December 2014: A Holiday Park Extravaganza: Day 4

Day 4: Tuesday December 23, 2014

I woke up the next morning, well rested, with still swollen tonsils, but realizing I had slept through the night without having to get up for more Advil. Progress! I packed up, packed the car, and then had breakfast in the lobby again. I have a Hilton Honors credit card to accumulate more points more quickly, and with that card, I get automatic gold status with Hilton Honors. Because of this, I get free breakfasts at hotels that offer breakfast but typically charge for it (think Hilton Garden Inn, Doubletree, etc). So, even though I wasn’t eating much, it made sense to eat breakfast at the hotel.

Once breakfast was done, I hopped in the car and drove to Tampa. It was a pretty straightforward drive, with surprisingly little traffic. I got there shortly after the park opened, so no real wait at the parking lot booth like there had been at Sea World.

I found a parking space, and headed for the tram. Because of where the parking lot is, Busch Gardens doesn’t really give you a choice. You more or less have to ride the tram to the front of the park.

Park entrance was easy, and I found the building where the ice show would be held. They started letting us in, and I grabbed a seat in the middle, and did some texting to pass the time. Busch Gardens always has an ice show, but this one is a holiday themed one.

The ice show was very well done, and pretty soon, I was back outside taking pictures of the decorations and some of the animals. There were a couple of roller coasters I wanted to try, but with how Everest had treated me a couple days before, I wasn’t going near the roller coasters here. I really ended up just wandering. 

My original plan for Busch Gardens had been to stick around late enough for the Christmas Town stuff (lights/shows) but those didn’t start until 4, and I made the decision that it would not be a good idea for me to do the hour+ plus drive back to Orlando in the dark, as tired as I was. Plus, honestly, I was bored. Busch Gardens is better when you can actually ride the rides. And, I wanted to see the holiday stuff over at Hollywood Studios. Something had to give. It was kind of a waste of a ticket, but at the same time, it barely cost anything extra to add BG to the ticket, so even with how little I did, it was worth it.

After a sandwich for lunch, I headed for the car and drove to Hollywood Studios. I decided as I drove into the parking lot that Disney might actually own more orange cones than the state of Pennsylvania. My sister lives in Pennsylvania, and I’m convinced that they have more orange cones than any other state, and that they use the roads as their cone storage, since there are ALWAYS lane closures, but only twice have I actually seen evidence of road work.

Anyway, I hopped on a waiting tram and sent a text to Eric. Through facebook, we had discovered that we were both planning on being in Hollywood Studios in the afternoon, so I was supposed to text him when I got there. He responded wondering if I could make it to the Comedy Warehouse show that was starting in 10 minutes. If so, there was a seat by him. I told him it’d be a stretch, but I’d see what I could do.

Of course the tram made a “courtesy stop” for people walking in from a different lot, but shockingly, bag check was nothing more than a cursory glance, and there was no line to actually get into the park. I booked it down to the American Idol theater and walked in just as they were announcing last call. I followed directions and located Eric. We chatted for a couple of minutes, and then the show started.

I never got to see the original Comedy Warehouse. I didn’t turn 21 until just a few months before Pleasure Island closed. Now that I’ve seen the holiday edition, I really wish I had been able to go to the original.

Once the show was over, we wandered and chatted for awhile. We watched the Muppets 3-D show and then continued wandering and chatting. The lines for most attractions and shows were pretty long. It was nice, though, to be able to catch up.

Eventually Eric headed out of the park. I did a bit of shopping, and then had a Candy Cane Milkshake as my dinner. I then did a bit of picture taking before heading over to the Streets of America. 

It was time for Osborne Lights.

Once I’d sufficiently photographed Osborne Lights, I headed out of the park. It was time to drive to the last hotel and pack to go home. The last hotel was the Drury Inn & Suites. I’ve stayed at a few Drury Inns now, and I really like that chain. The hotel was easy enough to get to, and pretty soon I was settling in to the room to pack and get ready to go home in the morning. I collapsed into bed pretty early, knowing I had to get moving fairly early the next morning.