The Twelve Days of Swinter: From Castaway 'Key' to a Partridge in a Palm Tree!

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

Hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July!

So after our lunch of assorted ‘meats’ we contemplated another dip in the wave pool. However, the waves were still wiping people out left and right so we decided to go check out some other attractions first and come back later if we had any time left.

This sign REALLY underestimates the power of that wave pool!

“Strong waves MAY occur”??? Yeah right! It should say “Adults may lose limbs and small children will be devoured”.

I think we’ll stick with the safe and calm floating highway for now…

We drifted by Ketchakiddie Creek again…

And we got off at the next ‘exit’. We walked through the Forgotten Grotto which DD thought was so cool!

DD discovered that it’s the tunnel that the lazy river flows through.

On the other side of the grotto is a pretty waterfall…

Overlooking the lazy river and all the Spanish moss hanging overhead…

Another great view…

DD and I had no interest in these slides because they were just straight, steep drops. We tried to talk DH into going for it, but he said he didn’t want us to split up. Hmmm, I wonder if that was his way of chickening out!

Right around the bend we found the Storm Slides which looked a little tamer, so we headed for the entrance.

Continued in next post

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

These slides had an enormously long, winding queue. We walked, and walked, and walked… up some stairs, then down, then up some more, then down. It was a workout! I was thinking to myself all the way up… “This had better be worth it!”

Lots of theming along the way…

View from the top…

We were pleased to find there was no wait!

DH was telling DD to wait for the light to turn green before hurling herself down the slide!

And she’s off…

So was it worth the trek? Yes indeed! Very fun slides! They are a lot like the slides at the resort pools except they’re higher and longer. There are 3 to choose from and all of them are different. Some are partially enclosed, some open all the way down, and each one has different turns and curves. We loved them!

In fact, that was so much fun, let’s do it again!

It’s like deja vu!

Round two was just as fun as the first, but my legs needed a break so there wouldn’t be a round three. Instead we chose to go in search of the water coaster that I had heard so much about.

These little blue flowers were in bloom everywhere and were so pretty. (Sorry about the water spot.)

We were happy to discover there was only about a 5 minute wait for…

We all rode together in one raft (they have 2-seaters and 3-seaters). The CM put DD in the front and she was NOT happy about that! I ended up wrapping my legs around her the best I could to try to hold her in! I knew we were in for a wild ride when the Australian CM told us, “Make sure to lift your bum mates!” I couldn’t help but envision my ‘bum’ hitting the bottom and the track catching hold of my bathing suit and ripping it off of me. Can you just imagine someone coming out naked at the bottom?! It was too late to turn back though so off we went…

(She was sticking her tongue out because her daddy was teasing her about being a chicken.)

We dropped off the edge of the platform like a lead balloon! It was all I could do to try to hold onto DD and lift my bum! That was one wild ride for sure! We all thought it was exactly like the Aquaduck but scarier. DH and DD wanted to ride it again, but once was enough for this ride weenie. I retreated to the chicken wading pool while they rode again.

Continued in next post

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

DD wanted to ride a third time but DH said he couldn’t walk all those stairs again. The adults were really getting worn out, but DD was still going like the energizer bunny!

It was getting late in the day by that point so we had to decide what we wanted to do with the rest of our time. DH and I wanted to float the highway some more and DD wanted to give the wave pool another shot, so off we went.

Back onto the river for one last sail around the park…

DD was getting tired of having her picture taken by this point in the trip. She’s really good about indulging my passion for pictures but every girl has her limits! As soon as she saw the camera, she would go underwater.

As we passed by the boat motors we saw a bunch of kids aiming for us. They got us pretty good too!

This was the only raft that DH could get his hands on. He couldn’t get it to float right because it was made for two people so he ‘wove’ himself into it!

The view from my raft…

I’d give a million bucks for that view right now.

I might have ‘accidently’ pushed his float into the waterfall…

Ok, I have discovered that I have a waterfall fetish. I think I have 100 waterfall pictures from this day!

