bengunn
Pirate Member
- Joined
- Aug 9, 2001
- Messages
- 375
Day 7 Seaworld
Previous episodes:
Prequel
Day 1 The trip to Orlando
Day 2 Animal Kingdom
Day 3 Magic Kingdom
Day 4 Typhoon Lagoon, Shopping and Illuminations Cruise
Day 5 - Islands of Adventure
Day 6 Epcot
The Cast:
Richard (bengunn): Chief planner
Kathy : DW, just wants to go on holiday
Josie : DD 20, at Reading University, Assistant Planner, not very good at getting up
Sam : DS 17, just done AS exams, can get up very quickly when he wants to
Thursday 22nd August
Today we managed to leave the villa at 08:45 (slight improvement on yesterday) and arrived at Seaworld at 09:05; quick as the traffic was light. We took our Discovery Cove confirmation to the window for DC entry and were quickly issued with four single day passes and shown in through the disabled entry completely bypassing the turnstiles and security checks.
As the park seemed quiet, we thought that we would try Journey to Atlantis first. This was a good choice as it was a walk-on; the only problem was that I had forgotten to pack the black rubbish bag to keep our backpack dry. Sam and I were in the front seat of the boat with Kathy and Josie behind. I attempted to balance the backpack on my feet to keep it up off the wet floor; this was a good move because as soon as the boat started to move, a wave came over the front left corner and soaked our feet
. The ride meandered through unexplained bits of Atlantis ending in the huge drop which is not that wet.
<SPOILER WARNING skip to the next paragraph if you dont know (or dont want to know) what happens next> then some woman said Leaving so soon? I think not! and we went down a small drop and got absolutely drenched, or at least Sam and I did Kathy and Josie just got damp (so avoid the front seat if you dont want to get too wet); the ride then turns into a roller coaster which is different for a water ride.
Sam and I were now very wet, as in soaked, so Kathy and Josie had to carry the backpack and my bumbag and camera to stop them getting wet. We looked at Kraken next; Kathy decided she would sit it out and so the rest of us rode Kraken twice riding the back row on the second go and walking-on both times. This was certainly one of the best coasters we went on; very smooth, with an amazing first drop, and IMHO better than the Hulk and Duelling Dragons; the only one that was better was Montu at Busch Gardens.
Next up was the Clyde and Seamore show; we did not see this last time (I dont even know if it existed 10 years ago). I was not too sure if I was going to like this show but in the event it was very funny and very well done. We then spent a while in the Penguin Encounter; we all love penguins, although they seem a bit crowded in there; it was also a bit cold in my still wet clothes.
A pleasant surprise next, as the Shark Encounter Terrors of the Deep was open. It had been closed while they built the Sharks Underwater Grill; I had emailed Seaworld back in mid-June to ask when it would reopen but had been told sometime in the Fall, which was disappointing. So it was nice to find it open. This is a great exhibit with the sharks swimming over the top of you.
The Tropical Reef was next; we seem to have zig-zagged about the park for some reason; and then the Dolphin Show. <SPOILER WARNING> Another great show, love the bit where they pick a boy to interact with the dolphins; would you believe that his father fell in the water and came out riding on the back of two dolphins (yes I do know that it was a set up). It rained quite hard during the show which meant that it was a bit cooler (well less hot really) afterwards.
We were hungry now, so lunch was needed; the Cypress Bakery provided the necessary and we ate sandwiches and croissants outside while being slightly hassled by a white Ibis that obviously wanted our food (makes a change from seagulls).
Suitably refreshed, we then visited the Dolphin Nursery, Turtle Point, Stingray Lagoon (where we bought some expensive fish) and then Dolphin Cove (more expensive fish and a photo of Josie feeding dolphins). Next were the Manatees (wonderful animals), alligators (glad you cant feed them) and the sealions which were incredibly noisy.
It was getting time for the 17:15 Shamu Adventure Show, so we went and got some good, dry seats for this. Yet another great show but dont sit anywhere near the front unless you want to get very wet (we were fine about half way up but people at the front were soaked).
Time for dinner now; I had forgotten to book the Dine with Shamu buffet when we came in this morning but we were tempted by the new Sharks Underwater Grill until we found that there was at least an hours wait. We did not want to wait as our plan was to see the Wild Arctic, Shamu Rocks America and then the fireworks; so it was chicken strips and fries for four at the Dockside Smokehouse; cost $39.78 so at least it was fairly inexpensive.
The queue for the Wild Arctic simulator did not look too long but it moved very slowly. The simulator is rough but quite amusing although it is the strangest helicopter that I have ever been on; more like a submarine at times! We were running short of time now so we had to rather rush the animal exhibits to catch the Shamu Rocks America show at 20:00.
We got into Shamu Rocks America just in time (not such good seats as for the earlier show) and enjoyed this different show with louder music. After this, we went and got some good seats ready for the Red BrightnBlue Fireworks Spectacular at 20:45. Do see this is you can, it includes fireworks, lasers, movies projected onto water screens amazing.
We were now pretty tired and the park was closing so we made our way back to the car and promptly got lost. We somehow found our way onto International Drive, which I thought was good until I looked at the very useful compass in the car and realised that we were going north! Eventually we worked out where we were and made it back to the villa; it was a long drive though.
Apologies for the long gap between episodes; I have been very busy at work but I must finish them soon as it was quite an effort to work this one out from my notes.
