It's Good to be a Passholder :-) - a January 2020 Trip Report

I am so sorry that your husband's vacation time was denied :-( . Fingers crossed that his second submission is successful....and that the decision comes quickly (I hate it when vacation requests go in and then you're left waiting, and waiting, and waiting until someone gets a chance to review it).

We have some pretty spectacular weather here in SE Michigan this weekend, so tonight there will be a bonfire, wine, and a nice long soak in the hot tub.....assuming the mosquitos don't carry us away first! LOL You enjoy your weekend as well :-) .

Thank you, Gina. He hasn't re-submitted his vacation time request just yet, but did speak with his boss who thinks the new one will be approved. That's a bit more promising!

Love the giraffe pictures! Did you say Pet a Cheetah?!?!? I can't wait to see pictures of that!

I'm so glad that your fall plans are shaping up nicely. Yay for the extra 6 months at US, and for the Killer Whales Up Close Tour as well! Looking forward to seeing the Pet a Cheetah pics, and to hearing about the updated plans for your fall trip!
 
Just found your report. I've always enjoyed reading your reports in the past. I have not been on the Dis in quiet a while, and thought I would get on and dream of a vacation in Orlando. Now to get caught up... :wave2:
 
Oh @Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina , you will love AK. There are so many nooks and crannies to explore. I could explore the paths around the tree of life for so long. We’ve never done any of the paid add ons but we like to scoot over to AKL for a break. We did the tour of Jiko/Boma. It is free! There is always something happening there at the lodge
 
I cant believe its been that long since you've been to DAK! Its my favorite park!! I could easily spend multiple days there. With how much you and Steve love your Animal Encounters, you should definitely look into some of the "extra" experiences they offer!
 


Anytime! DAK is my favorite park!! I've been known to wake up early by myself to go hang out at DAK while rest of family snoozes...

On our very first visit back in 2009, it was Steve & Jake's favorite park as well.....so I have NO idea why we've never made it back there. Hopefully we have the chance to rekindle that love!

You are going to LOVE the KWUC tour!! I can't wait to hear what you think about it

And that is awesome about Universal! I am starting to lean towards getting a new pass (my old pass expired 4 years ago)

I'm super excited about KWUC. Now we just need to somehow avoid the "second wave" of Covid-19 that is predicted for the fall.....I'm almost hesitant to allow myself to feel any excitement after the last couple of months.

Early reports sound like Universal has done a great job with their reopening. I hope you get to renew your AP there soon!

This is such a cool picture. I would love to do this. I am trying to figure out how I can wedge a day at Sea World in just so I can do the penguin encounter.


PET A CHEETAH!!!!!.....

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SAY WHAT? I can't believe you left us hanging with this. PLEASE PLEASE let there be pictures. :-)

LOL, sorry about that! The early part of the week is always busy for me and I never seem to get enough time on the computer!! I am hoping to get an entry posted by day's end (the weather here is supposed to be miserable tonight so that will help....we may have no option of going on one of our marathon evening walks).

There are definitely pictures!! Tons of them, in fact! And I can't wait to share the details of that encounter with y'all. It was SO MUCH FUN!!

I wanted to share with you all my experiences in making reservations for SeaWorld this morning. The reservation window opened at 10 a.m. this morning, but it seem to be struggling with glitches for the first 15 minutes or so. I ended up switching browsers from Firefox to Chrome and I was able to get the system to work. You can make a reservation for up to 6 people on a particular date, and you have to put in your ticket barcode information for every ticket. That took a little time, but other than that, it was pretty smooth. Also, please check to make sure your cart is empty, otherwise the system won't work at all. I don't know if I was breaking the rules or not, but I made two reservations for Aquatica in case we got rained out on the first day. I'm so happy to have it taken care of! I switched our June vacation to the end of July, and we decided to just forgo Disney altogether. I doubt I would be able to get us a reservation for any day, and I don't want to waste one of our valuable non expiration tickets on a subpar experience. If I had not been able to get the SeaWorld reservations, we would have had no parks to visit on our trip. I am definitely heaving a sigh of relief!

I am beyond thrilled that everything worked out for you! The countdown is officially ON!

