by Great Biscuit
Perhaps of all the vacation plans that a person can make, none are quite so foreboding as planning a trip to visit your Mother-In-law. Such was the second journey along I-35 that we embarked upon this past summer. My wife grew up in the Twin Cities. (That’s Minneapolis / Saint Paul for those of you who pay rack rate at Disney.) Her parents still live in those parts as does her sister’s family.
For those of you who did not suffer through my Disney TR, my wife is an identical twin. And no, she’s NEVER heard the Minnesota Twins joke so be sure you’re the first to point it out to her.
I’ll be standing at a distance.
For the sake of clarity, I have endeavored to come up with some sort of a standardized naming convention for the cast of this segment, as this particular forum lends itself to maintaining a certain degree of anonymity. While I considered nicknames, it seemed a bit cliché. Plus there is the fact that some of you who are familiar with prior writings know the cast by their given names already and thus might wind up in a land of confusion; which is apparently where this tangent has currently wandered. Thus, I will stick with the generally accepted abbreviations of FIL, MIL, SIL & BIL. (Father, Mother, Sister, Brother-In-Law respectively. Okay don’t get technical with me people. I know that if we are to follow the true letter of In-Law legality, BIL is my wife’s Brother In-Law and my “Sister-In-Law’s husband”, but I ain’t writing SILH as that’s just hokey. Besides as the Word says, “the two shall become one”, therefore, I fell scripturally cleared to claim my wife’s relational status for myself as well.) If you are of the type that has an aversion to abbreviations, then by all means feel free to interpret them as Phil, Millie, Sally and Bill. Because here at Zzubworld, it’s all about you the reader.
It occurs to me that the preceding paragraph was an entirely meaningless waste of time.
For this particular jaunt up I-35, we elected to take to the skies. This was for two reasons. One, I did not particularly wish to undertake a 21 hour drive. Two, I was returning home a week earlier than First Lady Biscuit and the girls and it’s a bit of a trip to come back and pick ‘em up.
We flew out of DFW, as Texans are wont to do, and winged our way north. I do not recall an abundance of detail concerning the flight, though I distinctly remember stopping in the airport before we boarded to partake of an Auntie Anne’s pretzel. What possible relevance that might have to our current tale eludes me. All I know is that we did eventually arrive at MIL’s house and headed to the basement. We got the girls settled into the family room where they would lay claim to the pull out couch while First Lady Biscuit and I took up residence in the guest room.
Rather than provide you with a blow by blow of our entire trip, and send up food porn of my MIL’s meat loaf, I thought perhaps a different tactic might be appreciated. Instead, I will offer up reviews of some of the attractions that we took in while in Minnesota which might be of interest to those considering a trip up that way. These will include Como Park Zoo, The Minnesota Children’s Museum, The Minnesota Science Museum, and The Mall of America. I’ll also include a few things that happened along the way, including one that will be in true spirit of Zzub.
And in the spirit of recent postings, (namely a lengthy intro combined with very little actual trip happenings and concluding with promise of things to come,) I think I’ll shift gears now and take this posting in an entirely different direction.
It seems to me that this would be an appropriate to begin the pre-trip writings for our 2012 return to The World.
This may seem a bit absurd to some, given the time frame we're dealing with. Indeed it does seem odd to be thinking that far ahead, even to myself; particularly given the fact that I’m not a frequent PTR fan. Yet I do have a reason for jumping into this vortex at the present juncture. That reason being? We are going to WDW with my BIL & SIL and their two girls. That’s right, we had such a great time in ’09 when my parents came with us that we are once again making our trip a family affair.
What’s more, we are actually looking forward to it.
As this particular portion of my I-35 TR will show, our two families love spending time together. People often mistake my BIL and me for brothers. We are both from Texas, have a similar look, have similar interests, both work as media techs at our churches, and we have similar personalities. In short, he tops of the list of folks whom I’d not only tolerate touring with, but actually enjoy the experience. And of course the lady folk, being twins and all that, are like two peas in a pod. Well, I guess technically they were...at one point.
Anywho….
BIL and SIL honeymooned at The World in 2002 and I helped them plan their trip. (I’m happy to report that it turned out much better than my own doomed post-nuptial excursion.) They stayed at All Star Music and spent five very enjoyable days soaking up the Did’ney. They have wanted to go back since, but have not been able to work it out. In 2012, their two daughters are going to be the same ages our two were when we went. All four of them are already excited about it and want to discuss it often.
As one might imagine, we have not yet booked and are currently in the resort selection phase. I want us to be settled on a resort, trip date and trip length by the time they come to our house this summer. With 2012 being the 40th anniversary of the Magic Kingdom, the new Fantasyland expansion and the opening of The Art of Animation Resort, we need to book early.
As such, I am currently deep in the throws of Power Point creation. It’s pretty well a foregone conclusion by this point that Deluxe is out as an option for the entirety of the trip, however it may be held in reserve as a final fling for our last couple of nights. So now it’s down to picking which category (Value or Mod) and which property. I am creating lists of pros and cons, doing my best to approximate a cost breakdown (based on current pricing and offers), pulling together a TON of photos, and am really trying not to push my vote by the way I present the material. (Objectivity can be a bear.)
And of course there is the inevitable question of time. How long should we stay? How long can we stay? Their crew is looking at around 5-7 days, Biscuit and company are looking at 8-10 days.
How that all reconciles remains to be seen.
All I know is that I’m looking forward to it.
I need it.
Between my job at the call center, working at the church, and freelancing as an IT tech for my aunt’s company, I feel like life is a constant blur of deadlines.
This is a ride I can’t wait to take and it’s a ride I look forward to sharing here.
In the meantime, I pray that God may bless each of you. Have a great Valentines Day and know that you are all loved.
Showing posts with label Great Biscuit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Great Biscuit. Show all posts
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Water, Sparks and Empty Parks
By: Great Biscuit
It’s funny how vacations can teach us things about one another that we never knew. As we stood in line waiting to board the gondola style Ferris Wheel, I learned something new about my mom. She had never been on a Ferris Wheel. EVER. In fact, she let it be known in no uncertain terms that she would not be boarding one now were it not for the puppy eyed pleadings of her grandbabies.
At Six Flags Fiesta Texas, the Ferris Wheel opens later than the rest of the park. Thanks to our ride timing, we were right next to it when it opened and were the first ones aboard that day. Another family hopped into the adjoining car and we were soon on our way. Hailee held Nana’s hand so she wouldn’t be scared and after a couple of rotations, Nana declared it to be a nifty thing. Once our ride was over, we got back on and went around a second time.
After that, we did a few kids rides in the form of a carousel and kiddie coaster before heading for some chow. We settled on Sangerfest Halle in the Spassburg section of the park. It has a German architecture and features a food court with several different types of offerings. (Tex-Mex, Papa-John’s Pizza, and German.) The dining area is built around a stage which features a show with the Looney Tunes characters. We settled for Papa Johns and were soon seated and eating.
It occurs to me that this would be a good time to give a discourse on the joys of refillable park mugs. Both Sea World and Six Flags offered them and both advertised you could bring them back all season. The difference is that at Sea World, you pay a buck for refills from the point you buy it on. At Six Flags, you get a wrist bracelet that gives you unlimited free refills on the day you purchase it and they are a buck on each subsequent visit. Oh that Disney would adopt a similar policy; if for no other reason, than the riled up flaming it would cause on a number of discussion boards.
Our afternoon activities focused solely on the water park which is included in admission, but first we had a slight detour on The Road Runner Express. This is a coaster which is fairly comparable to Big Thunder as far as speed and such goes. Nana and I took the girls on it and while my oldest was not thrilled, my youngest is a definite coaster junkie, making me one happy biscuit.
The rest of our day consisted of multiple floats around the lazy river, zooming down various water slide, and bobbing in the Texas shaped wave pool. (Texas shaped icons are quite popular down this way.) Nana and Papa left at six, while the rest of us stayed until the park closed.
There was some potential drama as the girls decided they wanted to go to the Jordin Sparks concert that evening in the park’s amphitheater. We had seen posters for it all day and seen the tour busses, but I had hoped to escape without partaking. However, the girls wanted to at least drop by, so after my parents left, we took them over and were advised there were still plenty of seats available on the grassy area. This actually worked out perfectly for us as we were only taking a brief detour through the area.
When we arrived, the girl doing the opening act was completing her set. At first I thought Jordin had lost a lot of weight as this girl seemed to be a skinny mini-me. But as she concluded her session, a boat load of roadies showed up to re-set the stage. There was about a 10 minute pause and then Jordin Sparks took the stage. We sat through one song. And that was being generous. Note to the idiot tour manager: when your opening act looks and sounds better than your headliner, you are not doing your job.
