Busch Gardens

Our condo was an hour and a half from Disney World, so Paul and I were just not convinced that driving all that way and not having a place for O to nap if he needed it was a good idea.  Plus, he still has yet to go on a ride without screaming and crying to get off before the ride starts.  We decided it just wasn't worth it.

Busch Gardens was only about 40 minutes from our condo and it seemed like there would be a lot more to do there, so we gave it a shot.  There was a Sesame Street exhibit there and although Owen's never really watched it or been into the characters, he enjoyed it.  He got to meet Big Bird, Elmo, Grover, Zoe and Cookie Monster and he thought that was pretty cool.  There were a few Sesame themed rides and climbing mazes that he ended up really enjoying.

 Giving Elmo a big hug

 Grover too!

 Big Bird!

He had so much fun waiting for the show to begin, he was dancing up a storm!

 

O's first ride!!!  There was a wonderful, grandmotherly woman working the ride and she let him go sit in a car, just to check it out.  Then she asked if he'd like to go around the circle one time and he could tell her if he wanted to get off.  He reluctantly agreed, but ended up loving it and staying on.  Later in the day, he wanted to go on again, but wouldn't when we go there because a different lady was working the ride.  Baby steps!

 We climbed up a huge tree house and walked across rope bridges to get to this big climbing maze.  He LOVED this!

We spent quite a bit of time riding the train around the grounds, checking out the animals.  It was amazing how close we got to them!

Owen and Daddy with the giraffe bushes

 White Rhino

 Zebras

 Monkey

 Giraffes

Owen and Paul with the kangaroo bush

 Cheese!

 Butterfly bushes

 Tigers

After getting our animal fix, it was time for a little friendly competition between the boys!

First they raced boats

 Then monster trucks

It was a great day and we all had a lot of fun!