So last week I had this crazy idea. It's getting warmer out, and pretty soon we won't want to hit the amusement parks anymore- because when it gets to be 100 degrees with 100 percent humidity anything you do outside needs to involve a beach, a pool, or a waterpark. Which is fine because I live in Florida, and I'm surrounded by those things. But we do miss walking comfortably around all the parks. So anyway, I thought we should squeeze as many as we could into one day, without going overboard of course. Four parks, one day- pretty epic, right? Except, theres no way the kids would go for that. They hate the whole parking, walking, tram ride, walking, bag check, entry line. Doing it once is fine, twice I can even get away with- but four times in one day, no way. So, I came up with a genius plan. We would tell them it was Asa's plan, not mine. Because everytime Asa 'has a plan', the boys think it's the best idea ever. So, we're sitting on the couch last week and I prompt Asa:
Me: "So, what do you want to do this weekend?"
Asa: "I've got the best idea, ever. We should go to FOUR parks in one day"
Calib: "That could be fun."
Me: "Yea, but four in one day. That seems like overkill"
Peyton: "Come on Mom, it'll be so much fun.. pleasssssse! We can do it!"
Mission Accomplished.
So, I spent most of last Friday packing for being gone all day Saturday. Picnic meals, snacks, breakfast for the car ride, backpacks for the parks, the beach bag for the water park, a change of clothes and shoes for everyone. (Because you want to wear flip flops to the water park, and not wear your swimsuit all day.)I even got out everyones clothes the night before. I went to the store, I made uncrustables, and cookies, cleaned all kinds of fruit, and packed the car.
We got up at 7 on Saturday morning and headed out. We all ate breakfast in the car. Our frist stop was the Animal Kingdom. We got there right at 9 when they opened. It was seemingly crowded: but Asa ran off to get fast passes to Expedition Everest and the rest of us headed straight back to Kilimonjaro Safari's. It had been a long time since we had been to the Animal Kingdom, so Hayden didn't even really remember it. This was by far the best trip I've ever had on the Safari though. For those of you who haven't been on it: It's a jeep that drives you around while animals are roaming all around. We saw TONS of animals. I think it had something to do with the early morning trip, as opposed to late afternoon when all the animals are hiding in the shade taking naps. A couple of baby elephants, warthogs, and hippos later- we split up to maximize our time. We were on a strict schedule. The Animal Kingdom is the only park with a Lion King show, and since Hayden is all about the Lion King, I took him over to see it while Asa, Calib and Peyton headed off to the roller coaster. I've gotta say, as far as amusement park shows go: this has to be one of the best. Hayden LOVED it. He was happy to tell Asa all about it: "There was a guy who swallowed fire, and he didn't even die!" After all of that we headed over to Dino World. Sadly, Hayden was too scared to go on Prime Evil Whirl, but he was happy to take a spin on the dinosaurs (which is the animal kingdom equivelent to dumbo/flying carpets). A quick stop at the playground, and our carefully planned 3 hours at Animal Kingdom was up, so we headed out notcing the flood of people still coming in. It was clearly going to be a very crowded day. Luckily, we never waited more than 15 minutes for anything.
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1 park down. 2 to go.
We ate lunch in the Animal Kingdom parking lot. I was so prepared with bottles of lemonade, uncrustables, applesauce, goldfish and freshly baked peanut butter cookies (who knew 1 cup of peanut butter, 3/4 cup of sugar, 1 egg and some vanilla made such easy delicious cookies!) By this time it was getting pretty warm, so we decided Aquatica (Seaworld's waterpark) would be our next stop. The parking lot had only one row left before it was full, but it's at least one of those parks where the people disperse well. At this point there was talk of adding a park #5 to the list and trying to squueze in Hollywood Studios. We changed into our swimsuits and found a nice spot to drop all our stuff over by the kids area. We took a trip down the crazy river, played in the giant bucket area, and went down the family slide. Hayden absolutely loves the kids area there, and I can't say I blame him. They have small slides for the kids, but not tiny slides. One even has a tube you use to go down. It's like a kids his age area as opposed to a baby area, so that's nice for him. Plus he's easilly occupied while Asa, Peyton and Calib go off to do bigger kid stuff. I got to just park it sitting in the water underneith a palm tree. It was pretty relaxing. Around 4 we decided it was time to head out, took a quick spin around the lazy river, stopped to see the dolphins- and walked back to the car.
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2 parks down. 2 to go.
Our next stop was Seaworld, which is right next door to Aquatica. The second we took the corner though- we knew it was uber busy at Seaworld. The overflow parking lot across the street was even full. We did find a spot where someone had left closer to the gate, so we parked there- repacked some more snacks in the backpack, applied sunscreen application number 4, and headed in. We stopped by and pet the sting rays, and attempted to pet the dolphins. (They however are much less exctied about the guests who don't have food for them) Then our next stop was the brand new Turtle Trek. It's a 3D show in a dome. They basically recreate the life of a sea turtle from hatching in it's egg to returning to the same beach to lay her eggs. You get to see it from the turtles point of view. And, IT. IS. AWESOME. Our only issue with it was they tried to claim it was a '30 minute experience'. Well, the show itself was 10- but then there were two holding rooms you had to stay in each for 10 minutes. While there was a cool aquarium of manatees, and rescued sea turtles, I'd hardly count those rooms as part of the 'experience'. Because of the crowds, and the fact that Turtle Trek had opened the day before that took up almost an hour of our time. Seaworld closes early, so we only had about an hour left.
