Wednesday 16th November 2011 - Typhoon Lagoon

Todays Weather - 85f (29c)

We arrived after a bit of a lazy morning around 10.30/11ish, it was little cloudy to begin with in the morning but by the time we arrived it was clearing and the sun was shining.

Lauren loves the water & swimming so she was really looking forward to today.

The place was lovely - all set out like a beach, with gorgeous white sand leading into a huge pool with a wave machine.

We didn't realise at first so it was a bit of a shock but every few hours for an hour and a half there was a big 'boom' and this MASSIVE surfer wave just come out of nowhere. I had just about managed to grab Laurens hand as it hit us LOL. Of course after that first one we loved it - watching it come towards you is insane - I can't imagine what those poor people felt like a few years ago when the Tsunami was coming towards them - this was big but nothing compared to that. I almost lost Lauren's hand in the wave let alone anything bigger.

We tried to take some pictures just as it hit with the waterproof camera but we've got to get them developed. I did take a video of it though from the 'shoreline' to give you some idea of what it was like.

We went on the lazy river first - was pretty relaxing except Lauren kept falling out of her rubber ring lol. They had loads of rides - we went on two rubber ring type rides, water slides, a family raft ride, and the new water/roller coaster type ride, 'Crush n Gusher'. This had to be the best I think. We were able to ride in a triple tube all sat one in front of the other - it was a white knuckle thrill ride which propelled you 400ft through hairpin turns, sudden drops and gravity-defying uphill climbs which then plunges into hideaway bay. There were three side to choose from, coconut crusher, pineapple plunger & banana blaster.

I think when we climbed to the very top and Lauren noticed the first steep drop she was unsure but seeing as we were all able to ride together she was ok, in the end this is the one we went on the most.

I did try and take some photos as we were whizzing around so it'll be interesting to see if they come out LOL.

We noticed they had a lagoon where you could go snorkeling so seeing as we were pros from Discovery Cove the other day we went to have a look. We collected our snorkels & masks and off we went ........ all was going so well until I stopped to read a sign. It said that the lagoon had rays & tropical fish (which were fine, been there done that blah blah) but then it said there were sharks swimming around freely!!!!! What - no glass wall??!!?? I looked at Steve and said I don't think I can do this lol, I daren't tell Lauren, she would have had kittens!

I must admit I was on the verge of walking back out but thought sod it - they wouldn't be able to do it if they were dangerous, people have been doing this for days, weeks, years and nothing has happened to them right?? By this point we were at the front of the pool and getting the instructions from the lifeguard. We weren't allowed to stop, swim back to where we started, we had to swim right over to the exit and if we did get into difficulty to stop and wave your hands (there were two lifeguards in the water) we also couldn't kick our legs. So there was my safety net gone .. I wasn't able to swim back if I wanted to .. I had to make it to the other side *gulp*

Lauren was a bit freaked by the freely swimming sharks but the lifeguard told her they wouldn't hurt, they were Disney sharks and Disney sharks are friendly. I thought to myself a shark is a shark but put the mask and goggles on and off we went.

I am really pleased I did it - what an experience. Swimming along watching sharks beneath me amongst rays & beautifully coloured tropical fish ... Lauren wasn't so keen this time and held onto Steve's hand the whole way with her head up lol but we all got the other side alive ;o) I did take some photos so I hope they come out okay.

The park closed at 5 so we got changed then bought the all important pin badge for Lauren and the all important hot dinky doughnuts for me ;o)

Few photos from the day.

When we arrived home we showered and decided to head back into Disney to have a wander around 'Downtown Disney'. The first shop we went into had a local artist (Alan Foxx) signing his work. We stopped for a look and I fell in love with about 3 so we bought them and he signed each one personally & also wrote us a poem on the back of each one.

We did have a little wander around but I don't think we were really in the mood and we were exhausted. We looked in Planet Hollywood, went into the Harley Davidson bike shop and sat on a Harley and Steve went into for a quick look into 'The House of Blues' (I had to stand outside with Lauren) but that was pretty much all we did really before we headed back.

My gorgeous girlie waiting outside the 'House of Blues' with me.

Coming up next Florida Mall & the hotel pool (bit of a rest day)