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

That show looks like a lot of fun! It obviously is the most famous of them. One day I'll get to SeaWorld to check it out.
 
I haven't been to Sea World since 2004 and I barely remember anything about it besides riding the Kraken and seeing Shamu. I love seeing how much things have changed there! Makes me want to go back :) Boy I need to add days and days to my next Disney trip to do all the things you're giving me ideas on--I see how you ended up deciding to do this non-Disney trip to fit it all in! :earboy2:
 
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.

I'm a bit obsessed with planning so I usually have a pretty well laid out plan. It was the rain that ended up messing with it this time around.

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.

Oh boy I bet you got really wet! The few people that braved those seats were soaked!

So many great pictures!! Your priority seats gave you a great (and dry) view! :)

Thanks! I was very happy with the seats.

That show looks like a lot of fun! It obviously is the most famous of them. One day I'll get to SeaWorld to check it out.

You should definitely put Sea World on you list of parks to visit!

I haven't been to Sea World since 2004 and I barely remember anything about it besides riding the Kraken and seeing Shamu. I love seeing how much things have changed there! Makes me want to go back :) Boy I need to add days and days to my next Disney trip to do all the things you're giving me ideas on--I see how you ended up deciding to do this non-Disney trip to fit it all in! :earboy2:

Yep, I read about all three of the parks we visited this trip on other TRs so I just had to plan a trip. Sea World has done a great job with adding attractions that enhance the experience of viewing the animals.
 


Wild Arctic and Blue Horizons Part 1

Right across from the Shamu stadium was Wild Arctic. We hurried a bit and made it there before most of the crowds from the show. Once again you have to choose mild or wild. The wild version is a simulator while in the mild version you see the same movie but without the motion. After my experience with the Kraken, I decided that mild was definitely the way to go.

We waited about 10 minutes before being let into the room with the movie. The movie was a bumpy, jerky helicopter ride to the Wild Artic Base. After watching the film, I’m positive that the mild version was the right choice for me. After exiting the theater, we headed deeper into the base.








First up were some walruses. It was pretty dark in this building so my photos aren’t the best.





Seals:



And finally Beluga Whales.





Next, we headed back over to the other side of the park for the 2 pm Dolphin show called Blue Horizons. Once again we were able to get seats front and center with our passes.



This show was a whole lot more than just some Dolphins doing tricks. There was a good story line about a little girl living out her fantasies, high divers, other acrobatics and they also had some Pilot Whales.





















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Wild Arctic and Blue Horizons Part 2

















The next couple of pictures are of the Pilot Whales. They were not much bigger than the dolphins but were darker in color with more of a flat nose.























I really enjoyed this show, there was a lot to see and the story line keep me interested. Jim even seemed to enjoy himself a bit. Unfortunately it started pouring halfway through the show and we had to pull out our ponchos as we exited.

Up Next: Turtle Trek and Pets Ahoy
 
That show looks like a lot of fun! Great photos as well. Rain in Florida is always better than rain at home.
 


ohh the whales are just beautiful... Haven't been there since 1978! We were in the splash zone. i remember being so scared! I can't get over how beautiful they are.. Glad no one was eaten during the show...
Dolphins? Who doesn't love dolphins!!! Glad the show was more then tricks the costumes are really pretty!!!

walrus! oh i miss them!!! Our zoos no longer have them and i truly miss them!
 
That show looks like a lot of fun! Great photos as well. Rain in Florida is always better than rain at home.

It was a lot of fun to watch. That is definitely true, I would much rather be in Florida even with the rain.

ohh the whales are just beautiful... Haven't been there since 1978! We were in the splash zone. i remember being so scared! I can't get over how beautiful they are.. Glad no one was eaten during the show...
Dolphins? Who doesn't love dolphins!!! Glad the show was more then tricks the costumes are really pretty!!!

walrus! oh i miss them!!! Our zoos no longer have them and i truly miss them!

They are magnificent creatures that's for sure and we both enjoyed the show. They are pretty strict now, none of the trainers entered the water during the how.

The Dolphin show was very well put together.

I wasn't all that impressed with the Wild Arctic area of Sea World. It was small and pretty dark in the building which made it hard to see the animals.
 
I realized today that I only have three more updates on this TR so I'm going to finish it out right now!

Turtle Trek and Pets Ahoy Part 1

Ponchos on, we headed towards Turtle Trek which was the last attraction other than the Pets Ahoy show that we had not seen yet. On the way there, we swung by Stingray Lagoon and checked out the stingrays.






As we got in line for Turtle Trek which was a 3D movie, Jim got an e-mail from work that really made him mad. Apparently someone did something they weren’t supposed to without his permission. He went off to a corner of the pre-show area to call and do some yelling. I on the other hand, spent some time checking out the animal displays there. They had some Manatees.







