Last Night I Spent A Week @BuschGardensVA

For the past few years we have had wonderful trips to Busch Gardens Christmas Town for the holidays.  We started years ago when my nephew P was turning 2 (he is now 5) and have continued the tradition with my niece C (now 3) and this year my new nephew I (10 months).

In past years because I am a member of the blogger program at Busch Gardens Williamsburg I have taken the family to the media event and we have gotten complimentary tickets into the park.   This year my family wasn’t going to be able to attend that night so we were going to have to buy tickets and that can get expensive for 6 people!

So I asked my sister and mom what they thought about me buying the kids tickets to the park and the Fireside Feast with Santa as their actual Christmas gifts.  Both thought it was a great idea so we got some of the $14 tickets, paid $30 for the dinner and made plans to go the night of the 15th. The kids and I were so excited- I couldn’t wait to take them to the new ice skating show, have dinner with Santa and enjoy the fact that the low for the night was about 50 degrees.

It ended up being one of the longest nights of my life.

Before you start reading this story there are a few things you need to know:

1.  My niece, C, is EVIL when you wake her up.  Almost to the point that when we go out in public and she’s sleepy we try to keep her awake until we get in the car.
2. I have a horrible sense of direction but I am a GPS compared to my mother.  She has many wonderful traits but she can get lost ANYWHERE.
3. I have an unnatural attraction for Busch Gardens but especially Christmas Town.  It’s my happy place.  So when things go wrong it breaks my heart a little bit.

My sister, mom and the kids came and picked me up at noon.  We had a fairly uneventful lunch at Panera and made the 50 minute drive to Busch Gardens in record time.  On the way I opened the Busch Gardens app to make plans for the night.  Dinner with Santa was at 5:30 so we needed to work the ice skating show around that.  In order to be sure we got good seats I suggested to my sister when we got to the park to get reserved seating for the 8:30 show (it was only $5 each).  She agreed.

We got a GREAT parking space, loaded up all the things you need when you take three kids to an amusement park (holy mackerel) and headed in.  We bought our reserved seats (they told us if the show was cancelled we could return for refund- with it being so warm they were having ice issues) and kept our fingers crossed it would be cool enough for the kids to see the show.

The next hour and a half was great.  We saw “Scrooged No More” at the Globe Theatre, rode a few rides and got hot chocolate.  (On a completely unrelated note my niece is now tall enough to ride the big swings.  She was SO excited to ride with grandma).  Then we began the walk to Santa’s Fireside Feast.

About five minutes into the walk my sister starts hearing the baby cough in the stroller.  He had a little bit of a runny nose earlier in the day but wasn’t coughing or anything like that.  Now all of a sudden he was wheezing.  Working really hard to breathe.  And while he appeared relaxed we weren’t comfortable with the noises he was making.

Fortunately since I have spent several hundred hours in the park I knew we were near the first aid station.  Mom and my sister ran inside with the baby and I stayed outside with the other two playing I Spy.  Mom came out a few minutes later to let me know they were sending my sister and the baby to the hospital via ambulance and we would stay at the park, and head to dinner with the kids until we knew more.

So they take off and we go to dinner.   Tickets for this meal aren’t cheap and my sister was missing it.  Mom and I were worried about what was going on and trying not to act like it around the kids.  And unfortunately the experience wasn’t as good as last year.  Just like last year they put out lists for the kids to write for Santa but no crayons.  All the writing utensils were with my sister so the kids had paper and nothing to write with to take a list when they went up to see Santa.  When we asked they couldn’t provide anything.  Our waiter disappeared so I had to go track him down to get milk for the kids.  As usual the food was great and Santa was amazing but it was a bit more stressful than relaxing because the little details got missed.

My sister text and let us know that they would need to be at the hospital for about three hours with the baby to keep an eye on him.  Our two options were to entertain the kids at the hospital for three hours or entertain them at Busch Gardens.  It was really a no brainer.  So we decided to stick with our original plan, do some more rides, watch the ice show and then head to the hospital.  This was when I realized a pretty big detail.

My sister had left with two things we needed badly- the car keys and the tickets for reserved seats for the ice skating show.  Not really knowing what to do we want back to the First Aid station.

Now before I keep going I want you to know something- the first aid people at Busch Gardens are ROCK STARS.  I wish I had a list of their names to tell you how amazing each one of them was.  When we got to the station one of the paramedics drove me to the hospital, waited while I got the stuff from my sister (and saw my giggling nephew who was feeling much better) and drove me back to the park.  Additionally they offered to give us 5 more tickets to come back at a later date if we wanted to since my sister was missing everything.  I declined as four of us were absolutely getting our money’s worth but it was an amazing offer.  They were so kind, so supportive, so understanding of my sister’s concern and so calm about everything.  They let her know what was going to happen and it was exactly as they said.