After the inaugural song, the girls were content to depart and we headed out to conquer some more rides. As the concert effectively drained the park of patrons, everything was a walk on for the next two hours. We re-visited many of the same attractions from earlier in the day and when at last we headed out to the car, the girls were tired, but happy. After we got all our crap stowed back in the trunk, we wished Six Flags a fond farewell and headed off. I pulled through Taco Bell to get properly caffeinated for the drive home and pointed the car back up I-35.
Perhaps the best insight into just what a great weekend it turned out to be can be found in my Facebook status when we returned: Back from San Antonio. Got stuck in traffic, smelled some penguin poo, touched a mammal, ate a nifty late night feast, got gas, went to sleep, ate a biscuit, rode some coasters, floated in a river, heard some music, drank mountain dew, ate a burrito and got more gas. All in all, I'd a say a near perfect weekend.
It’s funny how vacations can teach us things about one another that we never knew. As we stood in line waiting to board the gondola style Ferris Wheel, I learned something new about my mom. She had never been on a Ferris Wheel. EVER. In fact, she let it be known in no uncertain terms that she would not be boarding one now were it not for the puppy eyed pleadings of her grandbabies.
At Six Flags Fiesta Texas, the Ferris Wheel opens later than the rest of the park. Thanks to our ride timing, we were right next to it when it opened and were the first ones aboard that day. Another family hopped into the adjoining car and we were soon on our way. Hailee held Nana’s hand so she wouldn’t be scared and after a couple of rotations, Nana declared it to be a nifty thing. Once our ride was over, we got back on and went around a second time.
After that, we did a few kids rides in the form of a carousel and kiddie coaster before heading for some chow. We settled on Sangerfest Halle in the Spassburg section of the park. It has a German architecture and features a food court with several different types of offerings. (Tex-Mex, Papa-John’s Pizza, and German.) The dining area is built around a stage which features a show with the Looney Tunes characters. We settled for Papa Johns and were soon seated and eating.
It occurs to me that this would be a good time to give a discourse on the joys of refillable park mugs. Both Sea World and Six Flags offered them and both advertised you could bring them back all season. The difference is that at Sea World, you pay a buck for refills from the point you buy it on. At Six Flags, you get a wrist bracelet that gives you unlimited free refills on the day you purchase it and they are a buck on each subsequent visit. Oh that Disney would adopt a similar policy; if for no other reason, than the riled up flaming it would cause on a number of discussion boards.
Our afternoon activities focused solely on the water park which is included in admission, but first we had a slight detour on The Road Runner Express. This is a coaster which is fairly comparable to Big Thunder as far as speed and such goes. Nana and I took the girls on it and while my oldest was not thrilled, my youngest is a definite coaster junkie, making me one happy biscuit.
The rest of our day consisted of multiple floats around the lazy river, zooming down various water slide, and bobbing in the Texas shaped wave pool. (Texas shaped icons are quite popular down this way.) Nana and Papa left at six, while the rest of us stayed until the park closed.
There was some potential drama as the girls decided they wanted to go to the Jordin Sparks concert that evening in the park’s amphitheater. We had seen posters for it all day and seen the tour busses, but I had hoped to escape without partaking. However, the girls wanted to at least drop by, so after my parents left, we took them over and were advised there were still plenty of seats available on the grassy area. This actually worked out perfectly for us as we were only taking a brief detour through the area.
When we arrived, the girl doing the opening act was completing her set. At first I thought Jordin had lost a lot of weight as this girl seemed to be a skinny mini-me. But as she concluded her session, a boat load of roadies showed up to re-set the stage. There was about a 10 minute pause and then Jordin Sparks took the stage. We sat through one song. And that was being generous. Note to the idiot tour manager: when your opening act looks and sounds better than your headliner, you are not doing your job.
After the inaugural song, the girls were content to depart and we headed out to conquer some more rides. As the concert effectively drained the park of patrons, everything was a walk on for the next two hours. We re-visited many of the same attractions from earlier in the day and when at last we headed out to the car, the girls were tired, but happy. After we got all our crap stowed back in the trunk, we wished Six Flags a fond farewell and headed off. I pulled through Taco Bell to get properly caffeinated for the drive home and pointed the car back up I-35.
Perhaps the best insight into just what a great weekend it turned out to be can be found in my Facebook status when we returned: Back from San Antonio. Got stuck in traffic, smelled some penguin poo, touched a mammal, ate a nifty late night feast, got gas, went to sleep, ate a biscuit, rode some coasters, floated in a river, heard some music, drank mountain dew, ate a burrito and got more gas. All in all, I'd a say a near perfect weekend.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
A Sudden Induction
By: Great Biscuit
In my previous installment, the Biscuit clan had arrived at Six Flags Fiesta Texas to find a virtually deserted park. With two rides down and many left to go, we headed over to The Boardwalk area. The girls soon discovered a few kid-oriented rides which had no lines at all.
While the girls were thusly engaged and safely under the watchful supervision of First Lady Biscuit and Nana & Papa, I took a side trip to catch me a coaster.
It had been a while since I was able to get my coaster on so I was really looking forward to a chance to ride the rails again. The closest coaster to our location was Poltergeist and it was one I had never ridden.
Because the ride was built after the park opened, the coaster itself is sandwiched in behind some other buildings. To make it accessible from the park, they offset the queue and the loading area quite a ways from the actual track and tucked them between a restaurant and the back side of the car ride. The affect of this is that you cannot see the track from the line or from the loading dock. (This is an important note for later.)
I shuffled my way though the endless rows of empty rails and trudged up the ramp to the loading dock. There was a train waiting when I got there and the gates were all open. I was TOTALLY loving this no-crowd thing! I joined the three people already on board and after a couple of minutes, and a few more folks had wondered up and gotten on, the bored and alarmingly sleepy looking ride operator closed the gates, dropped the restraints, gave a thumbs up and hit the magic button.
It was then that I discovered something. It is probably a good idea to take a peek a coaster in action BEFORE you get on it.
Poltergeist is not one of those normal, haul you up a hill with a chain, type of coasters. No my friends. This bad boy was a linear induction coaster.
Now don’t get me wrong. I LOVE these things and have ridden them many times. However, I do like to know ahead of time so as to properly prepare myself. If there had been a ride video of my face during said takeoff, it would have gone viral by now. My head was suddenly pinned to the chair, my eyes were bugging out of their sockets and my lips were flapping so far around the side of my head that I was experiencing the disconcerting sensation of simultaneously kissing both of my own ear lobes.
While other men may have been reduced to shrieking like a startled school girl, I am happy to report that I bore it with equanimity and quickly recovered. By the time we made it through the first loop, I had reeled in my facial muscles and took to waving my hands in the air and grinning like the Joker on tater tot day at Arkham.
In short, the ride ROCKED!
I pondered riding it again, but didn’t want to leave the girls waiting. Plus I was sidelined by an injury while exiting. I don’t know how I did it, but in the course of making my way out of the queue, I raised my left arm while cornering a turn in the exit lane and somehow managed to smack the tip of my elbow on the edge of a metal bar. This created a chain reaction which shot lighting bolts up my arm and clear around the side of my back. It was about the worse funny bone smack I’ve ever dealt myself. And it totally soured the mood for another ride.
After meeting back up with the family, I discovered First Lady Biscuit had taken the girls on the mini-swings. This was nifty with me as I am much more prone to getting ill on those types of spinning rides as opposed to twisting and turning coasters.
I don’t get it either.
I also discovered that from the vantage point of the bench in front of the Taz swings, you could clearly see Poltergeist. In fact Nana Biscuit snapped the shot up above while I was riding it. I guess I should have stuck around over here a few minutes after all.
When the girls were done with their ride, we all headed over to Scooby Doo Ghostblasters and shot ourselves some ghouls. This ride is kind of like a poor man’s Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin. The concept is similar and both are themed. But the comparison pretty well ends there. Scooby is much shorter, a lot cheesier, not as nicely themed and doesn’t allow you to spin. The queue is limited when it comes to looking at anything interesting, and the ride itself seems a bit cardboard cut-outish. It’s a great way to enjoy some air conditioning, but that’s about all it has going for it.
After hanging with Mystery Incorporated it was time to go get a birds eye view of the park. (See panoramic photo in the last installment.) Little did we know that this simple act would become immortalized in the history of Biscuitdom.
In my previous installment, the Biscuit clan had arrived at Six Flags Fiesta Texas to find a virtually deserted park. With two rides down and many left to go, we headed over to The Boardwalk area. The girls soon discovered a few kid-oriented rides which had no lines at all.
