BONZO
<font color=660066>Has been known to go off topic!
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2001
- Messages
- 2,100
The Hopping Mad Easter Tour - 2004
Shaun - 40 something If its high fat, high sugar Ill eat it
Alison - 30 something 'If its not Atkins I wont eat it
Alexandra - 10 Can we play mini-golf? Can we? Can we? Can we? Can we?
Laura - 8 'If Im tall enough Ill ride it'
Friday 9th April 2004
Up this morning at about 7:30, showered and made breakfast although I still managed to burn the bagels in the toaster, like Ive done every other day since weve been at the villa! I hope that I manage to master the bloomin' thing soon!
Despite my pyrotechnics we leave by 8.45 and head off for Sea World today. When we arrived there was a long queue just to get into the car park and I could hear the gnashing of teeth from Alison. We flashed our printouts for our annual passes that we had bought off the web and they waved us through.
The queue for ticket redemption / activation was huge and didn't appear to be moving at all. Suddenly, a CM came over and asked, "Are you here for annual pass activation? If so there's a marquee down there in the car park with more staff than there are in the office here. Luckily we were right near the back of the queue - and therefore closer to the car park! We scooped up the kids and ran for what turned out to be a couple of Portacabins with about 8 staff sitting behind a counter waiting to carry out the processing of the passes. The odd thing was that they were all sitting there twiddling their thumbs wondering where everyone was! This wasnt a good system! Some better signage would have helped!
Anyway, tickets in hand we headed over to the Annual Passholder entrance and the biometric machine which required a whole hand scan not just two fingers as the Disney ones. This didn't seem to be working too well so the CM just waved everyone in to get the queue down - LOL!
Ok - we're in the park - now we need to focus. We knew it was going to be busy today as it was Good Friday so Alexandra and I ran over to Kraken which was showing a 20 min wait but it was more like 5 mins max. This is a great raw coaster in the old tradition that cranks you up to a great height and woosh! This was Alexandra's first time and she loved it. Laura didnt really want to do it although she would have been too short anyway.
Next stop, Clyde & Seamore show The pre-show mime artiste was as good as ever although I felt it was spoilt by hoards of people stopping him and requesting photographs to be taken with him. I know that it'll be difficult to stop or enforce but just lost some of the spontaneity of it all. Overall, I felt that it was time to revamp the show as it's been the same format for the last few years - nothing wrong as it stands and good for first timers but I thought that it should have changed by now. (Must have had Grumpy hat on today - LOL) (Alison here - so whats new Shaun! LOL)
Spent some time and money (discounted for AP holders) by feeding the Seals and Sea Lions. The Penguin encounter was fun but cold and smelly as the occupants were very active - perhaps spring was in the air?
The troops were getting peckish so we headed over to the Hospitality Center for some food, and did you know you can get free beer here too?
We ate:
1 x meat sandwich and an Anheuser World Select beer.
2 x kids meals
1 x Caesar salad
1 x Deli Club
Total cost $23 (with AP holder discount)
Afterwards we took a stroll through the Shark Encounter and then managed to get seats in the Odyssea Show in the Nautilus Theatre . The pre-show antics by the "lost tourist" was hilarious! The show was great and I really admired those double-jointed ladies
I guess that some people will badge this as the "poor persons La Nuba" but as we've never been (doesn't appeal to us), I can't compare but hey - it's free!
Back out into the sunshine and over to The Shamu Show. The pre-show Question and Answer session and the faces in the crowd part is always a good warm up session. They released the whales for the first part of the show and the "baby" came out with them but didn't want to leave the main pool. The trainers couldn't start the show until they had persuaded it to leave and despite all the whistling and fish it would not go! Well, it was good practice for their ad-libbing. Eventually the show gets underway and the lower seats get the traditional dowsing.
Show over and across to Dolphin Cove & Dolphin nursery where we did some more feeding. These dolphins were so cute - they were playing with the crowd standing around by throwing out their plastic toys and waiting for people to throw them back in!
Stopped for another couple of drinks (more AP holder discounts), and then it was time to head over to the main event Dine with Shamu .
We met up with the Hunts outside and had a chat while we queued up. We were sitting separately for this so just had a brief chat and decided wed stay at the park until it closed, so the kids could go on some rides etc together afterwards.
The tables and seating arrangements for this are pre-allocated so there are some very good tables and some not so good. Luckily we had a poolside table right on a corner where we could see all of the action "up close and personal" It must have been one of the best tables there!. The food is run on a "all you care to eat buffet" system with starters, mains and deserts with waitress service for drinks. Somehow it must have slipped Alison's mind that beer was also included as she just ordered sodas for all of us! (Alison here - ooops! )
The food was excellent - very good quality indeed. We had a very attentive server as well (I know this has been a complaint by other people) who topped our drinks up frequently.
