Discovery Cove Trip Report with Sea World Too

[JLR]

I have been working on my TR in the normal TR section, but I thought you might be interested to follow the Discovery Cove part of that TR.

Here is the link for
Discovery Cove Day, Part 1 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=36519389&postcount=62)

Discovery Cove Day, Part 2 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=36532969&postcount=69)

Discovery Cove Day: Part 3 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=36546679&postcount=81)

Discovery Cove Day: Part 4 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=36559748&postcount=84)

More Discovery Cove Photos 1 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=36584368&postcount=22)

More Discovery Cove Photos 2 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=36584517&postcount=23)

Sea World Part 1 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=36593819&postcount=26)

Sea World Part 2 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=36609556&postcount=27)

Sea World Part 3 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=36633336&postcount=35)

Sea World Part 4 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=36646118&postcount=36)

Enjoy!

[eeyorefanuk]

Thanks for this ........... look forward to the rest ............ my niece asked if we could swim with the dolphins when we go - told her too expensive and could feed the dolphins at sea world ............... booked DC but will only tell them on the day when they wake up with their DC t shirt and invite !!!:goodvibes

[JLR]

That is just too cool! They will just go crazy!!!!!!! I love surprises!

[hunter.deal]

great post and the pictures really pull you in

[JLR]

Thank you so much!

I have the next segment posted now.

Click here. (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=36532969&postcount=69)

I don't know why my camera takes such beautiful underwater photos and such mediocre regular pics!

[hunter.deal]

I see what you mean on the photo's, but for me the pictures really "pop" and make me feel like I'm there increasing my anticipation for our family trip in less than a month.

The first picture in your second post is so blue and clear, very nice... You wrote about the water temps being cold for the fish but I'm curious how the outside temp was for you? Also are the dolphin pictures all from DC photographer's?

Thanks for posting.

[eeyorefanuk]

Hello

Loved your second instalment ... what a beautiful picture of Madeline kissing the dolphin (the first one) ... really gorgeous.

[JLR]

I see what you mean on the photo's, but for me the pictures really "pop" and make me feel like I'm there increasing my anticipation for our family trip in less than a month.

The first picture in your second post is so blue and clear, very nice... You wrote about the water temps being cold for the fish but I'm curious how the outside temp was for you? Also are the dolphin pictures all from DC photographer's?

Thanks for posting.

The dolphin pics and some of the aviary pics are from DC photographers. They take beautiful shots. I'm glad they are helping your anticipation. I really appreciated others' TRs (dolphina I think did a particularly nice one if I recall correctly). That's why I felt honor bound to get these up.

The temperatures that day were the lowest on our trip. Or at least felt that was. I just checked at weather.com and it says that it got up to 86 that day, but it ws cloudy in the afternoon and very very windy. I'm sure would have felt warmer if it was sunny. We weren't really uncomfortable, but the wet suits were very welcome. The tropical river is a lovely way to warm up. I am excited for you! :woohoo:

Hello

Loved your second instalment ... what a beautiful picture of Madeline kissing the dolphin (the first one) ... really gorgeous.

I just love the DC photographs. Given my camera problems, it was nice to have those great shots to help us remember how thrilled she was. Iggy was a good dolphin!

[tink,too]

Thanks for sharing your report & photos - they're fabulous. :hippie:

We'll be visiting DC for the first time in October, and these tips really help - I'll be sure to take a wet-suit instead of just a vest, I'll know to pick up a map when we arrive and I'll make sure to look out for the board advising if extra dolphin times are available to buy. :)

[JLR]

Thanks for sharing your report & photos - they're fabulous. :hippie:

We'll be visiting DC for the first time in October, and these tips really help - I'll be sure to take a wet-suit instead of just a vest, I'll know to pick up a map when we arrive and I'll make sure to look out for the board advising if extra dolphin times are available to buy. :)

Good, I am so glad to help!

You may want to print out a map before you go - I don't think I even saw any there (maybe to keep the park clean?) I hope you get to do the enhanced experience!

[JLR]

Discovery cove day part 3 is up:
Day 6: Part 3 lunch and more animal interaction (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=36546679&postcount=81)

[laurasmom]

Thanks so much for your report. Makes me super excited! We are going next Thursday (5/13). I cannot wait. How old is your daughter?

[JLR]

Thanks so much for your report. Makes me super excited! We are going next Thursday (5/13). I cannot wait. How old is your daughter?

How wonderful! You are going to have such a good time!

My daughter is 9.

[Megan07]

Hello from your TR. I caught it here too. Lovin it!

[JLR]

Hello from your TR. I caught it here too. Lovin it!