(What is the deal with the spinning bus? Why does it seem that EVERY Theme park has this ride? Do they just give that out free when you puchase three or more other rides of equal or greater value?)
It had been a while since I was able to get my coaster on so I was really looking forward to a chance to ride the rails again. The closest coaster to our location was Poltergeist and it was one I had never ridden.
Because the ride was built after the park opened, the coaster itself is sandwiched in behind some other buildings. To make it accessible from the park, they offset the queue and the loading area quite a ways from the actual track and tucked them between a restaurant and the back side of the car ride. The affect of this is that you cannot see the track from the line or from the loading dock. (This is an important note for later.)
I shuffled my way though the endless rows of empty rails and trudged up the ramp to the loading dock. There was a train waiting when I got there and the gates were all open. I was TOTALLY loving this no-crowd thing! I joined the three people already on board and after a couple of minutes, and a few more folks had wondered up and gotten on, the bored and alarmingly sleepy looking ride operator closed the gates, dropped the restraints, gave a thumbs up and hit the magic button.
It was then that I discovered something. It is probably a good idea to take a peek a coaster in action BEFORE you get on it.
Poltergeist is not one of those normal, haul you up a hill with a chain, type of coasters. No my friends. This bad boy was a linear induction coaster.
Now don’t get me wrong. I LOVE these things and have ridden them many times. However, I do like to know ahead of time so as to properly prepare myself. If there had been a ride video of my face during said takeoff, it would have gone viral by now. My head was suddenly pinned to the chair, my eyes were bugging out of their sockets and my lips were flapping so far around the side of my head that I was experiencing the disconcerting sensation of simultaneously kissing both of my own ear lobes.
While other men may have been reduced to shrieking like a startled school girl, I am happy to report that I bore it with equanimity and quickly recovered. By the time we made it through the first loop, I had reeled in my facial muscles and took to waving my hands in the air and grinning like the Joker on tater tot day at Arkham.
In short, the ride ROCKED!
I pondered riding it again, but didn’t want to leave the girls waiting. Plus I was sidelined by an injury while exiting. I don’t know how I did it, but in the course of making my way out of the queue, I raised my left arm while cornering a turn in the exit lane and somehow managed to smack the tip of my elbow on the edge of a metal bar. This created a chain reaction which shot lighting bolts up my arm and clear around the side of my back. It was about the worse funny bone smack I’ve ever dealt myself. And it totally soured the mood for another ride.
After meeting back up with the family, I discovered First Lady Biscuit had taken the girls on the mini-swings. This was nifty with me as I am much more prone to getting ill on those types of spinning rides as opposed to twisting and turning coasters.
I don’t get it either.
I also discovered that from the vantage point of the bench in front of the Taz swings, you could clearly see Poltergeist. In fact Nana Biscuit snapped the shot up above while I was riding it. I guess I should have stuck around over here a few minutes after all.
When the girls were done with their ride, we all headed over to Scooby Doo Ghostblasters and shot ourselves some ghouls. This ride is kind of like a poor man’s Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin. The concept is similar and both are themed. But the comparison pretty well ends there. Scooby is much shorter, a lot cheesier, not as nicely themed and doesn’t allow you to spin. The queue is limited when it comes to looking at anything interesting, and the ride itself seems a bit cardboard cut-outish. It’s a great way to enjoy some air conditioning, but that’s about all it has going for it.
After hanging with Mystery Incorporated it was time to go get a birds eye view of the park. (See panoramic photo in the last installment.) Little did we know that this simple act would become immortalized in the history of Biscuitdom.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Doing the Hustle
by: Great Biscuit
Day two of our adventures dawned and I found myself up a bit earlier than I had anticipated. (I shall spare you the details, but suffice it to say that I suggest AGAINST eating a large Italian meal at nine o’clock at night after spending an afternoon walking in the heat.) We were headed to Six Flags Fiesta Texas and the park opened at 10. Our motel was only 4 miles away and seeing as how this wasn’t a Disney park, there were no rope drop concerns to factor into our departure time.
Once I was back to my usual self, I quietly got dressed and headed down to the lobby. If there is a benefit that I enjoy the most about a non Disney vacation, a free continental breakfast certainly ranks high on the list. After loading up on some bacon and biscuits and gravy, it was time to sit and do some people watching.
As I sat and reflected on our trip, the thought occurred to me that it was exactly a year and a week since I had been sitting in Everything Pop following a similar bout of digestive instability. Only in this case there was nothing photo worthy to go out and take pictures of. Nana and Papa Biscuit joined me after a few minutes and we planned out the rest of the day.
Nana needed more sunscreen so we got the location of a Target store from the desk clerk. I then grabbed the girls some breakfast and headed back the room to pack up. The girls were up when I arrived and while they ate, I set about gathering up all our junk and getting it packed away.
Because we are the Biscuits, it took a few min longer than anticipated to get out the door. The clock was showing five minutes till ten when we made it down to the cars. Luckily the Target store was on the way and we found it with minimal difficulty. Finding the sunscreen within said Target proved to be bit more problematic so our five minute stop turned into fifteen. Eventually though, we were back on the road and we made it to Six Flags about 20 min after they opened. Turns out, we need not have worried about missing the opening as the parking lot was practically deserted. We wound up parking near the gate and passed through an empty entrance plaza to enter the park.
I’ve been to this park a handful of times and my mom has been there literally dozens of times as a youth sponsor. Neither of us had EVER seen the park this empty. It was, in a word, fantastic.
For those of your unfamiliar with this park, allow me a moment to set the scene. The park itself is built inside an abandoned rock quarry. The park itself is roughly horseshoe shaped and is surrounded on three sides by sheer rock cliffs. Many of the coasters in the park take advantage of this, as do many of the water slides in the water park.
Here’s a birds-eye overview from atop the Ferris Wheel. (The "street" at the lower left is actually inside the park and part of the design of that area.)
The park’s design is not only cool looking, but it effectively isolates you from the hustle and bustle of the surrounding city. Unlike many of the other Six Flags parks I’ve been in, you can’t see an interstate or shopping malls or cheap hotels from inside the park.
Which is nice.
And is a feature which bears resemblance to another favorite park of mine.
That is until they build a massive resort right behind Space Mountain.
Not to be a hater.
I’m just saying.
Our first order of bid’ness was to head over to the “you think you’re driving, but you’re really not” miniature cars.
It was a walk on.
While the girls went puttering around the track, I perched on a bridge and took their photos as they rolled past. At some point along the way, the girls spotted the The Hustler and it was ON!
Now I have to say, The Hustler is an evil ride. Pure nasty funkiness. The concept is identical to the tea cups, except they aren’t cups, they are giant pool balls. Which spin you unmercifully until your innards attempt to exit your body.
Evil.
I was somehow elected to ride with the girls.
Joy.
The line for this one was a walk on as well.
So we walked on. And I got the girls buckled. And I took their pictures. Then I walked off.
That’s right; I left the girls to face the horror of the billiards alone.
Remember that continental breakfast I was singing the praises of a while back? I figured the girls would prefer not to have it displayed for them. And I knew beyond any doubt that if I parked my ample belly inside a giant billiard orb of evil, that there would be fahrvergnügen in the corner pocket.
Besides which, they were the only two on the entire ride so I didn’t have to worry about them disappearing in the crowd.
While they were riding and waving at Nana, Papa and First Lady Biscuit, I poked my head around the corner and shot a few more pics.
The girls soon emerged with nothing but smiles and we headed over towards the boardwalk area to discover a plethora of lineless attractions.
We were LOVING us some Six Flags Fiesta Texas!
Day two of our adventures dawned and I found myself up a bit earlier than I had anticipated. (I shall spare you the details, but suffice it to say that I suggest AGAINST eating a large Italian meal at nine o’clock at night after spending an afternoon walking in the heat.) We were headed to Six Flags Fiesta Texas and the park opened at 10. Our motel was only 4 miles away and seeing as how this wasn’t a Disney park, there were no rope drop concerns to factor into our departure time.
Once I was back to my usual self, I quietly got dressed and headed down to the lobby. If there is a benefit that I enjoy the most about a non Disney vacation, a free continental breakfast certainly ranks high on the list. After loading up on some bacon and biscuits and gravy, it was time to sit and do some people watching.
As I sat and reflected on our trip, the thought occurred to me that it was exactly a year and a week since I had been sitting in Everything Pop following a similar bout of digestive instability. Only in this case there was nothing photo worthy to go out and take pictures of. Nana and Papa Biscuit joined me after a few minutes and we planned out the rest of the day.
Nana needed more sunscreen so we got the location of a Target store from the desk clerk. I then grabbed the girls some breakfast and headed back the room to pack up. The girls were up when I arrived and while they ate, I set about gathering up all our junk and getting it packed away.