My reservations went super smooth for both October and December. I am so happy that we have at least part of our fall trip in order...at least, until the next unexpected crisis derails the plans. Perhaps an alien invasion? LOL

Thank you, Gina. He hasn't re-submitted his vacation time request just yet, but did speak with his boss who thinks the new one will be approved. That's a bit more promising!

Love the giraffe pictures! Did you say Pet a Cheetah?!?!? I can't wait to see pictures of that!

I'm so glad that your fall plans are shaping up nicely. Yay for the extra 6 months at US, and for the Killer Whales Up Close Tour as well! Looking forward to seeing the Pet a Cheetah pics, and to hearing about the updated plans for your fall trip!

We did indeed get to pet a cheetah! Here's a sneak peek at the tour details:

https://buschgardens.com/tampa/tours/cheetah-encounter/
I am so happy to hear you have some positive hope on the revised vacay dates. Keep us posted!

Just found your report. I've always enjoyed reading your reports in the past. I have not been on the Dis in quiet a while, and thought I would get on and dream of a vacation in Orlando. Now to get caught up... :wave2:

Aw, thank you for your kind words! So happy to have you reading along! :-)

Oh @Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina , you will love AK. There are so many nooks and crannies to explore. I could explore the paths around the tree of life for so long. We’ve never done any of the paid add ons but we like to scoot over to AKL for a break. We did the tour of Jiko/Boma. It is free! There is always something happening there at the lodge

We have had the Jiko/Boma tour on our radar for a while.....hopefully that will be something they bring back by fall. I was sad to see Boma was not on the list of restaurants reopening in July, but not surprised due to its buffet style. Fingers crossed it is back by October, we love their breakfast.

You guys are making me feel much better about the likelihood of getting AK for our Disney day (assuming we have a shot at ANY park at all). Thank you for all the great posts, y'all are wonderful "salesmen"!

I cant believe its been that long since you've been to DAK! Its my favorite park!! I could easily spend multiple days there. With how much you and Steve love your Animal Encounters, you should definitely look into some of the "extra" experiences they offer!

I'd love to do one of the add ons......if they are an option by October. It's such a weird place to be in, wanting to make plans but not even knowing if we will be able to get into a park (let alone book any upgrades....or even dining).

Have you guys done any of the "extras" at AK? Any favorites?

..oh... and also... little Kilimanjaro Safari tip- the BEST times to go are either very first thing in the morning or dusk/early evening. We had one right at dusk before and the animals were the most active i've ever seen them. We even got to hear the lion roaring!

That is AMAZING!!!! (The Safari was my favorite attraction at AK back in 2009!)
 
Tuesday, January 28th: Busch Gardens, continued

After we wrapped up our Serengeti Safari, we decided to go grab some vittles on the all-day dining plan. On the way, we passed the elephant habitat, so we stopped to check out their exhibit.

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There were a pair of these giants slowly roaming about, enjoying the sunshine on their backs on that beautiful January day. They have a lovely little spot at Busch Gardens, but I was sort of surprised that they were not a bigger deal (if that makes sense).....elephants are a huge draw at the Toledo Zoo, but they're just a small feature at BG.

After visiting with the elephants, we trundled on to Pantopia....and I was totally digging the vibe and building styles!!!

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While in Pantopia, we decided to give the Dragon Fire Grill & Pub a try for our mid-day meal. While they offered a full range of entrees, we both gravitated to the Asian options......they looked delicious!

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With our tray loaded up, we set off to find a spot to sit and eat, and discovered a huge indoor seating area adjacent to the quick service section.

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We snagged one of the (many) empty tables near the stage, and sat down to sample our menu selections.

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A rather substantial group of senior citizens began filing in as we seated ourselves, and all of them were gathering at tables near the stage as we were.....which seemed odd since that huge room offered an abundance of tables closer to the exit doors that were all virtually empty. We quickly found out why they were all squeezing in the stage side seating when the stage came alive with one of Busch Gardens' signature presentations, the Rock A Doo Wop Music Show.

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Quite by chance, we ended up enjoying "dinner and a show"! The music featured an assortment of oldies, all of them recognizable enough that they made you want to sing along (which we didn't, of course, because our mouths were full LOL).

