Island of Adventures

The kids loved Island of Adventures so we ended up going there the last 2 days. They have more big coasters and a lot of water rides. And of course Hogwarts. The hulk ride was pretty fantastic. One of our favorites for sure. I went on it 3 times. I lost count for how many times Braden and Taylor went. They had a fun ride for the girls right next to it so we spent some time there. It was nice not to feel rushed and let the kids run free since we weren't sharing the park with too many people. The ponchos worked out great so they could ride it 5 times and not be soaked. I forgot their flip flops so their shoes were wet but we managed. The only wait was for Kong. It was 5 minutes and I thought my kids were going to die. It was hilarious. Then the waiting got the best of Taylor and she freaked out because of the effects, darkness, and noise while we were waiting. She refused to ride it when it was our turn so I waited off to the side and switched with Andy when they were done. I still don't know why she got so emotional and upset over it but I was sure glad that was the only wait we had to endure. ;) A fun memory that I think my kids will remember years from now was at Hogwarts. We rode the Forbidden Journey and Flight of the Hippogriff several times but the kids just wanted to keep going. So Andy and I sat down and watched them go back and forth between the 2 rides. I'd bet they did that for an hour and had the time of their lives. They would run as fast as they could to see if they could get back on the same coaster. Another favorite was the Dragon Challenge. We rode in the back, front, middle, probably every seat on the ride. This is the ride that I loved the most. There was only a line for the front row so we would hop on the ride and go. I convinced the kids to wait for the front row (there were only 4 people) and it was so worth it. Such a great ride. I couldn't get the kids to ride it again though, they didn't want to wait again. We were so spoiled! The perk of being able to walk (or run) onto every ride instead of waiting to ride the rides was that the kids were done by lunchtime (because we had ridden everything 22 times). So we'd call it a day and go back to the waterpark at the resort and swim. It was such a fantastic vacation!  I love the age that the kids are at and that we can make so many memories together. It's so rewarding as parents to see your kids truly be each other's best friends and get along and genuinely love being together. I couldn't ask for anything more.