I'm Not As Tink As You Kronk I Am - Final Thoughts on Mustard's January Trip to WDW

[scottny]

I'm feeling better and DD8 was feeling good enough to go see Spiderwick Chronicles with some friends and a brave mom today.

I got a call from DW and the competition did not go so well - lots of miscommunications and confusion leading up to their time on the floor and DD11 accidentally went the wrong way during part of their routine

She is a cutie, isn't she? SeaWorld has stalled out - my web server has crashed and I have to drive out to work to bring it back up.



Sorry Scott ...as I was saying to Sharky, the web server I have all of my pics on has crashed and won't even respond to a ping. I need to go out and see what's going on with it.

aahhh OK. hope it is working soon

 

[mnmrmustard]

Well my cunning planning had us spending the weekend going to SeaWorld since the marathon would be going on and it supposedly causes havoc with driving/parking and the crowd levels are higher.

I had promised the fam that our SeaWorld days would be leisurely so we slept in and made it to the park at about 11am. Parking was still pretty good ...of course MiL's handicapped placard helped. We went to the left of the entrance gates in a door next to the customer service/will call window to a separate window inside to pick up our passes.

With the Discovery Cove package you get a free week pass to SeaWorld, but until you actually go to Discovery Cove and get your ID badge you have to go in and get individual day passes issued. The upside is that you get to go into the park through a separate entrance right next to the little lagoon where the lighthouse is.

We headed in and Shamu was there, so we got a pic with the girls:

We realized that we forgot to pack pants for Bean so she lucked out and got a pair of dolphin shorts from the gift shop right up front. From there we headed up to the left and took a shot of the flamingos

and then on to the sea turtles

We rolled on up and decided to check out Blue Horizons, a show combining dolphins, birds, and acrobats:

To Be Continued...

 

[scottny]

that dog is adorable. too cute.

Sea World looks like fun. Only been to San Diego, never Orlando.

 

[mnmrmustard]

Back to the Blue Horizons show!

After the show we headed past the Journey to Atlantis log ride, which was closed and on to the Kraken roller coaster! We had to deal with a bit of a melt-down with Bean, because it is the one coaster during out trip that she was too short for. It was a double bummer since Atlantis was closed, so she got no thrill rides at SeaWorld :-[

She stayed with the moms and DW, DD11, and I took a spin on the coaster. It was fast and different - cool enough a coaster ride but we only rode it once so Bean wouldn't have to wait on us. Don't feel too bad for her though, she got a stuffed sea lion from the Grandmas out of the deal - lol.

We decided to skip the penguin habitat since we have a big one at the Oregon Zoo and had been to it several times. We stopped to look at a couple of the birds in pens attached to one of the gift shops

We started getting hungry so looked through the food offerings and decided to take a stroll across the park to Mango Joes Cafe.

They had some really good food, but very persistent "friends" who wanted us to share with them. There are rules about not feeding the animals ...but someone needs to tell the animals that because this bunch ended up leaping on the girls food and spilling Bean's chicken & fries:

The servers were really cool about the situation and replaced her meal for free

After our food settled we strolled over to Shamu's Happy Harbor to let the kids have some fun on the rides.

The ladies took a ride on a big crab

Then our adventures take us in different directions...

 

[mnmrmustard]

that dog is adorable. too cute.

Sea World looks like fun. Only been to San Diego, never Orlando.

Yeah, she's a fluffy ball of cuteness for sure I had only been to the one in San Diego also. There were some similar shows, but some different stuff too ...and a much bigger park overall.

 

[mnmrmustard]

We split up, with me accompanying my mom, who wanted to ride the Shamu Express and the girls, who wanted to climb the 3 story tall play area.

They had fun but it was pretty tiring for them doing all that climbing:

...while I hammed it up on the 'coaster:

After we were all fun'd out we decided to take in the Pets Ahoy show. Unfortunately it had filled up early so after a quick stop to get the girl's pic taken by the wave

...we made our way up to the Nautilus Theater, which was doing a special Jack Hanna Show ...something I had been very much looking forward to.