My lazy woman’s view again…

Continued in next post

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

We finally made it back to the front of the park. DD was nervously excited about the wave pool, but she went on out there a little ways and gave it her best.

Her surfing impersonation…

Ok, silly time’s over! The siren sounded and all you could hear was a loud roar of screaming people. Why? See for yourself…

And WIPEOUT!!!

It knocked her feet right out from under her! I grabbed her up the best I could to keep her from getting a face full of concrete. I have no idea why, but she thought that was fun, although she did back up quite a bit!

This is her brave stance, ready to conquer the beast…

“Hmmm, maybe if I turn sideways then I won’t go down face first”…

“Or better yet, maybe I should just RUN!”

Whew! I needed a break… time for me to hold down a lounge chair for a while. DD stayed right at the edge of the water while I relaxed.

DH and I apparently had the same idea! Time for the old folks to chill!

After a good 20 minutes or so of fighting those waves, DD decided to join us. She was finally starting to wear down. She rested a while in this little lagoon.

It was nice sitting there and relaxing for a while. Once we were mostly dried off, we made our way to the bathrooms to shower and change clothes.

When DD and I came out we didn’t see DH anywhere. We sat down on a round bench that had a tree planted in the center and waited for him to finish up. And we waited, and waited, and waited some more. I just couldn’t believe that it was taking him so long. I bet we sat there for over 20 minutes before I finally came to the conclusion that something must be wrong. I got up and looked around, but I still didn’t see any sign of him. A few more minutes passed and I was just about to ask some random stranger to go into the men’s room and look for him when DD spotted him sitting on the opposite side of the bench from us! I have no idea how we couldn’t have seen him because he was only five feet away! Apparently he didn’t see us either because he thought I had walked off to take pictures and was waiting for us to come back. It is hilarious to me now to think how dumb we must have looked sitting back-to-back while ‘waiting’ on each other! We had definitely been out in the sun too long! Time to head for the bus!

We had a wonderful time at the waterpark and can’t wait to go back on our next trip!

Here’s a short video that I put together of our day at Typhoon Lagoon if you’d like to see it…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xW_sdn-nkRo&feature=youtu.be

It was only about 4:00 when we were leaving the park, way too early for us to call it a day, so where were we headed next?

Up next: A Fantastic!, I mean, Fantasmic! evening!

 

[Happy Elf]

Great update! Those slides look like so much fun and my DD would love "riding" the waves too! I enjoyed your video too! Your pictures have made up my mind to visit Typhoon Lagoon. It looks like so much fun!

 

[AvasMommy526]

Yay, love the update! I haven't been to Typhoon Lagoon since my first trip to Disney when I was 7 (21 long yrs ago ) I remember loving it though, we may have to find some time to make it there! I love all the photos, we are taking a trip to Paradise Island, Bahamas in Oct and doing Blue Lagoon island too, I'm thinking I may have to get a waterproof camera!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Awesome update! TL is so beautiful and wonderfully themed. All your pictures are so great!

Those slides look so fun! I can't believe your DD braved the wave pool. That thing looks scary!

Love all the waterfall pics. I love waterfalls too!

Great video!

 

[sharonW]

Great update!! I admit I'm not a water park fan but really enjoyed all your fun just the same. The video is really cute too. You definitley made many good memories on your trip!! See ya real soon for some Fantasmic fun!!!!

 

[petals]

love the little daddy daughter dance at the end of that video. Looks like you all had a great time in Typhoon Lagoon. I really want to go there sometime after seeing all your pics.

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

Great update! Those slides look like so much fun and my DD would love "riding" the waves too! I enjoyed your video too! Your pictures have made up my mind to visit Typhoon Lagoon. It looks like so much fun!

Thanks! It is a very fun place to spend the day. I think you will enjoy it if you do go. Those Storm Slides and the lazy river were our favorites.

Yay, love the update! I haven't been to Typhoon Lagoon since my first trip to Disney when I was 7 (21 long yrs ago ) I remember loving it though, we may have to find some time to make it there! I love all the photos, we are taking a trip to Paradise Island, Bahamas in Oct and doing Blue Lagoon island too, I'm thinking I may have to get a waterproof camera!