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They have a great multi-level stage area that was well utilized by the performers, complete with special effects and show-quality lighting. When we had settled on this restaurant for lunch, we had no idea it was also the location for one of the parks shows, so it really was a happy accident that we happened to be in the right place at the right time (because unfortunately, the park is so big we found it impossible to see it all in one visit.....so this attraction hadn't even been on our wish list for the day). It definitely maximized that otherwise down time to the fullest.

As for the food.......it wasn't the best Chinese meal we'd ever eaten. Being able to have a lemonade slushie in place of my drink was a nice dining plan option (and the slushie was pretty darn tasty). The noodles were rather bland and the orange chicken was a touch too spicy for my taste, but we appreciated that they had other options besides dessert for sides (so Steve was able to have spring rolls instead of something sweet). It wasn't a bad meal per se, it was just unremarkable. If we tried this restaurant on a future visit, we'd likely both go with different entrees.

Refueled and ready to continue exploring, we decided to head over to see the tiger exhibit before it was time for our Cheetah Encounter.

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Being the cat people that we are, checking out the tiger habitat was a must do, especially for Steve....these would be some of his favorite animals of the day.

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We found more great statues in this area of the park that made for some fun photo ops. It's great that they are tucked away in little shady spots, too....I can imagine that's very appreciated by guests in the searing summer heat.

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But, again I've hit my 10-photos-per-post limit.....so the balance of our time with the tigers will be continued in the next entry 8-) .
 


Tuesday, January 28th: Busch Gardens, continued

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Let me say this: the tigers have one sweet habitat at Busch Gardens. In fact, they have their very own "Tiger Lodge".....and it's mighty nice.

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The viewing area offers spectacular opportunities to watch the animals from a safe, unobstructed vantage point. And on such a quiet park day, we were fortunate to have this area all to ourselves.

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These are simply magnificent big cats. Beyond gorgeous.

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Right about this point, Steve looked at me and said "we need to do the Tiger Tour when we visit in April". While our spring trip obviously didn't happen, we DO have the Tiger Tour reserved for October (something to look forward to!). I was amazed at how affordable it was....around $40 each.

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We stood and watched this handsome fellow for as long as we could (being mindful of our Cheetah Encounter reservation), and I took a ton of photos. This one, though, was my favorite. The backdrop of the waterfall is so pretty!!

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(that was mid-yawn, not mid-roar......but he still looks fierce!)

I couldn't help but think that my Dash bears a bit of a similarity to his "wild" cousins.....do you see it too?

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LOL, okay, so maybe that's a bit of a stretch.......

At any rate, eventually it was time for us to proceed to the check in spot for our much-anticipated Cheetah Encounter....and I'm not sure who was more excited, Steve or me!

We did indulge in a quick stop in the gift shop adjacent to the Tiger Lodge, and took a brief few minutes to browse some of their adorable merchandise. So many stuffies and I wanted them all!! LOL

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Despite being unfamiliar with the park layout (and generally having no idea where exactly we were going most of the day), we managed to find the tour meeting spot fairly easily after leaving the Tiger habitat -- thankfully, because we didn't have oodles of time -- and were soon joined by the other 6 folks who would make up the balance of our small group.

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The excitement of everyone was palpable, and we were all pretty pumped when our guide showed up to check us off on her list. We were all just moments away from the experience of a lifetime, and we couldn't wait to get it underway.

Up next: the Cheetah Encounter!
 
How cool that you guys came across that music show at lunch! I love when random things like that happen.

Great pictures of the tigers. They are such beautiful animals. I do some similarities between Dash and his "wild" cousins! So cute!!

Looking forward to your next update on the Cheetah Encounter!
 
What are your October dates again? so I can jot them down and then when I know my days off (PERK WE ARE NOW ON four 10s so I get THREE days off a week! And this makes me VERY happy...) so I can figure out what and where to join you! I really love the idea of coming to BG with ya'll! Or perhaps the Little and I join....or the Little and her mom and I join up for a little bit depending if she works or not. The little LOVES the kids area of BG. And Steve would have someone to join him on the big thrills! Did you end up booking the Tiger thing for there? (I can't remember).