And a whole bunch of Sea Turtles. Every one of the turtles had some kind of injury or other problem that prevented them from living in the wild. One was missing a fin due to a shark attack. Another had a large hole in her shell and was partially paralyzed due to a boat strike. Those are the two I remember from the guide’s talk but I know there were more.

















Jim came back right before we entered the theater and he was in a better mood after telling the offender off. The show itself was excellent. It was 3D in the round which I’ve never experienced. The movie was about the life of a Sea Turtle from birth on a beach up to the point where she comes back to that beach to lay her own eggs. The 3D effects were very cool, it almost seemed like the fish and turtles were swimming right past you.

We had a little time after Turtle Trek before the last show we wanted to see. We had a voucher for a free “Cup that Cares” so we headed to the store that sold them. I had no idea what we were going to get but it came with the package so I was getting it no matter what. The cup turned out to be a little penguin that you built. We headed to the station where you build it and started gathering pieces. Unfortunately there was a large group of foreigners standing around the counter blocking the stuff. They weren’t shopping at all, just staying out of the rain. I keep having to say excuse me to get to the different pieces. They finally got the hint and moved off to a different section of the store. So here’s our little Penguin cup.






We also stopped at the place where they do the pearl diving similar to Pick-a-Pearl at Disney. I had planned on getting a piece of jewelry here but after I browsed through the settings, I realized they were pretty cheap looking. I decided to save my money and we moved on.

We still had some time before the show and I was determined to use our All You Can Eat plan some more. We stopped at one of the counter services and I got a soda and some chocolate chip cookies. I failed to photograph them but they were nothing special. Jim said he wasn’t hungry so he sat and watched me eat.

It was finally time for the last show which was a show case of trained dogs and cats (and a few other animals) and was called Pets Ahoy. All of the animals in the show were rescued from local animal shelters.

Luckily this show was indoors and out of the rain. I had to give Jim a “You were right” about switching up our schedule for the day. Awesome seats once again thanks to the pass.






Before the show started, a trainer came out and worked with one of the cats who was having some trouble with his trick.



He didn’t quite perform it right this time either. He was supposed to walk up a plank to the back of the stage where another trainer was calling him. He only made it about halfway before turning around and going back into his crate. During the show though, he did it perfectly and the whole audience clapped for him.



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Turtle Trek and Pets Ahoy Part 2

Once the show started, it was set to music and the animals basically came out and did tricks. It was a lot of fun and Jim and I enjoyed the show immensely while feeling a little homesick for our own babies.


























It’s a little too blurry to tell but the little dog running out of the Hot Dog cart happened to be a Dachshund.









We made one more stop after the show before exiting the park. I had debated all day which stuffie I wanted to be my souvenir from Sea World. Would it be a penguin, a seal, a dolphin? In the end, I went with the parks icon, Shamu.



I really wanted to use our All You Can Eat plan for dinner too but it was only 4:30 at this point and neither one of us wanted to stand around in the rain any longer. We had done everything I had wanted to, the only section of the park we did not visit was the kiddie area Shamu’s Happy Harbor. In the future, I don’t think I would do the All You Can Eat plan, we definitely did not get our money’s worth out of it.

We decided to head out and made our way back to the car. It was at that point that we got another good laugh. We noticed that our little clown car only had one windshield wiper! Yep, it was that small.




Up Next: Disney’s Character Warehouse and The End
 
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Disney’s Character Warehouse and The End

We headed back to the room after leaving Sea World and took another late afternoon break. Jim started to get hungry around 6:30 so he started looking on the internet to find somewhere to eat. As he was looking, he turned to me and asked if I realized there was a Disney Outlet called the Character Warehouse near our motel. I did know about it but as Jim is not a shopper, I decided to hit up Theme Park Connection and Downtown Disney instead. He asked if I would like to go there and I played it cool and did the whole “well if you want to” routine. He said he did so we headed back out.

First though, we went to TGI Friday’s for some dinner. Once again I forgot to take food photos but Jim got a burger and I got chicken tenders so no big loss there.

We headed on down International Drive and found the outlet mall with the Disney Outlet. We got pretty lucky with parking, we had no idea where the store was within the mall but we ended up really close. It wasn’t too long before I was seeing this beautiful site.




We spent a lot of time looking around. No idea why Disney would have “pimp” hats but Jim had to try one on for me.



So, you know I bought stuff, right? First up were some 2014 mystery pins.





Of course I was hoping for Pluto but instead got.



I only ended up with one of the Mickey ones in my collection as Jim stole the other three from me because he liked them.

I went a little crazy with the vinyls. First up was this set.




It was my Big Al!



And look at the incredible deal I got on this set.



Here they are out of the tin after we got home. You can’t really tell but Big Al is the New Year’s baby and is wearing a diaper.



I also got two blind boxes from the Parks series and this awesome Yoda Stitch.



Isn’t he cool?



