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Day
4 – Part 2 My Heroes: The Lifeguards
We finally managed to drag everyone out of the lazy river and
head towards Shark Reef. The line was only about 15 minutes
so we decided to go for it. I was keeping a watchful eye
over the boys. My mission, which I chose to accept, was to
keep the boys happy at whatever cost. We picked up some life
jackets and got in line. ToT sis tries to put the jacket
on Boomer, when he loudly announces to everyone in line that it’s
pointless to put it on since he’s not going in the water. After
this morning’s events, we know enough not to argue. We’re
on vacation after all. We told him that he didn’t have
to go in the water, but continue to stay in line so we could at
least see the sharks and fish. That’s the funny thing
about children. Changing their minds about things is their
prerogative. Never mind that at home, Boomer can’t
get enough of swimming.
Maybe he’s allergic to Florida water.
We received the snorkeling instructions and proceeded to put on our masks and
snorkels. I put my big toe into the COLD water when the whistle blew. I
started to panic. Security had finally tracked me down.
It turns out that a thunderstorm was blowing in – all pools were
temporarily closed. Talk about taking candy away from a baby! We
were so close! We figured it was going to be a typical 20-minute Florida
thunderstorm, so we followed instructions and found shelter. We found delight
in seeing the droves of people exiting the park. I had researched enough
to know that a good time to be at a water park was immediately following a thunderstorm. The
park will be practically deserted. What we didn’t realize was that
this so called 20-minute thunderstorm would in fact be a LONG 2 hour one instead.
It took a good 45 minutes before the rain even began. During this time
the guys decided to go to our lounge chairs and pick up our bags and shoes and
bring them to us. They came back and asked ToT sis if she had her sandals
with her. She didn’t. Either Donald Duck was playing tricks
on us, or her sandals were stolen. Stolen? Doesn’t everyone
know that bad things should never happen in Disney?
Didn’t they get the memo?
Everyone else’s sandals were still there. I doubt it was coincidental
that the most attractive, newest pair of sandals were the ones that were “missing”. If
anyone was at Typhoon Lagoon on Aug. 24, 2005 and found a size 8 pair of Nike
sandals, please send me a PM. J
ToT sis was understandably upset but refused to let it ruin the day. We
were going to wait out the storm and recapture the magic. Little did we
know, a lot of the magic returned while we waited under the shelter. Some
nearby lifeguards decided to entertain us hostages, er, guests while we waited
out the storm. The first game was called “bury the unlucky lifeguard”. With
how happy the boys were piling sand on a stranger, who needs shark reef! They
were positively giddy!
Meanwhile, the men were hungry and decided to brave the weather and get us all
some lunch. The goal was to get back to the shelter before the rain arrived. Unfortunately,
they were not the only ones with the same goal. In fact, everyone who wasn’t
involved in the sand throwing was also in line for food. The competition was
on. Ready, get set, go.
First the good news: Cocoa bil made it back before the rain. The boys were
happy and munching on hotdogs. The semi good news is that Goofy Guy made
it back just as the rain was starting to sprinkle. My cookie was a little
damp, but still edible. The bad news is that Dapper Dad made it back just
as the heavens open up and showed him, and his food, no mercy. The drinks
had no lids so the regular cokes were now diet cokes with all the extra water. The
French fries became mashed potatoes. The wonder of Mother Nature.
But as this was another meal on the free dining plan, we really couldn’t
complain. Essentially, we were getting dinner and a show. While we
were eating our soggy food, the wonderful lifeguards came up with another game
for the kids. It was here where we discovered yet another hidden talent
of Splashboy: jousting! That’s right, jousting. Two of the
lifeguards got on their hands and knees (now, now – we are in Disney) and
asked for any volunteers to sit on their backs. Splashboy quickly raised
his hand and climbed aboard. He and another boy on the other lifeguard
were given life preservers to use as the jousting match began. The crowd
cheered, Splashboy was on cloud nine, Boomer was happily playing in the sand
and the sun came out.
The rain had ended. Halleluiah! I’m not sure, but I still think
the lifeguards put an order in for the return of the sun. They were fabulous
and made a rainy afternoon not only bearable, but also enjoyable. Did I
mention the lifeguards deserve a raise?
