BLDY&McGoos FloridaWedMoon 2013 - Day 9 - Busch Gardens, Citywalk & DTD

[BLDY&McGoo]

Day 9 – November 15th 2013 – Busch Gardens, Citywalk & DTD

We intended to be up and out quite early today but despite our best intentions they were just that, intentions! We both woke around 8:30 but by the time we had showered, dressed and gathered our belongings for the day it was 9:45!

Knowing we would still have plenty of time we headed off as usual but today stopping for fuel on the way!

We were debating on how much we should fill up so I went in and paid for $50, we actually only managed to get $49.39 of fuel in as the tank was full but we didn’t worry about claiming the 61c back!

RaceTrac were doing a promotion where they were giving free coffee all day, I could have grabbed us both a hot chocolate but didn’t bother however by the time we were 5 minutes down the road I fancied one! Typical!

Today was our last day as an un-married couple so we were excited for our day of animal visiting & roller coasters. The drive down was nice and chilled, I sang to the radio whilst taking in the sights recognising bits from our previous trips. We pointed out interesting things to each other like the RV Yard & multi coloured balloons. We also spotted a horse truck so took a photo as the horses were sticking their heads out the side!



We were both looking forward to Busch Gardens but a little doubtful on the weather, It had looked quite sunny before we left but it was getting quite dull and we hoped it didn’t ruin our day. I was regretting my choice of outfit today though a boob tube top & a white skirt wasn’t going to hold up well in a downpour!

We pulled up at 11:05 meaning it took us 55mins from leaving the gas station which considering we hit a small amount of traffic was good timing.

We parked up (paying $15) and jumped on the nearby tram which was just letting everyone aboard. We entered the park using our Discovery Cove lanyards and once again were allowed through bag check with our ‘Gluten Free’ ham & Cheese rolls =]

We got stopped to take a few photos by the CM near the entrance but quickly made our way along as we were super eager to see the beautiful cheetahs.
We were just in time as they were about to do a feed which involves the cheetah ‘chasing’ the meat on a high powered revolving rope that went up and down the enclosure.







We watched them set it up and then she came out with her trainer.
I had hoped I would see the dog that the cheetahs were brought up with but it was just the one cheetah out today but it was cool to see her run & catch her food, Hard to get photos of though as she was definitely quick!

I could have watched for hours but the crowds were growing around us & the rides were calling us!
We paid the 50c for a locker & headed onto Cheetah chase which was once again a walk on followed by a change of lockers (50c) and then Montu.

Deciding to slow down the pace slightly we went animal watching whilst eating our lunch as we were hungry already! We came across these lovely little guys! Can you spot Alekzander & Olaf? They were all snuggled up today looking very sweet.



We then came across the Hyena’s which weren’t very entertaining but moving along found the lions, which are one of our favourites so spent ages watching them.
There were two Lioness’ and one Lion so it was nice to see them interact, They had just been fed so the male was chewing on a huge piece whilst the females were wandering looking for smaller pieces for themselves.







We loved watching them but couldn’t stay forever so continued our walk further along stopping to take some photos on the way. The sun was still shining through the clouds but I was starting to get a bit chilly from the breeze. This photo clearly shows the strap marks I had developed too so I was pleased I had chosen a wedding dress with straps!



We next came across the lovely elephants and were just in time for a talk so stopped to listen and watched for a while.



Having not done a ride in a whole hour Scott was practically dragging me towards Kumba so with a quick locker drop (50c) we were on within a couple of minutes wait & rolling around the tracks!
A little windswept we decided we would by our ride photo ($16.05) as we like to get a couple each trip!



Scott then went on the Scorpion ride whilst I stood and watched. I tried to get a good snap of him as he went round but he was too quick for me but I got chatting to a lady whose family were on the ride so it was quite a nice little rest.
We opted not to get soaked doing the log flume so headed to visit the tigers in the Jungala area instead.



There were a group of tiger cubs playing around which were adorable to watch, I tried to see them threw the pop up hole but by the time I got there they had decided to run and play as far away as possible so I was a bit gutted but Scott got some really good photo’s whilst I was gone.





They were just adorable though and were running in and out of the water, rolling around and chasing one another. We went round the other side and watched them from the bridge too.



A bit like the lions we could have watched them for hours but moved on to see what else we could find, taking a selfie on our way of course!



We soon came across this little red headed friend so took some snaps of her too!

[BLDY&McGoo]

We moved on, pausing to take a few photos of the big statues, to find Sheikra After a bad experience last time I vowed I didn’t want to ride it again so after trying to persuade me and failing he went off on his own leaving me for a 10 minute sit down with the rucksack watching the world go by!







Next stop was a huge favourite for us both, The Kangaroos! Timed perfectly by pure fluke it was just turning 2pm ready for a feeding session so we bought 2x pots of food ($9.34) & headed in.



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We spent about 10 minutes feeding the kangaroo’s and then came across this little dude! We had thought he had escaped but apparently they are free to roam & quite like the attention from visitors so Scott sat & kept him company for a bit





The weather was starting to get a bit duller by now & every so often we felt a spit of rain so decided that we would make our way to the exit and head home.
We passed this pretty little garden area so stopped to take yet more photos!



We went into the Xcursions gift shop to look at all the wonderful glassware & arty type items, there was far too much choice but we ended up with a photo of a Giraffe & her baby which we will frame in our hall & a Gecko made of metal for our Florida shelf. Total spend $31.99

It was only half 2 but we had done what we had wanted to do at the park and enjoyed seeing all our favourite animals so made our way back to the car reaching it just as the rain starting to come down a little more.
Scott stopped to take a photo of this beauty in the parking lot though! Car Count 5!