Typical menu
Fresh Garden Salad with Dressings
Caesar Salad
Tropical Vegetable Slaw
Beef Bourguignon
Seafood Creole
Pasta Primavera with Garlic Cream Sauce
Cucumber Almond Chicken Tenders
Fresh Garden Vegetable Medley
Oven Roasted Potatoes
Rice Pilaf
Freshly Baked Rolls and Butter
Kids selection:
Macaroni and Cheese
Popcorn Chicken
Hot Dogs
Pasta Marinara
Franks and Beans
Corn Cobbettes
Fruit Salad
Crudites with Dip
Brownies, Shamu Cookies, Cupcakes, Pudding, Chocolate Mousse
Soft Drinks (including some VERY red fruit punch - see picture below!) Coffee, Hot & Iced Tea
Select Anheuser-Busch Beers and House Wine (ID required)
$32 for adults (includes beer and wine)
$18 for children ages 3-9
Under 2 years old free
Wed booked this up on the Seaworld website a couple of months before we went - and they take the money off your credit card as you book.
After eating, the trainers and whales come out and explain some of the commands and then demonstrate what the whales learn. Unfortunately one of the whales got a command wrong and instead of doing a smooth loop of the pool, it did a large leap out of the water! Whoosh!! Some rather wet customers! (Luckily not in our corner - so we stayed dry!)
We got some really good close up photos - it felt like the whales were almost in touching distance!
Overall it wasn't a cheap event and although we did enjoy it we probably wouldnt do it again too soon. One of those special events that would spoil if it was done frequently.
By this time the park had thinned out quite a lot so Bob, Alexandra, Jennifer and I left Alison chatting to Julie while we went off to ride Kraken several times!
Laura and Rebecca did Penguin Encounter and then Seals and Seal Lion Encounter where we joined them and saw a new born baby seal - awww, sweet! As we went back towards the entrance we all (except Julie) decided to do Journey to Atlantis despite a 35 minute wait! We wouldn't normally wait such a long time for a ride but the kids had much to catch up on and I was keen to get Bob's opinion on things that he'd done so far.
As it was getting dark we decided to go Shamu Rocks America which wed never done before. We thought it was very patriotic and a bit over the top for me (Alison here - Shauns a bit of a cynic!) although they did flash up a Union Jack which bought about a lot of cheers from everyone.
We left just as the seasonal fireworks were going off to avoid the crush for the car park, but had a good view on the way out. Not quite up to Disney standards but a nice end to the day. We bade farewell to the Hunts - we were due to go to Busch Gardens with them on Monday, so it wouldnt be long until we saw them again.
Weather today: Hot, sunny and a little humid.
Plan for tomorrow: No idea! We were going to have a beach day, but the girls said they wanted a lie in. Some people - no stamina at all!
Shaun - 40 something If its high fat, high sugar Ill eat it
Alison - 30 something 'If its not Atkins I wont eat it
Alexandra - 10 Can we play mini-golf? Can we? Can we? Can we? Can we?
Laura - 8 'If Im tall enough Ill ride it'
Friday 9th April 2004
Up this morning at about 7:30, showered and made breakfast although I still managed to burn the bagels in the toaster, like Ive done every other day since weve been at the villa! I hope that I manage to master the bloomin' thing soon!
Despite my pyrotechnics we leave by 8.45 and head off for Sea World today. When we arrived there was a long queue just to get into the car park and I could hear the gnashing of teeth from Alison. We flashed our printouts for our annual passes that we had bought off the web and they waved us through.
The queue for ticket redemption / activation was huge and didn't appear to be moving at all. Suddenly, a CM came over and asked, "Are you here for annual pass activation? If so there's a marquee down there in the car park with more staff than there are in the office here. Luckily we were right near the back of the queue - and therefore closer to the car park! We scooped up the kids and ran for what turned out to be a couple of Portacabins with about 8 staff sitting behind a counter waiting to carry out the processing of the passes. The odd thing was that they were all sitting there twiddling their thumbs wondering where everyone was! This wasnt a good system! Some better signage would have helped!
Anyway, tickets in hand we headed over to the Annual Passholder entrance and the biometric machine which required a whole hand scan not just two fingers as the Disney ones. This didn't seem to be working too well so the CM just waved everyone in to get the queue down - LOL!
Ok - we're in the park - now we need to focus. We knew it was going to be busy today as it was Good Friday so Alexandra and I ran over to Kraken which was showing a 20 min wait but it was more like 5 mins max. This is a great raw coaster in the old tradition that cranks you up to a great height and woosh! This was Alexandra's first time and she loved it. Laura didnt really want to do it although she would have been too short anyway.
Next stop, Clyde & Seamore show The pre-show mime artiste was as good as ever although I felt it was spoilt by hoards of people stopping him and requesting photographs to be taken with him. I know that it'll be difficult to stop or enforce but just lost some of the spontaneity of it all. Overall, I felt that it was time to revamp the show as it's been the same format for the last few years - nothing wrong as it stands and good for first timers but I thought that it should have changed by now. (Must have had Grumpy hat on today - LOL) (Alison here - so whats new Shaun! LOL)
Spent some time and money (discounted for AP holders) by feeding the Seals and Sea Lions. The Penguin encounter was fun but cold and smelly as the occupants were very active - perhaps spring was in the air?
