Pinky166
<font color=deeppink>a little on the OCD side<br><
- Joined
- Feb 6, 2008
- Messages
- 13,928
Cast:
Me = Claire (33), massive Disney fan, chief planner (a little on the OCD side ) obsessive shopper, addicted to scrapbooking and very impulsive which doesnt bode well for our credit cards!
Hubby = Lee (34), not a massive Disney fan but still enjoys it, adrenaline junkie, easy going and the sensible half of our partnership!
4th December 2008.
We were awake around 6.30am. Lee went down to Starbucks and got us both a Latte. I was feeling pretty groggy so dozed in bed for an hour then we both got showered & for our day at Seaworld!
We arrived and parked Sally in the second row
, we got to the turnstiles just as they opened. I went straight to the Guest Services desk to check in for our Predators tour & Dine with Shamu that we have booked for today. Meanwhile Lee took some pics of the Christmas tree just inside the park entrance.
I also took a photo of Manta, the new ride they are building right by the entrance.
We had a while before the Predators Tour started at 10.45 so we decided to start heading towards the Shamu stadium as that is where the meeting point is & to grab a snack somewhere along the way. We stopped off at Turtle Cove & then the Stingray Lagoon first. After checking the times of the restaurants on the park map they dont actually open until 10am.
We wouldnt have time to eat before our tour so instead we went on the Polar Express Experience, which has replaced Wild Arctic (just for the Christmas period).
It was really good and showed a short version of the film, then as you exit and walk through the Beluga Whale, Polar Bears & Walrus exhibits they had lots of Christmas trees & everything was signposted to the North Pole.
Then near the end was Father Christmas!!
It was really sweet and all the children nearby were so excited and queued to meet Santa. 
Unfortunately we were in a hurry to get to the meeting point for our tour so we couldnt really stop to take pics at the exhibits like we usually do.
We rushed to the meeting point and we were the first to arrive.
Our guide appeared shortly after her name was Sand, she was from New York. We waited about 5 mins for the rest of the group to show up. Two ladies arrived, they were from Atlanta & finally a family of 6 (from the UK, somewhere up north but I cant remember where) arrived to complete our group. We started by going into the backstage area of the Shamu Stadium, Sand told us lots about the Killer whales and the differences between living in the wild & in captivity, we also learned a little about the training program they run and also how they care for the whales. It was very informative and we got to see the whales swimming about in the tanks behind the stage, we were able to take photos but we werent allowed to get too close to the pools though.
We then walked over to the Shark area, we went through a gate to the staff area and through a back door into one of the buildings. There was a big mural painted on the wall of lots of different types of sharks. Our guide talked about the differences between shark species. There was also a tank with two sharks in & we were allowed to stroke them!
They were about two foot long & felt quite rough which was surprising as we all thought they would be smooth.
Here is a pic of the type of shark but I havent got a pic of the actual one we touched no idea why! I think we must have been so excited to touch it that we forgot!
Sand then spoke about how a surfer can be mistaken for prey .ie a turtle or a Sealion and that is why marine experts believe that sharks attack humans. You can tell by the painting they had on the wall how it easily a surfer could be mistaken from a sharks perspective!
It was then time for the last part of the tour, we got to go upstairs to the top of the viewing tank. It was interesting seeing it from this angle as we had previously only seen it from the Sharks Grill restaurant and from the viewing tunnel. We were on a three foot wide ledge with no barrier between us & the water and could clearly see all the sharks swimming below.
The photos are a bit dark but you can just about see some sharks and in the second one you can even make out the people in the viewing tunnel.
It was just over an hour to do the tour and I thought it was worth every penny, it cost just $12 per person! I would highly recommend it.
We were hungry by the time the tour finished and headed to Voyagers for lunch. Lee had BBQ rotisserie chicken with fries & corn on the cob. I had a slice of pepperoni pizza & fries. Mine was ok but lee's chicken was really pink and he didn't eat much of it.
Cont'd below.....
