lots of Busch Gardens Williamsburg (& the cat again)

I came to the realization, after reading some of the history of Busch Gardens, that I have been going there for at least 25 years or so. Wow. I remember attractions that aren't there any more, and now Enid is riding some of the same rides I rode years ago. She was so excited to go this time. It's been just over 2 years since we took her, but she swears she remembers parts from last time. I wouldn't doubt it.

We started our morning shopping and on rides before the park had even officially opened, which was awesome. I guess they wanted to let people filter in just in case the lines were busy at the ticket windows. Who knows, but we got to ride lots of stuff without waiting, re-ride without getting off, and were done on rides by the time we ate lunch at about noon-thirty! It was pretty warm but not sweltering, so we were lucky. After that we watched a few shows, saw the animals, and shopped a little more before returning into Newport News where we stayed at the Marriott for FREE! Here are more details...

The Sesame Street Forest of Fun is now open, and I think Gerald and I enjoyed it almost as much as Enid did! The coaster was fun... Enid's first! We got to ride other rides as a family and take photos with some of the characters. Oh... and out of everything in the entire park, Enid liked floating around in a circle on Bert and Ernie's Loch Adventure flume ride and kept asking to do it again. By the time we were back in the Forest of Fun near the end of the day, there was a line! Uh, sorry Enid but you're not waiting forty forevers to float in a circle for less than a minute. Also... the 4D Sesame Street movie was great! I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked it myself.

Land of the Dragons is still there, and Enid explored the humongous treehouse with her daddy like last time. She wanted to take photos with everything, but then she wasn't very smiley. She did, however, give us an impromptu weather forecast as soon as she spotted the back wall of the little stage there. Hilariously cute!

Busch Gardens is a certified wild animal conservation area. This visit, we got to see some amazing animals up close and personal (touched some birds), including a gorgeous Serval (he had previously been an illegal pet in the Yorktown area) and a young wolf! It's not hard to see why Busch Gardens Williamsburg was voted the "Most Beautiful Theme Park". (various other photos included)

Although there's not as many attractions and fairy folk there right now as there used to be, Ireland is still my favorite area of the park. We couldn't get Enid to pose with the leprechaun or enchanted tree this time. She was so tired by then that she fell asleep during the last few minutes of the Emerald Beat show!

I just have to share this tee shirt that I bought. How cool is this?!?! On the back it says, "Today's trash is tomorrow's t-shirt." Busch Gardens recycles 500 tons of materials annually. All of the brochures, maps, show guides, and all of the paper products in the restrooms are made from recycled material too!



As usual, we bought season passes, this time for 2 years. I'm determined to make it to Howl-O-Scream this year. That's always fun. AND Christmas Town opens for the first time this year, so I'm dying to check it out!

Last but not least, I share another cat photo. Leave any kind of paper out and they will come and nest in it.