Weekend With The Bigs & Penguins

The kids and I were invited on a very special premiere of the newest Madagascar movie, The Penguins of Madagascar, which hits theaters on November 26th, so we headed out to the Bronx Zoo for a weekend adventure. It’s a very rare occasion when I just have my two bigs, Ryder and Siella alone with me for an entire day, without having to worry about my little mischievous Gemma getting into trouble.

Heading up to the Bronx Zoo, we realized that the weather unfortunately was not on our side, but it didn’t stop us from having a blast. We happened to be there the weekend after Halloween, so “Boo At The Zoo, ” where the kids enjoyed corn mazes and pumpkin carving, was still in place. Before we toured the zoo, the stars of the Madagascar movie, the penguins, surprised the kids with a meet and greet! As a huge fan of the Madagascar movie series, Ryder was super psyched.

The Bronx Zoo also has a Madagascar exhibit which The Wildlife Conservation Society worked with the Malagasy government to establish protected areas for animals of Masoala and Makira. The parks in the conservancy all together span 1.6 million acres and provide a safe haven for half of Madagascar’s species, including some rare and endangered animals found nowhere else on Earth. We were even treated to a private viewing and feeding of the penguins.

We were excited to be back at the Bronx Zoo, since our last zoo excursion was back when Siella was still getting pushed around in a stroller. This go around, the kids enjoyed the Bug Carousel, the Giraffe’s, the monkeys and lots more. Once we had experienced all the animals and exhibits, we headed over to a close by movie theatre for a private screening of the Madagascar movie. The giggling and laugh out load moments that came from these two kept me smiling throughout the entire movie.

These little penguins aka super spies embark on a global journey around the world and get themselves into pretty hilarious settings.  The penguins wind up teaming up with an undercover organization, The North Wind, to save the world from their penguins being taken over from Dr. Octavius Brine, an octopus. The absolute kicker for us was that the movie ends in Battery Park City, literally where we play everyday. The 3D backdrop was so surreal, we all felt like we were part of the film. The kids seriously haven’t stopped talking about the movie since.

Following the movie, we were invited to spend the night at the Residence Inn Central Park. The kids were so excited about their hotel stay cation. Even a stay at a hotel in town is a getaway for these little ones. It was a super special weekend had by all!