sized stuffie between my two tough-looking, bearded men.

That was a fantastic story.

Glad I brought you a laugh! Let me tell you, that whole experience has paid for itself a million times over in smiles. What a fun memory it turned out to be, despite the shenanigans of trading it in!

I see you watch television too Dr. Penfield

As a seizure patient myself, that kind of stuff absolutely intrigues me. I will admit, I'm a bit of a brain geek . I find it all so fascinating!

 

[JaxDad]

Someone else is good at the Surf's Up Hoops game!!

How on earth did you get it home from the park, though? You must have a pick-up truck or a van?

Okay, I admit it! I drive a mini-van, okay!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Okay, I admit it! I drive a mini-van, okay!

That's okay, I won't hold it against you .

You can have one of these in about 10 years, when those kiddos are all grown up: .

 

[Monykalyn]

LOL on the giant dolphin! and really ROFL at the "likes" comment!
My DD won a huge stuffed cheetah in a raffle when she was 5. Luckily it was local and we were able to fit it in the car. She used it as a backrest/pillow for years.

The largest stuffie I have ever seen was a giant Mickey mouse when I was in my CP-our group project was marketing for Disney's credit union and we borrowed him from roommates boyfriend. Over 6 feet tall and heavy. Had to use a trailer to get him to Vista way and a dolley and all 5 of us to get him into room where our presentation was LOL.

Glad Jake still got a prize that is transportable!!