I-fer? What in the World is an I-fer? Universal/Legoland/Sea World Feb 2015 Updated 5/26x3! The End!

[KatMark]

Wow...Sea World has changed since I was last there in probably 1992.

Love all the pictures and how cool about the food and preferred seating...that's awesome.

I love sea lions and they sure have a lot of them.

I'll pass on the coaster though, thanks.

 

[xlsm]

I love the pictures of the animals

Uh oh...an upcoming temper tantrum. I had one of those last summer in Animal Kingdom.

Looking forward to the rest!!

 

[rteetz]

I have never been to SeaWorld but would definitely consider going. It really does look like a fun place. Love all the penguin pictures. I would be fascinated by all the animals. Can't wait to hear about your temper tantrum

 

[missangelalexis]

Yay Sea World! I haven't been there since I was little and would love to go back one day. Love your pictures of the penguins and sea lions

Uh oh, a temper tantrum!

 

[wiscbugs]

Love all the penguin picks...they are always so cute!

 

[hokieinpa]

I really liked you pictures of the Chima section of Legoland. My 2 oldest sons are big fans so it think they'll have a blast. And the stinky guy by the bathrooms is Skinnet the Skunk. I can't wait for them to hear that - I'm going to have to keep it a surprise. They'll love it!

I'm sorry to hear that the Lego selection isn't that great in the park. I was looking forward to finding some unique sets.

It sounds like a great start at Sea World! The penguin ride looks like lots of fun!

 

[MEK]

I was a couple updates behind, but now am all caught up!

Cypress Gardens looks beautiful. I think its awesome that Legoland left that part of the park intact. That large tree is amazing. So glad you had a fun day at Legoland.

I am also loving your day at Seaworld. I have never been there. It's still on my bucket list. Thanks for your review of Manta. I would love to try it.

Those penguins are so darn adorable. You got some great pictures from the ride.

Great updates!

 

[SimplyGoofy]

Oh my goodness, I LOVE penguins! That exhibit looks so fun!

 

[Pluto0809]

Wow...Sea World has changed since I was last there in probably 1992.

Love all the pictures and how cool about the food and preferred seating...that's awesome.

I love sea lions and they sure have a lot of them.

I'll pass on the coaster though, thanks.

That was the first time I've been in years myself. We used to go to the one that was in Ohio when I was little. I think that one has been gone for years.

The perks were nice for staying at a partner hotel. It was too bad we couldn't use them all.

I love the pictures of the animals

Uh oh...an upcoming temper tantrum. I had one of those last summer in Animal Kingdom.

Looking forward to the rest!!

Thanks, I definitely enjoyed all the animals they had.

I think most people have had a tantrum in the parks at least once.

I have never been to SeaWorld but would definitely consider going. It really does look like a fun place. Love all the penguin pictures. I would be fascinated by all the animals. Can't wait to hear about your temper tantrum

We did have a lot of fun that day and the penguins were a blast to watch!

Yay Sea World! I haven't been there since I was little and would love to go back one day. Love your pictures of the penguins and sea lions

Uh oh, a temper tantrum!

This was the first time I've been since I was little too. We used to go to the Ohio one which closed down years ago.

Love all the penguin picks...they are always so cute!

They were definitely a lot of fun to watch!

I really liked you pictures of the Chima section of Legoland. My 2 oldest sons are big fans so it think they'll have a blast. And the stinky guy by the bathrooms is Skinnet the Skunk. I can't wait for them to hear that - I'm going to have to keep it a surprise. They'll love it!

I'm sorry to hear that the Lego selection isn't that great in the park. I was looking forward to finding some unique sets.

It sounds like a great start at Sea World! The penguin ride looks like lots of fun!

Ah, so he was a skunk! No idea why I thought he was a raccoon. It was very funny to watch people walk by and hear him!

I think because Legoland isn't actually owned by Lego they just don't have the selection you would think.

I was a couple updates behind, but now am all caught up!

Cypress Gardens looks beautiful. I think its awesome that Legoland left that part of the park intact. That large tree is amazing. So glad you had a fun day at Legoland.

I am also loving your day at Seaworld. I have never been there. It's still on my bucket list. Thanks for your review of Manta. I would love to try it.

Those penguins are so darn adorable. You got some great pictures from the ride.

Great updates!

The gardens were very beautiful and I really enjoyed exploring them.

The Manta was an awesome coaster and I'm glad I got to try it.

Oh my goodness, I LOVE penguins! That exhibit looks so fun!

