pfalcioni

After an easy morning drive from Tampa we arrived at our Orlando house, I was a little nervous about this place because it’s the first time I’d ever used VRBO and the rental had been on the market for just a few months so it only had two reviews, but it was one of only 3 rentals in our price range that accepted cats and the only one that was a home rather than a condo. Another added plus was that the owners were extremely accommodating, they thought of everything including asking if we’d like them to buy a litter box and cat litter for Tajah. I mean seriously, they were almost too nice. I began wondering if it was some sort of plot to trap us into a sex slave ring or something but then I realized I’m a fat middle-aged lady, no one’s gonna pay for a piece of me unless they’re cannibals who like aged meat or something. Anywhoo, pulling up to our home for the next 2 weeks looked a bit uninspiring from the outside, But inside was pretty darned awesome! Tajah usually takes awhile to get comfortable in a new place, but it was like she knew this would be home for awhile and instantly settled in for some serious kitty R&R (sleeping, eating, sleeping, more sleeping, ear scritches, sleeping). We set her up with all the comforts of home and headed off to make a Walmart and Publix run. I think we may have overdone it a bit… So, this is for us and whose army? We got everything unloaded, made a few drinks and spent the evening relaxing by the pool. I could get used to this. We headed to bed pretty early because we knew we’d be up before daylight in the morning. Years ago I read a trip report here on TPR about a day at Discovery Cove, I thought it looked amazing but I figured it wasn’t ever going to happen for me because of a few reasons, mainly time constraints and cost. Also, Mike is one of those crazy people who absolutely can’t sit still for a second so “relaxing vacations” don’t really happen for us -- until this trip. I had the trifecta of time, a husband that was sore and achy so relaxing sounded less like torture to him, and money - Discovery Cove was offering the 14-day deal that included Busch Gardens, Aquatica, Sea World, 1 day at Discovery Cove and free parking, all for about $200 per person -- an amazing deal considering a day at DC runs about $150. Oh heck yeah I’m taking advantage of that! Mike still wasn’t that thrilled about the prospect of laying on a lounge chair sipping cheap beer, but I told him that because of the ticket deal we were actually saving money by spending a day here. (I know, it’s totally Disney math, but he bought it). Fortunately the weather was going to be cooperative today, with a high of around 80 and no wind in the forecast. Yay for Florida Winter Weather! We checked in and received our lanyards, I loved that they had a map and all the information we’d need to enjoy our day printed right on them. Mike was still a little grumpy about the whole situation, especially when the first 2 hours were basically taken up with him drinking coffee and asking “why did we have to get here so early, and why aren’t they letting us into the water yet?” I explained that normal people eat breakfast, and that’s what I was doing. Mike doesn’t eat breakfast, so the place wasn’t really impressing him yet. I, on the other hand, am impressed with this great breakfast. It was finally time to get changed, so we headed to the shower rooms. Mike is slowly showing signs that he likes the place, it’s hard not to because we’re wandering lonely pathways through a gorgeous tropical garden and getting glimpses of dolphins swimming in a nearby cove. Even the bathrooms here are beautiful. And the towels are warm! We pick up our dorky swim vests and masks and decide to head to the lazy river first since the water is warmer there. As we float along, Mike says, “This is amazing, why haven’t we done this before?” Me, “Uh, because you said it sounded stupid and expensive?” Mike “Oh yeah. Well, I was wrong.” We stop to wander through the bird area and there’s a friendly expert here handing us little cups of fruit for the birds, but even before we pick up food we’ve got some curious critters stopping by to say hi. Then we get some food in hand and we suddenly have a bunch of new friends. This is so cool! It’s like what you think the bird feeding opportunities at zoos (or Busch Gardens) should be like but they can’t because there’s just too many people going through them every day. Here I am dripping wet in a swimsuit and I’m feeding beautiful tropical birds and if I’m hungry or thirsty I can float a bit more and grab something to nosh on while I relax in the sun. It’s like a little slice of heaven on earth. And to think I only added this to the itinerary because it would get me free parking at Busch Gardens! Happy Campers! After floating around a few laps we decided to head over to the Grand Reef and check that out. On the way there Mike discovered the warm pretzels and decided he might want to move to Orlando and spend his life as a Discovery Cove beach bum. He checked the water temp at the Grand Reef and decided he’d rather start his beach bum life with a nice nap so he found a perfect spot in the sun and was snoring in seconds. I, on the other hand, was totally excited to swim with the fishes! Mike was a diver in the Navy and was stationed in Hawaii for a few years so swimming with tropical fish wasn’t anything new and exciting to him, but for me this would be a new experience. I’d never even used a snorkel before, so after a few humorously failed tries I finally figured out how the thing works and started swimming and suddenly I’m in another world. This is amazing. Yes, I know I’m just in a swimming pool filled with fake coral in the middle of a water park but it sure doesn’t feel like that when a few rays swim by just inches from my outstretched hand. This feels downright epic. They even have fish that are trained to smile for your camera! I end up spending hours here, just floating around and taking way too many photos. (nurse) Shark!!! My hunger finally got the best of me and I headed in to grab some lunch, they had a ton of really good options, I had the grilled fish which was fresh and really flavorful - although it did seem a little weird to be swimming with the fish one minute and eating them the next. Mike woke up long enough to have a huge salad which made him happy. We also grabbed beer and a few different desserts which we shared. There are a ton of really good food choices, the only frustration is that I hate eating a ton of food before I swim so I held off on totally pigging out. Mike finished off his lunch with a few more warm pretzels and I discovered they had warm chocolate chip cookies in the same cabinet and yeah, I ate waaaay too many of those warm gooey chocolatey things. We did another few spins in the lazy river and Mike was ready for Beach Bum Nap Session #2, so I headed back to the Grand Reef where I found a guy talking about these weird looking crabs in one of the small tidepools at the edge of the Reef. These Horseshoe Crabs are pretty spry for living fossils! By 4pm we were both tired and the wind was starting to kick up a bit so we decided to head out. Tajah was upset to be leaving so soon as she still hadn’t caught her fill of fish, but we got her out of the pool with the promise of unlimited helpings of her favorite cat crack (Temptations). We had an amazing day at Discovery Cove, I can’t say enough nice things about this place, it’s just an incredible experience from the minute you walk through the doors. The employees were helpful, friendly and knowledgeable, the food was great and the place is just gorgeous and well-maintained. I would have felt like we got our money’s worth even if we’d paid the $140pp without any other parks included.

