yinyanggirls
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 27, 2009
- Messages
- 1,872
Sunday morning got a slow start and, thankfully, the girls slept "late" (FL time being 3 hrs ahead of AZ time helped). Tim is the first one up around 8:30 and I mumble something to him about "why don't you go to the orientation while I get everyone ready....". He leaves on foot for the Ice Cream Palace to grab a fast breakfast then get to orientation at 9. I get up and get myself ready while the girls sleep a little bit longer, then of course Tessa wakes up as soon as there was movement around her. Phoebe is last to wake up and she is just so exhausted. She normally naps during the day and I don't think the sleep she had on the airplane was up to her standards. I hurry and get them both dressed and in the truck so that we can make it to breakfast at the Gingerbread House long enough before 10 that they would still serve us. It was close, and I remember rushing to the front desk to swipe our meal card while Tessa dawdled behind wanting to go play on all the fun things she saw outside by the castle. A volunteer "angel" as they are called there, helps me with our tray and took it to a table for us. Breakfast is good, just the basics, but Tessa really just isn't interested in eating. As Phoebe is finishing up (she is the opposite of Tessa and loves to eat breakfast, but is sooooo slow) Tim sends me a text to say he's done and I reply for him to meet us. He seemed to enjoy the orientation, to some extent, probably because he never had any interest in reading or listening to the info I offered him as I was learning it here. 
He knew I had planned to go to Sea World that day and informed me that there were several other families there who had planned the same thing. My reasoning was that since it was Sunday, the Disney parks would probably be pretty crowded. We didn't have much that we felt we had to do at Sea World so it would be a somewhat relaxing day, not wearing us out for our big plans tomorrow. I did ask him to inquire about the activity at GKTW that afternoon, Twinkle Hope's Tea Party. It was scheduled for 2pm and I wasn't sure if we would be able to breeze through Sea World that fast, or if it would be worth coming back for, then returning to Sea World after. Tim said that it was cancelled, so that solved the dilemma for us. It was probably for the best because after breakfast the kids wanted to ride the carousel (3 times) and we didn't actually get on the road to Sea World until 11:30, arriving around noon.
We were able to get a really close parking spot, so I thought my plans must have paid off - no crowds. It doesn't take long at all to get through the ticket booth, pick up a stroller for Tessa and start to explore the park. We decide to head straight for the dolphins to see what time the feedings will be. We pause for a minute to check out the flamingos. Since a couple of them are right next to the fence I knew Phoebe could see them.
We get to the dolphin area to learn that they are just finishing a feeding and it will be 30 mins or so before the next one. We meander back to a pool we had passed on our way, the stingrays. We watch the babies swim around and round until we realize that the next pool over has the adults and the park provides raw shrimp for you to feed them. Tessa wants nothing to do with the feeding part but she's enjoying watching them.
It's somewhat awkward getting Phoebe in a position to pet them. She likes the water but doesn't understand that there's something worth reaching for underneath the surface. As Tim tries to maneuver her several inches of her hair gets wet. I have to admit I wasn't thrilled with that. To think of all the goop that's in that water, and the smell. Oh well, too late now.
I don't know how many Phoebe got to actually touch but the girls were both happy.
Tim was having fun and with his long arms was able to touch a bunch of them.
I decided to stop photographing and give it a try myself. You are supposed to put the shrimp in between your fingers so that it sticks up and then lay your hand flat on the floor of the pool. Tim warned me not get the camera too close to the water so I didn't lean all the way over to put my hand flat. I tried putting it on the side of the pool instead but the stingray that was trying to get it missed and kept trying and as he came up higher on the side he splashed me, and my brand new, don't want to talk about how expensive, camera. It wasn't a little sprinkle of water either, it was a splash. Totally flustered at this point I go over to the nearby sinks to get some towels and begin sopping water up off of my camera. I'm sopping and blowing while Tim, the girls and a few other strangers nearby were laughing at what had just happened. I laugh now since my camera kept working, but it really made me grumpy at the time. Darn stingray.
