Family, travel, mom blog | Theme Park Mom (Leigh Caldwell)

Flamingo babies are hatching at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. And, unlike many baby animals at zoos and other parks, who are (necessarily) kept in nurseries away from the public, these babies are already on display, which makes them especially fun for kids.

Since June 3, seven baby Caribbean flamingos have hatched at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. You can see them in the Bird Gardens area at Busch Gardens, along with about 125 adult flamingos. Bird Gardens is just around the corner from the new Sesame Street Safari of Fun children’s area, too.

The Busch Gardens folks say these babies prove that newly hatched chicks are not pink, but in fact have gray or white down feathers. Their pink coloring comes from the carotenoid pigments they consume as part of their diet. They won’t lose all of their darker feathers for a few years.

One of the reasons that I love visiting new theme parks is to get to take a look at the theming inside. I am a fan of theme parks mainly because of the creative genius that goes into building such immersive environments.

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay and Sesame Workshop have done a tremendous job with the theming on their new collaboration, Sesame Street Safari of Fun.

This children’s play area offers a junior coaster, children’s rides, splash play areas, character dining and playgrounds that not only stick with the Sesame Street theme, but also fit beautifully within Busch Gardens Tampa Bay’s African theming.

Take a look at that building above. Yes, it’s the restroom. But the brightly colored, African inspired mural makes it a beautiful addition to the area, something much more than just utilitarian.

Now for the Sesame Street style, take a closer look:

The eyes have it, right? We see those familiar bulging eyes on many of the monsters on Sesame Street.

Peter van Roden, vice president of themed entertainment for Sesame Workshop, told me the mural below is his favorite thing about the whole Sesame Street Safari of Fun:

Finally, here’s a look at Bert and Ernie, safari-style:

Sesame Street Safari of Fun is now open at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. I’ve been sharing the details about this new children’s area over the past several weeks.

One of the most exciting additions within the Safari of Fun is Air Grover, a new junior roller coaster. The “story” behind Air Grover is that you are flying in a biplane with Grover over the Sahara.

The ride lasts about 30 seconds. It is gentle enough to be any preschooler’s first roller coaster ride. I recently got to take a ride on Air Grover with my 4-year-old niece, Miss C, and the folks at Busch Gardens filmed it for us:

Miss C is a daredevil. In fact, she kept pointing to Sheikra and asking the Busch Gardens marketing folks if they could pull some strings and get her onboard.

Of course, Miss C is still too short for Sheikra’s 54-inch height requirement, but she had no trouble with the measuring stick outside Air Grover. The new roller coaster has a height requirement of 42 inches when riding alone or 38 inches when riding with an adult.

Did you know that you can have breakfast or lunch with Sesame Street characters at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay? I recommend reserving this dining experience in advance – it’s a great way to get pictures and autographs to remember your day.

I am excited to announce that I am now a contributor at fabulous family travel site TravelingMamas.com. Theme Park Mom will continue, of course, but I contribute to other Web sites and print media now and again, so I thought I would try to start pointing you to my posts in other places.

Here’s a look at where I’ve been this past week:

My first post on Traveling Mamas is about my recent visit to Jacksonville, Florida:

• Hands-on culture for families in Jacksonville, Florida

For the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, I wrote about the new Sesame Street Safari of Fun at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay:

• Sesame Street goes to Africa (That’s the very cool Dana from Busch Gardens’ PR department riding Air Grover in the picture.)

For AOL travel site Gadling:

• No lines at Walt Disney World? Theme park tests new ‘queue-less’ wait system
• Kings Dominion, Great Wolf Lodge, Universal Orlando, Aquatica and more in this theme park news roundup
• Here’s a contest to enter for private access to Lake Compounce amusement park in Bristol, Conn.
• Open bidding process could end Niagara Falls’ Maid of the Mist boat tours

This week on Theme Park Mom, I have an exciting new giveaway from The Disney Store, so stay tuned for that!

By the way, have you entered my Yoplait Greek Yogurt “Nourish Your Inner Goddess” giveaway yet?