Also, I think I learn of new things to do around here from YOU! Also have you thought about a trip to Discovery Cove since you may have funds left over from cancelled plans? Or even a venture to Kennedy Space Center? (Took the Little to the employee preview last night and told her it was an adventure and she didn't know where we were going. She guessed and pretty much has demanded now to go see a space shop and she now wants to be an astronaut and go to space. So that's something we're looking into now is passes to KSC)
 
A little off topic, but a question for all the Sea World experts. I am looking at our date for November and it is one of the "Praise Wave" days. Do you expect this to be a busier day then normal, especially since it is a Saturday and with the limited days for this fall? I am curious if it has historically been a busier day. We could switch to another day, this was just going to be our park day on a potential move day between Disney and Universal stays. I would want to do some sort of animal encounter on this day too.

BTW Gina have you seen they have a tour where you learn all about their rescue operations and get to help them take care of rescue animals? It is pricey at $250 but sounds awesome to me. Which is funny because I get up to feed a barn full of animals and fix bottles for calves at home for nothing but would potentially pay money to do it on vacation? hahahaha.
 
Both the cheetah and tiger tours are on my to-do list!

You need to make a 2020 bucket list! Do them both.....after such a crazy year, you deserve it!

How cool that you guys came across that music show at lunch! I love when random things like that happen.

Great pictures of the tigers. They are such beautiful animals. I do some similarities between Dash and his "wild" cousins! So cute!!

Looking forward to your next update on the Cheetah Encounter!

We got to spend some time admiring the tigers today at the Detroit Zoo....such massive cats!

What are your October dates again? so I can jot them down and then when I know my days off (PERK WE ARE NOW ON four 10s so I get THREE days off a week! And this makes me VERY happy...) so I can figure out what and where to join you! I really love the idea of coming to BG with ya'll! Or perhaps the Little and I join....or the Little and her mom and I join up for a little bit depending if she works or not. The little LOVES the kids area of BG. And Steve would have someone to join him on the big thrills! Did you end up booking the Tiger thing for there? (I can't remember).


Also, I think I learn of new things to do around here from YOU! Also have you thought about a trip to Discovery Cove since you may have funds left over from cancelled plans? Or even a venture to Kennedy Space Center? (Took the Little to the employee preview last night and told her it was an adventure and she didn't know where we were going. She guessed and pretty much has demanded now to go see a space shop and she now wants to be an astronaut and go to space. So that's something we're looking into now is passes to KSC)

October dates are the Friday the 16th to Friday the 23rd. The schedule (so far, all subject to change in this crazy mess of a year) is:

Friday - Arrival day
Saturday - Universal (daytime) & Gatorland Night Shine (evening)
Sunday - Busch Gardens with the Tiger Tour
Monday - SeaWorld with the Killer Whales Up Close Tour (daytime) and Halloween Horror Nights (evening)
Tuesday - MNSSHP
Wednesday - a Disney park (we hope)
Thursday - Aquatica or Universal (daytime) and Halloween Horror Nights (evening)
Friday - leave for home

We would LOVE for you to join us for whatever works with your schedule (which days are your off days as of right now?) And definitely bring the wee Miss!! The more, the merrier :-D.

Kennedy Space Center has always been something we've pondered, perhaps one of these days we'll finally have to go. Neither one of us are super into the whole space travel thing, but I think it's something we'd find more captivating once we were there than we expect it to be. My old boss went a few years ago and LOVED it. I think he wanted to be an astronaut after that visit, too LOL!!

A little off topic, but a question for all the Sea World experts. I am looking at our date for November and it is one of the "Praise Wave" days. Do you expect this to be a busier day then normal, especially since it is a Saturday and with the limited days for this fall? I am curious if it has historically been a busier day. We could switch to another day, this was just going to be our park day on a potential move day between Disney and Universal stays. I would want to do some sort of animal encounter on this day too.

BTW Gina have you seen they have a tour where you learn all about their rescue operations and get to help them take care of rescue animals? It is pricey at $250 but sounds awesome to me. Which is funny because I get up to feed a barn full of animals and fix bottles for calves at home for nothing but would potentially pay money to do it on vacation? hahahaha.

