Busch Gardens

Mogan and her birthday party crew headed to Busch Gardens today. When Morgan first said she wanted to have her party there, I was skeptical. However, it turned out to be great AND it was cheaper than most of her past parties. I bought quick queue passes for everyone so that we didn't have to waste time standing in line. We got there around 11:00, and the line to park was the longest I have ever seen it. I was worried about crowds.

Tori was in line for parking at the same time, and my parents and Mark parked a few spots over. Perfect timing! We all went into the part together and headed for Montu. The girls loved it, and then headed to Gwazi. I am not a fan of Gwazi, but I wrote Lion the first time. After that, the kids went on Tiger and the adults recovered. Gwazi is an old wooden roller coaster, and it is really jerky.

My parents went to see Katonga while we rode the coasters, and then we all went to the Desert Grill for lunch. Mom, Dad, Mark, and I went to the chicken finger stand and got EIGHT chicken fingers platters. :) Mike took the girls and went throuhg the Desert Grill line for the two that didn't want chicken. The show was cute, and we ate during it. After the show, it started raining. We huddled at the Dippin Dots stand for a while as the girls ate dippin dots (Morgan had ice cream thanks to Daddy who jumped at the chance to go through the ice cream line that just also happens to sell beer). :) Then, we went to the 4D Pirates show to miss out on the rain. We had 40 minutes to wait, so Mike took the girls to "watch others play the games." 30 minutes later, I had to chase them down as they were all playing. Alexis and Alyssa won a Tiger, but Alyssa was SO very sweet and said that Morgan should have hers since it was her birthday. I was so impressed. What a sweet girl.

I guess Grams wasn't expecting the 4D, and she jumped when the air blew on our legs. It was hysterical, and I could hardly see the 3D as I was crying. :)

The rain slowed, so we headed to Shiekra. We used the quick queue pass to go, so we only had to wait through three coasters to get into the front row. As the gates were opening for us to get on, they closed the ride due to rain. Grrrr....We stood there waiting for it to pass, and Victoria had to go to the restroom. She tried to hold it, but the man running the ride said she might as well go as it would be a while. We rushed to the restroom, and as we are heading back they started the ride. Mike and the girls were on without us. :( We wanted to get a picture of the girls all together. Bummer. So, Victoria and I rode it and then met the girls. Of course, then we had to ride it again to get a picture. It turned ugly when Mike discovered that he couldn't ride in the middle of the girls as they wanted to be all together with no adults for the picture. I finally convinced him to ride in the row in front of them. DRAMA!

The picture turned out really well. The girls were happy to have their keychain of the day. :) My parents and Mark went to the Rock N Roll show at the Stanleyville Theater, and we joined them while the girls rode the flume. They joined us for the last few songs. The show was really good. The singers appeared to be of all ages which at first seemed a bit odd, but they were really great. The last song was "What a night" and Morgan was so funny as she realized she knew that song. :) My parents loved it as it was "their music."

Next, the girls wanted to do Tidal Wave. Mike, Mark, Mom, Dad, and I went on the bridge and stood behind the plexi-glass. It was fun to see Mark, Mike, and my Dad goof around like they were going to get soaked. The girls came off drenched.

After the tidal wave, Mike, Mark, and my parents went to ride the train, and I took the girls to the Congo River Rapids and Kumba. On the way to the River Rapids ride, there was a PHOTO BOOTH!. Please Amy, Please Miss Amy, Mommy, please. Oh, for the love of God, get in the picture booth. They had a blast taking pictures.

Next, they rode the River Rapids. Some guy shot Victoria with the water gun perfectly, and she was giving him lip from the boat. It was hysterical. Then, we went to Kumba. We had a great time on that ride. It is my favorite. It is smooth and long.

My parents were done and ready to go home. The girls wanted to go to Montu one more time. So, we all jumped on the sky ride and headed toward Montu. The girls were old enough to ride alone which thrilled them. It brought back lots of memories of my friend Alyssa and I going to Opryland and talking to all of the buckets as they passed us in the sky. I am so not ready for the teen years.

We said goodbye to Mark, Grams, and Papa. The girls got to ride Montu two more times. I rode the first time, and Mike recovered from the day on the bench. We FINALLY headed out to the exit, and I was pretty tired. The girls all got some candy to keep them going, and we headed out of the park. What a great party! I hope Morgan loved it as much as we did. :)