wilma-bride
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- Joined
- Jul 13, 2005
- Messages
- 22,681
Wednesday 16th April
Today we were off to Sea World. Miraculously, I was not awake particularly early and, as a consequence, neither was anyone else. Nonetheless, we were ready by 8:30 and wandered downstairs to collect the car. We didnt arrive at Sea World until 9, and then we had a slight confusion with the tickets. I had ordered them online and had them delivered to me at home before we left. However, each ticket said Voucher on the back and stated you must present photo ID at first use. There was a window that said Voucher exchange so we joined the massive line, only to get to the front some 20 minutes later to be told they were actual tickets and NOT vouchers. Not a great start. Then we had a delay trying to actually enter the park. There were bag checks, which was fine but Gary and Daniel went through the No bags line and ended up miles behind us in the queue to get into the park. Finally, they managed to squeeze their way through and we were into the park just before 10 am. I have to say, here and now, this is not how I wanted to start the day I am a die hard be at park by opening person and its hard to convince me that the hour we spent in line to get in has not put us at a disadvantage. I know, I know, this was supposed to be a take it easy trip but the commando park tourer in me rears its ugly head now and again.
Anyway, finally in the park, we were off to Kraken. Sensing my frustration, Gary suggested that he, Sian and I go on ahead and the others take a slow stroll and meet us outside. Surprisingly, the line for Kraken was not that long and we figured, as we were only going to ride once, we may as well wait for the front. And it was well worth the wait I love the front of Kraken, at the crest of the first ascent, when it looks as though youre going right over the edge. Fantastic! And my clever daughter managed to get a shot of us on the front too so we didnt bother to buy the ride picture.
From Kraken, it was on to the Blue Horizons show, which was just about to start. We managed to find seats, however, we were in separate rows. Blue Horizons was actually better than I remembered. One of the Macaws at the end brushed right over the top of my head. We all really enjoyed this. Daniel loved the dolphins but wasnt too fussed about the people bits.
Once the show was over, it was almost 11:15. Having missed breakfast, Gary suggested we should get an early lunch. When I told the in-laws, Reeny responded with Lunch weve only just had breakfast! Although I havent focussed too much on it over the last couple of trippies, there had been an awful lot of comments like this in previous days and my patience was wearing a little thin. I quite bluntly told her that it was her sons idea and that if she had a problem, she should take it up with him. That solved that little problem and so, in search of lunch we went. I was aware of the fact that Chuck and Reeny were a little fed up of the fries with everything style of eating wed had so far so I suggested we went to the Seafire Inn. We checked out the menu outside but nobody seemed keen so off we went to Voyagers which, as well as pizza offers pastas, salmon, ribs and chicken. I know Mother is partial to salmon so, in order to make amends for being snappy earlier, I said Look, Mother you can have salmon here to which she replied Ugh, no, I dont want salmon in this weather. Commonly known as a no-win situation. I muttered something unrepeatable and stormed off to join the food line (which was huge by now as wed faffed about so much over where we were going to eat).
Lunch was pretty dire Gary and I shared chicken, while Rea had a kids macaroni cheese meal, Daniel settled for chicken also and Sian had pizza. Chuck and Reeny shared a pasta dish, which they both declared delicious. The chicken, however, was pretty dry and the chocolate milk that Daniel had with his meal was warm yuck!
Next, it was off to the other side of the park for Wild Arctic and the big draw of the day, Shamu! As we were walking across the bridge over the lake, we heard an announcement that the 1:30 Shamu show was already full at 12:45!!! We decided that, if we wanted to see the next one, we would need to be there early.
We were halfway across the bridge when we saw a mummy duck with her little ducklings and took a picture.
She was swimming along, minding her own business when all of a sudden a mean, nasty boy duck swam up and started attacking her. All the ducklings were crowding round and the mallard had her almost under the water - it was quite upsetting.
I couldn't bear to watch any more and walked off but Gary told me that another female had come up and, together, they'd fought off the nasty male duck, which I was very relieved about.