Yes, you need to go back to TL... yes, you are going to LOVE Blue Lagoon, and yes, you NEED a waterproof camera! It was a very fun little toy to have on vacation and I have used it so much for day-to-day stuff too.
Well worth the money to me.

Awesome update! TL is so beautiful and wonderfully themed. All your pictures are so great!

Those slides look so fun! I can't believe your DD braved the wave pool. That thing looks scary!

Love all the waterfall pics. I love waterfalls too!

Great video!

Thank you!

DD only went in knee deep in the wave pool and that even turned out to be too far. She had to back it up a bit to be able to stay on her feet!

I don't know what it is about waterfalls and water in general, but I do love it. I think that is one of things I like most about the Poly... water stuff is everywhere.

I decided to just merge all my little video clips into one video of the whole day instead of posting each one. I think it works better that way. And I need the practice so I can make a vaction video... one day.

Great update!! I admit I'm not a water park fan but really enjoyed all your fun just the same. The video is really cute too. You definitley made many good memories on your trip!! See ya real soon for some Fantasmic fun!!!!

Well the waterparks certainly are not for everyone, but I think anybody can appreciate the beauty of the park. And yes, we did have fun making some good family memories there!

love the little daddy daughter dance at the end of that video. Looks like you all had a great time in Typhoon Lagoon. I really want to go there sometime after seeing all your pics.

DH would kill me if he knew I put that clip into the video! He is a nut for sure! But we did have a really good time there. You should make a point to get over there on your next trip!

 

[Happy Elf]

What kind of water proof camera do you have. Ours is acting up, so I'm looking at options.

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

What kind of water proof camera do you have. Ours is acting up, so I'm looking at options.

It's a Panasonic Lumix TS3. I think there is a newer model now, TS4? I wouldn't hesitate to buy the TS3 though if you can get it cheaper. I've been VERY pleased with the camera and I've been using it for a year now. The Canon model also gets good reviews. Happy shopping!

 

[jenseib]

Fun day. It really looks like so many neat slides there. Some day I plan to go there...some day. LOL
I love the last shot on your video with DH and DD walking....so cute.

 

[MeMom]

Enjoyed all the pictures.
And I loved the daddy-daughter dance. That's what Disney is all about.

 

[mickeystoontown]

I wish our CM had told us to lift our bums on Crush n Gusher! We all came away saying "that hurt like crazy". The second and third time, we knew better and would raise up when we'd see a bump.

It looks like ya'll had such a wonderful day at Typhoon Lagoon. So, ya'll never did go on the bigger single person slides? If you ever go back, you should try them. I'm a chicken and I thought they were a blast.

Your daughter is a brave girl to get back into the wave pool. It looks like she had her "watch out for the wave" technic down pat.

 

[Lovemy3babes]

Oh wow, what a nice ending to your afternoon! The video is so neat Rinky! I'm so glad you had a ton of fun at Typhoon Lagoon. The weather looks like it was great!

 

[SoonerGirl]

Thanks for all your fabulous pictures from TL! I'm so excited for our day there now

I am cracking up at the vision of you and your DH nearly sitting side by side waiting for each other

Love the end of the video with your DH & DD dancing, so cute

 

[monica23535]

Another great update

The video was awesome, I loved it when your DH and DD were bumping each other at the end!

I wish I was at TL right now

 

[petals]

DH would kill me if he knew I put that clip into the video! He is a nut for sure! But we did have a really good time there. You should make a point to get over there on your next trip!

Aw but it was so cute little daddy daughter moment.

Will have to try work it in. Won't be this year though

 

[brookelizabeth]

Ahhhh! Now we MUST try the water parks! I'm a total ride weine too, but I'm trying to be braver with water slides, letting my brain rein instead of my fear. I even braved one of the slides at Pelican Plunge! It calms me knowing another ride weine had a good time doing the slides.

That is hilarious about sitting back to back on the bench! Oh too funny!!! That is something we would do too! What a fun memory.