Considering Busch Gardens

That's one big gator.

When CavWife and I were first married we bought annual passes to Busch Gardens.  It only cost us the price of one admission, so that was a no-brainer.  We enjoyed going, and I particularly enjoyed the roller coasters (one time I enjoyed them too much due to the absence of a line).  But we haven’t been in nearly 8 years.  With our immanent move to AZ on the horizon, we decided to take the kids to build some memories.  We thought they’d love the animals.

A friend connected us with free passes for pre-school kids.  I was able to get discounted tickets for CavWife and I through my job at the hospital.  We picked a day and decided to go.  The night before we went I was on line looking at rides for pre-schoolers.  They have a new Sesame Street Pre-School area with rides and a water area.  Looked way cool.

They just wanted to touch the duck

We got a late start on our trip, leaving 50 minutes later than I had wanted to leave.  The clouds were quasi-ominous, but started to clear as we drew near to Busch Gardens.  Since we recently went to Disney, I was comparing them as we went.  In terms of parking, Busch Gardens was cheaper than Disney.  We had a spot right by the tram, but we walked (why, oh why- oh, because it is a pain to fold the strollers when they have water bottles and lunch in them).

We entered the park and began to get oriented and develop a plan of action.  There they had a countdown to the opening of the new Sesame Street area- we were 1 day early.  Ooops.  Maybe we’ll head back since the passes are good for 2 weeks.  So we checked out the gators- the really old, fat and sleepy gators.  But the kids loved it, and that is what matters.

From there we went to see the chimps and gorillas.  At first the chimps were mellow, chowing down some food.  They were certainly bigger than the Bear (as in B.J. and the Bear).  Soon there was some action as they headed back to the cave.  The adult male started running back and forth ready for action.  Yes, nature doesn’t hide real life from kids.

The gorillas were lots of fun.  The youngest was wanting to rough house.  It was particularly fun when he tried to take on the adult male.  I told the kids this was how he got stronger and learned to protect himself.

Since the Asia Otters were napping, we decided to take the Sky Ride over the park.  This was CavGirl’s favorite part of the day.  High up, looking down on various animals like zebras, elephants and more.  Before that I took a quick ride on Mantu while they snacked.  No line, no waiting!  I enjoyed it as usual, but noticed age setting in.  I felt like if I’d gone right back on I’d be done for the day.  Aging pretty much stinks.

We ended up on the far side of the park near Sheikra.  The thought of a 200 foot plunge, face-first, did not excite me.  But we watched it.  At one point CavGirl uttered words I’d never heard come from her mouth before- “This is boring.”  Another milestone in the loss of innocence.

Walking around we were all fascinated by the anteater.  CavGirl especially.  Then the aviary.  The birds were so beautiful.  We had another “natural” moment when a bird nearly peed on CavWife.  No matter how hard we tried, the birds would not land on our fingers.  This is because we didn’t drop $5 on the magical nectar they loved so much.

Then came CavBoy’s favorite part of the day- riding the train.  We took it all around the park seeing many of the animals.  He loves the choo-choo train!  When we were done it was past time for lunch.  The smokehouse seemed too pricey.  So we headed to the Desert Grill.  On the way we stopped so I could get a quick ride on a coaster (again, no line!).  We paid more than we did at Disney this time.  And the food wasn’t as good.  I enjoyed by grilled sausage sub, but the desert chips, a.k.a. french fries, were not very crisp or hot.  But, being quite hungry I devoured them anyway.

sure, now he's smiling

After lunch we stayed in Timbuktu so the kids could ride some kiddie rides.  First was the Merry-Go-Round.  Aside from CavGirl not being able to ride the horse of her desire, it was fun.  Then the motorcycle ride, where CavBoy was so focused on the little train ride that he cried to be taken off.  So, CavGirl went solo.  Another milestone- our kids on rides by themselves.  They need us less (sigh).

After that it was a ride on the mini-train.  Then they really surprised me by riding on the airplanes alone.  Twice!  They were having so much fun.  And we were baking in the sun.  And we forgot to bring sunscreen.  No problem for the China Boy who just gets darker.  But the rest of us …

We decided to see if we could go on Rhino Rally.  CavBoy has been shooting up like a weed lately, but would it be enough?  Sadly, no.  CavWife took CavGirl on the Rally while the boy and I hung out.  The male rhino was suddenly more active so we hung out there while we waited.  I also observed people while the boy busied himself.  Let’s just say there were some interesting sights causing me to once again ponder the relationship between humanity and the animal kingdom.

By the time they were done with the Rhino Rally, I was done.  The heat had gotten to me.  We poked around some more, including a stop at the gators and made our way out.  We had a great day, if a tiring one.  Maybe we’ll be back to check out the Sesame Street park.