Over at Wild Arctic, me, Gary and the kids opted for the helicopter ride while Chuck and Reeny went on foot. After alighting from our flight, we saw the beluga whales which were absolutely beautiful. I dont know why we hadnt sent these on our previous visit but I didnt remember them at all. The polar bear was fast asleep at least he wasnt pacing and the walrus was just swimming backwards and forwards over and over.
I dont know why it is but this part of Sea World always upsets me. I think its just because the animals dont seem at all happy and seem to be very confined. I dont feel like it about zoos, which is why I cant understand it, but nonetheless, it bothers me. I was happy to leave and we did spend quite a bit of time in the shop, where Sian bought a snowglobe and Chuck bought a polar bear ornament. Rea bought herself a cuddly polar bear, which she promptly named Seymour (as in Seymour Bears
). This is not the bear she bought, by the way - we wouldn't have got him home.
Then it was off to the Shamu stadium, for Believe. This was a first for us, as weve only previously seen the old Shamu show. Daniel wanted to sit in the soak zone but, funnily enough, no-one else did. We compromised and sat as close as we could get to the back of the zone, which Daniel was not happy about. I did explain to him that he would probably still get wet but he was not impressed. He continued to play up so I took him outside the stadium, sat him down and gave him a good talking to basically told him that he had two choices, he could either behave himself, go back in and sit and watch the show or we would both sit there until the others came out and he would miss it all! Sensible child chose option number 1 so we rejoined the others and, thankfully, he decided to behave. Once we were settled, we still had almost an hour to wait so I went off to get some drinks and bought the kids an ice-cream each. Daniel had a Shamu bar Im not sure but he looks like he might be enjoying it.
We enjoyed Believe but I have to say, I wasnt impressed by the pull a kid out of the audience and give them a hand-carved whales tail (which you can buy in any of the shops) routine. It just seemed a bit twee. I did like the Shamu chant, though, and was still massively impressed by the sheer size of Shamu. When he did the splash the audience bit, Daniel was moaning that we werent getting wet and he wanted to go down the front. Being a mean Mum I wouldnt let him on the next round, though, Shamu got us both and we were drenched Daniel promptly burst into tears as the salt water was stinging his legs (he had a bad attack of exzcema at the time).
We left the stadium with the rest of the crowd and made our way over to Shamus Happy Harbor. This is all new since the last time we visited and it is great for the kids. Rea and I took Daniel on a couple of the kids rides, then Daniel and Sian disappeared onto the massive play area. After about 15 minutes, we realised that we would have to step on it if we wanted to see Clyde and Seamore so I went to try and find the kids. It was really difficult to spot them as it is such a huge area and on several levels. One thing I would suggest if you let your kids go off and play in this area is to make them come back every 15 minutes or so, to check in, as its like trying to find a very small needle in a large haystack. Luckily, Sian was wearing a green skirt, which made them easier to spot and eventually I managed to let them know it was time to move on.
Over at the Sealion stadium, we found seats and sat down to enjoy the show. For me, the highlight of this show has always been (and remains to be) the pre-show mime artist. He is so funny but really near the mark sometimes. He didnt disappoint and Chuck and Reeny found him highly amusing. The show itself was good as well but I think if youve seen it a few times, the jokes get a bit old hat.
Once the show was over, we decided we would look at a couple more things and then leave the park in search of food. Daniel wanted to see the sharks so we did that and we also saw the alligators and the manatees. After a brief stop at the Stingray lagoon, it was time to leave.
We had already decided we would like to go to Friendlys (its an old favourite of ours and the girls) so we drove up International Drive and parked up outside. We were seated straight away as it was fairly early. The food was yummy and everyone agreed that we would have to come back here again.
Back at the Wilderness Lodge, we left the car with valet and went on up to the room where we had a quiet evening watching TV. I think the last few days had taken their toll on poor Chuck, who retired to bed just after Daniel, followed shortly afterwards by Mother. Me, Gary and the girls stayed up to watch a film about a fat girl who gets picked for Homecoming Queen it was quite good and then retired to bed too.