We cruised along on our journey back home enjoying the scenery & maybe Scott slightly less enjoying my singing.
He was impressed however when a group of cars came along that are very unusual to be seen in the states so I was told to get some photos for our Car Count!

There was a VW Golf (Count 6), A Honda Accord (Count 7) & A Merc (Count 8) They were travelling in a bit of a convoy but overtaking and showing off in between the cars so Scott joined in, responsibly of course, so he could get a closer look. I didn’t really understand why he was that bothered but he explained that it was a very European thing to have that style of car.
Scott has taught me a lot about cars over the years that we have been together and despite not managing to remember all of it I was pretty impressed with myself that I knew that the Golf’s wheels being slanted was called camber!





We later found out that there had been a car show near Miami that week so we think perhaps they were about for that, we also saw another Rat look VW Golf but don’t seem to have any photos to include in our car count!

It was nearly 4 by the time we reached home so got changed & grabbed more money and headed towards Universal.

We had toyed with the idea of going to the parks this trip but just couldn’t justify the ticket costs when we knew we would do both parks in one day. We did however want to buy some Despicable Me merchandise for people back home so decided we would find somewhere for dinner on Citywalk.

It was 17:05 when we entered the parking lot and begrudgingly paid $16! I did think it would be subsidised being so late but apparently that after 6pm! Oh well its only money at the end of the day!

City walk was quite busy but we soon found our way to the big Universal shop and had to decide which Minions to take home with us!
We bought:
A Magnet for Mariya
A Mug For Jamie
A Minion of The Month Keyring For Natalie at work (her secret Santa prezzie)
A Big Fluffy Unicorn – Natalie’s son had saved his pocket money up & asked me to bring one back for him as he had been in May but had ran out of his spends.
Total spent $69.02

We had wanted to get our friend Matt a one eyed minion but there wasn’t any left here so asked a CM at the door who sent us over to the stall nearer the lake.
They hadn’t got any either so we went back to shop. There was now a group of 3 CMs talking at the front of the store so we asked if there was anywhere else that had them in stock. They suggested to go into the park to get one in there but we explained we hadn’t bought tickets so instead one of the men rang his friend in the other store to ask, saying he could get it ran over if there was. Unfortunately they didn’t but we were very grateful of them trying to help us. We instead chose the Stuart Pillow ($31.90) which was bigger than the one we wanted but super comfy & would still be a great gift for Matt.

Having done our shopping which was our aim of the evening our minds now turned to our rumbling stomachs and where should we eat.
We looked for Margaritaville as had eaten there in 2009 but on looking at the menu I didn’t really fancy it so instead we came across the Nascar Sports Grille and thought it looked nice!





We sat in a booth with our new friends & used the Wifi to facebook them to the show the people back home. 
Our waitress soon came over with our drinks and offered to take a photo of us together. She was a very nice lady named Mona however I am sure that Nascar could have designed a more age appropriate waitress uniform for her to wear. The leather skirt & knee high socks were slightly too young for her 40 something legs.



We ordered our food; Scott having the Brickyard Bacon Cheeseburger with an extra side of onion rings whilst I went for the BBQ Pulled pork Platter.

We enjoyed the atmosphere although quite quiet today and spent our time watching the tv, messaging people back home & chitchatting as usual.
Our food arrived and we both enjoyed our food so much we would definitely come back. My pulled pork had quite a kick to it as the sauce was pretty flavourful but I ate every last scrap.





Pretty stuffed we declined dessert & asked for the bill ($39.46) left $46 and headed on our way waddling back up Citywalk.
We nipped into the Bubba Gumps gift shop to buy my sister a car bumper sticker which I regretted as soon as I joined the queue as the woman in front of us was faffing around with which type of hat suited her better etc but it was eventually mine for $2.07.

It was only 6:30pm so we decided the day was not yet done and we would go to DTD to buy some things we had seen there.
We arrived around 7ish due to traffic & made our way shop to shop making purchases on the way.

We spent a while in Arribas brothers choosing glassware as we have bought an engraved piece on each of our trips. We settled on 2x champagne flutes one with a Mickey & one a Minnie, but instead of having our usual ‘Scott & Beth’ we had Mr McGowan & Mrs McGowan engraved. Total cost $63.90.

We also bought the Santa milk & cookie set for my friends two little girls ($24.45), A Disney Traditions ornament for Scott’s Mum ($53.25) & a Toy Lightning McQueen that my boss had asked me to get ($58.53)

We had now bought all the presents we needed and all the things we had promised to get so with that out the way we could work out how much luggage space we had left for more goodies. This was our buy bed when we got home that night! Ooops!



We went to bed tired but with smiles on our faces as we knew tomorrow was the day we had been waiting for & needed a good sleep.



Costs For the Day
Food – $46.00
Shopping – $351.16
Misc (Parking/Petrol/Lockers) - $90.34
Total - $487.50
Running Total Spends So Far - $2918.93

[princessjilly]

Oooh looking forward to tomorrow's!

I love those unicorns, I can't wait to get one when I go

[Drsmum]

Another great report , really enjoying them , lookin forward to your wedding xx

[collybird]

I can't wait to read about your big day!

I also can't wait to see how you transport all your buys home ha!

[Gill635]

Fabulous day, but I am beyond excited for tomorrows!

xx

[Redrach1903]

Great day! Those tiger cubs are SUPER cute!

WOW, that is a lot of shopping to take home! Haha!
x

[louikane]

Great day, really like the look of the pulled pork platter might add this to my to eat list.

Excited for day 10 wedding day!

[Disney4Three]

Cant wait to read about your big day... Thanks for sharing

[yellowrose78]

Another fab day, looking forward to the next instalment