We were way early and were the first at the handicapped entrance, so when the doors opened the mom's got the best wheelchair area and since there wasn't seating with them (it was kind of a scooter corral), we were able to move all the way up front. DD11 and I were right next to the stage and DW and DD8 were just to the left of us.

Before the show started Jack came out and autographed posters and took pics, so we sent both girls over

And a few minutes later the show began - it was pretty amazing to see some of these animals so up close and personal

Now at this point the snakes came out....

...and specifically the RATTLESNAKE! Which you can see was mere feet from myself and DD11. You should have heard the sound of that rattle going off so close to us - yow!

and some pretty kitties

More Hanna and his animals to come!

 

[scottny]

great pics and update. rattle snakes are bad, very bad. I do not like snakes.

 

[mnmrmustard]

The show had been amazing so far. Very interesting animals and lots of good information about them. Hanna was a font of knowledge about animals, conservation, and the work that SeaWorld does in relation to both.

After the show we rolled right down the hill to the shark area. We picked up some trinkets from the gift shop there and stopped by the outdoor pool

And then we made our way inside to the exibits

More fishies to come ....these with TEETH!

 

[mnmrmustard]

great pics and update. rattle snakes are bad, very bad. I do not like snakes.

Thankyee sir! And thanks for staying up while I get this thing finished off! Yeah, I agree ...I can do without snakes.

 

[mnmrmustard]

Here's an odd little guy

The barracuda were interesting

...and were giving Bean the 'eye'

Then ON TO THE SHARKS!

That was it for us there, so we headed out of SeaWorld for the day. But we weren't done for the day...


We had a promise to make good on to the girls. Since our first day there was lost due to the flight out snafu we had lost the chance at going to the McDonalds with the biggest play area. So we drove down to it minus my mom who got picked up by my pop and went out for steaks. Oh, how I envied them that!

For anyone who is brave enough to tell their kids about it, it is on the same road as the Pirates Adventure Dinner place. We had standard McDonalds food, but I must mention that they have a wide variety of dishes including pasta and other meals with more substance. We ate quickly and headed upstairs for the games!

The girls changed in their tickets including a jackpot that I won on one of those tornado lights games and picked up some standard little plastic trinkets. DW grabbed ice cream for them and we rolled out for the resort. The drive back was uneventful and we actually still made it back around 8pm. We did showers and headed to bed.

Tomorrow we do more SeaWorld and the printer situation comes back to haunt us

 

[Trentmom]

Hey Mustard

I thought I saw your light on!!

Sea World looks like so much fun. I have not been there since I was a little girl.

Cute pic of the girls with Shamu

Poor Bean not getting to ride the roller coaster, but sweet deal on getting a stuffed animal out of grandma

 

[Trentmom]

Wow...

what a great update!!!

I love your picture filled updates!!!


How awesome you got to meet Jack Hanna and get so close to the animals, minus the snakes...I am with Scott....They are bad and scary


That McDonald's sounds so cool.....I will have to try and check that out on our next trip for sure

 

[earthfaries]

Wow, what wonderful updates

All your pictures were beautiful!!! It's like being right there again

Glad to read you all had a perfect day at SW, it was great huh? We really loved it!

We didn't make it to the Jack Hannah show, that looked really neat though. Sorry Pet's Ahoy was full, hopefully you got to watch it the next day!

Did you have fun on Shamu? I bet the kids loved it ~ it's a fun little coaster and I was actually scared in the beginning...I was in the front seat and the twists on the track make it scary

What did the girls think about the McDonalds? We went in 2003 after watching it on Travel Channel. I was kinda dissapointed, I thought they'd have a bigger play space, like the one at SW right? That was amazing! E went up with the kids and YES, it was tiring!!!

I can't wait to read about SW day 2!

Thanks so much for sharing and the wonderful pics

​

 

[scottny]

the animal pics were great. sharks are almost as bad as snakes. great update and Sea World seems like fun.

 

[jordanyosh]

Caught up.........nice pix....and alot of pix...Never can have too many...

Having all those pix really makes it feel like I'm back there.