Today we were off to Sea World. Miraculously, I was not awake particularly early and, as a consequence, neither was anyone else. Nonetheless, we were ready by 8:30 and wandered downstairs to collect the car. We didnt arrive at Sea World until 9, and then we had a slight confusion with the tickets. I had ordered them online and had them delivered to me at home before we left. However, each ticket said Voucher on the back and stated you must present photo ID at first use. There was a window that said Voucher exchange so we joined the massive line, only to get to the front some 20 minutes later to be told they were actual tickets and NOT vouchers. Not a great start. Then we had a delay trying to actually enter the park. There were bag checks, which was fine but Gary and Daniel went through the No bags line and ended up miles behind us in the queue to get into the park. Finally, they managed to squeeze their way through and we were into the park just before 10 am. I have to say, here and now, this is not how I wanted to start the day I am a die hard be at park by opening person and its hard to convince me that the hour we spent in line to get in has not put us at a disadvantage. I know, I know, this was supposed to be a take it easy trip but the commando park tourer in me rears its ugly head now and again.
Anyway, finally in the park, we were off to Kraken. Sensing my frustration, Gary suggested that he, Sian and I go on ahead and the others take a slow stroll and meet us outside. Surprisingly, the line for Kraken was not that long and we figured, as we were only going to ride once, we may as well wait for the front. And it was well worth the wait I love the front of Kraken, at the crest of the first ascent, when it looks as though youre going right over the edge. Fantastic! And my clever daughter managed to get a shot of us on the front too so we didnt bother to buy the ride picture.
From Kraken, it was on to the Blue Horizons show, which was just about to start. We managed to find seats, however, we were in separate rows. Blue Horizons was actually better than I remembered. One of the Macaws at the end brushed right over the top of my head. We all really enjoyed this. Daniel loved the dolphins but wasnt too fussed about the people bits.
Once the show was over, it was almost 11:15. Having missed breakfast, Gary suggested we should get an early lunch. When I told the in-laws, Reeny responded with Lunch weve only just had breakfast! Although I havent focussed too much on it over the last couple of trippies, there had been an awful lot of comments like this in previous days and my patience was wearing a little thin. I quite bluntly told her that it was her sons idea and that if she had a problem, she should take it up with him. That solved that little problem and so, in search of lunch we went. I was aware of the fact that Chuck and Reeny were a little fed up of the fries with everything style of eating wed had so far so I suggested we went to the Seafire Inn. We checked out the menu outside but nobody seemed keen so off we went to Voyagers which, as well as pizza offers pastas, salmon, ribs and chicken. I know Mother is partial to salmon so, in order to make amends for being snappy earlier, I said Look, Mother you can have salmon here to which she replied Ugh, no, I dont want salmon in this weather. Commonly known as a no-win situation. I muttered something unrepeatable and stormed off to join the food line (which was huge by now as wed faffed about so much over where we were going to eat).
Lunch was pretty dire Gary and I shared chicken, while Rea had a kids macaroni cheese meal, Daniel settled for chicken also and Sian had pizza. Chuck and Reeny shared a pasta dish, which they both declared delicious. The chicken, however, was pretty dry and the chocolate milk that Daniel had with his meal was warm yuck!
Next, it was off to the other side of the park for Wild Arctic and the big draw of the day, Shamu! As we were walking across the bridge over the lake, we heard an announcement that the 1:30 Shamu show was already full at 12:45!!! We decided that, if we wanted to see the next one, we would need to be there early.
We were halfway across the bridge when we saw a mummy duck with her little ducklings and took a picture.
She was swimming along, minding her own business when all of a sudden a mean, nasty boy duck swam up and started attacking her. All the ducklings were crowding round and the mallard had her almost under the water - it was quite upsetting.
I couldn't bear to watch any more and walked off but Gary told me that another female had come up and, together, they'd fought off the nasty male duck, which I was very relieved about.
Over at Wild Arctic, me, Gary and the kids opted for the helicopter ride while Chuck and Reeny went on foot. After alighting from our flight, we saw the beluga whales which were absolutely beautiful. I dont know why we hadnt sent these on our previous visit but I didnt remember them at all. The polar bear was fast asleep at least he wasnt pacing and the walrus was just swimming backwards and forwards over and over.