Thanks! I finally got Discovery Cove day finished:

Discovery Cove Day: Part 4 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=36559748&postcount=84)

I'll try to work on Sea World over the wekend.

[Jutori]

Great Report!!!
We're going in August for the first time and am soooo excited!
As a pp said, the pics are great and really make you feel that you're there... Did you you use an underwater camera? If so, what kind? I'm in the market for one...
Looking forward to the Seaworld TR

[hunter.deal]

Great 4th installment thank you again for posting. What and where is the Kim Possible thing you are talking about?

[tink,too]

Just finished reading parts 3 & 4 of your DC day - what a fantastic day you both had! :goodvibes

Looking forward to reading about your adventures at Sea World.

You may want to print out a map before you go - I don't think I even saw any there (maybe to keep the park clean?)

Again, thanks for the tip! :thumbsup2

What and where is the Kim Possible thing you are talking about?

I'm not the OP, but we have done these with our DD several times, too. The Kim Possible "missions" can be done at Epcot. There are a few stations where you can sign up (check park maps for locations), you'll get a time/place to start, then you collect your Kimmunicator and off you go to find clues around the World Showcase area so you can save the world.

Hope that helps.

[JLR]

Great Report!!!
We're going in August for the first time and am soooo excited!
As a pp said, the pics are great and really make you feel that you're there... Did you you use an underwater camera? If so, what kind? I'm in the market for one...
Looking forward to the Seaworld TR

You are going to have so much fun! One tip I heard was to make sure that your DC day is not your last day incase of bad weather, they will reschedule you a day or 2 later.

I did use an underwater camera: Fuji Fine Pix z33wp. It is a point and shoot. It does have a number of different shooting modesand also takes video. I thought it took beautiful underwater pictures, but I never quite figured out the trick to take good regular photos. So many photos ended up looking washed out. You can check the whole trip report below. I'm sure that the bad photos were just me. The other thing I didn't love about it is that it does not have a lens cover that closes. I was always worried about leaving it out and scratching the lens. On the other hand is was great to have a camera I didn't have to worry about Kali river Rapids or Splash mountain!

Great 4th installment thank you again for posting. What and where is the Kim Possible thing you are talking about?

Thanks, Hunter! Tink, too already answered this. Each adventure occurs completely in one Epcot pavillion: we did Norway, China, and Japan. You find clues in the pavillion trigger events, and help Kim Possible save the world! It is perfect for tweens, but I had fun too, and it made me look for things in the pavillion I never would have seen.

Just finished reading parts 3 & 4 of your DC day - what a fantastic day you both had! :goodvibes

Looking forward to reading about your adventures at Sea World.



Again, thanks for the tip! :thumbsup2



I'm not the OP, but we have done these with our DD several times, too. The Kim Possible "missions" can be done at Epcot. There are a few stations where you can sign up (check park maps for locations), you'll get a time/place to start, then you collect your Kimmunicator and off you go to find clues around the World Showcase area so you can save the world.

Hope that helps.

Thanks! It is finally sunny here, so I may not get much done this weekend, but I will finish my TR!

[Jutori]

OP, do you know if the stingray pool has an age limit? I know DD4 would love it and need to prep her if she can't go in...

[JLR]

OP, do you know if the stingray pool has an age limit? I know DD4 would love it and need to prep her if she can't go in...

Jutori - I don't think so. You may want to call or email them just to be sure, but there were no posted limitations. Not many young kids there though. Just have her wear a life vest. The water may be fairly deep depending on how tall she it.

[JLR]

I'm not up to writing up sea world today, but I thought I'd share some more DC photos. NB, they are not in order.

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[JLR]

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That's it. I can't remember what I've already posted. Sorry if there are any repeats!

[hunter.deal]

Once again great pictures and one of them made me think of a question. After being there and doing the wonderful day do you suggest water shoes or sandles/flipflops or bare feet?

[JLR]

Once again great pictures and one of them made me think of a question. After being there and doing the wonderful day do you suggest water shoes or sandles/flipflops or bare feet?

The sand is lovely enough that bare feet are perfectly fine. We both had water shoes but ended up taking them off. It really is up to you. If you have water shoes already, I'd suggest bringing them. I guess I wouldn't suggest sandals or flip flops except for arriving and leaving.

[JLR]

Day 7: Sea World

Yesterday, we ended with a deluge at Epcot after a marvelous day at Discovery Cove. Today, we were going to try to utilize Orlando public transportation, LYNX, to get to Sea World.

