Ryan, Debi, and Toren Cragun's Blog

I can’t really speak for everyone else on the trip, but I think it’s probably safe to say that most of us had relatively low expectations of Busch Gardens in Tampa.  We had just visited four of the world’s most famous amusement parks – Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom, Universal Studios, and Sea World – and really were not expecting very much from Busch Gardens.  Debi and I, despite having lived in Tampa now for 4 years, had never been to Busch Gardens, though our friends had and they seemed to think it was fine.  So, with low expectations, we bundled everyone into the cars and headed out.

Turns out, Busch Gardens is pretty cool and a very nice contrast to the Orlando theme parks.  While it was busy (and we now know it’s busier on the weekends), it wasn’t even close to as busy as were the Disney parks or Sea World.  Also, there is a kid’s area at Busch Gardens with a Sesame Street theme that has everything all together: splash pads, wading pools, kids rides, food, family bathrooms, etc.  I think most everyone thought Busch Gardens was the highlight of the trip as everyone really seemed to enjoy it.

Rosemary booked a lunch experience with Sesame Street characters.  The lunch, while simple, was actually perfect – it was a buffet with food items kids will eat: macaroni and cheese, chicken fingers, vegetables, rolls, etc. and it was good enough that all of the adults liked it as well.  While you’re eating, Sesame Street characters come into the pavilion and put on a little show then walk around for photos.  Toren, once again, freaked out when the characters got close, even though he actually knows who Elmo is (he has watched a number of Sesame Street episodes).  He wouldn’t shake their hands, touch them, or even look at them for the most part.  He just huddled next to me, waiting for them to leave:

Toren loves Cookie Monster, but not in real life! :(

a photo with Elmo and Big Bird; Toren just stared at Big Bird the whole time

The other kids seemed to enjoy themselves.

Debi had to leave for class after lunch, and Toren had had enough of the characters, so we skipped out early and headed for the splash pads.  Not realizing they had splash pads, we didn’t bring a swimsuit for Toren, but we always have swim diapers in his diaper bag, so I threw on a swim diaper and let him have at it:

He had a great time in the splash pad.  He even made some, well, let’s say really close friends.  Close enough that one boy pinched his butt and a little girl decided to check out his… um… package (funniest video ever):

After a good hour and a half of playing in the water, Toren was ready for something different.  So we got him dressed and went on the rides.  Here he is on the merry-go-round:

Then he went for a ride on the swings.  Two videos of that:

There were so few people at Busch Gardens that the kids basically got to ride the rides over and over.  Occasionally they would be the only ones on the rides.  It was great.

Debi met back up with us after her class and we stopped at Subway by our house on the way back to the beach then called it a night.

We drove to Treasure Island, which is a barrier island right next to St. Petersburg, and checked into some very nice condos right on the beach.  We then all went out to the beach and played, then transitioned to the resort’s swimming pools, before heading in for dinner and a relatively relaxing evening.  I ended up cooking dinner (the condos had full kitchens) and don’t like taking my nice camera to the beach, so no photos of this day.  It was a nice change of pace, though, from amusement parks.

Day 5 took us to Sea World.  Debi and I went to Sea World in, I think, 2003, over the winter break, so we remembered some of the attractions.  But they have changed the shows substantially since then so there was plenty new to see. Also, we have a kid now, which changes the way you approach amusement parks.

We saw the killer whale show in Shamu Stadium and the dolphin show (some saw it twice while Brent and I went on an adult ride; Manta).  We also saw A’Lure, which is like low budget Cirque du Soleil show that was good.  But, mostly, the kids played in the kids play area.  With both Debi and I around, I was free to snap some photos with the good camera.  Here are some shots of Toren playing in the play area:

Toren playing a steel drum

Toren asking Sid the Science Kid's question, "What's up with the sky?"

A quick clip on the Merry-Go-Round:

And here are a few shots from the shows (helps having a nice camera):

dolphins!

big air!

synchronized whale jumping

While Toren liked the the shows, particularly the dolphin show that now incorporates birds, divers, and other students, for some reason he kept gravitating to a pearl diving attraction (divers will dive down and pick up oysters for you with pearls in them).  Not sure what he loved about this, but we must have spent about 1 1/2 hours here watching the divers:

the diver is just to Toren's right; not sure what he's doing with his legs here

he was spoiled with gummy snacks during this trip

Um, yeah... Not sure but it's funny.

This was our last day in Orlando.  I think we ate pizza at the hotel this night.

Steve and I split off from the main group this day and went to Universal Studios.  If it were not for the new Harry Potter part of the park, I would not have been all that interested, but I’ve read all the books and heard a lot about the new attraction so I thought it might be worth going to see.  It was cool, though incredibly crowded and probably a disappointment given the hype.  But I did get to go on the rides and drink butterbeer in front of Hogwarts:

drinking a $4.00 cup of butterbeer in front of Hogwarts

With just the two of us, Steve and I managed to hit pretty much all of the adult rides in the Islands of Adventure park.

Meanwhile, the rest of the family went back to Magic Kingdom and spent the day there.

On a side note, when Steve and I walked out to our car to head to Universal Studios we noticed that one of the tires was flat.  We ended up putting on the spare, driving it to the shop, dropping it off to be repaired, then picking it back up on the way home.  The rest of the family ate at Magic Kingdom, so Steve and I picked up some grub on the way back to the hotel and called it a day.

The Harry Potter attraction is cool and probably worth seeing, but don’t get your hopes up too high.  It’s smaller than you’d think and the main ride isn’t particularly impressive (one of the others is pretty good though).

Day 3 was at the Magic Kingdom.  We started the morning with breakfast with Chef Mickey and friends.  Toren likes looking at people in costumes and finds them entertaining, but only from afar.  When costumed individuals get close he freaks out.  So, he kind of had a rough time at breakfast (and he didn’t sleep well and wouldn’t nap).  Here’s the best we could pull off as far as pictures go:

His name is Goofy, but to Toren he's "Creepy"

"Why am I standing next to a five and a half foot tall mouse, Dad? I don't think this is normal."

After breakfast we headed to the Magic Kingdom where we rode various rides.  Here’s a shot of Toren being creeped out by the dolls in “It’s a Small World” (like father like son, I guess):

Toren on the "It's a Small (Creepy) World" ride

And some clips of Toren and Debi on the Dumbo ride:

Toren and Debi on the Dumbo ride getting ready to fly

waving from the Dumbo ride

waving at the end of the ride

Toren’s two favorite activities were playing at the Winnie the Pooh ride and driving the cars.  He liked driving the cars so much I had to keep filming him (thus the three clips below):

I also shot a quick clip of this rabbit just hanging out in the park:

As evening neared a massive storm cloud approached.  We dashed toward the Toy Story ride just as it hit and then found ourselves pushed out of the ride afterward into the torrential rain.  We made our way into another exhibit to wait it out, then decided to call it an evening as the fireworks were cancelled.  Unfortunately, the train caused some problems with the trams, making our trek home take about 2 1/2 hours.  Ugh!  Otherwise, it was a good day at Disney.