I dont know why it is but this part of Sea World always upsets me. I think its just because the animals dont seem at all happy and seem to be very confined. I dont feel like it about zoos, which is why I cant understand it, but nonetheless, it bothers me. I was happy to leave and we did spend quite a bit of time in the shop, where Sian bought a snowglobe and Chuck bought a polar bear ornament. Rea bought herself a cuddly polar bear, which she promptly named Seymour (as in Seymour Bears
). This is not the bear she bought, by the way - we wouldn't have got him home.
Then it was off to the Shamu stadium, for Believe. This was a first for us, as weve only previously seen the old Shamu show. Daniel wanted to sit in the soak zone but, funnily enough, no-one else did. We compromised and sat as close as we could get to the back of the zone, which Daniel was not happy about. I did explain to him that he would probably still get wet but he was not impressed. He continued to play up so I took him outside the stadium, sat him down and gave him a good talking to basically told him that he had two choices, he could either behave himself, go back in and sit and watch the show or we would both sit there until the others came out and he would miss it all! Sensible child chose option number 1 so we rejoined the others and, thankfully, he decided to behave. Once we were settled, we still had almost an hour to wait so I went off to get some drinks and bought the kids an ice-cream each. Daniel had a Shamu bar Im not sure but he looks like he might be enjoying it.
We enjoyed Believe but I have to say, I wasnt impressed by the pull a kid out of the audience and give them a hand-carved whales tail (which you can buy in any of the shops) routine. It just seemed a bit twee. I did like the Shamu chant, though, and was still massively impressed by the sheer size of Shamu. When he did the splash the audience bit, Daniel was moaning that we werent getting wet and he wanted to go down the front. Being a mean Mum I wouldnt let him on the next round, though, Shamu got us both and we were drenched Daniel promptly burst into tears as the salt water was stinging his legs (he had a bad attack of exzcema at the time).
We left the stadium with the rest of the crowd and made our way over to Shamus Happy Harbor. This is all new since the last time we visited and it is great for the kids. Rea and I took Daniel on a couple of the kids rides, then Daniel and Sian disappeared onto the massive play area. After about 15 minutes, we realised that we would have to step on it if we wanted to see Clyde and Seamore so I went to try and find the kids. It was really difficult to spot them as it is such a huge area and on several levels. One thing I would suggest if you let your kids go off and play in this area is to make them come back every 15 minutes or so, to check in, as its like trying to find a very small needle in a large haystack. Luckily, Sian was wearing a green skirt, which made them easier to spot and eventually I managed to let them know it was time to move on.
Over at the Sealion stadium, we found seats and sat down to enjoy the show. For me, the highlight of this show has always been (and remains to be) the pre-show mime artist. He is so funny but really near the mark sometimes. He didnt disappoint and Chuck and Reeny found him highly amusing. The show itself was good as well but I think if youve seen it a few times, the jokes get a bit old hat.
Once the show was over, we decided we would look at a couple more things and then leave the park in search of food. Daniel wanted to see the sharks so we did that and we also saw the alligators and the manatees. After a brief stop at the Stingray lagoon, it was time to leave.
We had already decided we would like to go to Friendlys (its an old favourite of ours and the girls) so we drove up International Drive and parked up outside. We were seated straight away as it was fairly early. The food was yummy and everyone agreed that we would have to come back here again.
Back at the Wilderness Lodge, we left the car with valet and went on up to the room where we had a quiet evening watching TV. I think the last few days had taken their toll on poor Chuck, who retired to bed just after Daniel, followed shortly afterwards by Mother. Me, Gary and the girls stayed up to watch a film about a fat girl who gets picked for Homecoming Queen it was quite good and then retired to bed too.
Ellie quite fancies a go on Krakken 
great ride photo btw (well done Rea )
.Do you have any photo's of Shamu's Happy Harbour,exactly what is there Joh? This was'nt built the last time we went.Love the photo of Daniel tucking in to his Shamu ice-cream 
After our last visit tho I looked on the net to see if there was anything about it and I read that the polar bears have a big area that we don't see and the viewing area is just a small area for us to watch them in, it said that the bears are rotated so that they don't spend loads of time in there. Hope this is true.