It was a lot of fun!

 

[Pluto0809]

I Throw a Temper Tantrum and We Visit Some Sharks Part 1

We backtracked through Antarctica and finally found the entrance to the Kraken.



Jim took one look and decided to sit this one out so I gave him my bag and headed in. The ride was still a walk on. The Kraken has some pretty huge hills and inversions and I did not care for it at all. It was way too rough and I came off feeling quite queasy and beat up. I probably won’t ride that one again.

It was about 10 am at this point and I really wanted a soda to settle my stomach. I got out the map to figure out where the closest location was to use our all you could eat tickets and realized that none of the places that we could exchange our tickets for wrist bands opened till 10:30. We headed towards the closest location and sat outside to wait for it to open because I didn’t want to buy a soda when I could get it as part of our package.

While we were waiting, Jim asked what the schedule was for the day. I got out the map and started going over my carefully laid out plan which included times for the three shows, Shamu, Dolphins and Pets Ahoy. The show I had been looking forward to most, the Sea Lion one, was closed for renovations while we were there. The Shamu show had two times, 12 pm and 4 pm and I had planned on finishing out the day with the 4 pm show. Jim questioned this though because of the rain that was coming in. He thought we should go to the noon show in case the 4 pm was cancelled. Well I was not happy with having my plans questioned and threw a little tantrum when he made the suggestion. I’m afraid I was not very nice to him for a few minutes. Thankfully he realized I wasn’t myself at that moment, I was so tired of my foot hurting plus I was feeling yucky from riding the Kraken. He calmly talked me through the tantrum and we came up with a new plan for the rest of the day.

By the time we had figured out the new plan, my stomach was feeling better and it still wasn’t 10:30 so we moved on without getting our wrist bands. We ended up heading towards Shark Encounter next.



These birds were outside the building.





The Shark building had two underwater tubes that you walked through plus several tanks in between.























The second tube we walked through had the sharks.











We needed to have an early lunch since we would be seeing the Shamu show at 12 pm. The destination we picked, the Terrace BBQ opened at 11 am and we wanted to eat right when it opened. We slowly made our way there after Shark Encounter. I think it would have been fun to ride these boats but they were not open when we were there.



Continued in Next Post

 

[Pluto0809]

I Throw a Temper Tantrum and We Visit Some Sharks Part 2

I volunteer at a local animal shelter on the weekends so I was happy to see this sign. I think they could have done better with the picture though, it looks like the little dog is about to take a bite out of the cat.



Right next to the Flamingo boats were some real Flamingos. This was a totally different location than the ones I took that morning.





Squirrel!



I found this Solar Powered Coke machine interesting.



Right next to the restaurant we were headed to was the Sea Garden. The statues in the garden were made out of garbage that washed up out of the ocean. Beautiful but also very sad.









There were also some parrots in that area.







It was finally 11 am so we headed to the restaurant.





With the meal plan, we got an entrée, an extra side or a dessert and a drink. And you could go through the line as many times as you wanted during the day.

Jim got spare ribs.



And a salad as his extra side.



I got barbecued chicken.



And chocolate cake as my dessert.



The food was OK. Definitely edible but nothing to write home about. On the way out, I took a few pictures of the restaurant.





Up Next: Shamu Show: One Ocean

 

[missangelalexis]

Sorry the Kraken made you feel yucky Ah we all have those temper tantrum moments. I'm glad Jim realized what was going on and stayed calm, that's definitely the best way to handle it as opposed to adding fuel to the fire!

The underwater tubes are awesome, great pics!

The statues made out of garbage are very interesting and cool, despite how sad it is.

The meal plan sounds like a good deal.

 

[rteetz]

The Kraken did it's work I guess lol. Everyone has a bit of a vacation tantrum, the stress catches up and a meltdown happens. Well you got it out and it was time to enjoy the rest of your vacation which seems like you did. That shark encounter looks very cool! The food doesn't look fantastic but doesn't look bad either maybe that's because I'm hungry. Can't wait to hear about the rest of the day.

 

[Chicago Mo]

Wow i really did miss a lot!!! i don't know why! or what happened to my subscription!

I have to say Penguins are one of my favorite animals ever.. they just crack me up.. No arms to stop them from falling.. LOL! funny stuff!

OH AND THAT TREE! I am in love with that BIG TREE!!! and well the cypress trees are amazing too..

the shark tank? Yeah I've seen jaws...

i am excited to see your Shamu update!
Staying up to date now...

