Busch Gardens

We spent two days at Busch Gardens. It's so cool how they combine nature with a theme park. It's like a theme park and a zoo all for one price! We rode the train and saw lots of animals up close. Two black rhinos were actually standing right beside the tracks! The kids had a ball. There were rides for kids of all ages, which we all loved. I knew I wanted to get J on the little train ride, but when we got to the ride I didn't think he would get on alone b/c he was being extra clingy to me. I was afraid he would get on and start crying for me. So I asked my neice and nephew to get on the ride with their little cousin. They happily hopped on and didn't even complain about riding a "baby" ride!




However, as soon as it was over, the two older kids FLEW off the ride, but J just sat there and buckled his own seat belt. He wanted to stay on alone! We let him stay on and he was such a big boy! I almost cried. He's growing up :)He sat on the train saying "Choo Choo!!"







So now we were on a roll! We said, Oh he's a big boy! Let's let him ride all the kiddie rides! He was all for it! My dad put him on the merry go round bikes...





After the bikes, we took him to the planes. He stood in line and waited his turn like a big boy! I would have sworn he wasn't capable of doing so just the day before!! The planes flew up and down and I don't think he was too sure about that so he sat quietly until he found us and then everytime he flew around he would look at us and squeal! All of the parents were laughing at him!







Next we took my nephew to ride his first roller coaster. Here is a short video clip of our ride. We all are screaming at every turn b/c it literally looked AND felt like we were about to be thrown off the track. My dad and I both agreed that it is kind of rough for a kiddie ride!





So basically, the kids rode on lots of rides on our first day at the park. The second day, us bigger kids found some thrills of our own. My mom and I planned to ride every roller coaster in the park, and I believe they have 5. Well, we planned to ride 4 of the 5 b/c neither of us like the looks of the wooden roller coaster there. However, it rained alot earlier that day so one of the coasters we planned to ride was shut down for "technical difficulties". My mom couldn't believe she got me to ride the Shiekra though b/c I'm deathly afraid of free falling and this coaster drops you at a 90 degree angle from 250 ft in the air!! The killer part is that they DANGLE you before you are dropped without warning. OMG. But I got on. I actually enjoyed the dangling part. LOL! But the drop...Here's a short video clip. We are in the second row on the right end. My dad is on the end, then my mom (look for short, blonde hair) and then me (Look for wide eyes popping out of my head and the worst look of terror you've ever seen!!) If you hit pause at 17 seconds you will get a good glimpse of us and you can be the judge of how I felt about the drop Tip: continuously hit pause throughout the 17th second to get a good look.



Oh and there's a second drop after that one!! So after we get off the roller coaster, someone decided that the adults shouldn't be the only ones having fun. My nephew took it upon himself to RUN OFF and find something else to do. We searched for an hour, only to find him in the exact spot that his Uncle told him NOT to go...in the splash zone where the coaster we were on splashed everyone. And trust me when I say splash is an understatement! He was soaked. He got a firm talking to by Nana that's for sure. But we did have a great time this year and I can't wait for next year!