I am no Praise Wave expert (so hopefuly someone else will also chime in), but I wouldn't expect the Praise Wave attendees to make a huge impact on park crowds. Most are there for the concerts, not so much for the rest of what the park has to offer. And with limited attendance for the balance of 2020, I'd make a reservation for a weekend day without hesitation. Conceivably, you shouldn't find "crowds" on ANY day the rest of this year. If you have a ticket already, I'd make that reservation as soon as you can so you guarantee your admission on the day of your choice before those spots fill up.

I did see that new rescue tour and it absolutely sounds fabulous!! That price tag though, ouch!......that takes a BIG bite out of the vacation budget. I had a hard time rationalizing the $115 Killer Whales Tour for this upcoming trip LOL, so it would take a VERY special occasion for me to justify that rescue tour. But I'm keeping my eye on it just in case. Who knows, maybe I'll win the lottery between now and October!!! (of course, buying a ticket every now and again would certainly help my chances, ha ha!)
 
Tuesday, January 28th: Busch Gardens, continued.....THE CHEETAH ENCOUNTER!

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Once our two guides arrived (one guide was in training, the other was the Lead guide), they checked in each of the tour guests and verified the age and height of the lone child participant. The trainee guide explained that this tour was brand new (launched only a few weeks earlier on December 24th), and was still in the development stages in some aspects. One of the things they had discovered through the early tours was that the cheetahs were fixated on smaller children, so in an abundance of caution they were holding very firm to the minimum height and age requirements to ensure guest safety. The 10 year old who was registered to participate JUST (and I mean, just-by-a-hair) met the minimum height, so they checked her and double checked to ensure that yes, she could take part. Both she and her mom were quite relieved when she was given the green light by the senior staffers and our tour was officially allowed to get underway.

Safety precautions were a HUGE part of the first part of our Encounter.....they were presented to our small group very clearly and directly, and the importance of following them was made well known before we had opportunity to be in the presence of any animal. Cheetahs are FAST .... the world's fastest land animal, in fact .... and the Busch Gardens cheetahs are new to this experience. They are animals, and they act (and react) like animals. For our safety and for theirs, it was vital that we all followed the guidelines and rules as they were presented to us.

Once all those guidelines were explained and everyone appeared to have a good understanding of the expectations, we were introduced (through the glass viewing window) to the beautiful girl who would be the subject of our adoration for the next half an hour: the lovely miss Kabisa.

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Pictures do not do this gorgeous creature justice. She was so incredibly beautiful....and she had POISE. Seriously. This girl was a show-stopper and all 8 of us tour participants were completely in awe of her. In fact, the two guides admitted that even after hosting this tour once a day for the last 4 weeks, the novelty of being able to be up close to a real live cheetah hadn't lost its thrill. They were just as captivated and impressed as we were.

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We all got to watch as they offered Kabisa the harness that she would wear throughout the encounter. As with all SeaWorld parks animal interactions, participation in each tour or encounter is at the sole discretion of the animal. If they show ANY sign of not wishing to be part of the interaction, there is no forcing of them to do so. It is 100% their choice, with no negative repercussions if they choose to opt out. So the harness was offered, and we waited to see if Kabisa chose to wear it or chose to walk away. Happily for our little group of 8, she seemed quite happy to get gently suited up, and was rewarded with chunks of fresh meat from the training staff as positive reinforcement of her cooperation.

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Kabisa was calm and relaxed, but you could see the keepers were on full alert. They shared all sorts of neat information about her age, her characteristics, and how she came to live at Busch Gardens Tampa as they allowed her the time she needed to feel comfortable to move on to the interaction portion of the tour. Once she was ready and the training staff had fully secured her, our group was led into a locked area inside the cheetah habitat that was prepped for our arrival.

