(Sea)Lions & Gators & Dolphins….Oh, My! A Halloween PTR/TR with a “wild” theme - Oct/Nov '18

[chicagoshannon]

Thanks for the facebook page tip. I just joined. And, yes it will be our first time to Volcano Bay. Not sure if we'll make it in Jan/Feb though, depends on the weather.

 

[sk8jdgca]

There aren’t any bad drops on the Mummy, just some jarring stops. It is so much fun though

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Monday, October 29th: Aquatica, continued

After we had finished our breakfast, we headed to the restrooms to change into our swimwear.

We met back at the cabana, stowed our belongings in the locker, gave ourselves a good slathering of sunscreen, and we were officially ready to GET WET!

Since the park was still dead quiet, I sent Steve off to do some slides while I took a short walking tour around the park. We weren't really expecting any kinds of "crowds" on that Monday, but it was still smart to slide when park attendance was at its lowest. We made a plan to meet (eventually) in Roa's Rapids....and off we went.

A few folks had trickled in since the park opened, and they were setting up camp on the loungers under the massive blue umbrellas that are scattered all across the sandy beach. @bobbie68 , these are the seating areas I was telling you about! Even without a cabana, you and your family shouldn't have any trouble finding a comfy place to chill when you visit in the summer.

My suspicion that it was likely to be a low crowd day was confirmed when I saw that only one side of the dual wave pool would be open.

Even though the park had been open to guests for quite a while by this point, Tassie's Twisters and Loggerhead Lane were still all but deserted.

Dolphin Plunge stood quietly against the cloudless sky.

There was no line at Ihu's Breakaway Falls....hardly anyone was even on the stairs!

And Whanau Way was equally as quiet.....it was beginning to feel like we were at some sort of private event!

My stroll took me by Walkabout Waters, the interactive kids area that is supremely popular with the younger guests. With an abundance of sprayers, slides, levels and sprinklers, its every child's water play dream. The tipping bucket is the icing on the cake.

And of course, there is even an adjacent space dedicated just to the really little folks: Kookaburra's Cove is pint-sized water park perfection.

I was just about to return to the cabana to stow my phone when I saw Steve coming toward me. He was dripping wet, so I knew he'd been on some slides.....and he confirmed that he literally walked on every single one.....except the newest park attraction, Ray Rush. Apparently it is a multi-rider slide and there's no single rider option . After walking all the way to the top, assuming he would be merged with other single riders, he was pretty abruptly told by the ride staff that he either brings his own co-rider or he was out of luck. There was no indication at the bottom that this was the policy (only a posted max weight limit which he obviously didn't exceed on his own), so he was a bit irritated that the ride staff were so uncharacteristically nasty about delivering that message. We totally get that rules or rules, but one can impose them kindly. And for Pete's sake, make the information known on all the signage at the entrance to the queue!

It was a bit of a bummer, but we didn't let it dampen our spirits. We stopped for a few photos with the surf boards:

.....and then decided to head to Roa's Rapids: our favorite attraction in the park .

More Aquatica is coming up next.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Thanks for the facebook page tip. I just joined. And, yes it will be our first time to Volcano Bay. Not sure if we'll make it in Jan/Feb though, depends on the weather.

I'll keep my fingers crossed that you get some lovely, warm days during your vacation that are waterpark-worthy . It would be a shame if it was too cold to swim!!

There aren’t any bad drops on the Mummy, just some jarring stops. It is so much fun though

That is AWESOME information. Jarring stops I can handle . Y'all may just convince me to wear my big girl panties and give it a try!

 

[afan]

I like your suit, super cute!

 

[JaxDad]

I like your suit, super cute!

Hey! Steve’s suit is super cute too!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

I like your suit, super cute!

Thank you! I actually felt a little out of my element in that suit . I had never owned a tankini in MY LIFE, so I just hoped people wouldn't look at me like I was some old lady trying to dress like a teenager . I loved the practicality of a tankini for our waterpark day, though. Sooooo nice not to have to yank a wet one piece on and off every time I needed to use the rest room.

Hey! Steve’s suit is super cute too!

I literally just howled with laughter .

 

[PrincessP]

Aquatica Day! It is our favorite water park as well. Although, we have never been to Volcano Bay so I can’t say where it would rank for our family yet. Do you mind sharing the highlights of your likes/dislikes of Volcano Bay? We are considering a low key summer trip to Orlando in 2019: no major theme parks, just a waterpark visit, mini golf, The Void, etc. so I am curious and debating about Volcano Bay.

