Tuesday, August 19th
.
Fate (and a dose of good luck!) had blessed us with yet another sunshiny, hot, and simply gorgeous summer day, making the claim of it rains every day in August almost hard for us visitors to believe. We hadnt seen so much of a drop of precipitation since our arrival on Sunday morning (and even then, the sun was out!). Someone clearly forgot to tell Mother Nature that she was supposed to serve up a good storm every afternoon. That said, we certainly werent complaining!
I roused the troops reasonably early, so we could all catch a quick breakfast at the villa before leaving for our days destination. We kept it simple and easy, grabbing coffee (I was lovin me some Timmies perked fresh and hot!), muffins, homemade smoothies (whipped up by Sweetie), yogurt, and left-over pizza. By about 8:30 am (and right on schedule!) we were passing underneath these magical gates:
See that sky? Not a cloud!!
Todays plan was to spend the day splishing and splashing in the lush, tropical beauty of Typhoon Lagoon. Our water park APs were still active from last years trip, so the only admission cost we had for this day was for Sweetie.
We parked the car, zipped through bag check and the ticketing turnstiles, and immediately lined up to purchase a reserved space
.the loungers and umbrella
.in Getaway Glen. Arriving just before park opening, and it being a mid-week day, we figured wed have no problem securing a lounger rental on the day-of. Imagine our surprise when we hear the CM telling the folks in front of us yes, were almost sold out. Oh oh
! Thankfully, we were literally just in time, capturing the third last lounger/umbrella rental that remained available. Good thing we werent five minutes later in leaving the villa.
We tossed our important stuff (phones, purses, etc.) in a locker then went to set up camp at our lounger.
A thorough sun screening of our lily white bodies came next
..we did
not care to repeat the sunburns of 2013. We recharged our refillable mug from last years visit, and purchased a second mug as well (Steve and I would share the original mug, while Jake and Sweetie shared mug #2......which we sent home with her after her trip as a souvenir of our Disney waterpark day). Everyone took a hydration break (Moms orders) then we were off and running.
I had decided before this visit that I was going to put on my big-girl panties and try something a little out of my comfort zone. Most of you know Im a ride chicken
.anything wilder than the lazy river and its usually something I will take a pass on. I dont generally prefer being shaken, tossed, or otherwise moved around at any rapid rate of speed. However, I had watched some Youtube videos of the family raft ride, Gangplank Falls, and thought I could probably handle it without losing my lunch (or in this case, my breakfast
). Amazed at the fact I was actually willing to try a slide, even the kids opted to come along, so the whole four of us headed there first.
I swear my legs shook as I waited in the queue. This was big for me. Very big. And you know what? I loved it
. Jake joked that the rest of them fell asleep during the ride, and I know it was way, way under their speed, but I enjoyed it enough that Steve and I went the second time while the kiddos took off to do their own thing for the next while (one of the nice things about having older kids). Jake and Sweetie wanted to hit every slide (after all, it was Sweeties first visit
.the whole park was a fresh, new experience for her) while Steve and I were more geared toward a relaxing, slower-paced day in the sun (and the water
..it was gettin steamy
.really steamy! What a great day for a water park!
).
The rest of the morning we ran into the kids coming or going to the loungers, as they took a brief break between slides for drinks and more sunscreen. Steve and I mostly rotated between the lazy river, the wave pool (I have said it before but I will say it again
..I *love* that wave pool!) and stretched out on the loungers. Ah, life was good.
Eventually our tummies began to signal that it was time to refuel. Apparently the kids nutritional clocks were running on the same rotation as ours, because just as we mentioned that we were feeling rather peckish, Mickey & Minnie showed up at the loungers declaring that their hunger had kicked in, too. It was time for lunch
..and for me to eat my words (pardon the pun
). For those that might have read my previous trip report (and even the pre-trip portion of this report), youll know I wasnt impressed with the quality of the food we had here on our 2013 trip. This time, I was about to be happily surprised.
. You can't go wrong with Congo River (any location....I think there are 6 in the Orlando/Central Florida region). 
so perhaps he's not overly objective.
. I must admit, it was nice having Sweetie along this trip, because for once I wasn't the one always coming in last!! 
. I assure you that if he had a valid US work Visa, he'd have been dropping off a resume before those Tastykakes had hit the bottom of his stomach.
).
.
) when she deemed the wait for her lunch too lengthy. Things got a bit nasty (yoo hoo? Where did the magic go?!? 
) and we high-tailed it out of there while the CM was still trying to settle Ms. Unruly down. I can only assume that woman musta been some hungry to get that upset over a few minutes wait 
.
...........
). 
. We saw folks tossing them food at TL, and I just had to wonder....why???? It just makes them more aggressive than they already are. So silly. 
