We were a little behind schedule, but, headed straight for Gator Park for an airboat ride. SO much fun! We saw two baby alligators and one turtle hanging out in the swampy areas during our ride. Afterwards they did a little show and showed us a scorpion, toad, and of course, more alligators. Afterwards, the kids were ecstatic to get a picture with one! They had quite a few more alligators in pens on the grounds that we got to look at too and a beautiful peacock walking around greeting people. On the way out, I noticed a huge alligator just sitting on the side of the highway not far from the park. It was shocking and by the time I could process what I was seeing, it was too late for everyone else!
The alligators did not make it easy to see them! I helped you out by putting an
I'm disappointed the kid's picture didn't turn out better. The setup isn't super conducive with the backlighting from every angle. I wish I'd brought my camera too...
After a stop for lunch at Sonic (yum!) we headed off for the Everglades National Park and Flamingo Visitors Center. Everything I had read said they no longer had boat tours because of damage from the last hurricane, but, apparently, that had changed. I was super disappointed. We didn't have time to do the tour since we had to hit both parks before they closed. So, we looked around the visitors center a bit and then headed for Biscayne and Dante Fascell Visitors Center instead.
There were tons of people picnicking and playing in boats on the water here. Looked like lots of fun. We looked around and took some pictures and then it was back in the car headed for Orlando!
Dave and Owen went down to the very end of the bluff to check out the water.
So, I entertained myself by taking pictures...
This plant fascinated me.
Again, the drive back was super boring and took far longer than anticipated. Another 5.5 hours to be exact. To make matters worse, I could not find a hotel with any availability. I used every website I could think of, but, every time I clicked on one in our price range, it said there was nothing available...so annoying!! They all ask for dates prior to searching "available" rooms, so, I don't understand the issue. Anyway, Dave reccomended calling Disney to see if there had been any cancellations and they could sneak us in one night early. I called, but, they could only get us into Art of Animations Little Mermaid room or one of their $400+ rooms at a Deluxe hotel. Art of Animation is considered a "value" resort and I had heart ache paying more for a room there than we were paying at the "moderates". So, I declined and continued my online search. But, after finding absolutely no available rooms anywhere, we decided just to pay the higher rate and get a Little Mermaid room.
When we arrived in the room it was already almost 11 and we were EXHAUSTED. It took us a minute, but, Dave pointed out that the room was Nemo, not Little Mermaid themed and it was actually a 1-bedroom suite. It took another minute, but, I remembered seeing these online. At first, the second bed appeared to be a small pull-out couch that I was super upset about. I had no idea how Owen could sleep on it. But, it turned out that it was actually a third bed. The dining table was actually a Murphy bed. So, the kids each got their own bed which was greatly needed and Dave and I got our own bedroom and bathroom!
This place was absolutely unbelievable. It was themed down to the bubble sheets. I looked up the price online, we paid $195 for a $495 room! Not too shabby! Especially after the miserable mess we left behind in Miami!!
This was the kid's bathroom made to resemble the submarine scene with the sharks, unbelievable.
Even the mirror says Fish are friends...
All the signs were this custom laser art around the hotel. Even the Bar label. Super cool.
This was Owen's bed that pulled out of the wall.
Check out the chairs even!
And light fixtures...
Olivia saw this picture and I kid you not, she gasped and said, "Oh my gosh, we even get to sleep with the fishes!!"
This is the Master room...
The ceiling lights were my absolute favorite though!!
The theming didn't stop there, the entire building inside and out was addressed.
This is the pool, SO cool!
There's also a Cars and a Lion King section. Dave was hurrying us, so, I didn't get to scope out the Lion King area, but, I got a glimpse of the Cars.
How crazy is it that they added telephone poles to make it look like the street on Route 66? The Motel sign in the background actually rotates even and the Traffic Cone Motel rooms are just beyond that. SO COOL!!!
So, part of the downside of this hotel is the amazing volume of people staying at this hotel. It's not exactly an escape from the parks. There were people streaming through EVERYWHERE even at all hours of the night. I took this picture of the lobby during the day. You can only imagine the excessive stimulation it provides when it's dark outside...those lights are unreal!!
High: 82
Low: 64
Steps Walked: 12,890
Distance: 5.54 miles
No comments:
Post a Comment