Before the rain started, we were told at Shark Reef to come right back to the
beginning of the line when the pool reopened. We had already heard the
instructions so we could just cut to the beginning of the line. I volunteered
to stay back with Boomer who was now making a very impressive sand castle with
another little boy, while everyone else went to Shark Reef. My family said
that going right to the front of the line was even better than fast pass! They
got to the front of the line, when Splashboy decided he didn’t want to
go. You know, we really can’t blame the kid. Fanlover said
that when ToT sis and I were 6, we wouldn’t go on big slides let alone
swim with sharks!
I didn’t swim with sharks until I was 24.
He came back to play with Boomer and me while the others swam. We did a
swap when they came back and I went swimming myself. It really is surreal
swimming with those beautiful creatures. Had I not had a piece of plastic
in my mouth, I would have broken into song – The Circle of Life. I
tend to do that a lot.
It was now time to divide and conquer. ToT sis didn’t want to drag
the rest of the family around the park for the next couple of hours. She
suggested that we do some of the big water slides, which now had small lines. Meanwhile
Cocoa bil, Boomer and Splashboy would go to the kiddie part of the park. We’d
meet back at the hotel. This sounded like a great plan.
Fanlover decided to sit and watch for a while. Her feet were starting to
bother her. She hadn’t been using my body glide. If I wasn’t
a believer before our trip, I sure am now. It was now day 3 of our trip
with miles and miles of walking under our belts and my feet were in terrific
shape. I’ll never go back to Disney without body glide or tevas. I
think I finally convinced Fanlover for future trips. Hobbling in pain from
blisters will soon be a distant memory. Why oh why didn’t I discover
body glide long ago? True that with tortured feet I got some appreciated
sympathy from Goofy Guy, but if given the choice, I’d rather be pain-free.
;) I’m quite sure Goofy guy agrees.
Dapper dad, Goofy guy and I went on 3 waterslides with pretty small waits. They
were pretty fun and as per usual, I screamed all the way down. One of them
(forgive me for not remembering the name – we were using orange rafts)
really surprised me. I was expecting a tame ride, but was almost turned
backwards from the force of the water. I was relieved I wasn’t wearing
a bikini.
Everyone else was too.
That wouldn’t have been a pretty sight. I would’ve been escorted
out of the park for sure. We took a dip in the wave pool and decided to
call it a day. We looked around one last time for ToT sis’ sandals,
but came up empty. Cocoa bil did go to the lost and found earlier and filed
a report. That was our best hope.
A funny thing happened on the way back to the hotel. You see, I tend to
be a bit of a talker (ya don’t laugh – I know this report is day
4 and installment number 3, 426,227 – it’s a fluke I tell you). My
family has all been to Disney many, many times so we basically know how to drive
around WDW with little effort. However, today, I was telling a particularly
enthralling story (though ironically none of us remember what it was about!),
and we missed our turn to the hotel. From that point forward, it was highly
recommended I keep the talking in the car to a minimum. I’m choosing
to consider it a compliment. Who knew I was so fascinating?!
As we showered and changed, we couldn’t help but wonder how ToT sis and
family were getting along at Typhoon Lagoon on their own. An hour later,
we had our answer.
Splashboy came running into our room telling us what an amazing day he had. Right
after we left them, they went to Ketchakiddee Creek and enjoyed all the slides
and games they had to offer. Amazingly, one of the lifeguards there remembered
Splashboy from earlier that day. It seems that she was the lifeguard who
was guarding the Crush ‘n’ Gusher slide Splashboy was debating whether
to go on. The two became friends and through her gentle encouragement,
Splashboy became determined to conquer Crush ‘n’ Gusher the way he
had conquered Splash Mountain.
Not only did he conquer Crush ‘n’ Gusher, he actually LOVED it. He
wanted to do more. He and Boomer went on more waterslides and they were
both fearless. They even wanted to go into the wave pool when the big wave
came. The turn around from earlier in the day was remarkable. There
were so many wonderful lifeguards there today. They truly made a day that
had the potential of being completely disastrous, into a miraculous one. I
must remember to write a letter. They did so much more than save physical
lives. Their eyes were dancing as they told us of their adventures at Typhoon
Lagoon. I wish we had time to hear all the details, but we had a show to
catch.
Tonight we’d learn that 38yr old men are too young to drink.
Day 4 - Part 3...
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