I had initially planned to pick up the LYNX at Downtown Disney, but when we arrived at the Disney bus stop the CM told us that busses don’t go to Downtown Disney until later in the day, so we’d have to go to the Transportation and Ticket Center, via the Magic Kingdom. As we were sitting waiting, another bus pulls up and has a conversation with the CM who called us over. Apparently, the driver had to go to DTD – Score! We climbed on the bus, which BTW had pools of water on some of the seats. I imagine a lot of very wet people rode it the night before. He showed us what our stop would be and dropped us off across the street for safety reasons. Our bus showed up about 5 minutes later. The busses are very nice – almost like charter busses, and very clean. It was $2 for me and $1 for Madeline. We arrived at a stop by the Sea World parking lot about 10-15 minutes later. NB: the bus has way more stops than show on the schedule. Be sure to have the driver tell you when to get off. Well, it was about 8:30 am and here we were:

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We crossed the parking lot and made it up to here:

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We had quite a wait, and it was not like at Disney. People did not start showing up until nearly 9 am. We had asked a question about our DC passes and park maps and a very nice employee chatted us up and gave us tips about feeding the animals.

I enjoyed not dealing with money at Disney, so we had decided to do the all day dining, but you have to buy that inside the park. The gift shop outside was open and we bought some postcards and some spray on sunscreen – yeah! Remember we had those bone white parts in our hair that needed to be protected!

The weather was not great, and so there were not many people there when the park opened. When we went in we took care of the all-day dining and went in search of breakfast. There was one restaurant that offered breakfast on the all day dining plan. Oops – after hunting it down, it was closed for renovation and none of the other open places participated in the dining deal. :headache: So we just had a huge waste of time for nothing (that was a Sea World theme for us). We could get something at 10 am. We strolled back toward the things we wanted to do that morning: dolphin feeding and Manta. We stopped by here:
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To see the baby dolphins with their moms. I wish their enclosure was larger.

Then we headed over to Manta

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This is the seat you can try out before heading on line. We then put everything in storage lockers. Bring lots of quarters if you like the thrill rides. We ended up after the third time just keeping most of our stuff in the lockers for the rest of the day. I was glad I had deep pockets! Oh, another tip – double and triple check make sure your kid gives you everything she wants kept in the locker before you lock it!

Manta is a fun ride! The queue has some really great aquariums. I took some pictures on a later ride that I will post later. Sea World, however, is not as clean as Disney. There is a gum receptacle that looked like it hadn’t been cleaned out in a week and it was 9:20 in the morning!
Icky! Anyway, after cruising the non-existent line we were ready to board. Madeline needed a little boost to get in the seat. Soon we were securely strapped in. Then they swing you up so you are prone. It is surprisingly comfortable. Madeline did great! She is learning to be fearless! After flipping and zooming we were done but we would be back.

We headed out. They had guards so I couldn’t redneck our ride photo. I refuse to pay $20 for a ride photo.

I think we rode Kraken next. It was fun – but nothing to write home about and we did not return today.

Next up, dolphin feeding. The dolphin feeding and stingrays are right next to each other. You can pay $10 to feed the stingrays, sea lions and sharks. That is a $5 saving over paying for each individually. They give you a card and punch out the holes. The dolphin feeding is $7 per tray. You’d think that we’d have had enough dolphin yesterday, but we were game for some more.

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You can see the sun is coming out.

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Alright, I need to get back to work.

[JLR]

The stingray feeding area is right outside the dolphin area. We had bought our tickets, so we had our cards punched and took our fish. The birds in the area are wise to this and are assertive about stealing fish from the humans. We stacked our trays so there was only one target, right in front of Madeline. At first the stingrays seemed to ignore the fish, but we got to pet them. They are so cool feeling!

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Then they realized we had something to offer

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They were splashing like crazy and Madeline got soaked!

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The birds were pretty, even if we had to be careful of them.

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Now it was time, we could finally get Madeline some breakfast! As we were making our way back in to the center of the park we came across this little parade of flamingos:

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A little farther along, we came across this trainer and parrot.

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Finally we made it down and got our brunch. You exchange your receipt for a wrist band. Don’t forget to ask for the lid and straw for the kids’ meal at the register. You don’t get them with the drink.

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Next up, Clyde and Seamore!
This is a cute performance and IMHO not to be missed!

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Sadly, we got there late and were seated in the sun and not in the splash zone so it was time for Journey to Atlantis. At this time of day, it was essentially a walk-on.

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It was OK and we had plans to go back later in the day.
I guess I glutted this with photos. I’ve been trying not to have too many per installment.

[Nahanni]

Looks like you really enjoyed yourselves. Would you use Lynx to go from WDW to Seaworld again?

