After watching my son fall asleep during dinner I let him sleep until 8:15am. By 8:45 we were in the lobby and catching the taxi I reserved to SeaWorld. We arrived right at 9am, and found out that the park had been open since 8:30am. Not a problem as I knew to make a beeline for Atlantis and Kraken. We got online for Atlantis first...beacuse frankly... looking at Kraken was truly scaring me to death.
The Atlantis ride is awesome. The theming and animitronics inside has to be seen to be believed. By far the best log flume ever. The change into the roller coaster was really cool. I think it was one of my favorite rides in Orlando.
Next was Kraken. OMG!!! Makes the hulk look like a kiddie ride. How tall is that thing anyway. I almost chickened out, but my son would not ride alone so I sucked it up. After waiting about 20 minutes I was on Kraken. The climb to the first drop goes on forever!!! I have a horrible fear of heights, so i shut my eyes about 3/4 of the way up. As a matter of fact I am embarrased to say that I kept my eyes closed for the entire ride. It did some pretty funky twists and turns, other than that I don't remember much. I do remember not wanting to ride it again.
With the two biggest attractions out of the way we set off for Shark Encounter. A great display of sharks, but you move on a moving conveyor which I wished had gone a bit slower. Made reservations to eat at Shark's Underwater Grill (see my dining reviews). Checked out almost all of the exhibits. We went to see the Shamu show. Not to be missed. It was hysterical watching people get drencehed in the soak zone seats. Being an Anheuser Busch Park they started the show with that commercial with the soldiers coming thru the airport and evryone clapping for them. I had not seen it before so there I am with tears streaming down my face and my son wondering what is wrong with me. I looked around and there were very few dry eyes. The announcer had all military personell stand up to a much deserved round of applause. Bravo SeaWorld!!! It is because of these brave people that I even get to enjoy a vacation. A very classy touch.
The skys started to thicken up after lunch. Looked like major thunderstorms heading in. Shows started to get cancelled out of safety for performers and animals so at 3pm we decided to head back to the hotel.
Overall I enjoyed Seaworld though son reported it was alot of walkking. It didn't help that his only pair of sneakers (why did i only pack one pair?) were still saturated from Jurrasic Park and he was wearing sandals, which had started to reek havoc on his feet. The landscaping at the park is a sight to behold. Most of my pictures are of various locations lush with foliage. We just don't have stuff like that in NJ!!! definitely worth a visit. Go early if you want to do the rides. Not sure you would need the whole day, but then again we might have stayed longer if the shows were not cancelled. Also as you exit they will give you a free ticket to come back the next day. We deabated, but we still have unfinished business at Universal/IOA.
The Atlantis ride is awesome. The theming and animitronics inside has to be seen to be believed. By far the best log flume ever. The change into the roller coaster was really cool. I think it was one of my favorite rides in Orlando.
Next was Kraken. OMG!!! Makes the hulk look like a kiddie ride. How tall is that thing anyway. I almost chickened out, but my son would not ride alone so I sucked it up. After waiting about 20 minutes I was on Kraken. The climb to the first drop goes on forever!!! I have a horrible fear of heights, so i shut my eyes about 3/4 of the way up. As a matter of fact I am embarrased to say that I kept my eyes closed for the entire ride. It did some pretty funky twists and turns, other than that I don't remember much. I do remember not wanting to ride it again.
With the two biggest attractions out of the way we set off for Shark Encounter. A great display of sharks, but you move on a moving conveyor which I wished had gone a bit slower. Made reservations to eat at Shark's Underwater Grill (see my dining reviews). Checked out almost all of the exhibits. We went to see the Shamu show. Not to be missed. It was hysterical watching people get drencehed in the soak zone seats. Being an Anheuser Busch Park they started the show with that commercial with the soldiers coming thru the airport and evryone clapping for them. I had not seen it before so there I am with tears streaming down my face and my son wondering what is wrong with me. I looked around and there were very few dry eyes. The announcer had all military personell stand up to a much deserved round of applause. Bravo SeaWorld!!! It is because of these brave people that I even get to enjoy a vacation. A very classy touch.
The skys started to thicken up after lunch. Looked like major thunderstorms heading in. Shows started to get cancelled out of safety for performers and animals so at 3pm we decided to head back to the hotel.
Overall I enjoyed Seaworld though son reported it was alot of walkking. It didn't help that his only pair of sneakers (why did i only pack one pair?) were still saturated from Jurrasic Park and he was wearing sandals, which had started to reek havoc on his feet. The landscaping at the park is a sight to behold. Most of my pictures are of various locations lush with foliage. We just don't have stuff like that in NJ!!! definitely worth a visit. Go early if you want to do the rides. Not sure you would need the whole day, but then again we might have stayed longer if the shows were not cancelled. Also as you exit they will give you a free ticket to come back the next day. We deabated, but we still have unfinished business at Universal/IOA.
I like all the details you included. 