The troops were getting peckish so we headed over to the Hospitality Center for some food, and did you know you can get free beer here too?
We ate:
1 x meat sandwich and an Anheuser World Select beer.
2 x kids meals
1 x Caesar salad
1 x Deli Club
Total cost $23 (with AP holder discount)
Afterwards we took a stroll through the Shark Encounter and then managed to get seats in the Odyssea Show in the Nautilus Theatre . The pre-show antics by the "lost tourist" was hilarious! The show was great and I really admired those double-jointed ladies
I guess that some people will badge this as the "poor persons La Nuba" but as we've never been (doesn't appeal to us), I can't compare but hey - it's free!
Back out into the sunshine and over to The Shamu Show. The pre-show Question and Answer session and the faces in the crowd part is always a good warm up session. They released the whales for the first part of the show and the "baby" came out with them but didn't want to leave the main pool. The trainers couldn't start the show until they had persuaded it to leave and despite all the whistling and fish it would not go! Well, it was good practice for their ad-libbing. Eventually the show gets underway and the lower seats get the traditional dowsing.
Show over and across to Dolphin Cove & Dolphin nursery where we did some more feeding. These dolphins were so cute - they were playing with the crowd standing around by throwing out their plastic toys and waiting for people to throw them back in!
Stopped for another couple of drinks (more AP holder discounts), and then it was time to head over to the main event Dine with Shamu .
We met up with the Hunts outside and had a chat while we queued up. We were sitting separately for this so just had a brief chat and decided wed stay at the park until it closed, so the kids could go on some rides etc together afterwards.
The tables and seating arrangements for this are pre-allocated so there are some very good tables and some not so good. Luckily we had a poolside table right on a corner where we could see all of the action "up close and personal" It must have been one of the best tables there!. The food is run on a "all you care to eat buffet" system with starters, mains and deserts with waitress service for drinks. Somehow it must have slipped Alison's mind that beer was also included as she just ordered sodas for all of us! (Alison here - ooops! )
The food was excellent - very good quality indeed. We had a very attentive server as well (I know this has been a complaint by other people) who topped our drinks up frequently.
Typical menu
Fresh Garden Salad with Dressings
Caesar Salad
Tropical Vegetable Slaw
Beef Bourguignon
Seafood Creole
Pasta Primavera with Garlic Cream Sauce
Cucumber Almond Chicken Tenders
Fresh Garden Vegetable Medley
Oven Roasted Potatoes
Rice Pilaf
Freshly Baked Rolls and Butter
Kids selection:
Macaroni and Cheese
Popcorn Chicken
Hot Dogs
Pasta Marinara
Franks and Beans
Corn Cobbettes
Fruit Salad
Crudites with Dip
Brownies, Shamu Cookies, Cupcakes, Pudding, Chocolate Mousse
Soft Drinks (including some VERY red fruit punch - see picture below!) Coffee, Hot & Iced Tea
Select Anheuser-Busch Beers and House Wine (ID required)
$32 for adults (includes beer and wine)
$18 for children ages 3-9
Under 2 years old free
Wed booked this up on the Seaworld website a couple of months before we went - and they take the money off your credit card as you book.
After eating, the trainers and whales come out and explain some of the commands and then demonstrate what the whales learn. Unfortunately one of the whales got a command wrong and instead of doing a smooth loop of the pool, it did a large leap out of the water! Whoosh!! Some rather wet customers! (Luckily not in our corner - so we stayed dry!)
We got some really good close up photos - it felt like the whales were almost in touching distance!
Overall it wasn't a cheap event and although we did enjoy it we probably wouldnt do it again too soon. One of those special events that would spoil if it was done frequently.
By this time the park had thinned out quite a lot so Bob, Alexandra, Jennifer and I left Alison chatting to Julie while we went off to ride Kraken several times!
Laura and Rebecca did Penguin Encounter and then Seals and Seal Lion Encounter where we joined them and saw a new born baby seal - awww, sweet! As we went back towards the entrance we all (except Julie) decided to do Journey to Atlantis despite a 35 minute wait! We wouldn't normally wait such a long time for a ride but the kids had much to catch up on and I was keen to get Bob's opinion on things that he'd done so far.
As it was getting dark we decided to go Shamu Rocks America which wed never done before. We thought it was very patriotic and a bit over the top for me (Alison here - Shauns a bit of a cynic!) although they did flash up a Union Jack which bought about a lot of cheers from everyone.
We left just as the seasonal fireworks were going off to avoid the crush for the car park, but had a good view on the way out. Not quite up to Disney standards but a nice end to the day. We bade farewell to the Hunts - we were due to go to Busch Gardens with them on Monday, so it wouldnt be long until we saw them again.
Weather today: Hot, sunny and a little humid.
Plan for tomorrow: No idea! We were going to have a beach day, but the girls said they wanted a lie in. Some people - no stamina at all!
