We picked Grandan up at work at lunchtime and headed to Tampa. I hadn't been to Busch Gardens since high school, so a lot had changed. I had forgotten about all of the cool animals they have there, and you can see them right from the train (Tyler LOVED that) or skybuckets (his proclaimed favorite of the day!)
This animal is not real (The tortoise that is! Tyler IS real, and fortunately this picture helped turn his frown upside down, because a couple seconds earlier, he was upset over being an INCH too short to ride the Rhino Rally ride!)
We joked before we went that we might hike to Timbucktu and back ... and we did!
Grandan (a real roller coaster lover, you must know) was very excited to have me ride on some of his favorite coasters at Busch Gardens. While I took TWO turns on SheiKra, Dad entertained the children!
They rode some rides, and looked at some cute birds ... 
... that ended up getting a BIT too close (for my taste!) But it was the fault of Grandan and the kids, as they bought little tubs of nectar to lure the birds in.
I would actually say it worked a little TOO well! 
Now, give me a huge roller coaster with a straight drop and 10 loop-de-loops and I can do THAT. But, I could NOT allow birds to land on me ... and my head! But the kids seemed fine with it, and Abby counted this as her favorite part of the day.
We also loved the stilt walkers in Jungala. Tyler looks so teeny next to the big Ostrich guy!
And we ended the day with a run on Montu ... the best coaster in the park. Grandan insisted I wait for the front row, and it was worth it! Glad I thought to ask if they do the child swap at the last minute too, because Grandan was able to run right up and jump in the front row seat I had just gotten out of! Most grandfathers might think twice about this, but Dad didn't! What a guy.
A great way to end a fun afternoon!
And we ended the day with a run on Montu ... the best coaster in the park. Grandan insisted I wait for the front row, and it was worth it! Glad I thought to ask if they do the child swap at the last minute too, because Grandan was able to run right up and jump in the front row seat I had just gotten out of! Most grandfathers might think twice about this, but Dad didn't! What a guy.A great way to end a fun afternoon!
The kids and I got a late start (that's in OUR book ... we usually like to be there when the park opens) but we made up for lost time by heading straight to Seuss Landing, the part of Islands of Adventure with all of the kids rides.
As was One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish (it's like Dumbo) ... but only with Abby. Tyler was not feeling the urge to ride on/in a fish! Good thing Abby is a brave girl, and didn't mind riding a few rides by her lonesome. Don't worry, Tyler and I were good cheerleaders, and I think she was proud of herself!
As you can see, I couldn't resist buying Abby and Tyler "Thing 1" and "Thing 2" shirts. Here they are making their best loopy faces (Thing 1 and Thing 2 aren't known for being the calmest of Seuss characters).
After one of the shows, we were able to meet several characters, including Sam-I-Am (from Green Eggs and Ham), who is NOT pictured here, and the Grinch (below). I decided not to include the photo of the Grinch making a nasty face at me. Tyler talked about it all day. Guess I should be flattered that he was upset that the Grinch was mean to his mommy!
I love this picture of Thing 1 and Thing 2 (the real ones AND the Schnittker versions) ... 
And I thought it was so cute that The Cat in the Hat made Abby stand next to 
We are all about the water areas at these theme parks! I must admit, they do cool 'ya off. I must have been in the high 90s today!
I think IF we had stopped there, I wouldn't be as pooped tonight ... but we didn't stop! Abby and Tyler convinced me to trek down to Universal Studios to visit the rides in their kids' area: Woody Woodpecker's Funzone. They had a blast climbing all over the giant-sized objects in Fivel's Playland ... 
... they really enjoyed the Barney and Animal Actors shows (although Abby wasn't gung ho about either one at first), and they discovered their favorite ride of the day: Woody Woodpecker's Nuthouse Coaster (narrowly beat out Tyler's favorite at Islands of Adventure: the High in the Sky Trolley Train Ride.) Tyler and I "escorted" Abby up to the coaster twice before he worked up the nerve to try it himself, but he ended up riding twice ... and he LOVED it! Check out his "I did it!" pose, and Abby's approving "thumbs up!"
After getting organized, we headed to the first of three shows offered daily: Gator Wrestling. Wouldn't have wanted to be THIS guy, wrestling an 8-foot alligator ... 
But Abby and Tyler thought it looked like fun ... 
Crazy, huh? See Dennis, you didn't believe me! And most of the people at the show couldn't believe someone as small as Tyler (or Abby) was fine with walking out into the ring and sitting on that huge gator, but they did it! I have to say, Abby looks perfectly comfortable in her solo shot (he had to help her keep the gator's mouth shut, as he was bucking around a bit!) ... 
Most of the gators we saw were below us in the water, but here we got to see a few come right up on the shore of a pond for feeding time. Amazing! 
In addition to the gators, there were tons of other things to see, like these turtles (a.k.a. animals that travel with in their mobile homes ... get it?) 
And there was a train (much to Tyler's delight ... of course, we had to ride it twice!)
OUCH. Mom bumped her head (despite the warning signs) on the way in AND out!
Here's Tyler with the old version of the Gatorland train, which was retired in 2000. On the plaque, it said they called her "OleGirl," so Tyler kept saying "you know, this train's a girl!"
We hit the Gator Jumparoo show (where Gators jump out of the water to grab whole chickens off a cable over the water) ... 
You think we might have been tipped off by the sign, but we weren't! And HOW LUCKY! Grammy was recruited to help out with the show ... due to a bit of peer pressure (the crowd was cheering her name)! But look what's coming, a Burmese Python (I don't think Grammy sees it yet) ... 
Oh, THERE she is, hiding back there behind the other "volunteers!" 
Okay, so I learned today that Mom has a major fear of snakes! She flat out REFUSED to touch that Python ... not even a finger! But her granddaughter paid for the experience after the show. Oh Grammy, I believe you've been shown up by a six-year old!
But we ALL have our fears. MINE is a petting zoo (ask me about this later - long story). Good thing my kids aren't afraid of them. They loved feeding the goats and llamas.
I think everyone felt a bit more comfortable on this gator REPLICA ... 
But this guy is real. He's a white alligator. VERY COOL!
We ended a super fun day by letting the kids run around in this splash park at Gatorland. Don't worry, THESE gators are NOT real! What a fun day ... and a great way to learn about Florida during our Roadtrip Week!
Tomorrow, it's Universal's Islands of Adventure! We have a friend that gave us free passes, so the kids and I are going to hoof around that park for a few hours and test our bravery on some theme park rides. Now, I'm better at being THAT kind of daredevil. Gators, snakes and petting zoos are a different animal (pun intended)!