[melissakbs]

Some background info: My husband, daughter (who is 7), and I have season passes. My son is 4 1/2 and short (and also high maintenance, Disney was a nightmare with him last summer). Since he can't ride many of the rides due to his height, we did not buy a season pass for him. So we went yesterday (Father's Day) since we could get my son in for $9.99.

We arrived at 10:05 and the season passholders lot was filling up very quickly. The vast majority of people were heading to the water park.

The lines were very short for the rides we went on since most everyone was at the water park. We mostly stayed in the Nickolodeon area. I thought the Dora train ride was lame, at least have some wooden characters and scenes around, such as Benny's red barn, Isa's flower garden, etc. There was Swiper at the end peeking out behind a bush but that was it. I told my husband "I'm glad we didn't have to wait in line for this!"

We were taken aback at something we saw on the Little Bill's Cruisers ride. A child riding before us had bled onto the seat in her boat. The mom told the ride operator who grabbed a dirty towel from her station and wiped it down. No disinfectant, no sign over the boat, nothing. The ride op didn't seat anyone in that boat when it was our turn to ride but we were surprised at the procedure (or lack thereof).

But on a more positive vibe, we caught the Marty's Party show at noon and it was really zany! Here's a photo of Fiona wearing her self inflating balloon dress:

We enjoyed that show and will definitely watch it again. Who doesn't love a marshmallow fight?!

SPOILER ALERT: We were in line to ride the Skytower and a park guest asked the ride operator "What are they building behind the fence?" and the ride op said "They haven't told us yet." Maybe it was a bluff, but it sounded convincing to me.

We left for lunch with the intention of eating at Plaza Fiesta. That place was PACKED OUT. So we kept on driving and ate at Papa Pito's Italian restaurant in front of Frugal MacDougal's. They have excellent homemade Italian food. Not "Americanized" Italian food a la the Olive Garden (and I love OG) but fresh homemade pizza, pasta, and a really fresh salad bar. They have a great buffet special and the four of us ate for less than $30. It wasn't crowded and it was very family friendly. Super nice wait staff and hostesses. Definitely check it out.

After lunch we hit the other side of the park where Thunder Road is. We rode the Scooby Doo Haunted Mansion with very little wait time. My husband rode Thunder Road while we stopped and had a snack and he said there was no line for it either.

For what it's worth, the Afterburner was not running yesterday.

At the very end of the day, my daughter and I rode Rip Roarin' Rapids. We waited in line for 30 minutes and that was the longest we had to wait all day. I don't think it was operating properly since it was taking a while for the boats to come up the ramp and load people. At the end of the ride, we were waiting to go up into the exit area and there were 4 boats behind us. I don't know why it was getting stacked up.

At any rate, it was a wonderful trip and a perfect day! My daughter and I plan on visiting the water park soon and I'll write a trip report for that.

[Davidtmp]

You're family sounds like mine a little....I ride, wife doesn't.....Have a 6yr old that doesn't like high rides(except for the flyers now), and a 2yr old that is too short for anything....LOL
Sunday's are the best day for rides. Everyone seems to be at the water park. Coasters are pretty much walk on's. Kiddie land isn't too crowded, which is where we usually hang out after going to the water park. I'll sneak off for a couple coasters here and there. Much fun though!

[Iheartcarowinds]

Note: We had the same issues with the train and we were told that it is not fully completed with props. They are still working on getting all the old ones moved over.
Also, Little Bill's operators cannot clean up a blood spill therefore him not loading the boat and calling first aid to come would have been the correct procedure. Perhaps you did not see first aid arrive?

[melissakbs]

^^Thanks for the tip about Dora's train. I'll tell my daughter, the Dora Freak.

And regarding the blood spill, we made our way to the TV Land Cars or whatever after we rode the boats. First Aid very well could have come after that. At least the ride op did not place any riders in the boat in question for the next ride!

[b&mcoaster1095]

SPOILER ALERT: We were in line to ride the Skytower and a park guest asked the ride operator "What are they building behind the fence?" and the ride op said "They haven't told us yet." Maybe it was a bluff, but it sounded convincing to me.

You're right, it's a bluff... they all know.

[BoociferPatch]

I highly recommend papa pino's! I have been going there for a few years and they have great food. It's better than spending 15 dollars in the park, when you could be spending 6-8 bucks there for an all you can eat buffet.