Mike Jones
<font color=993300>....nothing clever to say... ju
- Joined
- Jun 23, 2003
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
What a Carry On! Part 4 Wednesday 20th August 2008.
I am woken a couple of times around in the night, following the wind getting up at about 2.00am its a bit blowy outside too!
I doze on until 5.30, and then lie there listening to the weather until Amanda wakes just after 6.00. We rise and start preparing coffee.
Beth has asked for a full two hours to get ready this morning (she wants to do her hair, but why youd spend ages on it in this weather beats me!) so we wake her soon afterwards.
We notice an invader: a small frog is climbing up the wall near the front door (its probably too wet outside for him!) so we capture and release it back into the wild!
The others appear before 6.45 and breakfasts are prepared and eaten. Adam seems to have an uncanny knack for finding monster truck rallies on the TV network and it seems that we have to suffer the things every day. The living area TV is quite impressive by the way, at a life-sized 50 inches or so!
I check the weather on the computer: it looks like Fay has bedded in now, and is likely to be spreading its damp joy around us for the next few days. We decide to get on with our plans regardless; so today we are headed to Seaworld.
After showers and ritual bag packing etc., we set off at 8.15. I expected there to be some traffic on I4 at this time, but we maintain the speed limits all the way to the Park, arriving at 8.45, only the 10th car on the front row! Not worth paying for Shamus Preferred Parking today then!
It has been dry on the journey: cloudy, but warm at 77 degrees F. However, a few spots of rain start to fall as we walk to the entrance plaza, setting the tone for the rest of the day.
We pass quickly through the perfunctory security check and turnstiles, activating our 5 park Busch/Seaworld/Universal/IOA tickets. After the usual, pre-park restroom visit, we join the modest huddle at the rope drop and await 9.00am.
Theres a lot of construction going on, with a large area behind timber screens. Amanda thinks shes read that its a new Manta Ray themed ride, which may be something like Air at Alton Towers in the UK.
We march smartly to Kraken and four of us (mum, Amanda, Beth and self) dump our bags on our timid companions before entering the ride.
Theres not much of a line for the front seats, and as mum hasnt done Kraken before, we wait for a couple of trains to be filled before climbing aboard.
This is one incredible coaster! The floorless design and the angle of the first drop are fantastic, and wonderfully complimented by the seemingly endless loops and twists thereafter. Everyone enjoyed it, but as the rain is coming down heavier now, and 65 mph showers can be painful, we elect not to repeat at the moment.
Catching up with Adam and Dad, I try to rally support for a Journey to Atlantis next door, on the basis that as we are wet already, it wont hurt anyone. Sadly, only Amanda and I are up for it, and off we go: I admit to poncho-ing up!
The ride is a complete walk on and we are off by 9.30. Good laugh.
Penguins next: they seem to have added a new bit, with puffins, unless Ive missed it over the previous 7 trips! I like this area more than the penguin section!
On the way out we see the slightly bizarre sight of a couple of SW CMs herding a flock of flamingos .
We continue on to the Pacific Point Preserve to see the sea lions and harbour seals. This sometimes overlooked habitat lies behind the Clyde & Seymour theatre (filling up for the 10:00am show, but none of us fancy it).
Part 2
Part 3
What a Carry On! Part 4 Wednesday 20th August 2008.
I am woken a couple of times around in the night, following the wind getting up at about 2.00am its a bit blowy outside too!
I doze on until 5.30, and then lie there listening to the weather until Amanda wakes just after 6.00. We rise and start preparing coffee.
Beth has asked for a full two hours to get ready this morning (she wants to do her hair, but why youd spend ages on it in this weather beats me!) so we wake her soon afterwards.
We notice an invader: a small frog is climbing up the wall near the front door (its probably too wet outside for him!) so we capture and release it back into the wild!
The others appear before 6.45 and breakfasts are prepared and eaten. Adam seems to have an uncanny knack for finding monster truck rallies on the TV network and it seems that we have to suffer the things every day. The living area TV is quite impressive by the way, at a life-sized 50 inches or so!
I check the weather on the computer: it looks like Fay has bedded in now, and is likely to be spreading its damp joy around us for the next few days. We decide to get on with our plans regardless; so today we are headed to Seaworld.
After showers and ritual bag packing etc., we set off at 8.15. I expected there to be some traffic on I4 at this time, but we maintain the speed limits all the way to the Park, arriving at 8.45, only the 10th car on the front row! Not worth paying for Shamus Preferred Parking today then!
It has been dry on the journey: cloudy, but warm at 77 degrees F. However, a few spots of rain start to fall as we walk to the entrance plaza, setting the tone for the rest of the day.
We pass quickly through the perfunctory security check and turnstiles, activating our 5 park Busch/Seaworld/Universal/IOA tickets. After the usual, pre-park restroom visit, we join the modest huddle at the rope drop and await 9.00am.
Theres a lot of construction going on, with a large area behind timber screens. Amanda thinks shes read that its a new Manta Ray themed ride, which may be something like Air at Alton Towers in the UK.
We march smartly to Kraken and four of us (mum, Amanda, Beth and self) dump our bags on our timid companions before entering the ride.
Theres not much of a line for the front seats, and as mum hasnt done Kraken before, we wait for a couple of trains to be filled before climbing aboard.
This is one incredible coaster! The floorless design and the angle of the first drop are fantastic, and wonderfully complimented by the seemingly endless loops and twists thereafter. Everyone enjoyed it, but as the rain is coming down heavier now, and 65 mph showers can be painful, we elect not to repeat at the moment.
Catching up with Adam and Dad, I try to rally support for a Journey to Atlantis next door, on the basis that as we are wet already, it wont hurt anyone. Sadly, only Amanda and I are up for it, and off we go: I admit to poncho-ing up!
The ride is a complete walk on and we are off by 9.30. Good laugh.
Penguins next: they seem to have added a new bit, with puffins, unless Ive missed it over the previous 7 trips! I like this area more than the penguin section!
On the way out we see the slightly bizarre sight of a couple of SW CMs herding a flock of flamingos .
We continue on to the Pacific Point Preserve to see the sea lions and harbour seals. This sometimes overlooked habitat lies behind the Clyde & Seymour theatre (filling up for the 10:00am show, but none of us fancy it).