Day 22 - Back once again like a Floriday Master - Busch Gardens & Tour

[Man v Disney]

Today was our final surprise for the kids at Busch Gardens. We all slept pretty well and were up in time so that we could leave by 8.30am. Before we did though, Han popped onto the Picture Show at Altemonte Springs website and bagged us 4 tickets to watch ‘Endgame’ on Saturday as she hasn’t seen it yet. The 4 tickets, including the 50c admin fee came to the grand total of $7.50 – it was a great little cinema we found last time and it’s good to know we can go again and watch something we will all enjoy on one of our last days.

The drive over to Busch went really well and we were there in around 80 minutes or so. After paying to park we had timed the tram perfectly and got straight on. We were in the park by 10am and at this point we let the kids know that it was their final surprise today. They guessed at either express passes or meeting animals.

We had paid to do the Guided Adventure Tour which includes a guided tour, front of the line access for some of the major rides, a Serengeti Safari which includes feeding some animals, dinner and premier seating at one of the shows. The kids were really excited about this once they knew – Eliana especially had seen people feeding giraffes last time and wondered how they had got to do that!

There were a total of 12 of us in the tour group, the other 8 being a group of friends from Wakefield, about an hour from where we live in the UK! As the start time of the tour approached we could see that the weather wasn’t looking great for the day unfortunately – lots of dark clouds on the horizon.

Our guide Phil met us and explained the approximate plan for the day. He did say that the weather would impact us today and that he would work around that to keep us busy.

We started by heading to do Cheetah Hunt, 6 of the 12 went to do the ride. Unfortunately, at the point we went to get on, there was an inclement weather warning so we headed out. Phil had his radio and so was able to find out which grade of warning it was. Apparently, Yellow and Green are OK, Orange is lightning within 7 miles, Red within 5 miles and Purple within 3 miles. The Cheetah hunt delay was due to a Purple warning.

Phil decided to see if we could get on the Safari so that we weren’t waiting around, unfortunately the storm was close enough that they couldn’t run the Safari either. In the meantime, he took us on a tour of some of the animals around the edge of the South Plain.
We started with Meerkats, there was one of them standing on a rock, looking out for predators – they really are a lot smaller than you’d think. Eliana went to help it and stood on a rock nearby so she could look for predators too!

After this we went to see the African Porcupine, however it couldn’t be seen so the rest of the group went off, just as they went I spotted it and then it walked round. I got a fairly good photo then had to jog to catch up the rest of the group.

Our next stop was amazing, we saw both Hyenas and Lions – we commented that we felt we were meeting the cast of The Lion King! It was also at this point that the heavens opened! It really poured down and as we were under cover in a place to see both of these animals we stayed put for a while to take some pictures and wait the storm out.
We found out that hyenas have a heightened sense of social order. All the females are above the males in the social pecking order. They are also given a poor rep by the films as they are actually very clever and some of the most efficient hunters. Although hyenas are portrayed as stealing other animals kills, it is far more likely to be the other way around, with lions stealing a hyena’s kill.

The Lions were under shelter due to the rain, which just so happened to be right next to the glass where we were. There were loads of great photo opportunities for us, as well as one point where the male lion decided he would take the moment and audience to have a little fun with one of the lionesses! Awkward! That wasn't where the mating ended - see the picture a little later on!

After we had been under cover for 30 minutes or so Phil called us together and said that if we wanted a full refund due to the weather we could have it. The storm could last for maybe another hour or so. After a quick chat we decided to stick with it, we had had a look at the Weather App which suggested that it would clear soon.

Within about 15 minutes the rain had eased and so we donned ponchos and headed out to look at a few more animals and hopefully get the safari done. We started by seeing a Nile Crocodile, which weighed around 1,500 pounds (about 700kg). It was huge!

Next up were the hippos, one we saw weighed over 5,000 pounds. Apparently if they are properly motivated they can run quicker than Usain Bolt, they just prefer not to most of the time.

The rain had pretty much stopped and so we were able to check in for the Serengeti Safari. On our way there we heard a funny noise and went over top a crowd around the giant turtles. Well! There must have been something in the air because Mr Turtle was having a very good time with Mrs Turtle. I wonder how many parents told their kids that she was giving him a piggyback and he was moving around to get off! Aparently you can hear him mating quite a way across the park.

WARNING - animal fun photo!

Back to the safari...

There were only the 12 of us in our jeep. We headed out and saw so many animals although it was raining constantly but we were unable to wear ponchos as the giraffes try to eat them! There were various types of Antelope and Zebra. Some of the antelope can jump a height of 10 foot once they are at full speed, which is around 40mph.

There was the solitary Black Rhino and a herd of White Rhino. These were named by the Dutch as Vrite (?) Rhino due to their head shape, but apparently when the British heard this, they heard White Rhino, so that’s where it got its name – they are definitely NOT white – more a dark grey.

We stopped near some giraffes and had the opportunity to feed a couple of them – Patty and Brian. This was brilliant and an amazing opportunity. We got to feed these a number of times and have a number of photos done. This was a fabulous thing to have done and something we will all remember for a long time -although Josiah wasn’t keen on the feel of giraffe tongue licking his hand!