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They had a big cheetah-sized box for her that the trainers had been working with her to use as a place to sit during the tours. As they walked her on the harness toward the box, they allowed her to mill around at her leisure until she felt like that's where she wanted to be. After she poked around a bit, she silently hopped up and decided it was a fine place to lounge as we all looked on.....and of course, she was provided with a variety of more positive rewards (verbal praise, chunks of meat, etc.) in recognition of her cooperation. We were given the okay to take photos while she got comfy, and the trainers continued sharing all sorts of great information about the care and enrichment that Busch Gardens provides these animals in their habitat in the park.

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When Kabisa was able to convey that she was ready, each family group was brought up individually to have their own time with her. Each of us had the opportunity to pet her as directed by the training staff, and it was so cool to feel how different she feels from a house cat!! (their fur is COMPLETELY different) We were not rushed or hurried, and while there was no Photokey staff member present to take pictures, the guides were happy to snap a bunch for us with our personal phones and cameras.

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Kabisa looked pretty relaxed about the whole hands-on thing, but as we were petting her, she emitted an audible ..... growl? I think my heart stopped for at least a brief second or two.....and I wondered if we were about to perhaps lose an arm or two LOL. I said to the trainer who was standing beside me, "oh oh, I think she just growled at us!". And she grinned at me and said, That's not a growl.....that's a purr. She's enjoying herself quite a lot right now.

That moment, right there, was worth every single dollar we paid for that experience. I could have cried with happiness.

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Since they only take a maximum of 8 people in each tour, and only hold one Encounter per day, we were not at all rushed and given more time with Kabisa than I would have expected. The staff were great about making sure we all got a good "posed" photo in addition to the candid shots they took during our interaction, which we all very much appreciated. While each family was having their individual time with the cheetah, the other participants were able to chat with the remaining BG animal care staff who were keeping a close watch off to the side.......they were great about answering guest questions during those interactions but you could see they always still had one eye on Kabisa in case the two trainers working alongside her needed assistance in a hurry. The total number of Busch Gardens staff for this tour, between the animal care staff and the tour guides, equaled (or maybe even exceeded) the number of guests taking part in the Encounter. We felt the "wild"-ness of this experience but truly felt every safety precaution possible was put into place.

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After the interactions were completed, they removed her box and let Kabisa move around a bit (safely away from us guests) while still harnessed so they could talk about, and show us, her unique body structure and how it allows her to run as fast as she does.

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The tour itself lasted about 45 minutes from start to finish (including the pre-tour safety chat), but the time flew by. I think all of us were a little sad when it was time to return Kabisa to her habitat where she could shed the harness and spend the rest of the day running free.

We paid $89.99 per person, less a 10% savings as passmembers, which I believe is the lowest price point for this tour.....higher crowd days and/or seasons command an increased tour price from that slow January weekday. This tour also only runs on certain days of the week (as do most BG tours, except for the safari which is offered daily) and only once on those scheduled days. With only 8 participants maximum for each session, they tell me spots fill fast....and even on that slow Tuesday, all spots were filled by 10:30 am. So, if you're ever thinking of booking, be sure to plan ahead to guarantee your spot.

I spent the rest of the day walking on air. Between feeding the giraffes and then petting a cheetah (and making her purr!), I had a hard time wiping the smile off my face. This first visit was going pretty well ;-) . We still had an awful lot of day left, though......so once we wrapped up with Kabisa, we were off to check out even more of what Busch Gardens had to offer.

Much more to come!
 
Isn't that the truth! Since I'm pretty sure tours will be down in July (and that would "wrap up" the last of my birthday cancellations), I may have to extend my birthday into the fall

There's never a bad time to celebrate a birthday, my friend. I seem to recall that the Busch Gardens tours weren't booking at all in June, July or August.....but fall might be nicer anyway, when it's not so hot.
 
Eeeek! That looks awesome! Yup...definitely want to do the cheetah tour


There's never a bad time to celebrate a birthday, my friend. I seem to recall that the Busch Gardens tours weren't booking at all in June, July or August.....but fall might be nicer anyway, when it's not so hot.

Yeah, they don't reopen until later either. So either way (between SW and BG), I may not have a choice in waiting
 
A certain young lady in my house was sad to hear that there would be no cheetah encounters this summer. I told her we could always go back in 2 years when she turns 18, then she could go on the tour by herself.
 

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