Yesterday was our last day at Walt Disney World and then we had a good drive from Orlando to Fort Myers Beach and by the time we got to our condo in Fort Myers there was no time or will to write. So here's a recap of our last day at WDW. We debated between going to another park to get a few last rides in, or trying out the other water park. We, meaning Tawny & I, had our fill of long lines and battling through the crowds at the theme parks, so we figured that the water park would be a good way to end things.
We had our usual morning pace and got to the park just before 11. When you walk into Typhoon Lagoon, you're greated by a massive wave pool. As we were looking for a place to set up base a horn went off and a gigantic wave was released. It came all the way through the pool and up onto the beach. It was impressive and the kids were in awe. They immediately discarded their flip flops and ran for the waves. We spent a good chunk of time fighting the waves (my own flip flops had an adventure of their own before being retrieved by another swimmer) before we headed for the slides.
Typhoon Lagoon was different from Blizzard Beach in that it had more middle of the road runs rather than the extremes of BB which had some crazy slides and some kiddie slides. This made it easier to stick together. The boys weren't too bored with the lesser slides while Abby wasn't too scared by the bigger slides. We split up a bit because Abby & Josh preferred the wave pool (so did Tawny) and Caleb preferred the slides (as did I).
After a while we headed over to the Shark Tank grabbed our snorkels and went for a swim. Yes, we got to swim with fish, sting rays and sharks. It was really cool. First, we got a mask and a snorkel and then got our instructions from one of the attendants. Then we climbed into the tank. It was a salt water tank and considerably colder than the pool. At least 20 degrees colder. This put the kids on edge. I think Josh was a little nervous as he swam pretty close to me but he was okay with the adventure. Caleb was totally fine with it and went off on his own. That left me and Abby. (There was no way Tawny was going in the tank. She doesn't want to go near a fish let alone a shark.) Abby was so excited and pumped to go in the tank. When she got in she was not impressed with the cold water and started to squirm a bit. My mistake was telling her that she should put her facemask into the water so that she could see the fish and the sharks. Her response was a high-pitched shriek and then an incredulous "THERE'S SHARKS IN HERE?" And then panic set in. She wanted nothing to do with the water, and wanted out ASAP. After almost drowning me a couple of times, she finally let me hold her hand and pull her through the pool. I'm pretty sure she screamed most of the way through the water. The funny thing is she bragged to Uncle David today telling him that she swam with the sharks and it was awesome. Funny girl indeed.
We then went on some more slides, including the Crush 'N Gushers, which were partner tube rides that went down and then back up again a few times throughout the slides. They were a good way to end the day. At about 4pm we left the park and headed for Disney Quest. We noticed that the kids were a little red in the face and our arms felt a bit crispy, but while it was fairly hot, it wasn't scorching like it had been, and there was adequate shade (or so we thought). A few hours later everyone was considerably redder, and yours truly took the cake. I hate getting burned and we make sure that everyone has enough sun screen on each day, but a combination of a good cloud cover and a lot of water to wash away the sunscreen (even though we reapplied too) left me with a good burn. I'm happy to say that for the most part the redness subsided for the rest of the family. I'm still a little red today, but a lot less pink.
Back to Disney Quest. We headed there as our last stop at Walt Disney World. It's billed as an interactive theme park, which in reality is a really big arcade with some extras thrown in. The kids ran around in there for a few hours, although I'm pretty sure they would have stayed right until closing if we let them. Josh's pick of a "ride" to go on was a Pirates of the Caribbean simulator. I'm not really sure exactly what it did, but he enjoyed it thoroughly. Abby and Tawny joined him on that ride, while Caleb and I went to a roller coaster creator. Aided by Bill Nye, we created a 10,000 foot long roller coaster with twists and turns and loopdeloops, figure 8s, jumps and hyper speeds. After doing that, we then climbed into a pod which had the typical roller coaster seats, pulled down the shoulder bars and tried out the roller coaster. On the loopdeloop we actually came out of our seats and were pressed up against the shoulder straps hanging in mid-air. It was an impressive ride and fun to experience. Like I said, the kids could have stayed there for hours, but both Tawny & I knew that we were done. I'm sure you know the feeling where even the smallest detail grinds you the wrong way ... 7 days of parks and we were finished. So we went to go to the car and whaddya know? There's a torrential downpour yet again. Unlike the last time we got caught in one, this time we weren't overheating and didn't have time to dry off, as we were going to be in the car for a few hours. So, I ran to the car through 3 inches of really warm water and drove as close as I could to pick everyone up. It turned out okay but it was funny to see really sunny weather with rain just pouring down and pooling up on the roads.
It turns out this was foreshadowing for the first part of our drive. As we headed out of town we ran into the storm and it was impressive. Cars were crawling on the highway, hazard lights flashing and rain just pelting the car. Thunder rolled in the background to add to the scene and we travelled like that for a good half an hour or so. Eventually, we managed to outdrive the storm and made it to Fort Myers just before midnight. We were totally exhausted.
That brings us to today. Today is day 1 of Fort Myers Beach. We woke lazily and wandered around the condo for a while. The kids went for a swim in the ocean, then the pool. We had a great scavenger hunt (Abby & Emily are currently in the lead ... it was suspended due to dinner) and then went for a stroll along the beach, first admiring the sunset then admiring the thunder and lightning storm that was coming towards us. The whole way back from our walk Emily kept asking David if we were in danger of being struck by lightning. He would calm her fears for about 30 seconds or so, then she'd ask again, worried that it would get too close. I'm happy to report that we all made it back safe and sound. We finished the night off with some ice cream and a walk down the pier.
I can definitely handle another week of that.
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