At this point it's almost time for the next dolphin feeding so we go get in line. There was no one manning the line at this stage so I don't know if we could have gone in at the last minute or not but we didn't want to chance it and miss another feeding. About 5 minutes later the line proceeds into the pool area and the attendant tells us where to go for a special entrance. I don't know if it would have been for all wheelchairs or just wish families, because we definitely passed up the cash register. We wait another 10 minutes and watch the dolphins swimming while everyone else is paying and then they lead us in first to the end of the row.
If you look at the small crowd of spectators you'll see a picket fence. That was the end of the line of feeders and where they led us to. Everyone else follows and lines up along the wall waiting for instructions. They explain what to do, not to do, etc (like dangle your camera over the water as the dolphins have been known to take one as a new toy to play with) then hand out trays of fish.
The dolphins know exactly what is going to happen and all stake out a spot to get their snack. Tim helps Phoebe feed the guy who chose our spot and both Phoebe and the dolphin seem to enjoy it.
The dolphin did not really seem to enjoy being touched or pet though, and swam away when they tried.
Phoebe must have really been excited about this activity because after a couple of minutes she starts to seize. Tim hands me the rest of their fish and scoots back against the wall where we had parked her wheelchair. The dolphin had swam away to other feeders because we were simply taking way too long to get that fish to him. Once I start holding them out again he comes back and even Tessa is willing to try feeding a couple of fish at this point. When everyone has run out of fish the dolphins swim back and forth to check everyone out and see if there is anyone left. They are not very loyal creatures when it comes to feeding time.
An employee hands us some paper tickets and says these are to view our photos.
Phoebe is still seizing when Tessa and I step back to the wall, so as everyone else is directed to exit through the gate right next to us we attempt to stay out of their way. Once she recovers we walk out to the sinks where get to wash up, thoroughly, before proceeding on to the screens where we can enter in our codes and view our photos. There were some decent ones but I decided to view what I had taken and none of them were as good as the one I got of Phoebe and the dolphin "smiling" at each other so we passed. It was a fun experience and I would probably pay the $7 to do it again but I didn't even think twice about skipping the $20 photo (complete with plastic Sea World frame!).
We glance at the map at this point to try and decide where to go. I'm thinking that we might as well walk around clockwise towards the kiddie Happy Harbor area. The dolphin feeding is in the very bottom left corner. It doesn't look like there is a lot to do between there and Happy Harbor except maybe look at a couple of animals on the way. We see some alligators that Tessa was not real impressed with. We see the manatees which none of us are real impressed with. I mean, they don't DO anything.
It's starting to drizzle now and we're anxious to find something to do or somewhere to go.
The next thing we see is this:
(to be continued after ballet rehearsal this evening....)
He knew I had planned to go to Sea World that day and informed me that there were several other families there who had planned the same thing. My reasoning was that since it was Sunday, the Disney parks would probably be pretty crowded. We didn't have much that we felt we had to do at Sea World so it would be a somewhat relaxing day, not wearing us out for our big plans tomorrow. I did ask him to inquire about the activity at GKTW that afternoon, Twinkle Hope's Tea Party. It was scheduled for 2pm and I wasn't sure if we would be able to breeze through Sea World that fast, or if it would be worth coming back for, then returning to Sea World after. Tim said that it was cancelled, so that solved the dilemma for us. It was probably for the best because after breakfast the kids wanted to ride the carousel (3 times) and we didn't actually get on the road to Sea World until 11:30, arriving around noon.
We were able to get a really close parking spot, so I thought my plans must have paid off - no crowds. It doesn't take long at all to get through the ticket booth, pick up a stroller for Tessa and start to explore the park. We decide to head straight for the dolphins to see what time the feedings will be. We pause for a minute to check out the flamingos. Since a couple of them are right next to the fence I knew Phoebe could see them.
We get to the dolphin area to learn that they are just finishing a feeding and it will be 30 mins or so before the next one. We meander back to a pool we had passed on our way, the stingrays. We watch the babies swim around and round until we realize that the next pool over has the adults and the park provides raw shrimp for you to feed them. Tessa wants nothing to do with the feeding part but she's enjoying watching them.