Because we are the Biscuits, it took a few min longer than anticipated to get out the door. The clock was showing five minutes till ten when we made it down to the cars. Luckily the Target store was on the way and we found it with minimal difficulty. Finding the sunscreen within said Target proved to be bit more problematic so our five minute stop turned into fifteen. Eventually though, we were back on the road and we made it to Six Flags about 20 min after they opened. Turns out, we need not have worried about missing the opening as the parking lot was practically deserted. We wound up parking near the gate and passed through an empty entrance plaza to enter the park.
I’ve been to this park a handful of times and my mom has been there literally dozens of times as a youth sponsor. Neither of us had EVER seen the park this empty. It was, in a word, fantastic.
For those of your unfamiliar with this park, allow me a moment to set the scene. The park itself is built inside an abandoned rock quarry. The park itself is roughly horseshoe shaped and is surrounded on three sides by sheer rock cliffs. Many of the coasters in the park take advantage of this, as do many of the water slides in the water park.
Here’s a birds-eye overview from atop the Ferris Wheel. (The "street" at the lower left is actually inside the park and part of the design of that area.)
The park’s design is not only cool looking, but it effectively isolates you from the hustle and bustle of the surrounding city. Unlike many of the other Six Flags parks I’ve been in, you can’t see an interstate or shopping malls or cheap hotels from inside the park.
Which is nice.
And is a feature which bears resemblance to another favorite park of mine.
That is until they build a massive resort right behind Space Mountain.
Not to be a hater.
I’m just saying.
Our first order of bid’ness was to head over to the “you think you’re driving, but you’re really not” miniature cars.
It was a walk on.
While the girls went puttering around the track, I perched on a bridge and took their photos as they rolled past. At some point along the way, the girls spotted the The Hustler and it was ON!
Now I have to say, The Hustler is an evil ride. Pure nasty funkiness. The concept is identical to the tea cups, except they aren’t cups, they are giant pool balls. Which spin you unmercifully until your innards attempt to exit your body.
Evil.
I was somehow elected to ride with the girls.
Joy.
The line for this one was a walk on as well.
So we walked on. And I got the girls buckled. And I took their pictures. Then I walked off.
That’s right; I left the girls to face the horror of the billiards alone.
Remember that continental breakfast I was singing the praises of a while back? I figured the girls would prefer not to have it displayed for them. And I knew beyond any doubt that if I parked my ample belly inside a giant billiard orb of evil, that there would be fahrvergnügen in the corner pocket.
Besides which, they were the only two on the entire ride so I didn’t have to worry about them disappearing in the crowd.
While they were riding and waving at Nana, Papa and First Lady Biscuit, I poked my head around the corner and shot a few more pics.
(Theater housing a 1950's Rock 'N Roll Stage Show.)
(Restaurants and shops in the 1950's Americana area.)
The girls soon emerged with nothing but smiles and we headed over towards the boardwalk area to discover a plethora of lineless attractions.
We were LOVING us some Six Flags Fiesta Texas!
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Hearty Cheers and Roasted Ears
By Great Biscuit
When last we left off, I had procured some souvenir mugs in an attempt to compensate for the sauna of the afternoon sun. Of the many elements that are common to seemingly all Disney Trip Reports, weather tops the list. While a few wintertime travelers are taken aback by a stray cold front, the overwhelming majority report on the grueling heat and oppressive humidity. The summertime weather in San Antonio can be woefully similar. Thus while we were grateful for the shade afforded us that June evening in Sea Lion Stadium, we were still in dire need of a restorative.
Luckily, a hearty of helping of Mug root beer did the trick. Thus properly refreshed, we were enjoying a rousing performance of the Cannery Row Caper. As I mentioned at the close of the last chapter, the first half of the show went hunky dory. (Whatever that means.) We were all enjoying the cheesey dialog and corny plotline when suddenly tragedy befell us.
The two sea lions in the show were supposed to swim out to the glass, lean up on it and do that barking noise that their species is so well known for. One of them did it just as rehearsed. The other got too much spruce in its caboose and went flying over the wall and into the audience. Luckily there is a wide walkway between the front row and the tank and there was no one right there close.
Two pages immediately blocked the aisle, and the trainer ran down and gave a hand signal. Apparently the critter understood as it leaned up on the wall and pulled itself right back into the tank. The entire thing was over in about 20 seconds. (Approximately 3 seconds less time than it takes to put down your souvenir mug of root beer, reopen the backpack and pull out, power up and focus the camera that you stowed before the show having rationalized that you've seen it before, have plenty of pictures already and just want to sit and enjoy it.).
The trainer seemed a bit rattled and gave us a “That’s never happened!” The animal was immediately sent backstage to be looked after. We were all a little nervous when the critter did not appear in the rest of the show. There was however a hearty cheer from the crowd when it did come back out for the final bow and seemed wholly recovered. (Or wholly swapped out backstage with a different seal lion, it’s hard to say which.) Anyway, there were two of them at the end and both were in good spirits and that seemed to be agreeable to the audience.
With this show now off the list, we headed out to the catch the water ski show which was about 5 min away from starting. I knew we wouldn’t make it to the first couple of minutes of the show, but come on, it’s a ski show. There isn’t much plot line to catch up on, and by “much” I mean there is none.
Once upon a wonder year, the show’s water borne performers had an entire stage show that went along with their aquatic acrobatics. (Anyone else remember Beach Blanket Ski Party?) There were costumes, musical numbers, corny yet humorous plot lines, the whole nine yards. That ain’t so any more.
You get a narrator.
Some dude, standing in the center of the beach saying things like, “And now Brad’s going to do a triple Hungarian Butt Spritzel with a half twist!” To which an overheated crowd would give a half hearted “woo”.
That was pretty much the entire show. Narrator dude tells us who’s coming out and what they are going to do and then we watch them do it. Wow. Hope the writing team didn’t stress themselves out too much there.
Pitiful.
Luckily I had stopped to refill our mugs on the way into the stadium so at least we had the entertainment of sipping our beverages.
After being fully underwhelmed, we backtracked slightly and took in the Penguin house. Because there is apparently nothing that quite lifts the spirits like the olfactory stimulation that is wafted out of a building after it has been wholly sullied with penguin poo. This of course led to a desire for corn, namely of the grilled variety, and thus the Roasted Corn stand with its buttery ears and founts of bubbly refreshment became our next stop.
After our third round of refills and some golden grilled heaven were properly dispatched, we headed over to our final stop of the evening: Shamu Stadium. I had hoped to catch Believe, but the traffic debaucle on 410 had rendered that plan inoperative. Thus we settled on Shamu 2.0, also known as Shamu Rocks. It’s not a bad show, it’s just got a different vibe than Believe. BUT, we were cool with it and managed to score a spot well above the splash zone. While we waited for the show to start, my fame was recognized and I found myself on the Jumbotron.
The show itself was good, but I had forgotten about the “no trainer in the water” policy that was adopted after the Orlando incident. Not that I would wish someone to risk life and limb for my entertainment value. But it does change the dynamic of the show. It still has some good moments though.
With our Sea World dance card thus filled, we headed out to meet my parents for dinner. Of course we didn’t make it out of the park before finding our way into a gift shop and spending thirty minuets playing the “I can’t decide” game with the girls. Thankfully, we did finally manage to procure a couple of mementos and then booked it out to the car.
We were staying at the Comfort Suites just off of I-10 near Six Flags Fiesta Texas. Not so coincidentally there was a Zio’s a couple of blocks away and it was there that we met up with Nana and Papa. In typically Biscuit tradition there was much joyous greeting and a few moments of seat shuffling before all were settled and ready to get down to bidness.
For starters, we ordered up a Baked Formaggio (described in the menu as: “A blend of five cheeses and Italian herbs baked in our brick oven, topped with kalamata olive relish and served with grilled Italian bread.”) For an entre, the girls both got the kids Fettuccine Alfredo while First Lady Biscuit and I split the Chicken Alfredo. (Mushrooms on the side as FLB doesn’t care for them, but I’m not willing to give them up. After all they don’t reduce the price of the dish if you cut them out and I figure if a feller’s paying for some ‘shrooms, he ought to get to eat ‘em.) It was nifty as always and we topped the meal off with an Oreo Mountain dessert.
It was mighty fine and tasty all the way around.
Upon returning to the motel, the girls got ready for bed and then we headed over to Nana’s room to have her read them their devotions. Having thanked our Lord for a fun day together and invoked His provision over our next day’s activities, we bid Nana and Papa goodnight and headed off to bed.
