"What's Your Problem?" Caught by loop and hook... (COMPLETED 4/20, post 426)

[cj9200]

Great update. Haven’t done Sea World in ages. Maybe next trip. Manta sounds really cool and I get the “It should be HERE” observation. Usually it is me with my head buried in a map with my DD pointing and saying, “There it is dad” in that condescending tone.

 

[that's nice]

Welcome back to your TR!!!!

I think when you know you can't do something you want to do it that much more... In your case getting off the RIDE!!! Glad it was only 10 minutes and not hours!

I heard about the birds and the bees.. but never about the lizards! Great lunch entertainment! Did you place your money in the slot at your table?

Great pics BTW!!!

 

[itJeff]

... I don't recall what we ate...

Hmmmmm..... I can't imagine that you don't remember what you ate 10 months ago.

----- Making a mental note to take pics of all the food we eat on our trip in May. That way I don't have to eat my words later. -----

With regards to the map reading and asking for directions. This is what I tell my wife, in those circumstances... "I don't ask for directions because very few people know how to give good directions." Of course that didn't help that one year on our anniversary, when we drove around for 1.5 hours trying to find a restaurant in an unfamiliar city. We try not to talk about that anniversary.

I was definitely looking for Mouse-landmarks in the pics from the tower. I didn't make any out though...

Can't wait to see how the day ends!

 

[FreezinRafiki]

Yep.... time to eat. I've learned over the years that when the alert is sounded, there is a limited amount of time to get food into the mouth of "the hungry one" before a split personality appears. This grace period is usually just long enough to rally the troops in the correct direction and immediately travel quickly to the destination. Any attempts to thwart this effort will be met with extreme countermeasures such as yelling, kicking and/or throwing things.

Umm... I'm contractually bound not to respond to this. Or even acknowledge that you actually said it.

Other than that, great update. I wonder how long you could keep one of those pearl divers waiting while DD posed and you pretended to fiddle with the settings on your camera?

Ok, show of hands--who was scanning the horizon for Disney buildings? Besides me, of course.

 

[dvczerfs]

nice update don, man has that place grew since ive been there last!

 

[stopher1]

May 4, 2009

Yay - another update.

May 4, 2009The Sandbar is located pretty close to the Shark Encounter exhibit. On our way we see what appears to be a big fish tank in front of a small stadium area. Only... in this particular fish tank there were 2 people in it... a guy and a girl. They seemed to be diving down to the bottom on the tank and looking for things. It turns out to be "Pearl Dive", where, for a price (don't remember how much), you can have one of the divers pick out an oyster and then have the oyster opened. You get to keep the pearl from the oyster and can have it turned into jewelry. DD was absolutely fascinated with the divers and kept asking if she could go in the tank with them! Well... being the DIS Dad that I am, I kindly inquired to the nearest worker if it would be OK to throw DD in the tank for her own oyster. Still not sure why he walked away... shaking his head... I thought it was a valid question, ya know? HAHA! Anyway... here is DD posing with the divers:

Seems like a valid question to me!!

OK... here's a little information for those who are interested in the Sky Tower. If you do not have an annual pass, it will cost you $3 to ride.

This is exactly why we did not go on it when we visited SW last fall.

Shamu Stadium:


Manta!

You did get some nice pics from up there.

I'm sure in one of these pictures you could make out Spaceship Earth or even Space Mountain. It was definitely interesting to see the area from that vantage point in the sky.

I sure tried to see anything in your pics, but couldn't zoom in to inspect them - I'll bet you could see the DTD area hotels at the very least.

Hungry. That's what DW is now. You know what that means? Yep.... time to eat. I've learned over the years that when the alert is sounded, there is a limited amount of time to get food into the mouth of "the hungry one" before a split personality appears.

Too funny - since you have pretty much just described by 14 yr old

We thought that by having hot dogs and drinks we would come out pretty cheap. Ummm... not so in this case. The same size dogs you can get at 7-11 for $2 cost about $7 here. In all we spent just over $25 for 3 dogs and a drink... which we shared. We were not pleased. But... we should come to expect this at a theme park, right?

wow - don't you remember the class we had to take in Theme Park 101? EVERYTHING COSTS MORE - DOUBLE OR TRIPLE EVEN - ONCE YOU ENTER THE REALITY DISTORTION REALM OF A THEME PARK Oh wait, I guess you were absent that day...

We even enjoyed some entertainment while sitting at the tables. Seems a friendly lizard-couple decided to take a friendly stroll along the edge of the eating area... stopping occasionally to perform a few dances and show off their stuff. One thing led to another... and suddenly we are faced with the x-rated version of the show. Before DD could start asking questions... we promptly finish our "meal" and head out. Not before I grabbed some quick shots of the actions first:

Oh cool - True-Life Adventures right there up close and personal. I love it. Too bad they didn't list that on the Times Guide... perhaps there would have been a bigger crowd around. Mental note though, for the faint of heart (or those dads not wanting to yet discuss the birds and the bees, or in this case, the lizards) - try to avoid theme parks with real animals during the spring, otherwise known as mating season!