As we moved on we saw the Wilderbeest, amongst others. When they migrate across the Serengetti to follow the rains they move as part of a larger group of animals - there are approximately 1 million of them and as they move they create a dust cloud which can be seen from the International Space Station – fun fact for a pub quiz one day?

We got to hold an Ostrich egg too, that thing is hard! Phil also passed around the neck vertebrae of a giraffe too.

The Safari had been such a good experience and we all loved it! We headed back to Base Camp and collected all of our stuff. At this point the weather had cleared and was looking good so we were able to go and get some rides done.

First up was Cheetah Hunt, this was amazing (just like last time), and made even better that we did it front of the line. We followed this up with Cobra’s Curse which was really good fun again!

Next we went on Montu. Out of the group of 12 only Eliana and I wanted to give it a go. Eliana wasn’t sure but decided that she would at least try this, maybe not Sheikra though. She absolutely loved it and we were able to ride on the front row, getting on through the back entrance rather than even the express line.

It was about 1.45 by this time and we were all very hungry, so we headed over to the Dragonfire Grill for dinner. Phil gave us a voucher each for a main course, side, dessert and a drink.

Eliana went for the bacon burger and chips, Josiah the Teryaki Chicken on noodles, Han went for the Combo of Teryaki Beef & Orange Chicken on Noodles, with Egg rolls, Chocolate cake. I had the same as Han, but had a cheesecake for dessert instead.

The food filled a hole, it was by no means the most appetising thing we had eaten but we were so hungry that we finished most of it off. Han is fairly sure a chef had been very heavy handed with the salt and I would agree – we have been drinking water by the gallon since!

We finished eating by 2.45pm and Phil was ready to take us over to the show and then give us some front of the line tickets to use on the rides we didn’t get done due to the weather. As it was the same show we did before we asked if we could get the tickets and not watch the show, he was happy for us to do this. We tipped him for his efforts in taking us round. At one point earlier near the lions when it had been raining very heavily he had taken the kids to the restrooms as they were desperate. He tried hard to keep us busy, despite the weather and was a fount of knowledge about almost every animal we saw. He knew their names and life stories! Well worth doing if you get the chance although, looking at the website they no longer do this experience and instead only have a VIP experience which is WAY more than we paid.

Josiah and Han were ready for a sit down by this point and Eliana had decided that as she had done Montu, she should really do Kumba too.
The two of us went off and did Kumba, it was a walk on and didn’t need the front of the line pass. She loved the ride, it was great fun and very quick.

We went over to Sheikra next as I really wanted to do this. The plan was for Eliana to go in with me and then wait at the side. Well, as we approached she said that she might give it a go, so we used a Quick Queue pass and both went up. She hesitated near the top, then had another look at the drop. There were also some younger kids just getting off so she decided that, yes, she would do it.

Well, she whooped most of the way round and actually enjoyed the drops and inversions more than she thought. I do really love Sheikra and as we got off Eliana gave it a 10/10. Montu had been 9.5/10, Kumba a 9/10 and Cheetah Hunt 8.5/10.

Striking while the iron was hot we went over to Tigris and there was no line! Well, this is a very intense ride with drops, loops, forwards and backwards at high speeds. There is also a moment when the track goes around the central pole and you are upside down, but not going very fast. When we got off she was a bit quiet and I thought we should go back to Sheikra. Eliana on the other hand had loved this and wanted to go on again, I wasn’t so keen, but not wanting to get left behind we went on again.

I enjoyed it more the second time in some different seats but it really is a very intense experience!

We motored round to Sheikra and just as we were going to get on the ride stopped for inclement weather. So we both headed back to Han and Josiah. There food had gone down and settled, but now there were dark clouds looming so we decided to head home.

As we walked through the park they were announcing over the tannoy that storms were incoming and that all outdoors shows and rides were temporarily closed. We found some people to give our remaining Front of the Line tickets to and headed out, with the skies looking very gloomy.

The drive back was very wet, and other than a toilet stop on the way, was also very quick. The radio was saying that there had been storms in Orlando most of the day. Han checked on some of the facebook groups we are in which said that there had only been a couple of rides open in a number of the Disney parks. Apparently there was also flooding in Orange County so it looks like although our day had been hit by weather we had really had a much better day than people trying to do Disney.

Once back at the villa we relaxed and had some of the remaining food. The rest of the evening was swimming, report writing, eating and drinking. Plenty of chilling out – we will miss our evening relaxation by the pool when we go home.

Tomorrow – Universal and The Cow Fish. Lets hope the weather is better!

[ShezMcQ]

Sounds like a great day despite the weather. Such a shame Busch doesn't do this tour any more as it sounds really good.

Looking forward to your next instalment as still trying to decide whether to eat at Cowfish on our next trip.

[Suzieee]

This sounds like an amazing day! How wonderful... and bit of R-rated entertainment too! 🤣🤣🤣 xxx