The cast:
Paul, 37 years young - a fully paid-up Disneyaholic
Helen, younger in years and looks - the most organised member of the family
Ryan, 5 months old - a Disney fan in the making
Today we are going to venture off-site for the first time this trip and visit Seaworld. Last year we purchased Silver Passport tickets for Seaworld and Busch Gardens and have already had great value from them, especially as they include free parking and also a discount on food and shopping.
After a quick breakfast in the room I call down to the valet station and ask them to bring the car around as well be down in 10 minutes. Ah, the sheer luxury of it all
We stroll down to the car and are hit by the heat of the hot Orlando morning. Never mind, as the valet has thoughtfully turned on the air-con in advance well worth the $2 tip I think.
Seaworld is fairly busy and we have to queue for about 10 mins just to make it through the turnstiles. After the obligatory rest room stops and picking up a park map our first port of call is the dolphin pool at Key West. We eventually manage to find a shady spot so Ryan can get some close-up views, but to be honest he isnt particularly interested. Never mind though, Im sure hell make up for it when hes a little older.
Next stop is Kraken where the wait time is posted at just 5 minutes a crime to pass by without sampling the 200 foot drop, surely? I love the initial drop on this coaster and the wonderful views you get over the surrounding area. I enjoy it so much in fact that a second circuit is definitely in order before rejoining the family.
Its now time for Ryans feed, so we locate the nearest nursing station on the map. Rather than Disneys approach of a single large facility, Seaworld has a handful of smaller rooms dotted around the park. After the relative luxury of the past couple of days this is more a case of back to basics it does the job however and we are soon on our way to the penguin house. Compared to the dolphins this is an instant hit with Ryan and he gets very animated, gesturing at the birds. We ride the conveyer belt in front of the large window a couple of times and enjoy the air-conditioning a little more before braving the sunshine once again. Incidentally one of the best buys we made prior to the holiday was a stroller sunshade cover known as a shade-a-babe. This is basically a mesh cover that protects infants from the sun, wind and insects, and is held in place with some Velcro straps. Considering the strength of the Florida sun in October it came in very handy.
Next stop is lunch and we decide to try Mamas Kitchen which is the nearest food stop. A fairly decent selection of sandwiches and chicken dishes can be found here, and the added bonus of 10% off due to our silver passports was good too. Fed and watered we decided to try the Skytower, as this had been closed on our last visit due to building and renovation work.
The views from this are truly magnificent you really can see for miles and its a lot easier to take pictures here than at the top of Kraken Ryan is starting to get a little sleepy by now so we decide its time to head back to the Boardwalk.
A quick detour via Winn Dixie to pick up a few more supplies then its back to the room for a few zzzzs. Suitably refreshed we head off for dinner all the way downstairs to the Big River Grille Helen really enjoys the meatloaf here and has it at least once each trip; I try the Chicken Alfredo
along with a beer or two. Decide to get a piece of cheesecake to go and then have a slow walk over to Epcot to watch Reflections of Earth. Find a nice quiet spot in France next to one of the areas roped off for VIPs that is being guarded by a couple of CMs. Nothing unusual in that of course, only that the entire area is devoid of people not a soul in sight. We scoff our cheesecake and still no-one turns up, even though its now less than 5 minutes till show time. As the first rocket heads up into the sky the CMs decide enough is enough and cast aside the rope barrier, so we scoot on in and grab an even better spot to watch from result!
This was Ryans first experience of fireworks and we werent at all sure of what to expect, so had bought a scarf to cover his ears, and were prepared to head off immediately if necessary. However, we had no problems at all and he simply gazed at the explosions of colour and light and smiled now and again. After the show we took a slow walk back to our room, stopping along the way to watch a couple of the vaudeville acts entertaining the crowds on the BW. The whole place seems to come alive on Friday and Saturday nights compared to the rest of the week, so if youre thinking of visiting the area it might be best to choose those days.