When last we left off, I had procured some souvenir mugs in an attempt to compensate for the sauna of the afternoon sun. Of the many elements that are common to seemingly all Disney Trip Reports, weather tops the list. While a few wintertime travelers are taken aback by a stray cold front, the overwhelming majority report on the grueling heat and oppressive humidity. The summertime weather in San Antonio can be woefully similar. Thus while we were grateful for the shade afforded us that June evening in Sea Lion Stadium, we were still in dire need of a restorative.
Luckily, a hearty of helping of Mug root beer did the trick. Thus properly refreshed, we were enjoying a rousing performance of the Cannery Row Caper. As I mentioned at the close of the last chapter, the first half of the show went hunky dory. (Whatever that means.) We were all enjoying the cheesey dialog and corny plotline when suddenly tragedy befell us.
The two sea lions in the show were supposed to swim out to the glass, lean up on it and do that barking noise that their species is so well known for. One of them did it just as rehearsed. The other got too much spruce in its caboose and went flying over the wall and into the audience. Luckily there is a wide walkway between the front row and the tank and there was no one right there close.
Two pages immediately blocked the aisle, and the trainer ran down and gave a hand signal. Apparently the critter understood as it leaned up on the wall and pulled itself right back into the tank. The entire thing was over in about 20 seconds. (Approximately 3 seconds less time than it takes to put down your souvenir mug of root beer, reopen the backpack and pull out, power up and focus the camera that you stowed before the show having rationalized that you've seen it before, have plenty of pictures already and just want to sit and enjoy it.).
The trainer seemed a bit rattled and gave us a “That’s never happened!” The animal was immediately sent backstage to be looked after. We were all a little nervous when the critter did not appear in the rest of the show. There was however a hearty cheer from the crowd when it did come back out for the final bow and seemed wholly recovered. (Or wholly swapped out backstage with a different seal lion, it’s hard to say which.) Anyway, there were two of them at the end and both were in good spirits and that seemed to be agreeable to the audience.
With this show now off the list, we headed out to the catch the water ski show which was about 5 min away from starting. I knew we wouldn’t make it to the first couple of minutes of the show, but come on, it’s a ski show. There isn’t much plot line to catch up on, and by “much” I mean there is none.
Once upon a wonder year, the show’s water borne performers had an entire stage show that went along with their aquatic acrobatics. (Anyone else remember Beach Blanket Ski Party?) There were costumes, musical numbers, corny yet humorous plot lines, the whole nine yards. That ain’t so any more.
You get a narrator.
Some dude, standing in the center of the beach saying things like, “And now Brad’s going to do a triple Hungarian Butt Spritzel with a half twist!” To which an overheated crowd would give a half hearted “woo”.
Go Brad...I should have followed my first instinct and left the camera in the bag again.
That was pretty much the entire show. Narrator dude tells us who’s coming out and what they are going to do and then we watch them do it. Wow. Hope the writing team didn’t stress themselves out too much there.
Pitiful.
Luckily I had stopped to refill our mugs on the way into the stadium so at least we had the entertainment of sipping our beverages.
After being fully underwhelmed, we backtracked slightly and took in the Penguin house. Because there is apparently nothing that quite lifts the spirits like the olfactory stimulation that is wafted out of a building after it has been wholly sullied with penguin poo. This of course led to a desire for corn, namely of the grilled variety, and thus the Roasted Corn stand with its buttery ears and founts of bubbly refreshment became our next stop.
After our third round of refills and some golden grilled heaven were properly dispatched, we headed over to our final stop of the evening: Shamu Stadium. I had hoped to catch Believe, but the traffic debaucle on 410 had rendered that plan inoperative. Thus we settled on Shamu 2.0, also known as Shamu Rocks. It’s not a bad show, it’s just got a different vibe than Believe. BUT, we were cool with it and managed to score a spot well above the splash zone. While we waited for the show to start, my fame was recognized and I found myself on the Jumbotron.
Can you spot this Biscuit in this picture?
The show itself was good, but I had forgotten about the “no trainer in the water” policy that was adopted after the Orlando incident. Not that I would wish someone to risk life and limb for my entertainment value. But it does change the dynamic of the show. It still has some good moments though.
Notice how the angle of the sun striking the stadium interacted with the shower
of whale spit to create an almost angelic aura about this creatures head.
With our Sea World dance card thus filled, we headed out to meet my parents for dinner. Of course we didn’t make it out of the park before finding our way into a gift shop and spending thirty minuets playing the “I can’t decide” game with the girls. Thankfully, we did finally manage to procure a couple of mementos and then booked it out to the car.
We were staying at the Comfort Suites just off of I-10 near Six Flags Fiesta Texas. Not so coincidentally there was a Zio’s a couple of blocks away and it was there that we met up with Nana and Papa. In typically Biscuit tradition there was much joyous greeting and a few moments of seat shuffling before all were settled and ready to get down to bidness.
For starters, we ordered up a Baked Formaggio (described in the menu as: “A blend of five cheeses and Italian herbs baked in our brick oven, topped with kalamata olive relish and served with grilled Italian bread.”) For an entre, the girls both got the kids Fettuccine Alfredo while First Lady Biscuit and I split the Chicken Alfredo. (Mushrooms on the side as FLB doesn’t care for them, but I’m not willing to give them up. After all they don’t reduce the price of the dish if you cut them out and I figure if a feller’s paying for some ‘shrooms, he ought to get to eat ‘em.) It was nifty as always and we topped the meal off with an Oreo Mountain dessert.
It was mighty fine and tasty all the way around.
Upon returning to the motel, the girls got ready for bed and then we headed over to Nana’s room to have her read them their devotions. Having thanked our Lord for a fun day together and invoked His provision over our next day’s activities, we bid Nana and Papa goodnight and headed off to bed.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Fun with Mammals
By: Great Biscuit
It had been a longer than expected drive, but I finally found myself pulling into the gates of Sea World San Antonio. It was warm, but not oppressively hot and there was a smattering of clouds that day which offered an occasional reprise from the Texas sun. Winding through the drive from the gates to parking area is always a fun moment. The trees provide a natural canopy of shade and the walrus crossing sign always makes me grin.
Of the many benefits which are bestowed upon annual pass holders, perhaps the most rewarding is the free parking. I’ve always had an inner hatred for being forced to pay to park at a theme park. Such pettifogging rankles my innards. Upon surrendering my pass for inspection, we were waved through to the parking area and set about the task of locating an empty spot. Sea World San Antonio has two main parking areas. Preferred, which is closest to the gate, and general, which is where the rest of us dregs park. It’s actually not all that much further away to park in general parking and in fact, it’s all one giant lot which has been augmented with some concrete barriers.
In short order we, managed to get everyone squared away and headed up to the entrance. Our unplanned delay on the access road of loop 410 necessitated a stop at the facilities just outside the gates. While I waited for the girls to finish up, I felt it prudent to take a few shots of the entrance plaza. I’m not really sure why that is. I take a picture of the gates EVERY time I’m there. Yet, it seems that just as I am incapable of completing a trip to Walt Disney World without stopping in Pinocchio Village Haus, I am equally incapable of taking a trip to Sea World without taking a photo of the front gate.
We made our way through bag check and then did the hand scanner thing. As soon as I made it into the park, a random guest stopped me and handed me a $5 merchandise voucher. SWSA does this funky thing with their locker rentals in the water park where they give you back a $5 merchandise credit when you turn the key back in rather than offering an actual $5 refund. Turns out this family was leaving and didn’t want to use it. I thanked the guy and then thanked the Lord for reminding me that it was time to relax and enjoy my family.
I grabbed a show times guide and took a couple of minutes to re-formulate The Plan. After looking over the remain show times and factoring in the distance between shows, heat, humidity, barometric pressure and the number of quarters in my left pocket, I was set. One of the things the girls really wanted to do was to feed the dolphins. So, we headed left.
If his honor will permit a sidebar, I would like to digress a moment. If you ever find yourself in Sea World San Antonio, and are standing in the entrance plaza, it may be a bit confusing as to which way to go. You can’t see anything BUT the entrance plaza at that point. (Think The Oasis at AK.) The entrance is offset on the left hand side and 95% of the park will be to your right. The only things you will find to the left are Dolphin Cove (which is a petting pool, and not the actual dolphin show which is to the right), the Coral Reef and Shark building, and some shops. When the park first opened, there was a one acre map of the US over there that was labeled with a dizzying number of locals. Apparently the upkeep got to be too much and that area of the park was closed. (You can still see the outline of it on Google Earth / Google Maps.)
