missjackiemcg
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 2, 2013
Wednesday, December 28th
We woke up bright and early (but not as early as my Dad!) because today was Rob and Jimmy’s pick—Gatorland! Dad had already left to pick up our rental car. We booked with Alamo, which is almost on site at MK. They picked Dad up at the hotel and brought him to get the car. He made his way back to pick us up and we were off to Gatorland. We got there about 15 minutes before the park opened and waited in a short line. While we were waiting, a gentleman came out and asked if anyone wanted to add on the Adventure Hour to their experience for only $10. We had already researched this and planned for Dad and Rob to join in. Unfortunately, we hadn’t planned to stay past noon and the first time slot available wasn’t until 1 p.m. But they really wanted to do it, so we signed them up and before we knew it we were paying to get in. Mom and Dad were able to use the AARP rate and save more than 50% on their entry!!
DSC06362 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
As soon as we entered, Jimmy was in his glory checking out all the alligators and these first few exhibits were filled with pretty small ones. They were advertising “Fishing for Gators”—6 fish for $5. Jimmy LOVED this so much! He liked being in charge of clipping the pole onto the fence before lowering it down. He kept yelling, “You boys hungry!! Let’s send her down, Daddy!”
DSC06363 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
DSC06364 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
DSC06369 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
We checked in on Chester, the largest resident at Gatorland. He is MASSIVE. So much bigger than the picture lets on!!
DSC06371 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
Our next adventure was feeding hot dogs to gators in the marsh along the walkway. Jimmy was fascinated with Lockjaw, a giant gator who had lost part of his jaw in a battle with a crocodile that had lasted all night long. In the end, Lockjaw was missing part of his jaw and the crocodile was missing a foot. Yikes. I am truly the mother of a boy. He tried to toss all of his hot dogs to Lockjaw but the birds kept grabbing them, including one who came really close to yanking one straight out of Jimmy’s hand!
DSC06372 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
DSC06377 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
Then, we headed back over to the famous Gatorland Jumparoo. On our first visit to Gatorland in 2011, we learned about this apparently famous act that has taken place since the opening of Gatorland. I didn’t even know Gators could move this way! They use their tails to propel themselves up and out of the water. This is how gators in nature can actually grab birds out of the sky.
DSC06386 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
DSC06389 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
After the Jumparoo, we had lunch at the little stand. There was a pretty big crowd here on this day, and it was pretty obvious they are not accustomed to serving that many people at once. It was really not efficient. The same person who rings you up gets all your food and drinks, so we spent a lot of time standing there waiting to order and waiting for our food. But, it took up the rest of the time we needed to kill before 1:00.
After lunch, it was time to head over to the breeding marsh for Rob and my Dad to do their Adventure Hour. All we knew when we signed up was that they would have the opportunity to visit the breeding marsh, which is otherwise off exhibit, and that they would hand feed full size alligators. When we actually got over to the marsh and saw the handler calling for the alligators I got a little bit nervous about it! Just the sheer number of alligators that came swimming over and crawling up out of the water was astounding!! I never would have guessed there were even that many in there!
DSC06391 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
As we were standing there watching all the alligators and my nerves were getting edgy, Jimmy pulls on my arm, “Mommy! How come I don’t get to go with Daddy and Grandpa? Why didn’t you sign me up!!?” Can we back up for a second and recall that this is the same boy who just a few days ago had a gigantic meltdown because I made him go on Dumbo?! Apparently a cute elephant and his mouse friend are terrifying, but a marsh filled with 160 full grown alligators is a walk in the park.
DSC06392 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
They let us add Jimmy on to the boys’ group, and once the handler was happy with the number of alligators that had come up on shore, he had each of them put on a glove and opened a giant Rubbermaid full of raw meat (ick). Each of them was allowed to grab three pieces and toss them to the waiting alligators. Sorry, no pics because I was videotaping, but it was just wild!! At one point, the guy used his hat (obviously these gators are trained to some degree) to signal for one particular alligator, Igor, to open wide. When he did, the guy directed Rob to toss him a piece, so Rob actually got the closest to any of them. He tossed one and the guy was like, “Don’t just stand there, toss him another one!!”
We wandered along the rest of the pathway toward the exit and saw some really aggressive looking Nile crocodiles.
DSC06394 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
Our next stop for the late afternoon was Cocoa Beach. Jimmy took a little snooze in the car on the way. Grandpa missed our turn and ended up driving the wrong direction on a One Way street, but technically not breaking the law because he was on the sidewalk instead of the actual street. After that little adventure, we found ourselves at a park with a short walk over to the ocean!
