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

[missangelalexis]

Oh no I'm so sorry to hear about Eddie. I know you will appreciate the upcoming months with him

I'm glad you enjoyed the show, it looks funny!

 

[rteetz]

Legoland looks very educational for kids as well. I probably wouldn't enjoy the park as much as I would've when I was younger but definitely looks like a good time.

Also sorry about Eddie. My dog passed away this past week he was 10. We had them do a autopsy or whatever it's called for dogs and they found a large mass on his lungs.

 

[KatMark]

Ariana, I'm so far behind that I can't possibly post everything I'd like. I did read the updates and enjoyed them (glad to see they kept some form of the water skiing there).

I am so sorry to hear about Eddie. As you know, we lost our Cookie to cancer, and it is such a hard decision not to give them chemo, etc. You'll be in my thoughts.

 

[Pluto0809]

Sorry it's been so long in between updates, it's just been a couple of crazy weeks. Of course I was super busy at work with all the budget meetings. Then my boss gave her two weeks notice so I've been scrambling to get everything prepared for her departure. Tomorrow is her last day. I'm really sad about it because she is a wonderful boss but I also don't blame her. I work for county government and her position is very political. Every time we have an election, her job is on the line. This last election she was told point blank that she would be fired if certain candidates were elected. I totally understand why she wouldn't want to go through that again and it's also the same reason I won't be applying for the job even though she wanted to recommend me. I just hope they get someone new in here soon because I'm in charge until they do which is something I really don't want.

Eddie is doing well although he is still drinking and peeing more than he should. I really should take him back to the vets to get his kidneys checked out. I've put it off because I'm so afraid if I take him back in again, he won't be coming home with me. I was really hoping it was just the antibiotics that was causing the problem but he's been off of those now for over a week. I'll probably have to take him this next weekend to get check out.

I'm way behind again on everyone's TRs and PTRs but I hope to do some catching up this week now that things are slowing down a bit. Of course with being in charge now, who knows what the next month or two will look like.

Oh no I'm so sorry to hear about Eddie. I know you will appreciate the upcoming months with him

I'm glad you enjoyed the show, it looks funny!

Thanks, we are spending lots of time spoiling him right now!

It was a very cute show.

Legoland looks very educational for kids as well. I probably wouldn't enjoy the park as much as I would've when I was younger but definitely looks like a good time.

Also sorry about Eddie. My dog passed away this past week he was 10. We had them do a autopsy or whatever it's called for dogs and they found a large mass on his lungs.

Jim and I had a great time but then again we are both kids at heart!

So sorry to hear about your dog. It's not an easy thing to go through.

Ariana, I'm so far behind that I can't possibly post everything I'd like. I did read the updates and enjoyed them (glad to see they kept some form of the water skiing there).

I am so sorry to hear about Eddie. As you know, we lost our Cookie to cancer, and it is such a hard decision not to give them chemo, etc. You'll be in my thoughts.

No problem Kathy I know how hard it is to keep up all the time on the DIS. I'm quite far behind right now myself.

It was a hard decision but a little easier because I know doggie chemo is not designed to completely cure the cancer, only to prolong their lives. Definitely not fair to put Eddie through that just so we can have an extra month or two with him.

 

[Pluto0809]

Cypress Gardens

Like I mentioned in a previous post, Legoland was built on the grounds that used to be Cypress Gardens. The botanical gardens that were a part of Cypress Gardens are still maintained by Legoland. I really wanted to explore them and see the massive Banyan tree so we headed there after the show. Cypress Gardens also used to have ladies in big dresses that roamed through the parks. They are no longer there but there is still a Lego version at the entrance to the gardens.



So come with us and take a journey through these beautiful historic gardens.



















The gardens have a lot of winding paths and we got lost a few times but finally made it to the Banyan Tree.



You can tell just how massive the tree is from the next few pictures because Jim was in front of me as usual.















Think I took enough pictures of the tree? Continuing on with the rest of the gardens.











Up Next: Did That Raccoon Just Fart?