It's somewhat awkward getting Phoebe in a position to pet them. She likes the water but doesn't understand that there's something worth reaching for underneath the surface. As Tim tries to maneuver her several inches of her hair gets wet. I have to admit I wasn't thrilled with that. To think of all the goop that's in that water, and the smell. Oh well, too late now.
I don't know how many Phoebe got to actually touch but the girls were both happy.
Tim was having fun and with his long arms was able to touch a bunch of them.
I decided to stop photographing and give it a try myself. You are supposed to put the shrimp in between your fingers so that it sticks up and then lay your hand flat on the floor of the pool. Tim warned me not get the camera too close to the water so I didn't lean all the way over to put my hand flat. I tried putting it on the side of the pool instead but the stingray that was trying to get it missed and kept trying and as he came up higher on the side he splashed me, and my brand new, don't want to talk about how expensive, camera. It wasn't a little sprinkle of water either, it was a splash. Totally flustered at this point I go over to the nearby sinks to get some towels and begin sopping water up off of my camera. I'm sopping and blowing while Tim, the girls and a few other strangers nearby were laughing at what had just happened. I laugh now since my camera kept working, but it really made me grumpy at the time. Darn stingray.
At this point it's almost time for the next dolphin feeding so we go get in line. There was no one manning the line at this stage so I don't know if we could have gone in at the last minute or not but we didn't want to chance it and miss another feeding. About 5 minutes later the line proceeds into the pool area and the attendant tells us where to go for a special entrance. I don't know if it would have been for all wheelchairs or just wish families, because we definitely passed up the cash register. We wait another 10 minutes and watch the dolphins swimming while everyone else is paying and then they lead us in first to the end of the row.
If you look at the small crowd of spectators you'll see a picket fence. That was the end of the line of feeders and where they led us to. Everyone else follows and lines up along the wall waiting for instructions. They explain what to do, not to do, etc (like dangle your camera over the water as the dolphins have been known to take one as a new toy to play with) then hand out trays of fish.
The dolphins know exactly what is going to happen and all stake out a spot to get their snack. Tim helps Phoebe feed the guy who chose our spot and both Phoebe and the dolphin seem to enjoy it.
The dolphin did not really seem to enjoy being touched or pet though, and swam away when they tried.
Phoebe must have really been excited about this activity because after a couple of minutes she starts to seize. Tim hands me the rest of their fish and scoots back against the wall where we had parked her wheelchair. The dolphin had swam away to other feeders because we were simply taking way too long to get that fish to him. Once I start holding them out again he comes back and even Tessa is willing to try feeding a couple of fish at this point. When everyone has run out of fish the dolphins swim back and forth to check everyone out and see if there is anyone left. They are not very loyal creatures when it comes to feeding time.
An employee hands us some paper tickets and says these are to view our photos. Phoebe is still seizing when Tessa and I step back to the wall, so as everyone else is directed to exit through the gate right next to us we attempt to stay out of their way. Once she recovers we walk out to the sinks where get to wash up, thoroughly, before proceeding on to the screens where we can enter in our codes and view our photos. There were some decent ones but I decided to view what I had taken and none of them were as good as the one I got of Phoebe and the dolphin "smiling" at each other so we passed. It was a fun experience and I would probably pay the $7 to do it again but I didn't even think twice about skipping the $20 photo (complete with plastic Sea World frame!).
We glance at the map at this point to try and decide where to go. I'm thinking that we might as well walk around clockwise towards the kiddie Happy Harbor area. The dolphin feeding is in the very bottom left corner. It doesn't look like there is a lot to do between there and Happy Harbor except maybe look at a couple of animals on the way. We see some alligators that Tessa was not real impressed with. We see the manatees which none of us are real impressed with. I mean, they don't DO anything.
It's starting to drizzle now and we're anxious to find something to do or somewhere to go. The next thing we see is this:
(to be continued after ballet rehearsal this evening....)
You are such a Supermom! 
I order a banana split for Phoebe with just a small scoop of ice cream. Tessa decides to go play on the rocking horse in the corner and Ann's oldest daughter Kate joins her. 
Dinner looks delicious and what a view of the sharks! I didn't realize how Sea World does their Pick a Pearls -- very cool experience!
