Adventure Island Water Park Fun (Tampa, Florida)

Disclosure - I was provided free tickets to visit Busch Gardens Tampa with my family as part of a Busch Gardens Ambassador program with Mom Central. All experiences of the parks and opinions are my own. 

I previously shared our Busch Gardens Tampa adventure with you. You can check out the fun we had in this post. Today, I want to share the fun we had at  Adventure Island - Busch Garden's water park. 

There's no better way to spend time during the heat of a FL summer than in a water park. Adventure Island has lots of fun slides and pools. Some of our favorites are the Key West Rapids, the Aruba Tuba and the Calypso Coaster because we able to ride together. Riding together makes the rides that much more fun. There are also slides that are perfect for those of you that are water park thrill seekers. I have to admit that while I LOVE roller coasters, I prefer the simpler slides to the big ones.  

Even if you don't like water slides, you'll definitely enjoy your time at the park. We couldn't get the girls out of Paradise Lagoon and Splash Attack. Splash Attack is a tree house filled with kid-friendly slides and water play fun. There's something to do at every turn and it's fun for kids of all ages. This mama got in on the fun right along with the girls. They had an awesome time teaming up against me and getting me soaked. 

One of our favorite spots in the park were definitely the pools. There is a fun wave pool and our favorite place to swim and play - Paradise Lagoon. There are slides, waterfalls, cliffs to jump and more. You could easily spend much of the day just in this section of the park. 

We had so much fun frolicking, sliding, swimming and playing in the sun. We will definitely be visiting Adventure Island many times again in the future. 

Bern

Family Friendly Fun at Busch Gardens Tampa

Disclosure - I was provided free tickets to visit Busch Gardens Tampa with my family as part of a Busch Gardens Ambassador program with Mom Central. All experiences of the park and opinions are my own. 

I LOVE living in Florida. With so much sun and warm weather we have countless opportunities for family fun in the outdoors. One of our favorite family pastimes is visiting theme parks.  FL has so many outdoor attractions to choose from. There's something to do at every turn but our little family loves a good thrill. Nothing provides a better thrill than a theme park adventure. One of our favorite amusement park destinations is Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida. 

If you've never been to Busch Gardens or haven't visited in a while, you are missing out on a good time for the whole family. I'll be honest and say that I hadn't been to Busch Gardens in a few years and my girls had never been to Busch Gardens Tampa. As a family we had visited Busch Gardens Williamsburg while on vacation a few years ago and had a great time so we were excited to explore the park closer to home. 

With summer vacation officially underway we thought it would be wonderful to head out for a weekend road trip on a Busch Gardens Tampa adventure.

The Lil Divas were super excited to get on all the rides, see the sights and shows and just enjoy an awesome theme park day. We were not disappointed! There is so much to do at Busch Gardens Tampa and the girls, at 7 and 8 years old, were at an ideal age/height to ride almost everything. 

There are tons of attractions at Busch Gardens Tampa. I'll share some of our favorite rides and shows with you from our visit.  

I LOVE roller coasters so I made sure I rode as many as I could! I was disappointed that Falcon's Fury wasn't open yet as originally scheduled. I had been looking forward to riding it - next time for sure! I did get to ride the Scorpion, Cheetah Hunt, Gwazi, Kumba, SheiKra and Montu. The thrill seeker in me was so happy - I was plunging, looping, twisting & turning to my hearts content. 

The Lil Divas couldn't get on all the roller coasters (that was mommy's terrain for the day!) but they were able to ride a few and there were lots of other kid friendly attractions for them to explore like Treetop Trails a 3-story family play area perfect for kids (and kids at heart) to climb, crawl and explore to their hearts content. Once we were able to pry them from that play area we had a great time riding the Wild Surge, the Jungle Flyers, Air Grover, Congo River Rapids and the Tanganyika Tidal Wave to name a few of our favorites. 

For little ones, Sesame Street's Safari of Fun is definitely a part of the park you do not want to miss. There are rides, a splash pad, a tree house,  character meet & greets, shows and lots of fun playground areas that will undoubtedly thrill your Sesame Street fans. 

What I love about Busch Gardens is that even if you're not into thrill rides, there is so much to see. It really is fun for people of all ages. There are some wonderful animal habitats/exhibits, shows and opportunities for up-close encounters with amazing animals (additional fees are applicable). 

It was truly a wonderful day for the whole family

at Busch Gardens Tampa!