DSC06399 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
The clouds started to roll in and the wind picked up, which made for some pretty big waves. None of this stopped Jimmy from splashing around, running in and out of the waves and having the time of his life! The ocean stole one of his shoes right off of his foot actually! We never found it, so on our way back to the car we threw out the other one.
DSC06403 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
DSC06414 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
Jimmy collected a heap of seashells, but being the meanest Mom in the world, I wouldn’t let him keep them all. So, instead he chose one special shell for each of us and one for himself before heading back to the car.
DSC06415 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
We were a bit behind schedule for the day, as I had planned to try to hit up the Disney outlet stores before having to return the car at 7, but it turns out we wouldn’t have time. So, my Dad returned the car to Alamo and once he returned to Pop we headed for a bus to Disney Springs.
DSC06420 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
DSC06422 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
We had planned to eat dinner tonight at the Food Trucks at Disney Springs. Mom and I had eaten at the Hollywood Studios truck shortly after they first opened on our last trip in November 2015 and really loved it! This was our first time at the “new and improved” Disney Springs. I have to say I felt kind of MEH about it. I didn’t like being dropped off all the way at the other end from the stores we actually like on the Marketplace side. This side felt way too “mall”ish and with all the high end shops, nothing that even interested us. It was SO insanely crowded and not enough signs were visible to point us in the right direction. I saw Guest Relations and grabbed a map but it still took us forever to make our way to where the food trucks were. They are now squeezed into an area with a stage, so it was packed with people!! And the menus had changed.
DSC06423 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
Our long day was quickly catching up with us and we were cranky, hungry and getting overtired. We knew this was our only day to shop, so we skipped eating and walked over to the LEGO store, World of Disney and the Christmas shop before making the long trek back to the busses. We had to wait almost 25 minutes for a bus back to Pop and finally got there about 10:30 p.m. I can’t even believe I didn’t feed my kid dinner until that late at night!! My Mom didn’t even stay up to eat; she headed back to the room and went to bed.
After our VERY late dinner, we all went back to the room and straight to bed!
Up next: More princess fun and a wild afternoon!
We woke up bright and early (but not as early as my Dad!) because today was Rob and Jimmy’s pick—Gatorland! Dad had already left to pick up our rental car. We booked with Alamo, which is almost on site at MK. They picked Dad up at the hotel and brought him to get the car. He made his way back to pick us up and we were off to Gatorland. We got there about 15 minutes before the park opened and waited in a short line. While we were waiting, a gentleman came out and asked if anyone wanted to add on the Adventure Hour to their experience for only $10. We had already researched this and planned for Dad and Rob to join in. Unfortunately, we hadn’t planned to stay past noon and the first time slot available wasn’t until 1 p.m. But they really wanted to do it, so we signed them up and before we knew it we were paying to get in. Mom and Dad were able to use the AARP rate and save more than 50% on their entry!!
DSC06362 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
As soon as we entered, Jimmy was in his glory checking out all the alligators and these first few exhibits were filled with pretty small ones. They were advertising “Fishing for Gators”—6 fish for $5. Jimmy LOVED this so much! He liked being in charge of clipping the pole onto the fence before lowering it down. He kept yelling, “You boys hungry!! Let’s send her down, Daddy!”
DSC06363 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
DSC06364 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
DSC06369 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
We checked in on Chester, the largest resident at Gatorland. He is MASSIVE. So much bigger than the picture lets on!!
DSC06371 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
Our next adventure was feeding hot dogs to gators in the marsh along the walkway. Jimmy was fascinated with Lockjaw, a giant gator who had lost part of his jaw in a battle with a crocodile that had lasted all night long. In the end, Lockjaw was missing part of his jaw and the crocodile was missing a foot. Yikes. I am truly the mother of a boy. He tried to toss all of his hot dogs to Lockjaw but the birds kept grabbing them, including one who came really close to yanking one straight out of Jimmy’s hand!
DSC06372 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
DSC06377 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
Then, we headed back over to the famous Gatorland Jumparoo. On our first visit to Gatorland in 2011, we learned about this apparently famous act that has taken place since the opening of Gatorland. I didn’t even know Gators could move this way! They use their tails to propel themselves up and out of the water. This is how gators in nature can actually grab birds out of the sky.
