The BIG Florida Return - 31st August 2017 Day 16

[smithlane]

Day 16

We were off to Typhoon Lagoon today.

As it didn't open until 10 we had a bit more of a chilled morning. We assumed the parents wouldn't want to come with us but my Dad suddenly said that he really wanted to come along too. This coming from the man that’s never stepped foot in a water park ever before

We took a bit longer getting ready than we should have so didn't leave until about 10.30. This decision would soon bite us in the backside!
Arrived and parked by 11 we headed to find some sun beds.
We paid for a large locker and dumped our valuables and bags in there.

It was looking quite busy and not a lot of shade was left so I was quietly cursing us not getting ready earlier
Thankfully right at the back of the park we found a few spare beds in the shade.
We topped up the sun cream then headed for water as we were now sweating buckets.

Lazy river first. We did a full lap of this. I almost dosed off I was so relaxed
Time for the first ride, Mayday Falls. This was great fun if a little short

Headed to get something to eat now as we were getting a little peckish. Went towards the front of the park to Leaning Palms. I went for the Pulled Pork Burger and fries, Jim Island Burger and fries, Hope kids chicken tenders and Sam just a portion of fries. I bought 6 Mickey straws as well. 69 cents each, I thought that was quite cheap.
Food was ok, probably the worst we've had this trip and at $50 not blinking cheap bearing in mind Sam only had fries
Helen had to take back hers and Jens chicken burger, they said it was as tough as old boots! They swapped it for some chicken tenders each.

We let our food go down then headed for the new raft ride Miss Adventure Falls.
This was great fun we were laughing our heads off all the way down.

As we were right next to it we did one of the Crush and Gusher slides. Dad and I went on together, it was quite scary in places but good fun! It's a shame they don't take your photo on this one, only the other double ring slide.
As we were an odd number Nick went down the middle single slide. We were waiting for him in the pool next to where you come out. We were waiting ages for him but then realised they had turned the water off and a lifeguard was walking down the slide . She came out the other end and had a good look around the pool. A couple of guests were standing at the edge waiting so assuming they had lost something. Not sure what it was but she came out empty handed.
Soon after the water came back on and after 3 or 4 others he finally appeared, yay!
We had a few PhotoPass pictures done. I didn't even realise they have photographers in the water so that was a nice bonus

Look how happy my Dad looks

Went back to the beds for some more cream and grabbed some ice water on the way.
Next slide was the group raft ride Gangplank Falls. Sam, Dad and I did this one together. Again great fun but a little short.

The kids were dying to get in the wave pool so that's where we headed next.
I stupidly kept my sunglasses on and when the first wave hit they came flying off my head! I scraped my knee trying to find them on the sandpaper floor but to no avail. Luckily someone found them and was holding them up in the air. I almost kissed the guy when I reached him, they were my brand new Ray Bans that Jim bought me so I was so happy I didn't have to have THAT conversation with him
I was more careful after that and held them in my hand when the wave came.
I was also holding my faux pro so it was a little tricky.

After 4 or 5 waves I was feeling beaten up so went to sit on the edge. Helen was there too after having a rather large American guy land on her head

Sam came over to give us his snorkelling goggles as they weren't allowed in the pool and I told him to tell the others that me and H were going to go and have a drink and sit down and asked if Grumps (my dad) was with him to which he replied yes. Remember this!
I got some Cookies and Cream Arctic Dots (Dippin Dots) and H a frozen lemonade.
I was a bit jealous of Helen's frozen lemonade so went and got one too.

When I came back the others had joined us but my Dad wasn't with them. They hadn't seen him in a while and assumed he was with me.
Cue major panic, I left them and walked over to the sun beds thinking he would be there but nope he wasn't. I walked back via the wave pool to see if he was still there but couldn't see him in the mass of people.
Really starting to worry now as he had no phone or money on him and didn't know the locker code. Jim and Sam went back to the beds to see if he went there and I carried on round the rest of the park.
I finally found him sat on a bench near the entrance. He looked so hot and dehydrated I nearly cried. Got him some water straight away and told him not to move whilst I went and got everyone and our bits. I was no longer in the mood for fun I just felt terrible and wanted to go back to the villa

We packed up and made our way out. Dad was fine he just had a bit too much sun than he's used to.
Got back to the villa and decided on the plan for later.
Everyone still wanted to go into Magic Kingdom for the fireworks so we slowly got ready and headed in.
We parked in Hook 324, then got the tram to the TTC.

Luckily got on a monorail straight away and were soon inside the park.

Bill and Sylvia had gone in a little earlier as they missed out on our last MK day so messaged them to say we had arrived. We agreed to meet in about 30 minutes.
We had missed our first FP for Talking Mickey but were on time for our 2nd which was Space Mountain. Mum and Dad had no desire to ride so I suggested they do a loop around the park on the Rail Road. I directed them up the stairs and luckily a train was just pulling in.
The rest of us walked up to Tomorrowland

This will be mine one day

Sean was having this hilarious conversation with the ducks

Now I hadn't ridden Space Mountain before and had heard many times its a bit of a bone rattler so I was a little dubious but was determined to give it a go.
Jesus this knocks you around a bit
Helen and I were in hysterics all the way around thinking we had slipped a disc or 2, I don't know what got in to us. We both suffer from chronic back problems so couldn’t understand why we were laughing so much. We then couldn't breathe which led to more laughter

Nick and Jim look completely unfazed

We met both sets of parents outside and all headed round to use our next FP which was for the 7 Dwarfs Mine Train. We had told Mum and Sylvia it's a kiddie ride, which it is and that we definitely had to ride it as a family.
We only queued for a little bit and were soon on board.
As it was now dark it actually feels like you're going a lot faster. All we could hear was Sylvia shouting and screaming "I thought you said this was for kids!", this just made us double over

Once off it was 8pm and we needed to find somewhere to watch the fireworks.
It was extremely busy around the hub but we managed to find a gap in the crowds halfway down Main Street to watch Celebrate the Magic. We had missed the first 5-10 mins but that was fine.