Here’s the two blind ones after I opened them. The first is a robot from Buzz Lightyear (see the little Zs?) and the other is the stink bug from It’s Tough to be a Bug. Her name is Claire De Room.



Jim found a Pirate pin to buy.



I got five coloring books for gifts. I ended up giving them as part of the Easter presents for some of my “kids”. I have 12 kids under the age of 10 that I buy gifts for, most are family but a few are kids of our friends.



I’ve been collecting these Conservation pins so of course I had to get the one from the Character Warehouse.



And that was it. There was a lot of adult clothing too but nothing jumped out at me. Oh, and all that stuff we bought cost less than $50 which was the original price of the one set of vinyls! Definitely a better experience than at Theme Park Connection.

We also when into a couple of other stores, Jim bought some shirts at the Greg Norman store and a glasses cleaning kit at the Oakley store. Then we headed back to our room. We spent the rest of the night before bed packing since we were leaving early the next morning. My suitcase was looking quite “stuffed”.




We were up and out of the room early on Tuesday February 10th. Our flight was at 12:30 pm but we didn’t know what kind of traffic we may hit or how long it would take to return the rental car.

We got on the I-fer one last time and made it to the airport in no time at all. We said goodbye to our little clown car and headed into the airport. Seriously though, that little car worked pretty well for us other than not having a trunk that one day. Jim actually said it had some pretty good zip.

There was barely any line for bag check or security and we were at our gate way early. So we decided to have a very early lunch at Outback. I bet you guys will be really shocked to learn that we both ordered burgers. Mine with fries as usual.




Jim subbed for Broccoli.



The burgers were very good. If you ever fly Delta and end up in that terminal, Outback even has a to-go counter for burgers. We were so early we choose to sit down and enjoy our meal that way.

The flight home was uneventful. We picked up the puppies on the way home from the airport. Poor Remy got a little stressed out and had some diarrhea for a couple of days but meds cleared that up quickly.

Well folks, that’s another TR in the bag for me. Even though this wasn’t Disney, we had a wonderful time. Universal was awesome and I’m sure I’ll be back to visit again. I doubt we will go to Legoland again. While we had a great time, it really is more for kids and the selection of Lego sets was not what Jim hoped for. I will also definitely visit Sea World again someday, maybe for Christmas.

I still have my solo trip TR from December going so if you haven’t joined me there yet come on over!

Oh and in case you were worried about my foot, I did go to the doctor a few days after we got home. Turned out it was tendentious and cleared up after a week or so of taking it easy. I’m really hoping it was a one-time thing and not chronic. That’s the last thing I want to deal with on a regular basis!
 
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Cool walrus photos!

Blue Horizons looks really cool, I love dolphins!

Great sea turtle pictures. Sad that they are all injured or have a problem :( Hopefully they are well taken care of at Sea World!

Your penguin cup is so cute.

Pets Ahoy looks fun!

Great Shamu stuffie purchase ;)

I'm sorry the meal plan didn't end up being worth it.

I'm glad you were able to go to the Disney outlet and that you found some things you liked!

I'm also glad your foot healed okay!

Sad that your TR has come to an end :( But as always it was a great one and I'm glad I was able to follow along. Thanks for sharing!!
 
Some great photos as always!

Pets Ahoy looks like a fun show. I love dogs so I would probably enjoy it.
Great choice in the Shamu stuffed animal.

I Have that big Al and trixie in my collection. Some great pins as well!

Looks like a fun trip despite the meal plan not being worth it and some little mishaps along the way can't wait for the next trip.
 
great report! Always fun to follow you!!! Legoland was fun to see all your pictures!!! your right it seemed like a lot for kids. even younger then mine??

Ohh the 3-d movie sounds AMAZING! love those type of movies! I love all your sea world pictures!!! Especially the pets!!! they amaze me what they can do with the animals!!! I can't get Logan to take ONE jump!!! LOL.. i need them to come help me..
GREAT FINDS at the outlet store!!! i need to make a few more stops at ours!!!
 
Great end to the TR, Ariana. The shows look fun, especially the dolphin one.

I'm glad Jim suggested you go to the Character Warehouse. We go there every year (I've walked out with the big red Mickey ponchos for $5, a tank top for $5 and lots of Christmas stuff too. I wish they'd get new coloring books though...they've had those for the last four years at least.
 
And that us why we like SW too. The pet show is always one of our favorites.

Glad to hear you foot healed and hoping no more issues.

Thanks for your report. Enjoyed all the pictures.

And we too like other parks and things to do besides Disney.
 
It sounds like a great afternoon of shows! I'm sure we will enjoy all of those in June! The Pets Ahoy one looks really fun!

Great finds at the Character Warehouse!

Such a fun TR! I've really enjoyed reading it since we are visiting some of the same places on our non-Disney Florida trip this June.
 

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