DSC06386 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
DSC06389 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
After the Jumparoo, we had lunch at the little stand. There was a pretty big crowd here on this day, and it was pretty obvious they are not accustomed to serving that many people at once. It was really not efficient. The same person who rings you up gets all your food and drinks, so we spent a lot of time standing there waiting to order and waiting for our food. But, it took up the rest of the time we needed to kill before 1:00.
After lunch, it was time to head over to the breeding marsh for Rob and my Dad to do their Adventure Hour. All we knew when we signed up was that they would have the opportunity to visit the breeding marsh, which is otherwise off exhibit, and that they would hand feed full size alligators. When we actually got over to the marsh and saw the handler calling for the alligators I got a little bit nervous about it! Just the sheer number of alligators that came swimming over and crawling up out of the water was astounding!! I never would have guessed there were even that many in there!
DSC06391 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
As we were standing there watching all the alligators and my nerves were getting edgy, Jimmy pulls on my arm, “Mommy! How come I don’t get to go with Daddy and Grandpa? Why didn’t you sign me up!!?” Can we back up for a second and recall that this is the same boy who just a few days ago had a gigantic meltdown because I made him go on Dumbo?! Apparently a cute elephant and his mouse friend are terrifying, but a marsh filled with 160 full grown alligators is a walk in the park.
DSC06392 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
They let us add Jimmy on to the boys’ group, and once the handler was happy with the number of alligators that had come up on shore, he had each of them put on a glove and opened a giant Rubbermaid full of raw meat (ick). Each of them was allowed to grab three pieces and toss them to the waiting alligators. Sorry, no pics because I was videotaping, but it was just wild!! At one point, the guy used his hat (obviously these gators are trained to some degree) to signal for one particular alligator, Igor, to open wide. When he did, the guy directed Rob to toss him a piece, so Rob actually got the closest to any of them. He tossed one and the guy was like, “Don’t just stand there, toss him another one!!”
We wandered along the rest of the pathway toward the exit and saw some really aggressive looking Nile crocodiles.
DSC06394 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
Our next stop for the late afternoon was Cocoa Beach. Jimmy took a little snooze in the car on the way. Grandpa missed our turn and ended up driving the wrong direction on a One Way street, but technically not breaking the law because he was on the sidewalk instead of the actual street. After that little adventure, we found ourselves at a park with a short walk over to the ocean!
DSC06399 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
The clouds started to roll in and the wind picked up, which made for some pretty big waves. None of this stopped Jimmy from splashing around, running in and out of the waves and having the time of his life! The ocean stole one of his shoes right off of his foot actually! We never found it, so on our way back to the car we threw out the other one.
DSC06403 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
DSC06414 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
Jimmy collected a heap of seashells, but being the meanest Mom in the world, I wouldn’t let him keep them all. So, instead he chose one special shell for each of us and one for himself before heading back to the car.
DSC06415 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
We were a bit behind schedule for the day, as I had planned to try to hit up the Disney outlet stores before having to return the car at 7, but it turns out we wouldn’t have time. So, my Dad returned the car to Alamo and once he returned to Pop we headed for a bus to Disney Springs.
DSC06420 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
DSC06422 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
We had planned to eat dinner tonight at the Food Trucks at Disney Springs. Mom and I had eaten at the Hollywood Studios truck shortly after they first opened on our last trip in November 2015 and really loved it! This was our first time at the “new and improved” Disney Springs. I have to say I felt kind of MEH about it. I didn’t like being dropped off all the way at the other end from the stores we actually like on the Marketplace side. This side felt way too “mall”ish and with all the high end shops, nothing that even interested us. It was SO insanely crowded and not enough signs were visible to point us in the right direction. I saw Guest Relations and grabbed a map but it still took us forever to make our way to where the food trucks were. They are now squeezed into an area with a stage, so it was packed with people!! And the menus had changed.
DSC06423 by Jackie Lagoni, on Flickr
Our long day was quickly catching up with us and we were cranky, hungry and getting overtired. We knew this was our only day to shop, so we skipped eating and walked over to the LEGO store, World of Disney and the Christmas shop before making the long trek back to the busses. We had to wait almost 25 minutes for a bus back to Pop and finally got there about 10:30 p.m. I can’t even believe I didn’t feed my kid dinner until that late at night!! My Mom didn’t even stay up to eat; she headed back to the room and went to bed.
After our VERY late dinner, we all went back to the room and straight to bed!
Up next: More princess fun and a wild afternoon!