There's something I've been wondering for awhile about Japanese amusement parks, it seems like smaller parks aren't that concerned with what their rides look like, you see lots of faded paint and rust, which seems sort of counter to Japanese culture which is generally so neat and tidy. Have you ever heard the reasoning behind this, or is it just that these smaller parks aren't making that much money so they focus on maintenance rather than looks?

This is the only park I've never bought FP for because of the stupid single ride on pretty much the only rides that can have really long wait times even on slower days. But I'd jump on it right now because they're giving you the platinum pass for the price of the regular one.

Fred and Wilma would have a little Pebbles, right? And I laughed out loud at the Dark Knight caption capture.

Parking is free with your Platinum Pass and you can definitely park in the main lot and walk to the beach, there's a new walkway that'll take you all along the East side all the way to Breakers.

The sloth is my spirit animal so I simply mind melded with him and knew when to time the shot.

Now Mystery Spot I've been to, twice! It's definitely funky and happily it doesn't take itself too seriously. Somewhere in one of my old 1970's scrapbooks is a Mystery Spot bumper sticker. For awhile they were all the rage here in Oregon, like every station wagon had a Mystery Spot bumper sticker, I have no idea why.

Board Wok! Brilliant! We've been to Santa Cruz a couple of times, but have never made it out to the Boardwalk for various reasons. Every TR on here that talks about this place shows me what an idiot I am for not insisting on including this in our itineraries.

Is that in the new R-Rated section of the park?

I'm impressed that you did these all in a week, this is one of my dream lineups but every time I try to pencil everything in it ends up being at least 12 park days. Foot blisters suck, especially when you're walking theme parks. I used to actually carry an extra set of socks in my pack just in case it rained, I never ended up using the darned things and now I've pared my park stuff down to a runner's waist pack there's no space for socks. I guess I hate dealing with lockers more than I hate potential blisters!

Look at that teeny tiny itty bitty footprint! I could store that thing in my garage over the winter then drag it outside every spring.

I know it's a tangent, but it would be interesting to know the numbers of Disney parks guests who have never been to another theme or amusement park, from personal experience about a third of my Disney-fanatic online buddies have only done Disney and haven't even ventured to Universal, another quarter have done the Florida trifecta of WDW, Universal and either Legoland or Sea World but no other parks. These parks seem to attract a different demographic, I know there's ride geeks like you guys who love all parks, but I'd think the greater majority of WDW/DL guests are not parkgoers, they're Disney people.