Sea World San Antonio has changed much over the years. The first time I went, the dolphin show was called "Friends" and featured four different types of marine mammals. (Bottle nose dolphins, pacific white sided dolphins, Beluga whales and false killer whales.) The stadium was only partially covered and as it faces south, it was always scorching hot, but the show was focused completely on the animals. Now the show is called "Azul" and while I haven’t seen it yet, I hear it is similar to last year’s show "Viva!" There are now only pacific dolphins and Beluga whales, and about half the show focuses on high divers and acrobats. The stadium is fully covered and is certainly cooler in the Texas heat than the open plan it began with, but I miss the old show.
Another show that was around the park first opened was called Wheels. The performers were all on roller blades, bikes and motorcycles and as a teen age boy, I LOVED it. It was loud, rocking and hoot load of fun. Now, that theater serves as a concert venue and is only occasionally utilized.
Of course not all the changes have been bad. Numerous thrill rides have been added, and the waterpark is a fantastic feature on hot summer days. Both serve to up the cool factor for teens while making the crowds at the shows much more manageable. There’s even a couple of 4D movie flicks that serve a similar brand of cheesy entertainment as Muppet Vision 3D, but with the interactive features of Mickey’s Philharmargic. And while neither of the Sea World shows holds a candle to Philharmagic as far as sheer entertainment value and wow factor, they are still fun and offer an enjoyable air conditioned break. (Oh and if you’re trying to find them, they are in the back of the park near the Sea Lion stadium and they both share a theater.)
Okay, digression over.
After passing by some outdoor shops and the ice cream joint by the park exit, we headed down the hill to the back corner of the park. We were a bit too late for the 4:00 PM feeding at Dolphin Cove, so we made our way over to the Coral Reef & Shark exhibit. As far as these types of things go, this isn’t too bad a joint. However, don’t go in expecting a super cool underwater shark tunnel or blow you away reef. The exhibits are nice, don’t get me wrong. And we do like to come in and take a gander at them. But don’t expect to spend a lot of time here. We killed 20 min this time around and that was actually moving pretty slow for us.
With our fish viewing skills properly honed, it was time to return to Dolphin Cove and queue up for a chance to spend more money to feed the dolphins. This is another thing that grates on me a bit, but I get over it because the girls LOVE to do it. If there is anything that will convince me to part ways with ten bucks for a couple of trays of dead fish, it’s having my daughters bat their eyes, say please in their drawn out way, and talk about wanting to say hi to their dolphin friends.
This time was actually our most successful feeding to date, as both girls were able to touch a dolphin. Upon washing the residue from everyone’s hands it was time to lay some tracks. We needed to book it over to Sea Lion Stadium for the 5:30 showing of The Cannery Row Caper. We only had fifteen minutes to get there so we hadn't any time to dally. We set out at a brisk clip and I eventually picked up my youngest daughter to speed the process along.
We arrived in the stadium with about 8 minutes to spare and after getting the girls situated, I headed to the snack bar they have at the back of the joint. It was time to utilize the second best benefit of an annual pass, the 20% discount on food, drinks and merchandise. We always order a souvenir cup and then refill it throughout the day. Even though we were only staying a few hours, it was still hot enough out to warrant such a purchase. (Plus I bring them to work every day in order to fulfill our “All cups must have a securely attached lid” mandate.) Thanks to the AP discount and the merchandise card from our random friend at the front gates, I was able to score two souvenir cups for a couple of bucks.
I was one popular pappy when I returned with the drinks and not long after being seated, the show began. I always enjoy this show as it’s quirky humor cracks me up. Things were going pretty well until about ten minutes into the show. That’s when things got…well…interesting. One of the tricks the sea lions are supposed to do is to swim out to the glass wall at the front of their tank and perch their front flippers on top of it. The first sea lion did great, but the second built up too much momentum and when she got to the top of the wall, she kept right on going and fell over. Suddenly there was a sea lion in the stands. The crowd gave a collective gasp, the trainer had momentary look of shock, a couple of employees came running in form the sides and everyone stood up. Was the creature hurt? How would they get it back in the tank? What soda did Biscuit order in those refillable mugs?
Tune in next time for the answers to these and many other questions you didn’t know you were going to ask.
It had been a longer than expected drive, but I finally found myself pulling into the gates of Sea World San Antonio. It was warm, but not oppressively hot and there was a smattering of clouds that day which offered an occasional reprise from the Texas sun. Winding through the drive from the gates to parking area is always a fun moment. The trees provide a natural canopy of shade and the walrus crossing sign always makes me grin.
Of the many benefits which are bestowed upon annual pass holders, perhaps the most rewarding is the free parking. I’ve always had an inner hatred for being forced to pay to park at a theme park. Such pettifogging rankles my innards. Upon surrendering my pass for inspection, we were waved through to the parking area and set about the task of locating an empty spot. Sea World San Antonio has two main parking areas. Preferred, which is closest to the gate, and general, which is where the rest of us dregs park. It’s actually not all that much further away to park in general parking and in fact, it’s all one giant lot which has been augmented with some concrete barriers.
In short order we, managed to get everyone squared away and headed up to the entrance. Our unplanned delay on the access road of loop 410 necessitated a stop at the facilities just outside the gates. While I waited for the girls to finish up, I felt it prudent to take a few shots of the entrance plaza. I’m not really sure why that is. I take a picture of the gates EVERY time I’m there. Yet, it seems that just as I am incapable of completing a trip to Walt Disney World without stopping in Pinocchio Village Haus, I am equally incapable of taking a trip to Sea World without taking a photo of the front gate.
This Trip
Last Trip
We made our way through bag check and then did the hand scanner thing. As soon as I made it into the park, a random guest stopped me and handed me a $5 merchandise voucher. SWSA does this funky thing with their locker rentals in the water park where they give you back a $5 merchandise credit when you turn the key back in rather than offering an actual $5 refund. Turns out this family was leaving and didn’t want to use it. I thanked the guy and then thanked the Lord for reminding me that it was time to relax and enjoy my family.
I grabbed a show times guide and took a couple of minutes to re-formulate The Plan. After looking over the remain show times and factoring in the distance between shows, heat, humidity, barometric pressure and the number of quarters in my left pocket, I was set. One of the things the girls really wanted to do was to feed the dolphins. So, we headed left.
If his honor will permit a sidebar, I would like to digress a moment. If you ever find yourself in Sea World San Antonio, and are standing in the entrance plaza, it may be a bit confusing as to which way to go. You can’t see anything BUT the entrance plaza at that point. (Think The Oasis at AK.) The entrance is offset on the left hand side and 95% of the park will be to your right. The only things you will find to the left are Dolphin Cove (which is a petting pool, and not the actual dolphin show which is to the right), the Coral Reef and Shark building, and some shops. When the park first opened, there was a one acre map of the US over there that was labeled with a dizzying number of locals. Apparently the upkeep got to be too much and that area of the park was closed. (You can still see the outline of it on Google Earth / Google Maps.)
Sea World San Antonio has changed much over the years. The first time I went, the dolphin show was called "Friends" and featured four different types of marine mammals. (Bottle nose dolphins, pacific white sided dolphins, Beluga whales and false killer whales.) The stadium was only partially covered and as it faces south, it was always scorching hot, but the show was focused completely on the animals. Now the show is called "Azul" and while I haven’t seen it yet, I hear it is similar to last year’s show "Viva!" There are now only pacific dolphins and Beluga whales, and about half the show focuses on high divers and acrobats. The stadium is fully covered and is certainly cooler in the Texas heat than the open plan it began with, but I miss the old show.
Another show that was around the park first opened was called Wheels. The performers were all on roller blades, bikes and motorcycles and as a teen age boy, I LOVED it. It was loud, rocking and hoot load of fun. Now, that theater serves as a concert venue and is only occasionally utilized.
Of course not all the changes have been bad. Numerous thrill rides have been added, and the waterpark is a fantastic feature on hot summer days. Both serve to up the cool factor for teens while making the crowds at the shows much more manageable. There’s even a couple of 4D movie flicks that serve a similar brand of cheesy entertainment as Muppet Vision 3D, but with the interactive features of Mickey’s Philharmargic. And while neither of the Sea World shows holds a candle to Philharmagic as far as sheer entertainment value and wow factor, they are still fun and offer an enjoyable air conditioned break. (Oh and if you’re trying to find them, they are in the back of the park near the Sea Lion stadium and they both share a theater.)
Okay, digression over.
After passing by some outdoor shops and the ice cream joint by the park exit, we headed down the hill to the back corner of the park. We were a bit too late for the 4:00 PM feeding at Dolphin Cove, so we made our way over to the Coral Reef & Shark exhibit. As far as these types of things go, this isn’t too bad a joint. However, don’t go in expecting a super cool underwater shark tunnel or blow you away reef. The exhibits are nice, don’t get me wrong. And we do like to come in and take a gander at them. But don’t expect to spend a lot of time here. We killed 20 min this time around and that was actually moving pretty slow for us.