All righty then... moving along... it was really starting to get hot out at this point. I think we were all starting to get agitated and in need of some A/C. BUT... I had already made it clear that I want to at least check out what was going on with Manta. So... plan is... check out Manta, then go see an indoor show. Sounds like a good plan, right? Let's go!

The Sea World map was a little confusing.

AMEN to that!!

[ The entrance to Manta seemed to be just around the corner from where we were... but we were having trouble finding it. You know that conversation you have with your spouse when driving... and you realize you've made a bad turn somewhere? You have the map in front of you and you're mumbling "... stupid thing says it's RIGHT HERE..." all the while your spouse is yelling "JUST STOP AND ASK SOMEONE!" Yeah... we were there. The first worker I stop was clueless. I might as well asked her where the DIS Board was located. OK... slow, deep breaths... we can get through this. DW is starting to lose it... if there is one thing that will fire her up fast than a ragin' cajun is bad customer service. The next worker is a little better... he is at least able to point us in the correct direction for the entrance to the ride. A few minutes later and we are at the entrance. DD is too small to ride... so we stop yet another worker to find out if they do a "child swap" of any sorts. "Umm... I think so. Oh yeah... uh... go up to the exit and talk to the guy in the cage." I should have known at this point that this couldn't possibly work out ok... but we try it anyway.

DW heads up the exit and I start my way through the regular line. Turns out they are having the soft opening this day. The line seemed to be long, but the guy in front of me said it moves pretty quickly. The queue area was fascinating! They have aquariums set up throughout the line and also have a big aquarium that have manta rays swimming around. OH! and there was a water fountain at the beginning of the line! What a great idea! Although... I suppose if you drank a lot before the ride and there was a long wait you'd might regret it. It took about 20 minutes to get through the line, and I figured if I'm riding this thing, I'm riding in the FRONT! So while I'm waiting, I then remember that DW should be by the exit somewhere... but no... she is not. Don't know what that means yet... but I'll find out once the ride is over.

If you have no idea what roller coaster I'm talking about, visit this web site and they have a short video of it... http://www.ridetheflyingray.com/manta/ This is one SWEET ride! This was the first coaster I've been on that has you laying down on your belly! Very smooth and I love the inverted loop that takes you on your back. Really is an incredible experience. I was grinning from ear-to-ear as we pulled into the station.... then... about 10 feet from where we are SUPPOSED to stop... the train stops. And it doesn't move. I look up and I can see the control booth... which has about 4 people in it... shaking there heads... looking at clipboards. This can't be good. Now imagine being strapped into this chair... laying face-down... for about 10 minutes. That's how long it took these people to figure out what was wrong to get us off the train. Very uncomfortable.

As I'm walking down the exit ramp I am trying to figure out what happened to DW and DD. Found them hanging out at the very end of the exit area sitting on some rocks.... and DW does NOT look happy. She found out that they DO have a child swap process... and you are issued a card upon exiting the ride. You then hand the card to the person who is waiting to ride next. But guess who didn't get the card? Yeah... Muah. Didn't really matter at this point because DW was beyond consoling and just wanted to leave... so... we did.

Bummer about your DW and the lack of the child swap card, and "hanging out" like you did for 10 mins or so - but HEY - what an awesome ride. Glad to hear you got to go on it. That is definitely my favorite at SW!

We get on the LYNX bus and start heading back to a REAL resort location. As luck would have it, the same family we met that morning was on the bus already! This made DD very happy and the two girls picked up right where they left off.

Too funny, but very cool!

DW and I were deciding what to do next. It was during this time when I was checking out the bus route map that I figured instead of going all the way back to the TTC, we could instead get off at DTD and grab some dinner there. This made DW very happy... as she's been wanting to eat there again. The bus stops at the Marketplace... at the corner of Buena Vista Dr and Hotel Plaza Blvd... right in front of Earl of Sandwich. It was a very short walk to EOS... a hundred feet at best. And that's exactly where we got our next meal from. Excellent food for those who are looking for a counter service meal.

Yum!

OK... we are almost done with this day... but have one more stop before the end of the night. I'll get you there ASAP... I know that has been ONE LOOOONNNGGGG Trip Report!

Yes it has - but you know you're just trying to stretch it out until it's time to leave once for FL once again. Can't wait to read the rest. Until then, just keep yer ruddy eye out for

 

[Emma's Dad]

Great update. Haven’t done Sea World in ages. Maybe next trip. Manta sounds really cool and I get the “It should be HERE” observation. Usually it is me with my head buried in a map with my DD pointing and saying, “There it is dad” in that condescending tone.

True!

Welcome back to your TR!!!!

I think when you know you can't do something you want to do it that much more... In your case getting off the RIDE!!! Glad it was only 10 minutes and not hours!

I heard about the birds and the bees.. but never about the lizards! Great lunch entertainment! Did you place your money in the slot at your table?

Great pics BTW!!!

Yeah... it only took quarters, though

Hmmmmm..... I can't imagine that you don't remember what you ate 10 months ago.