 

[rteetz]

Cypress gardens looks really nice. I don't know much about its history but it's a good thing legoland kept some of that history and preserved it.

 

[missangelalexis]

Great pictures! It's so funny to imagine this being part of Legoland, but it's nice that they still maintain it!!

 

[goofymimi]

Wow, miniland looks awesome..my 7 yr old grandson would absolutely love it. He loves Legos, I think we might need to try to take him there. Thank you for the beautiful pictures.

 

[hokieinpa]

I'm really enjoying this TR as well. We're going to Orlando in June to visit family but no Disney. I'm a little bummed but we'll be going to the beach, Sea World, and Legoland. Enjoying reading about your time at Legoland. My 5-year old is very excited!

 

[Pluto0809]

I actually have this TR completely written so I'm going to try to speed up the updates to 3 a week. Writing two at once is a pain and I would like to get this one finished so I can concentrate on my December one.

Cypress gardens looks really nice. I don't know much about its history but it's a good thing legoland kept some of that history and preserved it.

I honestly can't remember if I've ever been to Cypress Gardens. I might have gone when I was little, guess I should ask my Mom. I know her and my Dad went a few years before it closed.

Great pictures! It's so funny to imagine this being part of Legoland, but it's nice that they still maintain it!!

It was a little weird in the middle of Legoland but it was so beautiful I'm glad they kept it. There were little elements throughout the park that I could tell were part of the old park like the waterfall. Oh and I'm pretty sure the wooden coaster was from Cypress Gardens as well.

Wow, miniland looks awesome..my 7 yr old grandson would absolutely love it. He loves Legos, I think we might need to try to take him there. Thank you for the beautiful pictures.

Miniland was definitely something to see! We could have spent a lot more time that we did, there was just so much to see.

 

[Pluto0809]

Did That Raccoon Just Fart?

When we entered the park that morning, we skipped over Lego Kingdoms and World of Chima so that we could ride the coasters before the crowds got too big. That of course ended up being a joke because there were no lines all day. Since we had seen the rest of the park, we headed to those two areas to finish off our day.







We hit up the store first where Jim found another set of Legos to buy.



He only ended up buying two sets (other than the mini figures) and was pretty disappointed in the selection. He really thought there would be a lot more to choose from. He said that the Downtown Disney Lego store was much better. He was also unable to use his Lego rewards card because Legoland is not actually owned by Lego or something like that.

Jim wanted to send his package up to the front but the cashier told him that it would take at least an hour. We really weren’t planning on staying that long so he chose to carry it with him instead.

Because of that, we ended up skipping The Dragon coaster. We both were carrying our park bags plus a Lego bag each and we didn’t want to deal with leaving our stuff at the loading area. I did snap a few pictures as we walked by. I really don’t think we missed much.





We headed into the World of Chima next. There was only one ride here and we were not planning to go on it because it was a water ride. Jim still wanted to check out the store.





He didn’t find anything to buy there but we decided to use the restroom. Since we had so many bags, we took turns. While Jim was in the restroom I took some pictures of the water ride. I didn’t want to get too close because the people on the boats had water guns as you can probably tell by the wet pavement. I think the ride was somewhat like Buzz Lightyear but with water guns.





Cute themeing in the area.



I found a bench to sit for a minute and all of a sudden I heard an extremely loud fart, then a giggle and “Oops, Sorry!” It turned out that it was this little raccoon guy (or whatever he really was) who was stationed right outside of the restrooms.



It was very funny sitting there and watching people’s reactions as they walked by. When Jim came out he told me he could hear it in the bathroom and thought it was someone in there. And sure enough when I went in the ladies I could hear it too.

We left the farting raccoon behind and headed out of the World of Chima. The only other thing in the section was a water play area for kids. I took a very bad picture of it as we walked by.



We had to cut through Duplo Valley to head to the exit so I took some pictures as we walked. Definitely an area for the little ones.









I guess another of the hold overs from Cypress Gardens was this food stand.