With our fish viewing skills properly honed, it was time to return to Dolphin Cove and queue up for a chance to spend more money to feed the dolphins. This is another thing that grates on me a bit, but I get over it because the girls LOVE to do it. If there is anything that will convince me to part ways with ten bucks for a couple of trays of dead fish, it’s having my daughters bat their eyes, say please in their drawn out way, and talk about wanting to say hi to their dolphin friends.
The girls feeding their friends.
My youngest daughter and her "friend" talking.
This time was actually our most successful feeding to date, as both girls were able to touch a dolphin. Upon washing the residue from everyone’s hands it was time to lay some tracks. We needed to book it over to Sea Lion Stadium for the 5:30 showing of The Cannery Row Caper. We only had fifteen minutes to get there so we hadn't any time to dally. We set out at a brisk clip and I eventually picked up my youngest daughter to speed the process along.
We arrived in the stadium with about 8 minutes to spare and after getting the girls situated, I headed to the snack bar they have at the back of the joint. It was time to utilize the second best benefit of an annual pass, the 20% discount on food, drinks and merchandise. We always order a souvenir cup and then refill it throughout the day. Even though we were only staying a few hours, it was still hot enough out to warrant such a purchase. (Plus I bring them to work every day in order to fulfill our “All cups must have a securely attached lid” mandate.) Thanks to the AP discount and the merchandise card from our random friend at the front gates, I was able to score two souvenir cups for a couple of bucks.
I was one popular pappy when I returned with the drinks and not long after being seated, the show began. I always enjoy this show as it’s quirky humor cracks me up. Things were going pretty well until about ten minutes into the show. That’s when things got…well…interesting. One of the tricks the sea lions are supposed to do is to swim out to the glass wall at the front of their tank and perch their front flippers on top of it. The first sea lion did great, but the second built up too much momentum and when she got to the top of the wall, she kept right on going and fell over. Suddenly there was a sea lion in the stands. The crowd gave a collective gasp, the trainer had momentary look of shock, a couple of employees came running in form the sides and everyone stood up. Was the creature hurt? How would they get it back in the tank? What soda did Biscuit order in those refillable mugs?
Tune in next time for the answers to these and many other questions you didn’t know you were going to ask.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Are we there yet?
by Great Biscuit
San Antonio has always held a special place in my heart. It was the first place in Texas that we lived after relocating from Alabama; and many of my elementary school memories center around the River Walk, the San Antonio Zoo, Castle Golf and Showbiz pizza. It was a great place to be a kid.
A couple of years after we arrived in San Antone (as it likes to be called), we moved out to west Texas. Shortly after the move, my dad’s grandmother grew ill and he went to Miami to spend some final moments with her. He took me along and it was my first time ever on an airplane. We had a fantastic trip and one of the highlights for me was a visit to the Miami Seaquarium. From that point forward I was fascinated with dolphins, but didn’t really have an opportunity to view them here in the Lone Star State. That all changed around the time we moved to the central Texas hill country.
In the years after we left San Antonio, the town had continued to grow and evolve. Two of the most exciting additions were Sea World San Antonio and Fiesta Texas. (The latter of which eventually became Six Flags Fiesta Texas.)
Sea World opened at the end of my ninth grade year (May 1988). The event was heralded by a TV special and a ton of local advertising. I was definitely excited to head down and check it out. We wound up going during spring break of my tenth grade year and I immediately fell in love with the place.
Many things have changed since those early days. Stadiums have been redone, shows come and gone, rides have been added, a water park was installed and the company was bought out. Yet, the park still has a familiarity to it.
Those of you who read my last trip report may recall that First Lady Biscuit also loves the ocean and sea life. I introduced her to Sea World San Antonio a few weeks before our wedding when her family came down for a San Antonio vacation. We’ve been back at least a dozen times since and usually get season passes every other year or so. The photo in my last installment was from our 10th anniversary when I surprised her with the Beluga Whale interaction. Both of our children love the park as well and get excited every time we go.
Last July, my sister in law and her family came down, and we bought Sea World one year passes. We used them again on Labor Day when we stayed at the Marriott Rivercenter with my parents and my sister's family. We wanted to get one more trip in this summer before the passes expired which meant it had to be before we left for our Minnesota trip. After looking at the calendar, we decided to go with the weekend of June 26th.
In addition, Tracy and the girls all had vouchers for a free ticket to Six Flags Fiesta Texas through their school reading program. We decided to do both in one weekend and invited my parents to join us. They had a prior commitment for Saturday afternoon, but decided to drive down Saturday night and join us for dinner. Since we had all stayed down on the River Walk last Sept, we decided to go with a hotel that was closer to Six Flags. I booked us two rooms at the Comfort Suites just four miles from the park and we were set.
During the planning stage, I decided to skip the water park and rides at Sea World, and I was irritated to hear that the new dolphin show Azul had not yet opened. I had looked at the show schedule ahead of time and come up with a touring plan that allowed us to see all the shows on our list without having to rush to anything or backtrack.
Our plan was to leave home at 11:00 AM, make the three hour drive to San Antonio, catch the shows on our list, and then meet my parents for dinner. The drive started out fine. I had hooked up the portable DVD player in the car and each girl had a screen on the seat back in front of them. They threw in some sort of Barbie's Magical Butterfly thingy something or other and they were good to go.
Initially I planned to stop for lunch at the Culvers in the big town of Buda. Unfortunately, the place had closed so we settled on Arby’s for the grown up biscuits and Mickey D’s for the young ‘uns. We were soon back on the road and making good time. Traffic was moderate and life was good. And then we hit the traffic. We had just arrived in San Antonio when everything suddenly came to a complete standstill. For the next two hours we snaked our way through 6 miles of anguish. There was a bridge under construction and all traffic was being diverted to the access road.
I was fuming by the time we got through it. This was NOT in the plan. Had I know it was this bad, I could have gone the back way. I was going down a laundry list of shows and attractions, and trying to figure out we could squeeze it all in. My wife, being ever the pragmatist, reminded me that we had already seen the shows anyway and that we would just do what we could do.
Mercifully, we finally made it through the construction and traffic was moving once again. I was able to calm my nerves a bit, and by the time we reached the park I was mostly settled down. The parking lot didn’t look too bad and I was able to get a spot fairly close in. We grabbed our gear, stopped in the entrance plaza to get everyone properly sunscreened and headed to the gate. It had been a rocky start, but our vacation had finally gotten underway.
San Antonio has always held a special place in my heart. It was the first place in Texas that we lived after relocating from Alabama; and many of my elementary school memories center around the River Walk, the San Antonio Zoo, Castle Golf and Showbiz pizza. It was a great place to be a kid.
A couple of years after we arrived in San Antone (as it likes to be called), we moved out to west Texas. Shortly after the move, my dad’s grandmother grew ill and he went to Miami to spend some final moments with her. He took me along and it was my first time ever on an airplane. We had a fantastic trip and one of the highlights for me was a visit to the Miami Seaquarium. From that point forward I was fascinated with dolphins, but didn’t really have an opportunity to view them here in the Lone Star State. That all changed around the time we moved to the central Texas hill country.
In the years after we left San Antonio, the town had continued to grow and evolve. Two of the most exciting additions were Sea World San Antonio and Fiesta Texas. (The latter of which eventually became Six Flags Fiesta Texas.)
Sea World opened at the end of my ninth grade year (May 1988). The event was heralded by a TV special and a ton of local advertising. I was definitely excited to head down and check it out. We wound up going during spring break of my tenth grade year and I immediately fell in love with the place.
Many things have changed since those early days. Stadiums have been redone, shows come and gone, rides have been added, a water park was installed and the company was bought out. Yet, the park still has a familiarity to it.
Those of you who read my last trip report may recall that First Lady Biscuit also loves the ocean and sea life. I introduced her to Sea World San Antonio a few weeks before our wedding when her family came down for a San Antonio vacation. We’ve been back at least a dozen times since and usually get season passes every other year or so. The photo in my last installment was from our 10th anniversary when I surprised her with the Beluga Whale interaction. Both of our children love the park as well and get excited every time we go.
Last July, my sister in law and her family came down, and we bought Sea World one year passes. We used them again on Labor Day when we stayed at the Marriott Rivercenter with my parents and my sister's family. We wanted to get one more trip in this summer before the passes expired which meant it had to be before we left for our Minnesota trip. After looking at the calendar, we decided to go with the weekend of June 26th.