 

[Leger13]

Your updates are always awesome. I love all the pictures of sea world! I haven't been there in a LONG time and just seeing the pictures makes me want to go. But, is it worth taking time away from disney for?

That picture of the girls with the wave is so cool. You caught it at just the right time. And you hamming it up on the coaster made me .

That Jack Hanna thing looks AWESOME! Is it there year round?? I would go to sea world just for that. Disney lost out on getting him to feature animals at animal kingdom. I love the picture of the owl. The snakes creep me out for sure though

And the sharks and baracoodas I will not go to Ripley's Aquarium in TN just because of the sharks. They totally freak me out. Luckily the GA Aquarium doesn't have anything that scary

Anyways, awesome update Mustard! Makes me want to go to Sea World on our first half day in orlando for our september trip instead of relax and go to DTD.

 

[mnmrmustard]

Hey Mustard

I thought I saw your light on!!

Sea World looks like so much fun. I have not been there since I was a little girl.

Cute pic of the girls with Shamu

Poor Bean not getting to ride the roller coaster, but sweet deal on getting a stuffed animal out of grandma

LOL, yes - I'm checking in when I can and losing snuggle time with DW to get these updates up, but it's worth it! SeaWorld was fun and a cool change of pace from WDW. Yes, Bean talked about the 'coaster night before last and I assured her that by the time we can afford to go back she'll be tall enough

Wow...

what a great update!!!

I love your picture filled updates!!!


How awesome you got to meet Jack Hanna and get so close to the animals, minus the snakes...I am with Scott....They are bad and scary


That McDonald's sounds so cool.....I will have to try and check that out on our next trip for sure

Thankyee - I am the picture-a-holic! I just finished editing day 6 (second day at SeaWorld) and have 205 pics to post for it

Seeing Jack Hanna was extremely cool - I am very happy we took the time to see his show. Yes, that rattler was pretty intimidating.

The McDonalds was cool enough and was worth going to once. I don't see myself wanting to go back there but I'm sure the girls will convince me otherwise

Wow, what wonderful updates

All your pictures were beautiful!!! It's like being right there again

Glad to read you all had a perfect day at SW, it was great huh? We really loved it!

We didn't make it to the Jack Hannah show, that looked really neat though. Sorry Pet's Ahoy was full, hopefully you got to watch it the next day!

Did you have fun on Shamu? I bet the kids loved it ~ it's a fun little coaster and I was actually scared in the beginning...I was in the front seat and the twists on the track make it scary

What did the girls think about the McDonalds? We went in 2003 after watching it on Travel Channel. I was kinda dissapointed, I thought they'd have a bigger play space, like the one at SW right? That was amazing! E went up with the kids and YES, it was tiring!!!

I can't wait to read about SW day 2!

Thanks so much for sharing and the wonderful pics

​

Thank you for the picture compliment And yes, it was a perfect day there :-] Hanna was very cool, and yes - we got to see Pets Ahoy on Sunday.

Shamu was a cute coaster and did still give me a little "whoa!" moment on the first drop. There is a coaster at Universal Studios that is Unicorn-themed that I thought was scarier than the big ride there

We saw the same show on the Travel Channel ....top 10 most unique McDonalds, right? That's what got us there. It was fun enough but I could live without going back also. She went up with the kids??? Man, that's a lot of climbing! More power to her

As far as sharing the pics, I have another couple hundred edited that I just need to build a story around - hopefully they'll be up soon

the animal pics were great. sharks are almost as bad as snakes. great update and Sea World seems like fun.

Thanks, they were some cool and unique animals. LOL, yes - those sharks looked hungry so I was glad to have all that plexiglass between them and us. SeaWorld was pretty fun though, worth a look if you haven't been.

Caught up.........nice pix....and alot of pix...Never can have too many...

Having all those pix really makes it feel like I'm back there.

LOLOL, I'm starting to wonder if the people at the DISboards are going to start to get unhappy with the amount that I am posting I'm glad you're able to kind of live the trip through the pictures ...that is the intention

Your updates are always awesome. I love all the pictures of sea world! I haven't been there in a LONG time and just seeing the pictures makes me want to go. But, is it worth taking time away from disney for?