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Peyton was finally tall enough to go on the coaster they have there, the Manta. I would go on this thing, but it looks terrifying. Not because of it's height or anything, but because of the way you sit in the seat. Ok, people who don't know what this is: think raptor. Then think about them tipping all those seats forward so that you're hanging there, looking straight down at the ground. Yes. Terrifying. But, Peyton went on it and loved it. I gladly took Hayden to the aquarium section to look at the fish, where he told the string ray keeper to 'look out for those deadly things', and happily took some pictures. We headed back to feed the sealions, which we were both super excited about it. (That and a dole whip was all I really wanted out of the day) But, with the park closing in under an hour feeding time was over. We were both so bummed, but on the way up we walked past a game. Usually we don't ever play games, but this one was a guarenteed prize, so for $3 I let Hayden play. All he had to do was pick up a floating sting ray and got whatever color sting ray it said to pick. He ended up with a small blue one, but was pretty happy with that. We meant up with the braver 3/5 of our group and headed out.
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3 parks down. 1 to go.
By the time we got out of the Seaworld parking lot it was nearing 7. We had ruled out going to a 5th park, and I was really starting to rethink number 4. It wasn't because of the kid's behavior or anything. Just being in the sun all day had drained me, and the thought of serving up another picnic meal wasn't appealing to me. Plus the fact that when we went through the parking gate, we realized somewhere along the way Asa had lost his pass. I'm thinking back when he turned in the fast passes for Expedition Everest. Then we saw the parking lot: just as crowded as all the others, all the way to the back. At this point we were having serious misgivings about going to the Magic Kingdom. (And I was also amazed the sheer volume of people at all the amusement parks- thats alot of people!) Asa and I thought maybe we could park at the Polynesian Resort instead of the Magic Kingdom parking lot, stop by and get a self serve dole whip as a little pick me up before heading over to the park. So, we went through the gate, told the man at the little parking station our plan and he happily let us through. Except, we drove around for 10 minutes and couldn't find a parking spot there either. It was at this point Asa and I were pretty set on calling it a night. If we left now, we'd be home in our jammies, after a long day by 8:30. The boys were not whiney about this, but they were clearly upset. We told them: by the time we park, eat our picnic dinner, and take the monorail over to the Magic Kingdom it's going to be like an hour from now. They understood, but they wanted to go anyway. So, because they had been so well behaved all day, we found a parking spot close to the front, parked, and I pulled out my thermos of sloppy joes. I served up some grapes, chips, and peanut butter cookies along side it, and they happily ate it. Even Peyton who usually hates sloppy joes. Asa finished ahead of us, and went up to get a new pass. They replaced it quickly, with no problems at all and we met Asa up at the monorail.
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Just as the sun was setting, we got into the park. It was evident it was going to be crowded, but after dinner I had my second wind- so we hopped on the train and headed back to Fantasy Land. The new area is starting to open in phases: We hopped on the barnstormer, a kiddy coaster. Hayden was scared at first, but he rode it. Then we walked over and went on Snow White, and Winnie the Pooh. Pooh had recently been refurbished with all kinds of fun things to do while you waited in line. Think popping balls basketball, bees like those bead things that run along crazy wires you see in pediatricians offices, and a touch screen with dripping honey that moved when you wrote on it. Those lines had gotten pretty short because it was parade time, so everyone was off watching that. The boys all managed to get on the teacups without waiting at all, and when they got off there we noticed the cars had the smallest line I'd ever seen for them. We quickly all ran over to them. I called not riding with Hayden: and Asa found out why. Although, apparently Hayden has realized what an awful driver he is, because he told Asa after he had given him whiplash: "I don't think I'm very good at that driving thing".
When we had gotten off the ride the line was about 10 times longer than when we had gotten on. That semeed to be how it was working for us. We'd hit the rides at the right time. Besides the barnstormer, I don't think we waited more than 10 minutes for anything that night. We got on the people mover, and as we were going around past the castle, we got to see tinkerbell fly down from the castle and the fireworks begin. It was pretty good timing. We ran over to Space Ranger Spin, because it's always a must stop for us, and the ride stopped when Asa and I were right on a target. (If you don't know, it's a video game type ride where you shoot targets and try and get a high score) Usually the lazers turn off if the ride stops, but this time they stayed on, prompting shoot after shoot of 5,000 points. Asa's response: 'This is the best day EVER'.
I had considered leaving after this point, but the boys really wanted to go to the Laugh Floor to see the Monsters from Monster's Inc. tell their jokes. There still had been no whining up to this point, so we went to see the show. Afterwards Asa and Calib went on stiches great escape, and I took the other two on Space Ranger spin one more time. Then we headed out. It was 11:30. We decided to take the boat back over to the parking lot. On the boat the boys were so exhausted Hayden nearly feel asleep. It was evident to me at that point that we probably should have left before the Laugh Floor. Hayden did manage to walk to the car under his own power though. Everyone's getting a bit too big to be carried.
