Tips for Visiting Aquatica, Orlando Florida                    May 22, 2016

1. Take a change of clothes for the ride home.
2. Get there early.
3. Don’t go on a weekend or holiday if possible.
4. Get your picture taken just inside the park.
5. Remember to take your waterproof camera.
6. Grab a prime spot for lounging.
7. Get the all you can eat bracelet for Banana Beach.
8. Do not leave your food unattended!
9. Go one the most popular slides first to avoid really long lines.
10. Do the Dolphin Plunge!
11. Spend the rest of the day in the Loggerhead Lane (lazy river), Roa’s Rapids and the Wave Pool.
12. Drink lots of water.
13. Take some breaks from the sun.
14. Reapply your sunscreen often.
15. Buy a souvenir.

We love Aquatica. There are slides for every level of daredevil in your family, from the intense to the lazy river. I love that it is small enough to do everything at least once. I also like that they have spots where they spray the walkways so you don’t burn your bare feet. My husband likes to wear water shoes because the heat bothers his feet – use your best judgement for yourself.

I love the buffet at Banana Beach and think it is great, although I must admit I haven’t tried the other restaurants on site. I just think the Banana Beach is great value for your money, there are a lot of choices so if you eat two or even three times you do not have to the same thing. It is delicious but the best thing is you can drink as much as you want and being hydrated is a very good thing. Also, do not leave your food for a moment – the birds will steal it right off your plate, even if there are other people sitting at your table!

A few things to note:

The lockers cost $10 each and most people need them unless you have or buy one of the waterproof packets to wear around your neck.

We like to take a change of clothes so that we don’t have to drive home wet and uncomfortable.

We did get a private cabana one time and it was nice but I didn’t really need it and felt like we were going in there just to feel like we were getting our money’s worth. It might be worth the money for families with young children or if traveling with someone older. There is lots of seating throughout the park and we usually throw our towels and such on them and no one has touched them thus far (although we did not leave anything of value there). A few of the hotspots to sit are in front of the wave pool, the kiddie play area and one of the entrances to Roa’s Rapids.

Make sure you drink plenty of fluids and reapply sunscreen regularly. Time can go by so quickly there and the sun seems to have extra strength when combined with the water. You do not want to ruin your vacation with a burn.

They have a photo key package at this park but I don’t really find it is worth the money. The last time we were there we were able to get a picture taken just inside the park and one in Roa’s Rapids. The time before we only got them from Roa’s Rapids and I’m always looking for photographers - they just aren't there. The quality of the pictures are not that good. The ones we got inside the park were supposed to be in front of the lizard sculpture but when we saw the picture we weren’t directly in front of it and so the background was really bla. You would think that the ones in Roa’s Rapids would be beautiful because of the foliage and waterfall features but every picture we have ever gotten there has only had plain ugly blue and white tiles as the background which could put you in any generic backyard pool. I usually buy a photo or two just because I can’t resist the chance to have our whole family in a photo but the quality just isn’t there.

Miracles from Heaven                                                                 April 2016

Love love love this movie. This is not the type of movie I’m usually into because I hate to cry in public. I like to be entertained and escape real life, not the other way around but this one really pulls on the heartstrings, maybe because I’m a mother or maybe because I want to believe in miracles.

Jennifer Garner was amazing in this movie as was the little girl who played Anna Beam, Kylie Rogers. I think this girl will go really far if she chooses to continue acting. I predict great things from her. The eldest daughter is played by Brighton sharbino, who was also in The Walking Dead. Every scene with her in it, all I could think of was her personality in that show and I could not believe her part in the movie at all, but the rest of it was good.

I think I relate to this movie because I am a mother of a girl who was once little and I remember going through health problems with her,  no one would believe me and health professionals were blaming me because they had no answers for me. It was the worst situation of my life and at the time I felt very alone. I didn’t know where to turn or what to do. We are taught to trust and respect health care professionals but when they do not act professional or have any answers for you and you have nowhere else to turn it is very scary. I am happy to say that we eventually learned what was wrong with my daughter and how to fix it but it was almost two years of sickness and fear. This movie brought all of those moments flooding back to me. Thanks to God and a homeopathic doctor who showed us the way my daughter is now happy and healthy.

If I had small children I don’t think I would take them to see this movie. It is quite deep and could be distressing for anyone who is sensitive or a natural worrier. There was a little girl in the front of the theatre who sighed very loudly and said to her mother “well you picked it!” while we were there. It was kind of funny at the time. This movie deals with some mature subject matter so I would save this one for girls night out, not family night.

The Huntsman: Winter’s War                                      April 24, 2016

I loved this movie – one of my favorites of 2016, thus far.

I know this movie is getting terrible reviews but it was right up my alley. The movie kept my interest, it had a beautiful love story, magic, fantasy, gorgeous costumes, beautiful castles and landscapes and humor.

When I watched Snow White and the Huntsman I was disappointed, not so much with the story but with the acting of Kristen Stewart. I think the role required more than two facial expressions. It ruined the movie overall for me, because of this I had no expectations going into this new movie. I viewed it with a clean slate. I thought Emily Blunt played her part beautifully and Charlize Theron never disappoints. The characters all interacted well and I found them believable. I also really enjoyed the part the dwarfs played; it was well written and brought some humor to the film. If you want to be transported to another world, escape into a world of fantasy, this is the movie to see right now.

For anyone with children, there are some scenes that might be frightening to children. They steal children from their families and there are several fighting scenes. There is also a love scene where you see side boob and Sara and Eric are in a pool of water at one point,  although you cannot see anything, you know they are naked. I did not notice any foul language or drug use.

The Jungle Book                                                   April 18, 2016                                                                                

This movie was just okay for me. I think I have seen too many adaptations of this film and expected certain things that did not happen. I expected Baloo to be jovial and I didn’t enjoy him in this movie. I didn’t like Kaa as a woman and I thought the snake would have more than one short scene in the movie. There were no characters from the “man village” so Mowgli was the only human actor and I kept expecting there to be a female who would temp him away from the jungle. I wanted this movie to transport me into this jungle world but I didn’t quite get into it and found myself bored about halfway through. I also did not understand why the movie was in 3D, it was unnecessary.

I did enjoy the jungle scenery, Bagheera lived up to my expectations and I enjoyed Neel Sethi as Mowgli. He was adorable. This movie is for children and I think they will enjoy it immensely. As for me, I think I will look up the older version starring Jason Scott Lee to get my Jungle Book fix.