Our first full day in town and we spent alot of it in the car driving!
When we had originally planned this trip, DS said that he wanted to spend alot of time at Universal and also wanted to go to Busch Gardens. I decided to do Busch Gardens on our first full day to get the long drive over and done with while our energy levels were still relatively high.
I woke up around 6:45, snagged an ILL for Rise at 7 and a LL for Slinky at 6:20. Aiming to head into HS by 5 or so.
A note about our room, at first I was really quite disappointed in the location. It was so dang far from where I requested I wondered in the room request really did get sent. In the end, though, it was really nice being on the lobby floor, never having to wait for an elevator and being steps away from our car. I ended up loving it and may request lower floors from here on out.
We left RR about a quarter to 8. In retrospect, we didn’t really need to leave this early but I simply cannot chill about arriving to the gates late. I had bit the bullet and bought us Express Passes (or whatever Busch Gardens calls their version) and preferred parking. When we arrived, I was really glad I had sprung for the parking because otherwise we’d have had to take a tram to the gates.
I think we arrived around 9…a little after maybe. Park didn’t open until 10. Like I said, I can’t stop being unnecessarily early. 
We took the time to use the bathroom and apply sunscreen and dadgum, we could already tell it was going to be a scorcher of a day.
They opened security and let us into the park around 9:30 - park didn’t open until 10. But that gave us a chance to grab a refillable water bottle for the day and steer toward our first attraction. My rule for this trip was, if we’re walking, we’re drinking water. DS tends to get really bad headaches when he gets dehydrated and I wasn’t about to mess around with that.
We stopped and saw some crocs and cheetahs on our way over to Cheetah Run. We had planned on starting the day there, followed by Cobra’s Curse (which ended up being closed all day - a planned closure) and Montu. DS then proceeded to get really nervous looking at the tracks and bailed on both rides that were open. And then he cried because he thought he was disappointing me and that I’d be angry with him.
Rough start. After assuring him that, no, I was actually fine. We had express passes and so if he changed his mind we could come back and ride later, no problem. He perked up, and we spent some time strolling and checking out a bunch of animals. Busch Gardens is really quite well done and we enjoying just walking around with everyone else hitting up rides.
In the end, we rode three rides all day. Lol. One of them, the Sand Serpent, we rode 10 times. TEN. TIMES. Eight of those times were in a row! Actually, that’s a lie. I only made it 7 times in a row and bailed on the 8th. DS wanted to make it an even 10 rides for the day. The other two were the two water rides, which were really fun and a welcome relief from the heat of the day.
I will say, one of the biggest hassles about visiting non-Disney parks this trip, both at Universal and Busch Gardens, was dealing with the blasted lockers. I hate them. They are crowded and annoying and I love that I don’t have to deal with them at Disney. The end.
All in all, we really loved Busch Gardens and would go back again. Its beautiful and clean and has a really decent amount of serious looking coasters. As my kids get older and more daring, I can see it becoming a favorite place to visit for sure.
We were heading back to Orlando around 3 and, despite some traffic, got back to RR around 4 and took a small break before heading into HS. We were on the Skyliner over at 5. We we tapped in we had LLs lined up for MFSR, MMRR, TSM, SDD and an ILL for Rise. While in the park, I also was able to snag a 5th LL for RnRC.
I will say…I LOVED this strategy for touring the parks. Good grief, so much less stressful than RDing in the morning with children. Much more relaxed. It does take you longer to get through the attractions just because the LL lines are not a straight shot that time of the day but who cares. I might plan all my future trips this way.
We started with MFSR and DS and I bought got to be pilots. I’ve only been the pilot once and dang is it so much more fun! I thought I did a kick-a job on my part but of course as soon as we got off DS said “I’m a much better pilot than you! You couldn’t keep us straight!!” We did manage two containers of coaxium, which I’ve only done one other time before so I felt proud of our performance.
We spent the next hour using our LLs for MMRR, TSM and SDD in that order. Then, we grabbed some blue milk and did some exploring in GE before hopping in line for Rise. It had been down when we first got into the park and I was worried the ILL would be backed up but we were in the first pre-show room (with Rey) within 5 minutes. I’m still waiting for my first time to be evacuated from this ride. Hasn’t happened yet. We did have a 5 minute or so delay in the interrogation room but otherwise it was a flawless ride.
After Rise, it was just after 8. Park closed at 9 and we had a ADR at Sci-Fi at 8:55. I had a LL for RnRC but I think DS was just getting really tired and elected to ride ST instead so we didn’t have to walk across the park. ST was a hot mess. We got loaded, given the safety schpeel and cleared for take off…and then evacuated and moved to another ship because ours had some sort of issue. Got half way through the ride on the other ship and it stopped and we had to re-boot and were offered a second full ride. At this point, it was 8:40 and we just got off. Lol.
Walked over to Sci-Fi and checked in for dinner. Seated almost immediately, about 10 minutes ahead of our ADR time. We were walking out of the park by 10 and just beat. So tired. DS was falling asleep at dinner.
Overall, it was a great first day. 21,515 steps great.