Day 4, Its not a zoo
Paul, 37 years young - a fully paid-up Disneyaholic
Helen, younger in years and looks - the most organised member of the family
Ryan, 5 months old - a Disney fan in the making
Today we are going to venture off-site for the first time this trip and visit Seaworld. Last year we purchased Silver Passport tickets for Seaworld and Busch Gardens and have already had great value from them, especially as they include free parking and also a discount on food and shopping.
After a quick breakfast in the room I call down to the valet station and ask them to bring the car around as well be down in 10 minutes. Ah, the sheer luxury of it all
We stroll down to the car and are hit by the heat of the hot Orlando morning. Never mind, as the valet has thoughtfully turned on the air-con in advance well worth the $2 tip I think.Seaworld is fairly busy and we have to queue for about 10 mins just to make it through the turnstiles. After the obligatory rest room stops and picking up a park map our first port of call is the dolphin pool at Key West. We eventually manage to find a shady spot so Ryan can get some close-up views, but to be honest he isnt particularly interested. Never mind though, Im sure hell make up for it when hes a little older.
Next stop is Kraken where the wait time is posted at just 5 minutes a crime to pass by without sampling the 200 foot drop, surely? I love the initial drop on this coaster and the wonderful views you get over the surrounding area. I enjoy it so much in fact that a second circuit is definitely in order before rejoining the family.
Its now time for Ryans feed, so we locate the nearest nursing station on the map. Rather than Disneys approach of a single large facility, Seaworld has a handful of smaller rooms dotted around the park. After the relative luxury of the past couple of days this is more a case of back to basics it does the job however and we are soon on our way to the penguin house. Compared to the dolphins this is an instant hit with Ryan and he gets very animated, gesturing at the birds. We ride the conveyer belt in front of the large window a couple of times and enjoy the air-conditioning a little more before braving the sunshine once again. Incidentally one of the best buys we made prior to the holiday was a stroller sunshade cover known as a shade-a-babe. This is basically a mesh cover that protects infants from the sun, wind and insects, and is held in place with some Velcro straps. Considering the strength of the Florida sun in October it came in very handy.
Next stop is lunch and we decide to try Mamas Kitchen which is the nearest food stop. A fairly decent selection of sandwiches and chicken dishes can be found here, and the added bonus of 10% off due to our silver passports was good too. Fed and watered we decided to try the Skytower, as this had been closed on our last visit due to building and renovation work.
The views from this are truly magnificent you really can see for miles and its a lot easier to take pictures here than at the top of Kraken
Ryan is starting to get a little sleepy by now so we decide its time to head back to the Boardwalk.A quick detour via Winn Dixie to pick up a few more supplies then its back to the room for a few zzzzs. Suitably refreshed we head off for dinner all the way downstairs to the Big River Grille
Helen really enjoys the meatloaf here and has it at least once each trip; I try the Chicken Alfredo
along with a beer or two. Decide to get a piece of cheesecake to go and then have a slow walk over to Epcot to watch Reflections of Earth. Find a nice quiet spot in France next to one of the areas roped off for VIPs that is being guarded by a couple of CMs. Nothing unusual in that of course, only that the entire area is devoid of people not a soul in sight. We scoff our cheesecake and still no-one turns up, even though its now less than 5 minutes till show time. As the first rocket heads up into the sky the CMs decide enough is enough and cast aside the rope barrier, so we scoot on in and grab an even better spot to watch from result!This was Ryans first experience of fireworks and we werent at all sure of what to expect, so had bought a scarf to cover his ears, and were prepared to head off immediately if necessary. However, we had no problems at all and he simply gazed at the explosions of colour and light and smiled now and again. After the show we took a slow walk back to our room, stopping along the way to watch a couple of the vaudeville acts entertaining the crowds on the BW. The whole place seems to come alive on Friday and Saturday nights compared to the rest of the week, so if youre thinking of visiting the area it might be best to choose those days.
Day 4, Its not a zoo