Wishing you lots of summer fun & adventures,

Bern

A Day Out With Thomas: S. Florida Giveaway

A few weeks ago I told you about the upcoming Day Out with Thomas: the Go Go Thomas Tour 2013 in South Florida. Today, I am super excited to be able to offer my local readers a giveaway for a Family 4 Pack of Tickets to the event being held at the Gold Coast Railroad Museum for Sunday, March 17, 2013 at 3pm. 

If you're a local reader who's ready for a day filled with Sir Toppam Hatt, a 25-minute ride aboard Thomas the Tank Engine, arts & crafts, storytelling, mini golf, Zoo Miami encounters, live music, face painting and more then use the rafflecopter entry form below to enter for your chance to win a family 4 pack of  tickets (valid on Sunday, March 17, 2013 at 3pm only!).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good Luck,

Bern

Disclaimer: This giveaway is sponsored by Goldcoast Rainbow Museum and a Day Out with Thomas: The Go Go Thomas Tour 2013. I received promotional items in exchange for sharing this event and my opinions of it. All opinions expressed are my own and are a result of our personal experience. Your experience and thoughts may differ.

A Day Out With Thomas: The Go Go Thomas Tour 2013

Do your kids love Thomas the Train? Wouldn't they love riding aboard the world's most beloved train? You can do just that with the A Day Out With Thomas - The Go Go Thomas Tour 2013.

The Lil Divas and I had such a great time at last year's event - The Mystery on the Rails Tour. We have been invited back to this year's tour and can't wait to attend when the tour hits South Florida next month.

It's such a thrill for the kids to ride aboard Thomas. Ok, I'll admit I was pretty excited too. I mean - it is Thomas the Tank Engine!  How cool is that?

This year's local event at the Gold Coast Railroad Museum in Miami, FL (see website for your local tour details) includes a 25 minute ride aboard Thomas, the opportunity to meet Sir Topham Hatt, arts & crafts, storytelling, mini golf, Zoo Miami encounters, live music, face painting and more.

For tickets call toll-free 866-468-7630 or log onto TicketWeb.  The railway if offering $3.00 off the ticket price for the 1st Day of the event on March 2nd. Just use promo code FIRSTDAYTHOMAS at check out here. This promotion is good until Feb 9th. so don't delay if you plan on attending this fun family event.

All Aboard! Choo Choo!

Bern

Disclaimer - We will be receiving complimentary tickets to A Day Out with Thomas - Go Go Thomas Tour 2013 in exchange for sharing our experience of the event with our readers. 

{Wordless Wednesday} Summer Fun: Young at Art Children's Museum

We LOVE visiting children's museums. There's just something so freeing about being not only "able to" but invited to touch and play with everything. Combine that with an art museum that provides opportunities to create and explore different mediums of art and you have the potential for some serious FUN! 

Here's a peek at some of the Lil Divas hands-on fun at Young at Art Museum in Davie, FL. They provide such awesome opportunity for artistic expression, learning, exploration and hands-on fun.

What a great day!

We can't wait to go back.

Bern

Earth Day 2012 - To The Arctic & Science Museum Fun

To celebrate Earth Day we went to our local Museum of Discovery and Science. It really is a wonderful place full of hands-on discovery & learning!

What I wanted to do most (& what we did) was to watch To the Arctic - an amazing IMAX nature documentary about global warming's effect on the Arctic ice cap and how the heat and melting are affecting the animals that live there.

The Lil Divas were mesmerized by the Mama polar bear and her two cubs.

What an amazing relationship to witness and I couldn't help but feel overwhelmed when my Littlest Diva turned to me and said,  "Mommy, she loves her babies and protects them like you do to me."

It was both eye opening & alarming to see how global warming is affecting their climate. The animals have to endure more heat & longer summers, which means less ice.  They need the ice to hunt for food (seals in particular).  Food is much harder to find and predators are everywhere.

Watching this Mama polar bear struggle to find food to provide for her cubs and also stay alert in order to protect them touched my heart.

It was the perfect movie to watch on Earth Day. I have always had a special place in my heart for polar bears but this really raised awareness that if things continue as they are, one day soon we will no longer have these amazing creatures. :( 

How did you celebrate Earth Day?

Bern

Wordless Wednesday: Springtime Fun - Butterflies, Flowers & Swings

I LOVE our local butterfly sanctuary (Butterfly World),

especially in the spring when the butterflies are plentiful 

and the flowers are in bloom!

I could visit everyday and just get lost there -

it's so peaceful, colorful and full of life.

An amazing spring day!

Bern

Wordless Wednesday - Spring Break Adventures

Spring Break Adventures

We are enjoying our Spring Break.

The weather has been sunny, warm & fabulous.

Looking forward to even more adventures!

Bern