Before I left my mother and I had a conversation about what to do while I was gone.  I gave her directions to the nearest station for the train.  I told her to leave the stroller at the station and take the kids on the train.  Why you ask?  Because it takes 20 minutes.  I would know right where she was when I got back.  And I wouldn’t have to worry about her getting lost with two kids.

So after the trip to the hospital I am back in the park.  My phone battery is at 25% and I call my mom who I expect to be sitting by the phone waiting to answer.  Nope.  I call her three times and no answer.  So then I head over to the train station and thankfully the train is just pulling up.  AWESOME.  I will just go to the train, walk down until I find them and jump on.

I wait, I look, I walk- no them.  At this point I have no idea where they are in the park.  I call three more times.  I text.  So I just start walking figuring it is only acres and acres of property- at some point I have to run into them right?  Finally my phone rings (now at 20% battery) and it’s my mom.

“We are in France.  It’s been horrible.  We went on the sky buckets.  I got lost. No don’t do that- oh my gosh I gotta go!” and hangs up on me (now 17% battery).

I turn around and start walking as quickly as I can to France.  We finally run into each other, my niece has been crying, my nephew looks amused (generally not a good thing) and my mother looks frazzled.  “We got in the sky buckets because we thought they would take us all the way around the park (they don’t) and they made us get out.  I didn’t know where we were.  We just kept walking and walking and I think we were going in circles.  The kids were getting tired and I was lost.  I finally got back to the stroller, put her in and then realized you should have called by now.  I saw I missed your calls and when I called you back C reached up to pull the sunshade down on the stroller (no idea why- it was pitch black outside) and there were about 10 things sitting on top of it.  Cups, toys, maps and clothing came tumbling down onto her and she fell backwards out of the stroller.  I am so glad we found you.”

I promptly took her and the kids over and we got on the train.  And sat for twenty minutes in blissful peace listening to Christmas music and looking at the beautiful lights while everyone calmed down.  Then we got more hot cocoa, made bathroom trips, watched the ice show and left the park.  It should have been simple from here on out.  We were heading to the hospital to get my sister and the baby and head home.

Problem One: C fell asleep in the stroller.  This meant when we got to the car she was going to be completely uncooperative.  We get there and discovered my amazing sister had packed pajamas for the kids to ride home in (she is such a good mom).  So Mom changed P into his pajamas, emptied the stroller and we did everything we could before we needed to wake C up.  She basically cried and complained while my mom changed her into her pajamas and got her into her car seat.

Problem Two: Meanwhile I am behind the van trying to figure out how in the world to collapse this stroller.  I could only manage to fold it in half and it would not fit in the back that way.  I pull out my phone to call my sister- 0% battery.  I ask Mom for her phone to call my sister- 0% battery.  So we take the stroller and shove it INSIDE the van- essentially trapping the kids in the back in their car seats.  The door closes and I head over to the driver’s side.

Problem Three: My sister has a new van- one of those models that doesn’t require a key.  So I push the fancy “start car” button.  Lights come on, radio comes on but the engine doesn’t start.  I push and push and push and push.  The engine will not start.  The kids are getting cranky shoved in the back behind a stroller.  So I run over to some couple trying to leave the park and ask if I can use their cell phone to call my sister at the hospital.  They are super nice, I call and THANK GOD she answers a number she doesn’t recognize.  (BTW it turns out in those fancy new cars you have to have your foot on the brake for the car to start).  So off we head to the hospital knowing we are going to have to wake C up again when we get the hospital and get the stupid stroller out to remove the kids.

Problem Four: My sister’s new van also has GPS which we need because our phones are both dead.  I have a general idea where the hospital is from my previous journey but would feel much better with the GPS.  Neither Mom nor I can figure out how to use it.  It’s not a touch screen like her old van so we are pushing EVERYTHING we can find trying to get the screen to react.  I use landmarks and finally get us to the hospital after my sister has been waiting 40 minutes since she was discharged.

It’s now like 10:15.  I’m the only one who isn’t up past bedtime and we are all exhausted.  It was the longest car ride home of my life (plus everything in the car was messed up from mom and I pushing buttons for the GPS- radio stations, temperature gauges- EVERYTHING).

I finally dropped into bed about 11:30 completely exhausted.

WORST CHRISTMAS PRESENT EVER.

The crazy thing about kids is that I won’t actually know how bad the night was until I talk to P and C.  It was their Christmas gift and kids are so often blissfully unaware of everything going around them.  For all I know they will go to school and tell everyone what a great time they had.

My nephew is doing just fine- he’s getting some extra mommy time at home so he doesn’t get anyone else sick!

But I have to be honest- I’m not sure I am going to be able to talk them into going back next year.

Don’t forget to check out the rest of the Busch Gardens Virginia Coupons!