Tomorrow: Universal Studios
Previous episodes:
Prequel
Day 1 The trip to Orlando
Day 2 Animal Kingdom
Day 3 Magic Kingdom
Day 4 Typhoon Lagoon, Shopping and Illuminations Cruise
Day 5 - Islands of Adventure
Day 6 Epcot
The Cast:
Richard (bengunn): Chief planner
Kathy : DW, just wants to go on holiday
Josie : DD 20, at Reading University, Assistant Planner, not very good at getting up
Sam : DS 17, just done AS exams, can get up very quickly when he wants to
Thursday 22nd August
Today we managed to leave the villa at 08:45 (slight improvement on yesterday) and arrived at Seaworld at 09:05; quick as the traffic was light. We took our Discovery Cove confirmation to the window for DC entry and were quickly issued with four single day passes and shown in through the disabled entry completely bypassing the turnstiles and security checks.
As the park seemed quiet, we thought that we would try Journey to Atlantis first. This was a good choice as it was a walk-on; the only problem was that I had forgotten to pack the black rubbish bag to keep our backpack dry. Sam and I were in the front seat of the boat with Kathy and Josie behind. I attempted to balance the backpack on my feet to keep it up off the wet floor; this was a good move because as soon as the boat started to move, a wave came over the front left corner and soaked our feet
. The ride meandered through unexplained bits of Atlantis ending in the huge drop which is not that wet.<SPOILER WARNING skip to the next paragraph if you dont know (or dont want to know) what happens next> then some woman said Leaving so soon? I think not! and we went down a small drop and got absolutely drenched, or at least Sam and I did Kathy and Josie just got damp (so avoid the front seat if you dont want to get too wet); the ride then turns into a roller coaster which is different for a water ride.
Sam and I were now very wet, as in soaked, so Kathy and Josie had to carry the backpack and my bumbag and camera to stop them getting wet. We looked at Kraken next; Kathy decided she would sit it out and so the rest of us rode Kraken twice riding the back row on the second go and walking-on both times. This was certainly one of the best coasters we went on; very smooth, with an amazing first drop, and IMHO better than the Hulk and Duelling Dragons; the only one that was better was Montu at Busch Gardens.
Next up was the Clyde and Seamore show; we did not see this last time (I dont even know if it existed 10 years ago). I was not too sure if I was going to like this show but in the event it was very funny and very well done. We then spent a while in the Penguin Encounter; we all love penguins, although they seem a bit crowded in there; it was also a bit cold in my still wet clothes.
A pleasant surprise next, as the Shark Encounter Terrors of the Deep was open. It had been closed while they built the Sharks Underwater Grill; I had emailed Seaworld back in mid-June to ask when it would reopen but had been told sometime in the Fall, which was disappointing. So it was nice to find it open. This is a great exhibit with the sharks swimming over the top of you.
The Tropical Reef was next; we seem to have zig-zagged about the park for some reason; and then the Dolphin Show. <SPOILER WARNING> Another great show, love the bit where they pick a boy to interact with the dolphins; would you believe that his father fell in the water and came out riding on the back of two dolphins (yes I do know that it was a set up). It rained quite hard during the show which meant that it was a bit cooler (well less hot really) afterwards.
We were hungry now, so lunch was needed; the Cypress Bakery provided the necessary and we ate sandwiches and croissants outside while being slightly hassled by a white Ibis that obviously wanted our food (makes a change from seagulls).
Suitably refreshed, we then visited the Dolphin Nursery, Turtle Point, Stingray Lagoon (where we bought some expensive fish) and then Dolphin Cove (more expensive fish and a photo of Josie feeding dolphins). Next were the Manatees (wonderful animals), alligators (glad you cant feed them) and the sealions which were incredibly noisy.
It was getting time for the 17:15 Shamu Adventure Show, so we went and got some good, dry seats for this. Yet another great show but dont sit anywhere near the front unless you want to get very wet (we were fine about half way up but people at the front were soaked).
Time for dinner now; I had forgotten to book the Dine with Shamu buffet when we came in this morning but we were tempted by the new Sharks Underwater Grill until we found that there was at least an hours wait. We did not want to wait as our plan was to see the Wild Arctic, Shamu Rocks America and then the fireworks; so it was chicken strips and fries for four at the Dockside Smokehouse; cost $39.78 so at least it was fairly inexpensive.
The queue for the Wild Arctic simulator did not look too long but it moved very slowly. The simulator is rough but quite amusing although it is the strangest helicopter that I have ever been on; more like a submarine at times! We were running short of time now so we had to rather rush the animal exhibits to catch the Shamu Rocks America show at 20:00.
We got into Shamu Rocks America just in time (not such good seats as for the earlier show) and enjoyed this different show with louder music. After this, we went and got some good seats ready for the Red BrightnBlue Fireworks Spectacular at 20:45. Do see this is you can, it includes fireworks, lasers, movies projected onto water screens amazing.
We were now pretty tired and the park was closing so we made our way back to the car and promptly got lost. We somehow found our way onto International Drive, which I thought was good until I looked at the very useful compass in the car and realised that we were going north! Eventually we worked out where we were and made it back to the villa; it was a long drive though.
Apologies for the long gap between episodes; I have been very busy at work but I must finish them soon as it was quite an effort to work this one out from my notes.
Tomorrow: Universal Studios
Richard - excellent day at Seaworld - long one too.