Once that was over the crowds thinned out a bit which was better.
The anticipation was rising as I hadn't seen any You Tube footage of the new Happily Ever After and was worried it wouldn't be any good as how can you top Wishes?
The crowds went silent when the lights turned off, I had a lump in my throat already

What can I say? They were amazing! I can't say they were better or worse than Wishes as they deserve a position to themselves, a lot more of the recent films included which I liked especially for the younger generation. I had tears streaming down my face which is a good sign
Apologies for no photos, I just wanted to soak them all up not through a phone screen.

Everyone was in awe including Jim who isn't a huge Disney fan and can take or leave fireworks.
We joined the masses in leaving the park, the queue for the ferry looked huge but actually it moved very quickly and were soon on board.

I just love the Magic Kingdom at night, it's so pretty

We hadn't eaten since lunch and were now hungry so we decided to stop for a Mcdonalds on the way home. We got about 2 minutes up the road and the most almighty storm I have ever witnessed opened up. It was lashing down with lightning everywhere, it was right on top of us. We were so lucky it didn't happen whilst in MK, I was also thankful Jim was driving tonight as though I'm a confident driver even this frightened me

We got to McD's where Mum and I jumped out as the Drive in queue wasn't moving.
We ordered 3 Buttermilk Chicken Burgers for Mum, Dad and Sam. A Big Mac for Jim and a Chicken and bacon BBQ burger for me. All with a selection of soft drinks and milkshakes. The Leans had gone to Buffalo Wild Wings and Bill and Sylvia weren't hungry.
The rain hadn't eased off at all, if anything it had got worse. We even put the heating on full blast in the car, which is a first for us in Florida!

The walk from the car to the front door of the villa we got drenched.
I got changed into my night stuff and dressing gown to warm me up.
The storm was right on top of us now, the fork lightning was quite spectacular and one even struck the lake outside. I wish I was quick enough to take a photo.
McD's wasn't that great to be honest but we were hungry and wet so it filled a hole.

Had a good long chat about how wonderful tonight was, certainly a better way to end the day from earlier. Went to bed eventually at about midnight

[Goldia]

I'm glad you dad decided to go with you, his face is brilliant in the group photos at typhoon Lagoon. Poor Sylvia, you tricked her! You described the 7dmt experience really well it sounds like such a fantastic memory for you all. And I'm pleased you just enjoyed HEA rather than trying to take photos, sometimes you just have to be in the moment.

What a fab day Alicia, I really feel like I'm part of your family! I want to come next time, surely there will a spot in the villa, I won't complain about my room or have any arguments, I promise!

[smithlane]

Originally Posted by Goldia

I'm glad you dad decided to go with you, his face is brilliant in the group photos at typhoon Lagoon. Poor Sylvia, you tricked her! You described the 7dmt experience really well it sounds like such a fantastic memory for you all. And I'm pleased you just enjoyed HEA rather than trying to take photos, sometimes you just have to be in the moment.

What a fab day Alicia, I really feel like I'm part of your family! I want to come next time, surely there will a spot in the villa, I won't complain about my room or have any arguments, I promise!

See more...

He was so happy bless him!
I'm so glad I tricked them onto the ride, it was just lovely to have a wonderful memory of all 12 of us
Ah that's so kind of you to say, I'm so pleased I have been able to share it with you.
We have a 5 bed villa this year and only the 4 of us so plenty of room for one more

[princessfiona]

what a busy busy day you all had. Your photos are great.

[smithlane]

Originally Posted by princessfiona

what a busy busy day you all had. Your photos are great.

See more...

Reading it back it really was a busy day. Thank you for reading

[yellowrose78]

Great day, with lots done. Shame about the panic trying to find your Dad at TL. The MK night pictures are lovely

[smithlane]

Originally Posted by yellowrose78

Great day, with lots done. Shame about the panic trying to find your Dad at TL. The MK night pictures are lovely

See more...

He really worried me for a while.
Thank you, MK at night is just my favourite

[mouselover22]

Lovely photopass pics at Typhoon Lagoon. Considering your dad had never been to a water park before he certainly got stuck in and sounds like he enjoyed the water rides?

Aww perfect way to end the day at MK ❤️ Happily Ever After is magical. The projections on the castle are just mesmerising.

I always get the giggles on Space Mountain

[smithlane]

Originally Posted by mouselover22

Lovely photopass pics at Typhoon Lagoon. Considering your dad had never been to a water park before he certainly got stuck in and sounds like he enjoyed the water rides?

Aww perfect way to end the day at MK ❤️ Happily Ever After is magical. The projections on the castle are just mesmerising.

I always get the giggles on Space Mountain

See more...

I know it was so nice that he just got stuck in and enjoy the day, until we lost him... !
I was a bit apprehensive about HEA as I so loved Wishes but I needn’t have been as it’s that good 😃

[sandshal]

Poor old Dad, you must have been really worried. I've been on the receiving end of that wave, tried to get up twice and got knocked back down , covered in grazes but how the others laughed

Good job you salvaged your Raybans, my youngest had an old pair of fishing glasses on last year, looked up at us and the force of the wave had literally knocked the lens out, found it though which was a bonus.

Loving the report so far, now off to read the next day. I think we must have been there a couple of weeks before you last year.

Sharon