----- Making a mental note to take pics of all the food we eat on our trip in May. That way I don't have to eat my words later. -----

With regards to the map reading and asking for directions. This is what I tell my wife, in those circumstances... "I don't ask for directions because very few people know how to give good directions." Of course that didn't help that one year on our anniversary, when we drove around for 1.5 hours trying to find a restaurant in an unfamiliar city. We try not to talk about that anniversary.

I was definitely looking for Mouse-landmarks in the pics from the tower. I didn't make any out though...

Can't wait to see how the day ends!

Oh my! That definitely sounds like "the anniversary that shall not be discussed"! Were the wheels missing from the car when you went to leave??

Umm... I'm contractually bound not to respond to this. Or even acknowledge that you actually said it.

Other than that, great update. I wonder how long you could keep one of those pearl divers waiting while DD posed and you pretended to fiddle with the settings on your camera?

HAHA! I actually tried that move... those people can hold their breath for a LONG time... like 3 minutes!

nice update don, man has that place grew since ive been there last!

Thanks When were you there last?

 

[stopher1]

Ok, show of hands--who was scanning the horizon for Disney buildings? Besides me, of course.

 

[dvczerfs]

i was there about 10-12 years ago. the big water ride was in and alot of construction but that was the only "ride" type of thing that was there.

 

[trennr]

Hey Don...I found some stuff...I think...

 

[stopher1]

Hey Don...I found some stuff...I think...

Good eyes Nate - I think you could be right.

 

[dvczerfs]

wow, nate, ow did you see that?

 

[DisneyDadC]

good eyes Nate,I even zoomed in on all the pics and missed it the first time.

 

[Wherem I Now]

Ok, show of hands--who was scanning the horizon for Disney buildings? Besides me, of course.

I've stayed in the Peabody hotel at the Convention center a couple of times. I could make out several of the Disney landmarks and could see the movement of the monorail going in and out of the Contemporary. It was really strange watching the fireworks from that angle and so far away.

Nice catch Nate!

 

[trennr]

Good eyes Nate - I think you could be right.

wow, nate, ow did you see that?

good eyes Nate,I even zoomed in on all the pics and missed it the first time.

Nice catch Nate!

Looked on Bing Maps...put a pin marker on the Tower where Don took the Pics...then Traveled over to Epcot and put a pin marker on Spaceship Earth.

1] Seaworld Tower
2] Spaceship Earth
3] TOT
4] Dolphin
5] Swan
6] Blue Building.
Then I changed my view to travel acorss the land back toward Pin mark #1 (the tower) and saw that those round blue roofed buildings in the bottom of this picture were in the general direction...So I knew if there was anything to be found it would be in that picture...maybe the one with the Flamingo Boats too...but I didn't see anything there.

When I spotted the triangle shape of "The Dolphin" I had my bearings and picked out the rest...still wasn't too sure about Spaceship Earth.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Looked on Bing Maps...put a pin marker on the Tower where Don took the Pics...then Traveled over to Epcot and put a pin marker on Spaceship Earth.
1] Seaworld Tower
2] Spaceship Earth
3] TOT
4] Dolphin
5] Swan
6] Blue Building.
Then I changed my view to travel acorss the land back toward Pin mark #1 (the tower) and saw that those round blue roofed buildings in the bottom of this picture were in the general direction...So I knew if there was anything to be found it would be in that picture...maybe the one with the Flamingo Boats too...but I didn't see anything there.

When I spotted the triangle shape of "The Dolphin" I had my bearings and picked out the rest...still wasn't too sure about Spaceship Earth.

Wow...that's impressive work!

 

[dvczerfs]

Looked on Bing Maps...put a pin marker on the Tower where Don took the Pics...then Traveled over to Epcot and put a pin marker on Spaceship Earth.

1] Seaworld Tower
2] Spaceship Earth
3] TOT
4] Dolphin
5] Swan
6] Blue Building.
Then I changed my view to travel acorss the land back toward Pin mark #1 (the tower) and saw that those round blue roofed buildings in the bottom of this picture were in the general direction...So I knew if there was anything to be found it would be in that picture...maybe the one with the Flamingo Boats too...but I didn't see anything there.

When I spotted the triangle shape of "The Dolphin" I had my bearings and picked out the rest...still wasn't too sure about Spaceship Earth.

nice work nate!

 

[itJeff]

1] Seaworld Tower
2] Spaceship Earth
3] TOT
4] Dolphin
5] Swan
6] Blue Building.

Awesome idea!

 

[Emma's Dad]

Hey Don...I found some stuff...I think...

Awesome investigation! Oh.... SOOO close! After you found these I did some further investigation. With my original photo I could zoom in a bit more. This is what I found (using your initial findings and using Google Maps to orient):

 

[trennr]

Awesome investigation! Oh.... SOOO close! After you found these I did some further investigation. With my original photo I could zoom in a bit more. This is what I found (using your initial findings and using Google Maps to orient):

3 out of 4 ain't bad. But I did put "???" on Spacship Earth.