There was one more store on our way out that we had missed the first time by, so we walked around in there for a bit. Jim decided he needed this Lego ice cube tray. And yes, he uses it all the time.



We also stopped in the Big Store again but Jim didn’t find anything else to buy.



It was about 4 pm when we exited to make the slow, painful (for me) trip back to the car. Jim turned around about halfway there and asked me why I was walking with my head down. At that point it was all I could do to put one foot in front of the other. Looking at the ground meant that I didn’t have to see how far I still had to walk. Yeah, it was that bad.

We made the hour drive back to Orlando and Jim decided we were going to eat dinner before heading back to the room so we didn’t have to go out again that night and fight the traffic on I-Drive. We ended up at a Perkins which was close to our resort. Jim got an appetizer platter with onion rings, cheese sticks and fried pickles.



For his meal, he got a patty melt.



I decided to go for some breakfast and got a waffle.



We crashed back at the room after that and watched TV and read for the rest of the evening.

Up Next: Manta, Penguins and Sea Lions

 

[missangelalexis]

Nice pictures! The farting raccoon sounds hysterical! And I like the lego ice cube tray Jim picked out!

I'm so sorry to hear you were in so much pain Smart idea to grab dinner while you were already out.

Glad you had the evening to relax!

 

[KatMark]

I loved seeing the Gardens...so pretty.

I'm glad Jim found at least one more thing plus the ice trays to take home (funny that he uses them all the time).

Please keep us posted on Eddie.

 

[rteetz]

Legoland didn't seem to be very busy at all when you were there. I wonder what their wait times are like throughout the year and what their peak season is.

 

[wiscbugs]

I enjoy the Legoland pictures. We have gone to Legoland twice in Carlsbad (in 2012 & 2012) when we visited Disneyland and it your pics seem pretty similar to the Carlsbad Legoland.

 

[Lynne G]

Love the pictures of the Gardens. Maybe have to go to this Legoland. Only one we've been to has been the one in Carlsbad, CA. I think my kids are too old for the park now, but hmm, a couples trip may be in order when the kids are college aged. (coming shortly)

 

[missjackiemcg]

1.) Oh your poor foot
2.) Legoland looks like a lot of fun! I will have to look more into it for our next Florida trip--maybe I can send the boys there for the day and enjoy a solo MK day
3.) That Cypress Gardens tree is absolutely amazing!!!!
4.) Sending prayers your way as you work through poor Eddie's troubles. I hope you still have more time to spend with him.

 

[Pluto0809]

Nice pictures! The farting raccoon sounds hysterical! And I like the lego ice cube tray Jim picked out!

I'm so sorry to hear you were in so much pain Smart idea to grab dinner while you were already out.

Glad you had the evening to relax!

The raccoon guy was really funny. Looking at him again now, I wonder if he was a skunk, not a raccoon?

I loved seeing the Gardens...so pretty.

I'm glad Jim found at least one more thing plus the ice trays to take home (funny that he uses them all the time).

Please keep us posted on Eddie.

The gardens were beautiful! I'm glad we took the time to explore them.

I will definitely keep you guys updated on Eddie. As of right now he's still doing just fine.

Legoland didn't seem to be very busy at all when you were there. I wonder what their wait times are like throughout the year and what their peak season is.

I don't think I have ever seen a park so empty! I'm guessing that their peak times is during the summer when kids are out of school.

I enjoy the Legoland pictures. We have gone to Legoland twice in Carlsbad (in 2012 & 2012) when we visited Disneyland and it your pics seem pretty similar to the Carlsbad Legoland.

That was the only Legoland I've been too but I bet they have similar rides like all the different Disney parks around the world.

Love the pictures of the Gardens. Maybe have to go to this Legoland. Only one we've been to has been the one in Carlsbad, CA. I think my kids are too old for the park now, but hmm, a couples trip may be in order when the kids are college aged. (coming shortly)

Even though the park was geared more towards kids, Jim and I had a great time. Jim and I definitely enjoy our couples trips.