That picture of the girls with the wave is so cool. You caught it at just the right time. And you hamming it up on the coaster made me .

That Jack Hanna thing looks AWESOME! Is it there year round?? I would go to sea world just for that. Disney lost out on getting him to feature animals at animal kingdom. I love the picture of the owl. The snakes creep me out for sure though

And the sharks and baracoodas I will not go to Ripley's Aquarium in TN just because of the sharks. They totally freak me out. Luckily the GA Aquarium doesn't have anything that scary

Anyways, awesome update Mustard! Makes me want to go to Sea World on our first half day in orlando for our september trip instead of relax and go to DTD.

Thank you And yes, we'll have to face that question when we go back to Orlando. Do we want to take away from WDW time to do a day at SeaWorld?

The shot of the girls with the wave was a cool one, but had more to do with my camera and the ability to just hold down the button and have it take a series of pics, and then go back through and choose the best one
Yeah, I got pretty hammy on the coaster - it was still a fun ride though.

Jack Hanna was only there for the weekend ...we TOTALLY lucked out in being able to see his show. I didn't know that disney missed out on having him be involved in AK. I guess that might be part of the reason he was at SeaWorld.

Everybody seems to hate the snakes - lol. You don't even like looking at the sharks? I think they're cool to watch as long as they stay on their side of the glass.

I saw the Georgia Aquarium featured on the Today show last week - that place looks AMAZING! But you don't have a problem with the Whale Sharks there????? They look HUGE!

As far as doing a day at SeaWorld, I think it's worth it :-]

 

[Leger13]

Thank you And yes, we'll have to face that question when we go back to Orlando. Do we want to take away from WDW time to do a day at SeaWorld?

The shot of the girls with the wave was a cool one, but had more to do with my camera and the ability to just hold down the button and have it take a series of pics, and then go back through and choose the best one
Yeah, I got pretty hammy on the coaster - it was still a fun ride though.

Jack Hanna was only there for the weekend ...we TOTALLY lucked out in being able to see his show. I didn't know that disney missed out on having him be involved in AK. I guess that might be part of the reason he was at SeaWorld.

Everybody seems to hate the snakes - lol. You don't even like looking at the sharks? I think they're cool to watch as long as they stay on their side of the glass.

I saw the Georgia Aquarium featured on the Today show last week - that place looks AMAZING! But you don't have a problem with the Whale Sharks there????? They look HUGE!

As far as doing a day at SeaWorld, I think it's worth it :-]

ah the multi-shutter feature. My camera has that too. love that feature.

that's SO cool that you llucked out with the jack hanna show. bummer that it's not there all the time. I don't know of disney didn't get him...i was just sayin' if jack had the option of the two places to do his show at then AK lost out.

the sharks at the ripley's aquarium freak me out because they have butted into the glass and cracked it. I refuse to go there and no, the whale sharks at the ga aquarium don't freak me out. they always swim at the top of the water so they're never very close to the glass. plus they don't have all those teeth that the great whites do.

i'll have to keep sea world in mind for one of our future trips to WDW. I don't think we'll be able to fit it in on the trip this year

 

[Tat2ddisneymom]

I was gonna ask you who that woman was on the coaster with you, cause I know it wasn't your wife. Then it hit me, DUH, its mumsey.

I would have loved that Jack Hanna show. I like snakes, lions, tigers, stuff like that. Mostly since my step brother used to have a python and my dad used to own a lion. You got some really good pictures there.

Looks like y'all had a blast at Sea World.

 

[Trentmom]

I was gonna ask you who that woman was on the coaster with you, cause I know it wasn't your wife. Then it hit me, DUH, its mumsey.

I would have loved that Jack Hanna show. I like snakes, lions, tigers, stuff like that. Mostly since my step brother used to have a python and my dad used to own a lion. You got some really good pictures there.

Looks like y'all had a blast at Sea World.

Your Dad had a lion

As a pet??