I'm a newbie to posting on TPR, but I've been reading here for years. I feel a bit awkward offering you condolences, but I wanted you to know that I've thoroughly enjoyed your various trip reports, your and Michael's relationship has always reminded me of a good friend of mine who was married to the love of his life for 20 years, she was an amazing lady and they were perfect for each other, she just happened to be 20 years older than him. She passed away 2 years ago after battling cancer and it's still a shock to see him without her by his side, they were such a perfect team. You seem to have had a similar relationship and I am so sorry Michael is no longer by your side.

If I'm showing ride videos to non-rider friends I always show them TPR vids because you capture the feel of a ride experience better. A great example is the Steel Vengeance official video versus your "hair time" video, the official vid is fine for real coaster nuts, but when I wanted to show my family what it feels like to ride this thing, I showed them Hair Time.

My very non-enthusiast 87 year old mother saw a story on the SV opening day incident and talked to me about it before our trip, so Fox news must have covered it since her tv set doesn't seem to respond to any other channel request. I could see the incident having some minor effect on attendance if the GP decides to wait until later in the season for their annual trip so there's more likelihood of SV running properly. Whatever the reason, it's got to drive the executive side of Cedar Point nuts to see a huge investment like Steel Vengeance open to massive fanfare and excellent reviews then see the attendance numbers drop.

I'm planning a Southern coaster road trip this fall and have added California's Great America just because of Railblazer, the ride looks like a kick!

We used to get hassled the most by the US side, but starting with our 2017 Alaska trip it's flipped, the Canadian guys are now more hardass with the 30-second stare and 20 questions. At first we chalked it up to the hassle of bringing a shotgun through Canada, the questioning was serious and relentless. Then we had the same thing happen on our most recent trips, lots of questions entering Canada, no questions on the way back to the US - one trip we had a ton of stuff in the back of the truck, two motorcycles and a car engine, the guy didn't even ask us about any of it. It's not stopping us from visiting (we're going back again next month), but I'll admit I now feel a little nervous rolling up to the border.

Thanks! Shooting motorcycle racing has given me lots of practice. The main challenge was the camera which was just a little Canon point & shoot, I had it on burst and just kept panning the action, only one shot in the series came out.

Now that you mention it, we've seen the same thing on the West Coast on our two trips in the past 6 months. Both times the border crossings were less crowded than during previous trips during the same time of year. We always watch the wait times online and often would end up driving to one of the smaller crossings because Peace Arch is like an hour or more wait, this year it was less than 20 minutes even when we crossed during the busiest time of the day. When we mentioned how wonderful it was to get through customs in minutes instead of hours the Canadian Border Patrol guy said they were down about 20% on crossings from previous years. He didn't offer any reasons.

The photos from Falls Park are gorgeous! Did you use a tripod or do you just have a really steady hand? Our west coast Sasquatch doesn't have dat ass, you grow 'em fit on your side of the country.

I'm starving right now and just looking at those gigantic pancakes makes me feel stuffed. That photo could be a great diet aid... Nah, now I want pancakes.