We had season passes for the WDW waterparks and then Aquatica as part of our SW pass this past summer. My kids picked two days at Aquatica, one at Typhoon Lagoon, and we skipped Blizzard Beach (had been there the previous summer on the same pass). Roa’s Rapids is unlike any other waterpark feature elsewhere. My daughter and I particularly enjoy it. The variety of slides at Aquatica is great as well...the addition of Ray Rush is a winner (sorry Steve missed out on that one....yep, no sign about needing to have at least two riders until you get to the very top...and no indication they won’t combine you with other single riders, which they really should).

You take the best photos, and I love all of your detailed descriptions of everything. I am glad the weather was so glorious for your day.

Congrats on your May trip being official now. I will be there a couple of weeks before you while my daughter attends with her middle school class for the Disney music festival (choir). I have never been in April....it will be right after Easter so hoping to see some edible Easter egg designs at Grand Floridian....and I think Boardwalk/Beach Club (can’t remember which).

Keep those Dash/Violet Christmas tree photos coming. Too cute!

 

[afan]

Thank you! I actually felt a little out of my element in that suit . I had never owned a tankini in MY LIFE, so I just hoped people wouldn't look at me like I was some old lady trying to dress like a teenager . I loved the practicality of a tankini for our waterpark day, though. Sooooo nice not to have to yank a wet one piece on and off every time I needed to use the rest room.

I like two piece suits better because I can get different sizes so they fit. I haven't tried a one piece in years because I know it's not going to fit how I want it and I won't be comfortable.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Keep those Dash/Violet Christmas tree photos coming. Too cute!

I will be back either later tonight or tomorrow to reply to the rest of your post (we are heading out the door soon for dinner and a night out at the Detroit Zoo for their Wild Lights event https://detroitzoo.org/events/zoo-events/wild-lights/) but I have enough time to share some quick photos. They are all of Miss Violet (she's my tree lover ... little Dash is too lazy to get into that much mischief ) but I do have a few from this week of the resident devil-catcher :

Trying to be nonchalant, and "casually" hiding under the chair next to the tree (I may have posted this one already.....can't remember!).....

Gazing longingly at the ornaments......

Hiding from me, under the tree skirt. I swear she thought I couldn't see her .....

She's going to be broken-hearted when we take the tree down next weekend. Current plans (assuming no inclement weather) have us leaving for Canada on Sunday, December 23rd. We'll take the tree down on Saturday evening, just so they don't get into any major mischief (most specifically, tipping anything over on themselves or eating anything they shouldn't) while they are in the care of our pet nanny. It sure will be boring around here without it!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Here's a couple from this week of our loveable, huggable, snuggable Mr. Dash. He's more of a "chill in the chair next to the tree" kind of guy:

And this one is from this morning....he was literally too tired to get out of bed . He must have known it was "Caturday" .

 

[I-4Bound]

Those kitties...they always make me smile!

 

[PrincessP]

How were the lights at the zoo? You and Steve are great at making mini vacation moments by enjoying the festivities local to you.

I loooove these recent cat photos. You do a fabulous job at capturing their personalities...hiding under the tree skirt..ha! And the chill Mr. Dash. Most of the photos look like a magazine spread...especially this one...

I will be back either later tonight or tomorrow to reply to the rest of your post (we are heading out the door soon for dinner and a night out at the Detroit Zoo for their Wild Lights event https://detroitzoo.org/events/zoo-events/wild-lights/) but I have enough time to share some quick photos. They are all of Miss Violet (she's my tree lover ... little Dash is too lazy to get into that much mischief ) but I do have a few from this week of the resident devil-catcher :

She's going to be broken-hearted when we take the tree down next weekend. Current plans (assuming no inclement weather) have us leaving for Canada on Sunday, December 23rd. We'll take the tree down on Saturday evening, just so they don't get into any major mischief (most specifically, tipping anything over on themselves or eating anything they shouldn't) while they are in the care of our pet nanny. It sure will be boring around here without it!

 

[PrincessP]

Those kitties...they always make me smile!

Just checked out one of your family music videos. Love!!! I am going to save the others to watch with my kids once we are on Christmas break and have more time to enjoy.

 

[I-4Bound]

Just checked out one of your family music videos. Love!!! I am going to save the others to watch with my kids once we are on Christmas break and have more time to enjoy.

Thank you for telling me! I'm so glad you liked it. We made them many years ago when our children were much smaller and more eager to participate. As you can imagine, teenagers aren't very interested in that sort of thing now

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Those kitties...they always make me smile!

