Kennedy Space Center

Yesterday Susan and I visited Kennedy Space Center for the first time in almost 25 years. My mom and some of the family of my sister and brother went as well. I wanted to get there at opening but we ended up waiting for others, so it was almost 10 am before we got in the gates. 

We made the mistake of checking out the Heroes & Legends exhibit first, which was interesting but took a while, so by the time we got to the bus tour line it was 10:45 and the line to get on the bus was two hours long. We decided to check out an IMAX movie instead. I think the IMAX movies used to be an additional charge, but now they are included with admission. They play several different one throughout the day. 

After the IMAX movie we grabbed some lunch then checked out the exhibit on the Space Shuttle Atlantis. Like most of the presentations, guests move through several rooms with media displays about the subject, then into a large room with the main attraction and several minor displays. In this case it was the shuttle Atlantis suspended in the room. 

Several of my relatives left at that point, and Susan and I got in line for the bus tour. The wait was about an hour at that point, and by the time we boarded it was after 2, so we only got a partial tour. Our bus drove out past the huge Vehicle Assembly Building to the building holding an exhibit on the Apollo program and a Saturn rocket. 

The presentation here was much more impressive here than the one we saw in Houston a few years ago. By the time we got back to the main complex, it was after 4, so even though we hadn’t seen everything, we started back to the hotel. Next time we will make sure we enter before opening, and do the bus tour first. 

Cocoa Beach

This week the snack and dining coupons Susan and I get from Disney expired, so Monday after work we went to Disney Springs to use some up. We ate at D-Luxe Burger, the only restaurant at Springs that takes the holiday coupons, then walked around a bit. On our way out we stopped at a kiosk to use our snack coupons on a bunch of ice cream sandwiches to eat later. 

Thursday night we went to the Grand Floridian for dinner at Citricos. We ate here a few years ago with Bryan, but it had been remodeled along with the rest of the Grand Floridian lobby last year, and the menu changed. It was good, but we wouldn’t have wanted to pay full price. 

Friday morning we returned to the Grand Floridian for breakfast at 1900 Park Fare. We had never eaten here, although Jennifer has with friends. It’s a character buffet, so pretty pricey if not using a coupon or if you don’t care about seeing characters. Cinderella, Aladdin, Tiana, and Mirabel from Encanto came by while we were eating.

Yesterday morning we drove out with the kids to Cocoa Beach for my mom’s 90th birthday celebration. My brother and sister and their families were there as well. We ate lunch at a restaurant at the pier, then hung out in the afternoon. 

We stayed at the La Quinta next to the pier. It was okay. We had mom’s birthday dinner at a restaurant downtown.

Aquatica

Yesterday, while Jennifer and Susan signed and sold books at the book convention, I spent a few hours at Sea World’s water park, Aquatica. Admission for it is included with our Sea World annual passes, and they gave me a $10 credit I used to buy lunch. There were several places to eat, but some were closed due to the low crowds. 

It’s a fairly nice park, but not as cool as the Disney water parks. It has several towers with slides coming off them, plus the usual kids splash area and wave pools. There is a small lazy river, although it was closed, as were a few of the slides. It also has a faster than usual lazy river which was a little different. 

A unique feature of the park is a dolphin habitat. A couple of slides run through the tank.

Yesterday evening, Bryan and I went to dinner at Boatwright’s at the Riverside Resort. Susan and Jenn went to Disney Springs and had dinner at T-Rex Cafe with friends from the book convention. 

Today they returned to the Hilton for another day of signing and selling books. I went by after work this evening to help them load up.

Book Events

This morning I helped Jennifer and Susan set up for a book convention at the Hilton next to Disney Springs.

Some of Jennifer’s friends came in early to enjoy some park time. On Wednesday Jennifer went to Epic Universe with them. They checked out the Dark Universe area and rode Mario Carts and ate at Pizza Moon in Celestial Park. 

Yesterday morning Susan and I got her friends into Hollywood Studios. The Animation Courtyard is now open, although the attractions aren’t opening until next week. We had breakfast at Hollywood & Vine, a character buffet where Mickey and friends were appearing in Halloween outfits.

Echo Lake was drained while the Dockside Diner is refurbished. After breakfast the girls went to Galaxy’s Edge to build lightsabers.

Last night Jennifer drove to St Petersburg to do an event at a local bookstore with another author.

Norfolk

 

We had gone to Norfolk so Jennifer could do some book signings, and on Friday morning we checked out of the Delta Hotel and Jennifer and Susan drove to a local bookstore so she could do one with another author.

In the afternoon they checked into the Hilton in downtown Norfolk. Their room had a view of the Elizabeth River. Friday evening they set up for a book convention at the hotel.

In the meantime I was trying to get home. My flight from Norfolk to Atlanta was fine, but then a storm over northern Florida caused a four and a half hour weather delay before my plane left for Orlando. 

On Saturday Jennifer and Susan signed and sold books, then started back to Florida that night. They stayed overnight in Fayetteville, then finished the drive home yesterday. They stopped at a few Buc-ee's on the way.

Last night Bryan went to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal with a friend.As he’s done before, he bought a pass so he can go several times.

Busch Gardens Part 2

We continued on into Germany, the largest area. The Darkcastle dark ride had been replaced by a coaster, but it was closed. The kid area, Land of Dragons, was still there. Jenn and I rode Alpengeist, which we weren’t able to ride when we visited in 2005; it’s a suspended coaster that’s fast and tall and has lots of inversions. 

We ate a late lunch/early dinner in the Festhaus, then Jenn and I rode Big Bad Wolf: The Revenge, which replaced the old Big Bad Wolf coaster. Like Alpengeist it’s suspended, but more of a family coaster. Once the trees around it grow in it should be pretty nice. 

Finally we rode the new Verboten coaster, which is themed as a drive through the Black Forest; the theming is pretty good for a Busch Gardens coaster. Part of it goes through a show building. and it’s surprisingly intense.

We then walked through Italy, the second largest area. Jenn and I debated riding Apollo’s Chariot, but we were pretty coastered out by then. There were also two new coasters in Italy, but they both looked like they would make us sick. I rode the shoot the chute ride, Escape from Pompeii, but nobody wanted to do the raft ride.

By then we were pretty tired from being in the heat, so we skipped the new small Sesame Street area and made our way through Scotland and England and drove back to Norfolk.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg

In Norfolk, we stayed at the Delta Hotel by the airport. It didn’t have a lounge, but did have a pantry where we could grab snacks all day. We considered doing something yesterday afternoon, but traffic was pretty bad, so we ate at the hotel restaurant and watched reruns. While Susan and I were driving to Norfolk, Jenn flew to Milwaukee, Wisconsin for a signing at a local bookstore. 

This morning she flew to Norfolk, and we picked her up and spent the afternoon at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. The park was closing at 5, so we only had about 4 hours to enjoy it, but crowds were very light and we didn’t have to wait for anything. Our Sea World passes gave us free admission. 

We walked through the entrance area of England, then turned right and went through Ireland and France, stopping to look in some shops and at some animal habitats. Because it was off-season, most shows weren’t going, and several rides weren’t running. The last time we had been to BGW was in 2005, so some of the rides and shows had changed since then. Mostly to add coasters of course. In France for example, the car ride had been removed for a dive coaster similar to SheiKra in Tampa.

In the New France area, the only area not based on a country in Europe, Jenn and I rode a new wooden coaster called Invadr, then all three of us rode the log ride. I wanted to ride the skyway or the train, but Jenn said it was too hot for those.