So, I’ll put this out there right at the start of this report, I love the hell out of this park. I love it so much I wrote the book on it. Literally. Admittedly, it’s not a very good book, but waaay back in 2015 for a short time it was #1 in Travel/Tampa on Amazon. As an aside, if you’re thinking about earning a little money by writing a travel book, I’m here to tell you that “little money” thing is exceedingly, painfully, accurate. So anywhoo, I just wanted to get this out of the way so you know this report will be totally biased because I think this place is the perfect mix of coasters and animals. Well that, and this bird stole my wallet and wouldn’t give it back unless I said nice things about the park. I also want to mention that some of these photos are from previous visits (I didn’t take many pics this time). We have 2 park days in the park, Mike joined me on the first day and I did a solo run the second day while Mike spent all our money at antique stores in the area. Day one saw us at the gates before rope drop, chatting with a bunch of retirees from all over the country. Nothing makes me feel younger than a rope drop at Busch when they’ve got the Real Music concerts going on. These free concerts feature popular 1960’s groups. This, paired with really inexpensive annual passes, means every day is Senior Day when there’s a concert happening. Honestly, I think we’re the youngest people here right now. Sooooo many white tennis shoes and sweater sets. Mike usually loves zoos and anything to do with animals (that’s probably no surprise, considering our travel companion), but he really wasn’t feeling it today. Back in October he was riding his bicycle and some idiot ran a stop sign and really messed up our fall riding season. Along with broken ribs and bone chips in his elbow and ankle, Mike’s worst injury was a broken pelvis. Fortunately it didn’t require surgery, but unfortunately it was taking ages to heal. All the walking required at a theme park was causing pain, which required pain meds, which made Mike sleepy. So I didn’t get in nearly as many rides as I usually do, but fortunately Busch is lots of fun even if you’re just riding the train around all afternoon. Of course that’s not what we wasted rope drop on! We headed right over to Cheetah Hunt, only to be stopped by a Greeter Cat. He’s sitting right at the glass just calmly watching the humans in the human zoo. Hello, welcome to Busch Gardens, would you like to see me run really really fast? After losing the staring contest, I headed off to ride, Mike found a nice bench for a homeless-person-napping session. I loves me some Cheetah Hunt, and I love it even more when I can loop it multiple times before the crowds hit. This morning I lucked out and got about 5 rides in before any kind of line started forming. Pretty, pretty airtime machine. Next stop Montu, which is one of the few inverts with standard restraints that I can ride multiple times with no head-bangey brain pain. Such a fun and forceful flight! Before going back to collect Mike I gave the new (to me) Cobra’s Curse a spin. Actually, I wish I had been able to give it a spin, this spinning coaster is decidedly lacking in spinney-ness, although it does a good job of fitting a family-friendly niche that was lacking at Busch, besides the cool lift mechanism, the ride itself is pretty meh to me. Before leaving the area we caught the awesomeness that is Cheetah Run. It’s incredible to see these cats at full-tilt-boogie, but also really cool to see how the handlers interact with their cat buddies. In keeping with the cat theme, we spent some time with these guys, who take the art of relaxation to a whole other level. As much as I like cats, I will admit that the hyena exhibit is one of my favorites in the park. On our first visit years ago this was one of the first exhibits we saw, coming around a corner we were suddenly face-to-face with one of these puppos and suddenly I realized that objects on tv were sometimes not nearly as large or lethal looking as they are in real life. Dang, they’re scary as heck. Scary even when they’re doing goofy dog things. Next we headed towards Walkabout Way, hoping that an early morning visit would garner hungrier kangas and thirstier lorikeets. We usually do this stuff in the late afternoon and have mixed results, I thought I’d beat the system this time and we’d be mobbed by wide-awake and starving beasties ready to exchange great photo ops for treats. Denied! The hoppers were all sleeping and the birds all should have had names like Bitey and Grumpy. I guess it’s more the luck of the draw. I’d recommend walking inside the enclosures to see if the animals are interacting before you spend $$ on food. Fortunately, we’d had other trips with tons of great interactions. Although I think this wallaby still has Mike’s watch. This area is one of the prettiest in the park and it’s usually overlooked due to its lack of major attractions. We’ve had the best luck with random interaction opportunities over here, from birds to sloths. Plus this little microcosm of Australian Outback houses some of the weirdest birds I’ve ever seen. Because Mike wasn’t really into much more walking, we decided to pay the extra $$ for the Serengeti Safari, which we’ve done a few times before. I think this is such a good deal for $29pp, over at Animal Kingdom encounters like this start at $70 and go waaaay up from there. Obligatory giraffe photo op. We were also treated to an Extra Magic Moment between a couple of zebras. “Let me show you the dance of my people” After our R-rated safari, we wandered over to the Elephant enclosure and had fun watching them totally destroy a bunch of toys and interactive stuff the handlers had spent a lot of time setting up. It was nearing park close and Mike was definitely done with walking so we headed back to our La Quinta