They are definitely a constant source of amusement. My life would be excessively dull without them around!

How were the lights at the zoo? You and Steve are great at making mini vacation moments by enjoying the festivities local to you.

While Michigan feels very much like "home" now, a part of us still feels like tourists....I guess because we still have so many things we haven't yet done, or places we haven't yet visited. Being near a major city is still so novel for us: there's SO many things to do within an hour's drive or less.

Wild Lights was awesome....I will post some pictures for you to see some of the incredible displays that they had. There were over 5 million LED lights throughout the zoo, so it was quite a sight to behold. The weather was pretty moderate (slightly above freezing, which was fabulous!) so we were able to enjoy the night quite comfortably...though we made sure to dress for the winter weather as well. Our only complaint (aside from the normal percentage of rude people....but they are anywhere that there are crowds) was the parking....OMG! It took us an hour and half (no exaggeration) to exit the parking garage.....Detroit Police couldn't even seem to help make sense of the inflow and outflow of vehicles. We were wishing we had Ubered there instead!

I loooove these recent cat photos. You do a fabulous job at capturing their personalities...hiding under the tree skirt..ha! And the chill Mr. Dash. Most of the photos look like a magazine spread...especially this one...

Aw, thank you . I take WAY too many pictures of those two little fluffs. I'm sure my Facebook friends tire of my Violet-and-Dash posts, but I can't help myself .

Thank you for telling me! I'm so glad you liked it. We made them many years ago when our children were much smaller and more eager to participate. As you can imagine, teenagers aren't very interested in that sort of thing now

Sigh.....why do they have to get so mature, so fast?

I tried to talk Jake into matching Christmas pajamas this year, but the silence on the end of the phone spoke volumes.. I'm just hoping for one good family selfie with us all in Santa hats!!

Your kiddos are still pretty good sports about a lot of stuff, though. Some of your Facebook posts make me giggle right out loud. You all have such a fun sense of humor!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Some photos from our night out at Detroit Zoo's "Wild Lights" holiday event :

Photos inside the giant ornament:

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

More from Wild Lights:

 

[Monykalyn]

Pretty lights!!
I went to our Wonders of Wildlife aquarium for first time yesterday-only got to spend a couple hours before had to get to a friends party, we have annual membership though-and it hit me several times how much you would enjoy this place! complete with a gator experience, a chance to dive with the sharks (in a metal cage-even during a feeding!) and a stingray pool where you can "pet" them.

Violet always has a look of "who me?" when you capture her...that expression! Mr Dash on the bed is all of us on Monday mornings LOL!

Have you been to Frankenmuth yet? not sure how far away you are from that city...

Hoping weather cooperates for your trip home to see Jake and rest of family!!

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Pretty lights!!
I went to our Wonders of Wildlife aquarium for first time yesterday-only got to spend a couple hours before had to get to a friends party, we have annual membership though-and it hit me several times how much you would enjoy this place! complete with a gator experience, a chance to dive with the sharks (in a metal cage-even during a feeding!) and a stingray pool where you can "pet" them.

Violet always has a look of "who me?" when you capture her...that expression! Mr Dash on the bed is all of us on Monday mornings LOL!

Have you been to Frankenmuth yet? not sure how far away you are from that city...

Hoping weather cooperates for your trip home to see Jake and rest of family!!

I just looked up the website for the Wonders of Wildlife Aquarium....that place looks fabulous! Perhaps its time for me to plan a trip to Missouri? (though I have to admit I had to look and see just how far away that was for us.....my knowledge of American geography is still a work in progress ).

We have been to Frankenmuth twice since we arrived here in Michigan: once in March 2017, and once that summer. Gorgeous little town, so charming. It's about an hour and 20 minutes north of us. I was hoping to make it to Bronners sometime during this Christmas season but alas, time has just run out on us. I am hoping maybe we can squeeze in a weekend there over the winter (to break up those long, cold months before our spring trip) and stay at one of their little water park hotels. Some German food and a few waterslides are the perfect antidote for the mid-winter blues.

I am a bit anxious about the weather for our travels, to be honest. Last year it took us 10 and a half hours to get there as we drove in through snowstorms almost the entire way. Fingers crossed the recent mild temps hang in for another week. Roads will be busy with holiday travelers as it it....poor weather just makes it super stressful.

That said.....I should be with my boy exactly one week from now . Looking forward to spending time with him and Moo!