In addition, Tracy and the girls all had vouchers for a free ticket to Six Flags Fiesta Texas through their school reading program. We decided to do both in one weekend and invited my parents to join us. They had a prior commitment for Saturday afternoon, but decided to drive down Saturday night and join us for dinner. Since we had all stayed down on the River Walk last Sept, we decided to go with a hotel that was closer to Six Flags. I booked us two rooms at the Comfort Suites just four miles from the park and we were set.
During the planning stage, I decided to skip the water park and rides at Sea World, and I was irritated to hear that the new dolphin show Azul had not yet opened. I had looked at the show schedule ahead of time and come up with a touring plan that allowed us to see all the shows on our list without having to rush to anything or backtrack.
Our plan was to leave home at 11:00 AM, make the three hour drive to San Antonio, catch the shows on our list, and then meet my parents for dinner. The drive started out fine. I had hooked up the portable DVD player in the car and each girl had a screen on the seat back in front of them. They threw in some sort of Barbie's Magical Butterfly thingy something or other and they were good to go.
Initially I planned to stop for lunch at the Culvers in the big town of Buda. Unfortunately, the place had closed so we settled on Arby’s for the grown up biscuits and Mickey D’s for the young ‘uns. We were soon back on the road and making good time. Traffic was moderate and life was good. And then we hit the traffic. We had just arrived in San Antonio when everything suddenly came to a complete standstill. For the next two hours we snaked our way through 6 miles of anguish. There was a bridge under construction and all traffic was being diverted to the access road.
I was fuming by the time we got through it. This was NOT in the plan. Had I know it was this bad, I could have gone the back way. I was going down a laundry list of shows and attractions, and trying to figure out we could squeeze it all in. My wife, being ever the pragmatist, reminded me that we had already seen the shows anyway and that we would just do what we could do.
Mercifully, we finally made it through the construction and traffic was moving once again. I was able to calm my nerves a bit, and by the time we reached the park I was mostly settled down. The parking lot didn’t look too bad and I was able to get a spot fairly close in. We grabbed our gear, stopped in the entrance plaza to get everyone properly sunscreened and headed to the gate. It had been a rocky start, but our vacation had finally gotten underway.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
I, I, I! Summer Fun on the I-35 Corridor!
Life it seems, is about chapters. Some chapters, such as our high school days, are easily defined. Others can be a bit more ambiguous. While most of us share a common interest in Walt Disney World, and no doubt dream frequently of vacationing there, often times the stories of our lives take us in different directions. Whether due to work schedules, family emergencies, financial constraints or obstinate spouses, knowing that there is not a Disney trip in your immediate future can be downright depressing. If one spends a considerable quantity of time reading trip reports, as I am prone to do, those feelings can be multiplied. While we are stuck in a world of traffic jams and the daily grind, the trip report boards are filled with scores of folks who are all heading to Disney. Before long, one tends to wind up with a bit of Disney tunnel vision.
When Zzub first raised the idea of a non-Disney TR, I was intrigued, but wondered how in the world to pull such a thing off. What would be the common thread? The tie that binds if you will? It’s easy to ramble on and on about arriving at MCO and taking the ME to the POR and hopping the bus to the MK to take the resort monorail the CR for an ADR at CM’s. We’re all Disney nerds in one sense or another and I’m guessing virtually everyone on this Blog knows exactly what I just said. But what about life outside of The World? It then occurred to me that even those who do an annual trip to see Mickey and friends still live the bulk of their lives in other places.
The initial concept for this segment of the blog was to remind folks that there is still fun to be had and life to be lived outside of Disney. It was to serve as an encouragement to not become so focused on getting to Walt Disney World, that it becomes impossible to enjoy a trip to any other place. To stop, look around and cherish the moments with friends and family and to realize that memories and magic are not exclusive to a Disney vacation. Seeing all my fellow posters regale their trips to Disney, perhaps this series, more than
anything is being authored to remind myself of these things.
I am venturing into uncharted territory and am not really sure where this road will lead. After all, as I sit and write this first installment in Mother In Law’s basement, our journey is still ongoing. One thing this summer has already shown me is that no matter how we plan and organize for things, we can never fully predict how life is going to fill in the details.
Speaking of details, perhaps it would behoove me to provide a few. Rather than one big trip to Disney this year, we are actually taking three trips and as the title implies, each destination is along I-35. My family moved from Alabama to Texas when I was in the third grade. Over the years, we have driven I-35 countless times. Heck, I take the thing to work every single day. All told, I have managed to travel from one end of I-35 in Laredo, Texas to within a hundred miles of the other end in Duluth, Minnesota. During our college and early ministry years, my wife and I lived in four of the six states that I-35 intersects. And since we’ve had friends and relatives in the other two, we have spent vacation and holidays in the them as well. It’s a great road to travel and there are a ton of things to do along the way. Each stop brings with it a mixture of tradition and new experiences. Two of our destinations are to places that my wife and I each lived as children, while a third recreates some childhood activities.
Our travels this summer begin in San Antonio, continue in Minneapolis, and conclude in Dallas. There will be good times, strange times, good meals, strange meals and a rather large cast of characters. There will also be stories of penguin poo, Scooby Doo, flying laptops, family mayhem and thunderous flatulence. In other words, it’s been a normal summer in the Biscuit household. Since we are on the subject, let me introduce the clan.
I am Biscuit.
Hear me roar.
I’m a tech support guy for a telecom company and an associate pastor at our church. I’ve had eight trips to Disney over my thirty six year lifetime, but last summer’s was my first time back in twelve years. Our next trip to the House of Mouse is tentatively planned for 2012. I love football, BBQ, fishing and flash drives. But most of all, I love the Lord and spending time with my wife and two daughters. First Lady Biscuit is a school teacher, my oldest whom I call “Princess” is going into the third grade, and my youngest who goes by “Bug” is going into first grade. If you read my TR from last summer, you no doubt remember Nana and Papa Biscuit. They will be along in this tale fairly soon, as well as host of other family members.
And so it begins. I hope you will come along on this ride as we seek to explore some of the other places in this Big Blue World. (NoZzub’sFavoriteShow.)
When Zzub first raised the idea of a non-Disney TR, I was intrigued, but wondered how in the world to pull such a thing off. What would be the common thread? The tie that binds if you will? It’s easy to ramble on and on about arriving at MCO and taking the ME to the POR and hopping the bus to the MK to take the resort monorail the CR for an ADR at CM’s. We’re all Disney nerds in one sense or another and I’m guessing virtually everyone on this Blog knows exactly what I just said. But what about life outside of The World? It then occurred to me that even those who do an annual trip to see Mickey and friends still live the bulk of their lives in other places.
The initial concept for this segment of the blog was to remind folks that there is still fun to be had and life to be lived outside of Disney. It was to serve as an encouragement to not become so focused on getting to Walt Disney World, that it becomes impossible to enjoy a trip to any other place. To stop, look around and cherish the moments with friends and family and to realize that memories and magic are not exclusive to a Disney vacation. Seeing all my fellow posters regale their trips to Disney, perhaps this series, more than
anything is being authored to remind myself of these things.
I am venturing into uncharted territory and am not really sure where this road will lead. After all, as I sit and write this first installment in Mother In Law’s basement, our journey is still ongoing. One thing this summer has already shown me is that no matter how we plan and organize for things, we can never fully predict how life is going to fill in the details.
Speaking of details, perhaps it would behoove me to provide a few. Rather than one big trip to Disney this year, we are actually taking three trips and as the title implies, each destination is along I-35. My family moved from Alabama to Texas when I was in the third grade. Over the years, we have driven I-35 countless times. Heck, I take the thing to work every single day. All told, I have managed to travel from one end of I-35 in Laredo, Texas to within a hundred miles of the other end in Duluth, Minnesota. During our college and early ministry years, my wife and I lived in four of the six states that I-35 intersects. And since we’ve had friends and relatives in the other two, we have spent vacation and holidays in the them as well. It’s a great road to travel and there are a ton of things to do along the way. Each stop brings with it a mixture of tradition and new experiences. Two of our destinations are to places that my wife and I each lived as children, while a third recreates some childhood activities.
Our travels this summer begin in San Antonio, continue in Minneapolis, and conclude in Dallas. There will be good times, strange times, good meals, strange meals and a rather large cast of characters. There will also be stories of penguin poo, Scooby Doo, flying laptops, family mayhem and thunderous flatulence. In other words, it’s been a normal summer in the Biscuit household. Since we are on the subject, let me introduce the clan.
I am Biscuit.
Hear me roar.
 |
| (I'm the one on the right BTW) |
And so it begins. I hope you will come along on this ride as we seek to explore some of the other places in this Big Blue World. (NoZzub’sFavoriteShow.)
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