Peyton and Hayden were asleep before we even got out of the parking lot. Asa ravenously ate a bunch of leftover donut holes for breakfast, and when I called him out on eating like eight of them he responded with "psh. I've had at least double that". I guess we did walk a ton though, so it all evens out. We tried to talk to Calib for a little bit, but his brain was so tired he lacked any sort of comprehension. Asa would say something totally normal to him, and his response was "What? I don't understand. You're talking too fast". He fell asleep shortly there after and Asa and I had a nice peaceful ride home. We got back around 1 am.
4 parks down. We used a whole bottle of sunscreen, only spent $3, and refilled our water bottle about a million times. Sad news though: I never did get my dole whip.
Sunday was quite the recovery day. I felt like I had been hit by a bus the next morning. Plus, I had a blister on the bottom of each of my feet. Apparently I need some new tennis shoes. Asa had volunteered to work a few hours to shave off some time on Wednesday, and the boys and I worked on some homework and things. Pretty boring.
So, fun Monday story for you. The last two weeks, Gerald McCoy from the Bucs had been running a contest. He rented out a movie theater for the Avengers the day it came out (Friday May 4th). 200 people would win, and each would be allowed a guest. Asa, being more of an Avengers fan (and much more optimistic than me) religiously entered every single day. I entered twice: both times when he made me, even when I said 'this is stupid. You know how many people are going to enter this? Theres only 200 tickets' So Monday Night I'm being a nerd watching Dancing with the Stars, playing words with friends, and wandering around on my laptop- I see Gerald McCoy tweet 'Congratulations to the winners, emails should be sent'. I continue on my aimless wandering around twitter- and then, just for the heck of it, go check my email. And there it was:
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
You and a guest have been selected to view The Avengers with Tampa Bay Buccaneer Gerald McCoy on Friday, May 4! Gerald McCoy is excited to see The Avengers with 400 of our most diehard Buccaneers fans this coming Friday night!
Yes, I had won. I could hardly believe it! I'd never won a drawing like that before, ever. I thought, surely hardly anyone must have entered. I yelled for Asa showed him the email and he flipped out. Apparently he had previously seen the tweet and checked his email. Nothing for him. Mr. 'I applied everyday for two weeks' got nothing. And I won! I teased him mercilessly all week about it. Contemplating out loud who my one guest should be. He was not amused.
Tuesday we had Middle School Orientation for Calib. Here's the situation. I felt super old going to MIDDLE SCHOOL Parent Orientation, right? I mean, how am I old enough to have a kid in middle school? Well, let me tell you: going to middle school orientation had the complete opposite effect on me. 1. I do not own a pant suit. 2. I do not wear my cell phone attached to my belt loop as if I'm some important business person. 3. I do not have grey hair. 4. Nor am I balding. I'm pretty sure Asa and I were like 10 years younger than any other parent there.
In keeping with that theme, we were also the only ones snickering to each other. We decided next time we have to go to one of those things we're going to make bingo cards with all the obvious phrases: be kind to others, keep up with your homework, follow the rules. Blah, Blah, Blah. However we got some good Harry Potter jokes in when we realized he's going to be a 'Raven Claw'. If only he got sorted into Gryffindor. Everyone knows all the cool kids go there.
Wednesday Asa only worked until 11, so we got to have date day. I pulled out my stack of groupons I had been collecting, and we decided to use them to go to the Bayshore Market, Eats! American Grill and finish up with a trip to Adventure Island. I really would like to go do something besides Adventure Island, but I can't even tell you how non-crowded it is on the week days. It's too hard to resist 4 trips around the lazy river without seeing anyone but life guards. Eats! was great too. Lunch ended up costing $1.31 (they had delicious homemade potato chips by the way if you ever happen to be on South Dale Mabry it's worth a stop) and the Market had some awesome jams, bread, and fruit which was all under the groupon price.
Plus on Wednesday, when we got home, I had this waiting in the mail for me:
Yesterday, Calib collected on his personal day. Each semester the boys get one personal day earned if they are doing well in school, and haven't otherwise missed a lot of days. I asked him what he had wanted to do with it and he decided just to stay home and play video games. That was fine by me, so Asa worked from home, he played his video games, and I finished another book on my kindle.
Funny Hayden-isms:
Asa : "I just taught Hayden a new skill.. are you ready for this?'
*pulls milk jug out from behind him, gives it to Hayden and Hayden drinks out of it*
Hayden: 'TaDa!'
Then, they both put their arms in their air as if they just conqured a mountain
How I know Asa Waterstraut and Hayden were talking about throwing blue turtle shells and banana's while on their way back from the store: (door flings open)
Hayden: "Guys! I have the best idea ever! We need to build a Mario Kart track."
Academic Update:
I'm happy to say everyone had stellar progress reports!
Next Up: The Avengers with Gerald McCoy, Blueberry Picking, and Symphonies!
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