 

[KatMark]

I love how they have those underground tubes you walk through...it is so cool.

So much has changed there. I don't remember that restaurant at all.

Too bad you couldn't drive the flamingo boats.

 

[hokieinpa]

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy the Kraken! I'm not sure how many of the coasters we will do on our trip - besides the Shamu one, I'm sure!

I know I've thrown similar tantrums on trips. When things aren't going to go along with the plan in your head it can be frustrating.

The statue garden is really interesting. I'll be sure to check that out.

And I love the Shark Encounter! That looks like so much fun!

 

[Pluto0809]

Sorry the Kraken made you feel yucky Ah we all have those temper tantrum moments. I'm glad Jim realized what was going on and stayed calm, that's definitely the best way to handle it as opposed to adding fuel to the fire!

The underwater tubes are awesome, great pics!

The statues made out of garbage are very interesting and cool, despite how sad it is.

The meal plan sounds like a good deal.

Yes, for once Jim didn't try to egg me on. We can definitely push each others buttons at times.

We really did enjoy the underwater tubes in the shark encounter.

Well I'll talk more about the meal plan and whether it was a good deal for us a little later.

The Kraken did it's work I guess lol. Everyone has a bit of a vacation tantrum, the stress catches up and a meltdown happens. Well you got it out and it was time to enjoy the rest of your vacation which seems like you did. That shark encounter looks very cool! The food doesn't look fantastic but doesn't look bad either maybe that's because I'm hungry. Can't wait to hear about the rest of the day.

It really did work me over good! I guess that's a hazard of getting older. 20 years ago I would have loved it!

The food was just OK like I said. I could tell for example that the cake was probably pre-made and had been frozen.

Wow i really did miss a lot!!! i don't know why! or what happened to my subscription!

I have to say Penguins are one of my favorite animals ever.. they just crack me up.. No arms to stop them from falling.. LOL! funny stuff!

OH AND THAT TREE! I am in love with that BIG TREE!!! and well the cypress trees are amazing too..

the shark tank? Yeah I've seen jaws...

i am excited to see your Shamu update!
Staying up to date now...

DIS ate your subscription! That seems to happen a lot lately.

The Penguins were a blast to watch although we didn't last very long in there because it was freezing!

The Banyan tree was amazing!

Shamu update coming right up.

I love how they have those underground tubes you walk through...it is so cool.

So much has changed there. I don't remember that restaurant at all.

Too bad you couldn't drive the flamingo boats.

Those tubes were very cool to walk through. They have one of those at the Atlanta aquarium with the Whale Sharks. They are massive and it's a little scary when they swim over top of you!

I was bummed the flamingo boats were closed but they were an extra charge so we probably would have skipped any way.

I'm sorry you didn't enjoy the Kraken! I'm not sure how many of the coasters we will do on our trip - besides the Shamu one, I'm sure!

I know I've thrown similar tantrums on trips. When things aren't going to go along with the plan in your head it can be frustrating.

The statue garden is really interesting. I'll be sure to check that out.

And I love the Shark Encounter! That looks like so much fun!

Most people seemed to enjoy the Kraken. I just struggle more and more as I get older. I used to be able to ride RnRC with no problem but now it bothers me too. We never made it back in the kiddie area to check out the Shamu coaster.

The statue garden is definitely worth a visit.

 

[Pluto0809]

Shamu Show: One Ocean

After lunch, we followed the mass of people into the Shamu stadium.



Since we had the resort guest passes we were able to get priority seating which placed us dead center but up high enough so we were out of the splash zone.



Since the show is mostly the whales doing tricks, I don’t think you need a lot of commentary. So just sit back and enjoy the pictures of the show.





















I was very glad we were not in the front rows.























Overall a beautiful show and I enjoyed it very much. Jim even seemed slightly impressed.

Up Next: Wild Arctic and Blue Horizons

 

[mrsabbott]

The kids and I loved Sea World, but Hubs isn't a fan. He doesn't like zoos either and he says that Sea World makes him think of a zoo. But the kids and I loved it and I would go back in a heartbeat! We didn't get to do everything we wanted there because I didn't have a single plan. Looking back, I probably should have orchestrated our time a little better because we missed several shows and things we wanted to see. I wasn't brave enough to ride Kraken, but Hubs did. He thought it was just okay.

 

[KatMark]

Great pictures from the Shamu show, Ariana. We loved to go see that when we used to go. In fact, we sat in "that" row one time...the kids had the best time ever.