1.) Oh your poor foot
2.) Legoland looks like a lot of fun! I will have to look more into it for our next Florida trip--maybe I can send the boys there for the day and enjoy a solo MK day
3.) That Cypress Gardens tree is absolutely amazing!!!!
4.) Sending prayers your way as you work through poor Eddie's troubles. I hope you still have more time to spend with him.

It was a rough couple of days with my foot that's for sure!

I like your idea of sending the boys to Legoland while you enjoy solo time at MK! You know how much I love my solo trips!

So far Eddie is hanging in there without any further problems.

 

[Pluto0809]

Manta, Penguins and Sea Lions Part 1

Monday February 9th was my day and we were visiting Sea World. The park opened at 9 am but I wanted to make sure we made rope drop because it was supposed to start raining about 3 pm. I think we left the room around 8 am. But first we had some breakfast in the room and I had an old favorite of mine.



We weren’t too far from Sea World and it wasn’t long before we were entering the park.



Well, we pulled into the entrance and then sat for quite a long time waiting for the parking lot to open. It was about 8:50 before they started letting cars in. Parking was $17 and preferred parking was $20. Jim was not happy paying the extra three dollars, he’s pretty cheap, but I insisted so I had less distance to walk with my injured foot.

We had to stop outside of the gates to use our vouchers to print out our tickets but that didn’t take very long. Once we passed through the gate I immediately took possession of Jim’s ticket so he wouldn’t loss it. Besides the regular park tickets we had ones for the all you can eat plan (about $32 each) and one for the free cup we got with our package. We also had our resort guest passes that we got at our resort.



Here’s the benefits those passes gave us.



We only ended up using the Signature Show Seating which was actually very nice. There was no early entry that day, we already had the pre-paid all you can eat deal and you had to spend at least $50 to get the 10% merchandise discount which we never did.

I wanted to get the two coasters and the very popular Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin ride out of the way first so we headed towards the Manta.





I got slightly side tracked by some Flamingos on the way.



We had to get a locker, they cost a $1 at Sea World and only take quarters. I had brought dollar bills because quarters are heavy but they had a change machine by the lockers.

The Manta is a suspended coaster but you ride parallel to the ground as if you are flying like Superman. This coaster rocked! It was very smooth and the inverted loop was awesome. You start at the top of the loop and go down so that you are laying on your back at the bottom of the loop. You pull some pretty serious Gs at the bottom of the loop. Jim even tolerated the ride although he said he kept his eyes closed the whole time. I probably would have ridden again but I wanted to move on to some other stuff. I decided I would try to hit it up again on the way out if it wasn’t raining.

We moved on past Journey to Atlantis which is Sea World’s water ride. It was a little warmer that morning but as you know by now, Jim and I don’t really like water rides too much.





Instead we got in line for Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin which had a 5 minute wait at that point.







The basic premise of the ride is that you are following a baby Penguin through his journey growing up. The pre-show area had a short film explaining the ride.





From there you pick two lines, either wild or mild. The wild version said it included some spinning so we choose the mild side. I had no idea what to expect from the ride so I put my camera away and immediately regretted it. The ride was slow and I could have taken pictures but my camera was trapped under the restraint bar. Each ride vehicle held 6 people and the staff member that loaded us confirmed we wanted the mild version then sent us on our way. The ride is trackless and was pretty cool. We were next to a vehicle that was doing the wild version and it didn’t look too bad but I probably would have gotten a little queasy from the spinning.

At the end of the ride is the Penguin habitat. It is open air and it was frigid and a bit stinky in there. I had a blast though watching the penguins for a while.





Continued in Next Post

 

[Pluto0809]

Manta, Penguins and Sea Lions Part 2















As we exited, there was also an underwater viewing area.





My next destination was to be the Kraken roller coaster but we exited the Antarctica section in the wrong direction and ended up at the Sea Lion pool instead. Oh well, might as well check them out first. There were a bunch of birds in the same area as the Sea Lions.













Apparently I was more fascinated by the birds than the Sea Lions.

Up Next: I Throw a Temper Tantrum and We Visit Some Sharks