[JLR]

Looks like you really enjoyed yourselves. Would you use Lynx to go from WDW to Seaworld again?

Absolutely! It does not seem to be as important to be there early as it is at Disney. It ws easy and the price can't be beaten. I hate shuttles, which is the other affordable option. I always feel like a sardine. I think it is $16 ot $18 round trip, but I didn't want to worryabout catching the shuttle in either direction. We did end up taking a cab home which I had planned. I had the route for the bus, but I anticipated being tired and pressed for time. Bus + cab ended up cheaper than the shuttle for both of us.

[tink,too]

Great update - looks like you managed to fit in a lot during your Sea World day! :thumbsup2

[Jutori]

If you don't mind, how much was the cab back? we're planning on taking cabs on our DC day.

[JLR]

If you don't mind, how much was the cab back? we're planning on taking cabs on our DC day.

It was about $25 including tip.

You might not see the flamingos on parade, but you will definately see them in their exhibit!

[mommyarewegoingback]

Thank you! Thank you! We're leaving in 2 weeks for a "Discovery Cove / Sea World" trip. This really helps pump me up for our first "non-Disney" trip!
-Virginia

[JLR]

Thank you! Thank you! We're leaving in 2 weeks for a "Discovery Cove / Sea World" trip. This really helps pump me up for our first "non-Disney" trip!
-Virginia

Have a GREAT time!

[JLR]

Part 3

Still hot, we stopped and got some ice cream. They did not have any no sugar added varieties, so I asked for “just a little.” I think the guy misunderstood me and piled my cone even higher than Madeline’s. I ended up tipping much of it into a trash can. Actually, Madeline ended up throwing quite a bit of hers away as well. We should have shared. That is another tip I want to remember. Portion sizes for everything are so huge, just share almost everything!

We then headed back up to Pacific Point Preserve to feed the Sea Lions. (See what I mean about not touring in an organized way?)

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The sea lions are super cute, but it takes some accuracy to get the fish to them so the birds don’t steal them.

Now it was time to see Believe. We decided to stop and take advantage of our all day dining deal to get some drinks and fruit before crossing the part to Shamu stadium. The restaurants now were mobbed. Even if all you want is a drink you have to stand on line with the lunch crowd, then even though you just have to show the wrist band, you have to stand on line with those paying. This was an enormous, colossal waste of time. We did it though – after paying for the wrist band I didn’t want to pay for our drinks at a regular vendor. I personally would not do the all day dining deal again. We just don’t eat enough to make it worthwhile – and do not want to spend the time travelling to those restaurants and standing in line. I think we did eventually get enough fruit and drinks to make it pay for itself, I hated the hassle and loss of time!

We cruised across the park and Madeline was delighted to choose these seats for us:

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Since the accident, the trainers are not in the water with the orcas. I hadn’t seen the other show, so I didn’t really miss what I’d never seen. All the female trainers also had their hair up. I always wondered why they didn’t do that before. We enjoyed the show.

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I love this photo!

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Getting Soaked at Believe

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At this point we had planned to miss the Wild Arctic so we trekked back to the other side of the park.

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It is a nice walk, but do you remember the lesson I learned about Dinosaur at Animal Kingdom? Apparently I didn’t………

We were going to pick up some more drinks and coleslaw or fruit when we saw that Manta still had no line!

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I just love those aquariums in the queue!

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I was trying to capture the Manta position here. This ride was particularly good. It felt faster. We were in the second row. They had the water set so we got a little splashed which didn’t happen on our other rides. It felt good!

[JLR]

We headed over to Journey to Atlantis for a second ride, but the wait now was 50 minutes! The park was so empty in the morning, but there were a lot more people in the afternoon. We did not want to spend our day at Sea World standing in line, so we headed on to see Pets Ahoy. We stopped again to pick up drinks. Madeline wanted a pickle and the coleslaw so we picked those up as well. The lines were still very long. The restaurant was right next to Pets Ahoy but we didn’t know that and walked in the wrong direction so it took us a while to find it. For most people, Pets Ahoy would not be on the do not miss list, but this is exactly the type of show Madeline would love.

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It is a very cute show. The animals had all been adopted from animal shelters and consisted of dogs and cats as well as a pig, skunk and a few other more unusual animals. You can go up at the end and talk to a trainer and meet one of the performers. Madeline is just crazy about animals and her biggest regret in life is that I am allergic to everything with fur and feathers. I try to give her as many opportunities like this as possible.