Me = Claire (33), massive Disney fan, chief planner (a little on the OCD side ) obsessive shopper, addicted to scrapbooking and very impulsive which doesnt bode well for our credit cards!
Hubby = Lee (34), not a massive Disney fan but still enjoys it, adrenaline junkie, easy going and the sensible half of our partnership!
4th December 2008.
We were awake around 6.30am. Lee went down to Starbucks and got us both a Latte. I was feeling pretty groggy so dozed in bed for an hour then we both got showered & for our day at Seaworld!
We arrived and parked Sally in the second row
, we got to the turnstiles just as they opened. I went straight to the Guest Services desk to check in for our Predators tour & Dine with Shamu that we have booked for today. Meanwhile Lee took some pics of the Christmas tree just inside the park entrance.
I also took a photo of Manta, the new ride they are building right by the entrance.
We had a while before the Predators Tour started at 10.45 so we decided to start heading towards the Shamu stadium as that is where the meeting point is & to grab a snack somewhere along the way. We stopped off at Turtle Cove & then the Stingray Lagoon first. After checking the times of the restaurants on the park map they dont actually open until 10am.
We wouldnt have time to eat before our tour so instead we went on the Polar Express Experience, which has replaced Wild Arctic (just for the Christmas period).
It was really good and showed a short version of the film, then as you exit and walk through the Beluga Whale, Polar Bears & Walrus exhibits they had lots of Christmas trees & everything was signposted to the North Pole.
Then near the end was Father Christmas!!
It was really sweet and all the children nearby were so excited and queued to meet Santa. Unfortunately we were in a hurry to get to the meeting point for our tour so we couldnt really stop to take pics at the exhibits like we usually do.We rushed to the meeting point and we were the first to arrive.
Our guide appeared shortly after her name was Sand, she was from New York. We waited about 5 mins for the rest of the group to show up. Two ladies arrived, they were from Atlanta & finally a family of 6 (from the UK, somewhere up north but I cant remember where) arrived to complete our group. We started by going into the backstage area of the Shamu Stadium, Sand told us lots about the Killer whales and the differences between living in the wild & in captivity, we also learned a little about the training program they run and also how they care for the whales. It was very informative and we got to see the whales swimming about in the tanks behind the stage, we were able to take photos but we werent allowed to get too close to the pools though.
We then walked over to the Shark area, we went through a gate to the staff area and through a back door into one of the buildings. There was a big mural painted on the wall of lots of different types of sharks. Our guide talked about the differences between shark species. There was also a tank with two sharks in & we were allowed to stroke them!
They were about two foot long & felt quite rough which was surprising as we all thought they would be smooth. Here is a pic of the type of shark but I havent got a pic of the actual one we touched no idea why! I think we must have been so excited to touch it that we forgot!
Sand then spoke about how a surfer can be mistaken for prey .ie a turtle or a Sealion and that is why marine experts believe that sharks attack humans. You can tell by the painting they had on the wall how it easily a surfer could be mistaken from a sharks perspective!
It was then time for the last part of the tour, we got to go upstairs to the top of the viewing tank. It was interesting seeing it from this angle as we had previously only seen it from the Sharks Grill restaurant and from the viewing tunnel. We were on a three foot wide ledge with no barrier between us & the water and could clearly see all the sharks swimming below.
The photos are a bit dark but you can just about see some sharks and in the second one you can even make out the people in the viewing tunnel.
It was just over an hour to do the tour and I thought it was worth every penny, it cost just $12 per person! I would highly recommend it.
We were hungry by the time the tour finished and headed to Voyagers for lunch. Lee had BBQ rotisserie chicken with fries & corn on the cob. I had a slice of pepperoni pizza & fries. Mine was ok but lee's chicken was really pink and he didn't eat much of it.
Cont'd below.....
I got 4 trays for $15 expensive but it has to be done! Then Lee got 4 trays & he fed them too. 
I did however have some of the deserts, they had lots of mini cakes, chocolate covered strawberries, cookies & sweets for the kids. 
