sharona
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2008
- Messages
- 3,422
Went to SW last week as part of our 9 day trip to WDW. It was a fabulous day and we loved the park and all it had to offer.
We arrived just after 9am and the park was open but not really crowded yet. We had pre-purchased our tix using the $20 off code that shall not be named. We had also pre-paid for and booked the Dolphins Up Close tour #1 so we reported to the Information desk for our assigned tour time. We were assigned to the first tour @ 1030am.
We headed over to do the 9:30am dolphin feeding because thanks to the DIS we knew that was not part of the Up Close tour. This was fun and DD8 was thrilled. Each guest entering the area must buy the tray of food ($7). We gave ours to DD so she had 3 trays to feed - each one really contains only a few fish. Keep an eye out for the birds as they will try to swoop in and steal the food. They took pics during the feeding and when I mentioned we were booked for the tour they gave me a slip so I could have all the pics together on one cd.
After this we fed the Rays and then headed out to look for something for us humans to eat. We had muffins and croissants from the Bakery on the outdoor patio where there was a family of a mama duck and her 4 ducklings charming everyone.
At 10:25 we reported for our 10:30 tour. Our guide was very friendly and accommodating. We headed to the dolphin nursery where we saw the mama and baby dolphins. They were adorable and tried to splash us a few times. Next we moved back to the dolphin area where we were assigned into groups (our family of 3 was one group). We had a very nice dolphin keeper and interacted w/ two young female dolphins. We got to pet them work with them on a mimic behavior. It was so cute how they would push each other out of the way to get the attention. This tour was worth the $ and the time out of our day. We reviewed the pictures and decided to purchase the CD. Some of the pictures are so great! Well worth the cost and it was nice to not worry about capturing the moments myself, to just enjoy the tour.
After this it was about 11:30. The show schedule gave us very few options. We wanted to see Clyde and Seymour, Blue Horizons and One Ocean. There were only 2 OOs, 1230 and 630pm. On the advice of guy at the the Information desk earlier, we opted for the later show. That left C&S at 2:15, BH at 4.
We explored the rest of the exhibits in between the shows. The Arctic area was very cool with a giant walrus and a polar bear. Also we liked the shark encounter. We fed the sharks and the seals.
It was a very warm day so we stopped and ate indoors at Spice Mill. It was nice to cool off and sit for a bit. We also visited a lot of the gift shops. They really have some gorgeous stuff here.
The shows - C&S was cute. The mime entertaining the crowd before the show starts was funnier than the actual show. Blue Horizons was very good. We sat in the soak zone because DD was hot and determined to get wet. We got not a drop! Nothing! Nada!
We next stopped at Shamu's Happy Harbor. DD enjoyed the Shamu coaster and the water play area. There was also some sand to play in. Water + sand = children that look like breaded chicken cutlets!
The 6:30 OO show was only about 1/4 full. We had our choice of seats, again opting for soak zone. This time - mission accomplished. We got wet but not soaked. I was happy to have the waterproof video camera!
The park was closed after the last OO show so we followed the crowd to the exit. It was a great day and one DD will not soon forget. She said it was her favorite day of the whole trip which included all the WDW parks and a few days at the AKL.
We arrived just after 9am and the park was open but not really crowded yet. We had pre-purchased our tix using the $20 off code that shall not be named. We had also pre-paid for and booked the Dolphins Up Close tour #1 so we reported to the Information desk for our assigned tour time. We were assigned to the first tour @ 1030am.
We headed over to do the 9:30am dolphin feeding because thanks to the DIS we knew that was not part of the Up Close tour. This was fun and DD8 was thrilled. Each guest entering the area must buy the tray of food ($7). We gave ours to DD so she had 3 trays to feed - each one really contains only a few fish. Keep an eye out for the birds as they will try to swoop in and steal the food. They took pics during the feeding and when I mentioned we were booked for the tour they gave me a slip so I could have all the pics together on one cd.
After this we fed the Rays and then headed out to look for something for us humans to eat. We had muffins and croissants from the Bakery on the outdoor patio where there was a family of a mama duck and her 4 ducklings charming everyone.
At 10:25 we reported for our 10:30 tour. Our guide was very friendly and accommodating. We headed to the dolphin nursery where we saw the mama and baby dolphins. They were adorable and tried to splash us a few times. Next we moved back to the dolphin area where we were assigned into groups (our family of 3 was one group). We had a very nice dolphin keeper and interacted w/ two young female dolphins. We got to pet them work with them on a mimic behavior. It was so cute how they would push each other out of the way to get the attention. This tour was worth the $ and the time out of our day. We reviewed the pictures and decided to purchase the CD. Some of the pictures are so great! Well worth the cost and it was nice to not worry about capturing the moments myself, to just enjoy the tour.
After this it was about 11:30. The show schedule gave us very few options. We wanted to see Clyde and Seymour, Blue Horizons and One Ocean. There were only 2 OOs, 1230 and 630pm. On the advice of guy at the the Information desk earlier, we opted for the later show. That left C&S at 2:15, BH at 4.
We explored the rest of the exhibits in between the shows. The Arctic area was very cool with a giant walrus and a polar bear. Also we liked the shark encounter. We fed the sharks and the seals.
It was a very warm day so we stopped and ate indoors at Spice Mill. It was nice to cool off and sit for a bit. We also visited a lot of the gift shops. They really have some gorgeous stuff here.
The shows - C&S was cute. The mime entertaining the crowd before the show starts was funnier than the actual show. Blue Horizons was very good. We sat in the soak zone because DD was hot and determined to get wet. We got not a drop! Nothing! Nada!
We next stopped at Shamu's Happy Harbor. DD enjoyed the Shamu coaster and the water play area. There was also some sand to play in. Water + sand = children that look like breaded chicken cutlets!
The 6:30 OO show was only about 1/4 full. We had our choice of seats, again opting for soak zone. This time - mission accomplished. We got wet but not soaked. I was happy to have the waterproof video camera!
The park was closed after the last OO show so we followed the crowd to the exit. It was a great day and one DD will not soon forget. She said it was her favorite day of the whole trip which included all the WDW parks and a few days at the AKL.