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At this point we had a little time before we had to be at Blue Horizons and Madeline decided she really wanted to ride the Wild Arctic Ride and see those exhibits. I said sure. See I had forgotten the Dinosaur lesson. Wild Arctic is clear across the park by Shamu Stadium. We headed on over and it was a hike. At this point we were pretty fit, so we didn’t mind the distance, but the time started to become an issue. Then you are there, so you might as well go. It seemed like there wasn’t much of a wait, but it turned out to be about 15 – 20 minutes, not bad, but we were on the clock. We needed to be back at the other end of the park by 3:00!

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The queue is shaded but not air conditioned. It wasn’t too bad since big fans were running, but that made it very loud and very difficult to have a conversation to pass the time. Can you tell – I was getting a little sour at this point?

Finally we get in and ride the ride:

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It was fine. I probably would have enjoyed it except for three things:

1. I was already a bit sour from the walk and wait.
2. It was a bit jerky and uncomfortable
3. I had already ridden Star Tours which is very similar and just a bit better done.

Oh well. I’ll know in the future to skip the wait and the ride and just visit the exhibits, preferably directly before or after Believe, to save transportation time. The time saved by fewer crowds was completely eaten up by the extra walking time!

The animal exhibits were cool but we had to use the facilities were trying to decide whether or not we had time to make it to Blue Horizons. Sadly, none of my pictures came out. After finding a restroom, it was clear that we did not have time. It was 2:55 and we were clear across the park. We’d been going for a long time, and Madeline had what was the closest to a meltdown she had this whole trip. It was sadly the last performance of Blue horizons that day and I was sad to miss it, too. We stopped and got more fruit and beverages and I also got an order of fajitas from Mango Joes to share. (This is the one restaurant not on the Waterfront to participate in the all-day dining.) We had eaten our brunch at about 10 am so we were both a bit hungry. We were trying to get ourselves in a better mood and decide what else we wanted to do. We enjoyed the mini parade of drumming stilt walkers while we sat, but my photos did not turn out. I thought maybe we should go home and swim at SAB, or alternatively check out Shamu’s happy harbor and the rest of the animal exhibits. We had some coupons for a free play at one of the carnival games in Shamu’s happy harbor that they were giving out after Believe. Madeline decided to go to the Hamlet. Madeline wanted to attend one of the wild animal greets. We gave the coupon to a family sitting at the next table and headed out.

The Hamlet – previously called the Clydesdale Hamlet is a big barn with two horses outside and a presentation, photo opportunity area inside.

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The presentation was a brief one about a wallaby.

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Then you had the opportunity to have your picture taken with the animal and ask one question afterwards. The Adventure Photo people were there, but they let you take your own photos as well:

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I guess I would not recommend that you cross the park for this experience, but it was a pleasant time filler. It was time now to finish up our time as Sea World.

We checked out the Penguin Exhibit

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The Manatee Rescue Area

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And the Tortoises

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Madeline asked a few questions of a trainer at the tortoise exhibit.

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I think at this point we were too hot and tired to really appreciate what we were doing. I recognized that this is how many people feel at Disney and I was so grateful for all the information I’d gotten from UG, TGM, and DIS so that I only rarely experienced it!

Next time, I think we’ll either limit what we do, or spend 2 partial days at Sea World.

As we were getting ready to pick up our stuff from the lockers, we saw that Manta still had NO LINE! So we rode it twice in a row! That was a nice way to end and brightened us up a bit.

Hot and tired, I was not up to dealing with public transportation, so we took a cab home. Mears taxis line up outside Sea World – so I felt safe taking them. I’d heard bad things about the other cab companies, but Mears has a good reputation and I had my fare quote as well. I feel that it bears repeating that Mears cabs are impeccably clean and comfortable. The cabby was nice, but disappointed that we wanted air conditioning. I was delighted to lean back and let someone else do the driving!

[tink,too]

Great updates and photos, JLR. We have never had time to go see Pets Ahoy but going by your review, I think our DD would love it!:goodvibes

[JLR]

Great updates and photos, JLR. We have never had time to go see Pets Ahoy but going by your review, I think our DD would love it!:goodvibes

I think it is well done, funny, and entertaining. It is not Believe, but it is also not intended to be. I hope you enjoy.

[Tinkerbell1989]

Thankyou so much for posting your experience of DC... I am going in December, and I cannot wait!

And the photos look incredible!

xxx

[JLR]

Thankyou so much for posting your experience of DC... I am going in December, and I cannot wait!

And the photos look incredible!

xxx

I was going to say I hope you have a great time, but I know you will have a great time!

I wonder if I should link this up in the sticky "Have you gone to DC?"