for the night. The next morning Mike dropped me off at the park entrance and I was totally excited to start my first solo park day of this trip. I love solo park days, I’m a loner at heart and I’m also a selfish wench so the ability to ride whatever I want whenever I want is pretty awesome. I spent most of the day looping faves and wandering through the animal exhibits. I even took time to visit the Animal Care Center and see a veterinarian stitch up a wild pelican that had tangled with a fishing hook. It was fascinating and educational, and I learned how much Busch does for the local wildlife, taking in and healing hundreds of birds and other animals every year before re-releasing them to the wild. But hovering over everything I did was this thing… Yeah, I see you there Falcon’s Fury, taunting my fear of heights and general wimpy-ness. So here’s the deal, I’m terrified of heights. I can get weak-kneed and woozy just standing in our backyard (I have an excuse, there’s a 300’ deep canyon back there). I know we all have something we’re scared of, mine just happens to be heights. And spiders. And human interaction. And did I mention heights? Yeah. So, I’m also stubborn and I hate being a wimp. So I ride things like Insanity at the top of the Stratosphere in Vegas, and I make myself do drop towers with my eyes open, even though the entire time I wish I was anywhere but in that seat -- until the ride is over and the adrenaline rush is so intense it’s awesome! I’d ignored Falcon’s Fury long enough, so after lunch at Zambia Smokehouse (smelled better than it tasted, but it wasn’t awful) I forced my feet to walk this way… Hello there… And got my wimpy ass in line. Where they promptly closed the ride due to wind and I got to wait an additional 15 agonizing minutes before sitting my fat butt in those comfy seats and being lifted into the air thinking, “gosh, what a beautiful view, this isn’t bad at all…” then the seat rotated and I’m staring at the ground for what feels like a full minute while I’m screaming a mantra in my head “just drop!!!just drop!!!just drop!!!” and finally I feel blessed weightlessness as the ground races up to meet my face and whoosh it’s over. Yahooo! What a great ride! As a reward for not being a fraidy-cat, I spent some quality time with Mr. Schwarzcopf and his little Scorpion. I loves me some Anton loops and helices. The only problem with this coaster is its short length, which is resolved by re-riding multiple times with no wait. Tajah is a big fan too! I also spent some time hauling my fat butt through the Treetop Trails, I love the views from the top of the towers and it’s fun when there’s not a huge crowd of kids that have to wait for me to lumber out of their way. Theoretically I’m supposed to be accompanied by a child here, does “childish” count? The sun was getting low on the horizon and Mike had bought every vintage motorcycle-related tchotchke in a 30-mile radius and was headed back to pick me up, so I started walking towards the exit. I dawdled a little while watching these guys frustratedly discussing plans on what to do about the giant thief that was currently chowing down on their dinner... ...then headed for the gates. Another great Busch Gardens trip ended, but we had Orlando fun starting the next day, so I wasn’t totally bummed. Here’s my Ride and Attraction ratings for BGT: Rides: 1. Cheetah Hunt - This coaster has the two things I love in a ride, speed and airtime. It’s not intense by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s hella fun. 2. Montu - Forceful without being painful, I love every element of this coaster. 3. SheiKra - I love dive towers, I know they’re one trick ponies but they’re a thrilling trick. I’d probably still put this in the #2 position if the darned thing wouldn’t be closed for refurb every time I’m at the park! 4. Scorpion - Schwarzkopf. Yeah baby. 5. Falcon’s Fury - This is now my #2 drop tower (#1 is still SFMM Lex Luthor) 6. Cobra’s Curse - It’s not a bad ride, it’s just not that fun or exciting. 7. Kumba - Fun, forceful, but a little too head-bangey for re-rides. 8. Skyride - Best views in the park. 9. Serengeti Railway - Second best views in the park, the only way to really view the Serengeti plains without an upcharge Safari. 10. Sand Serpent - I usually like wild mouse rides, this one is just uncomfortable and un-fun. Shows: Opening Night Critters - Ubiquitous rescue-animal show similar to the ones you’ll see at Universal and other parks, it’s cute but forgettable. Animal Exhibits: 1. Hyenas - I haven’t been to another zoo that has up-close viewing of hyenas like they have here. 2. Cheetahs - Lots of zoos have cheetahs, you can usually see them sleeping on warming rocks waaaay in the distance. Busch puts the cats front and center and they seem to thrive in this active environment. 3. Kangaroos and Wallabies - Catch them at the right time and you’ll get all sorts of awesome interaction. 4. Animal Care Center - If you’re not squeamish, stop in here for some dark air-conditioned education. 5. Serengeti Plain - It’s a little strange that the park’s largest area is also the most difficult to view. The old Rhino Rally was a super way to interact with this area, but that’s long gone. The train is as close as you’ll get now unless you want to pay for a safari.

We visited the San Francisco area last year with family, I wanted to check out Traintown but was vetoed and we went to Hess Winery/museum instead. The winery was cool, but I still want to see the darned trains!

There is something cinematic and otherworldly about being on a coaster with fireworks going off above you. I've only had the luck to do it twice, both times on lame coasters that felt epic for that one ride because, fireworks.

Quassy looks like such a neat little family park! It's the kind of place I dreamed of having nearby when I was a kid.