This is one of those days just soaking with favor. Firstly, the food situation: as posted here, Mommy has a gluten allergy that is so severe, we can get a bad reaction if there is even cross contamination from the kitchen. As SeaWorld is not quite there yet with their gluten-free options, what else could we do?
Deal number one was a reduced price for a season ticket for SeaWorld, good until the end of the year. That means we could eat somewhere else, then go to SeaWorld, and not have to worry about squeezing in everything in one day. Deal number two was the B Resort, which was paying off again in this way: breakfast. We had such a massive breakfast, and Mommy spoke with the chef beforehand about the entire thing - we were safe. And full too!
Nana and Ba-Ba met us just after breakfast, and so did something else rather ominous: a massive front. It was a dark storm filling the horizon, and it was clearly heading our way. Lightning and thunder came with it, and was clear that everything in Orlando was going to have to be put on hold a moment.
But what a blessing it was. We drove through it to the parking lot there at SeaWorld, and they let us right in without paying for parking. After all, no one was standing out there, directing traffic. And everyone was leaving SeaWorld because of the threat of weather. It rained lightly the rest of the day, in fact - which reduced the population there greatly. And additionally, it was overcast the entire day, which made for cooler weather. It was an idea day all across the board - seriously, we weren't affected one bit by the weather. We did everything we set out to do, and a few extra things as well in fact.
We started the day out with the Clyde & Seamore show, the one thing that we did not see a few years ago when getting to SeaWorld. This was a lot of fun for Madison, who was giggling at the antics throughout, when the sneaky seals would be stealing food, or pushing pirates into the water.
Next, the five of us made a really big trip: to the continent of Antarctica! Yeah, it wasn't really Antarctica, but there's apparently an embassy right there in the middle of SeaWorld. We rode on a unique ride, following the adventure of one particular penguin, and then got off the ride to see a whole bunch of other penguins - it was quite cold in there, actually! It was so cold that Madison was anxious to step out of the room! But we stayed long enough for photos, and watching the penguins jump in the water. One almost jumped out of the water and into the area where the people are, believe it or not. I'd be surprised if this didn't happen more often - it looked like he was going to make it. He swam with such speed and jumped straight up, landing on the edge of the glass barrier and teetering there before falling back into the water.
The Antarctica exhibit was pretty neat though - Madison loves penguins this year, that's one of her favorite animals currently. Here she is in the Antarctica Gift Shop, having fun in some penguin gear:
We got a pressed penny with a penguin on it, and at home, she still has the pink penguin from the Georgia Aquarium visit recently. Speaking of which, the next thing we went to see was the dolphin show, "Blue Horizon."
I hate to say this, but it put the show at the Georgia Aquarium to shame. Now, that show was decent. But the one at SeaWorld was completely overboard with trained exotic birds, cliff divers, aerial acrobats, and of course a whole bunch of dolphins doing plenty of amazing things. Oh, and not that much talking either. It was all action, and a bit overwhelming at the end with so much visual stimulus that you couldn't possibly take it all in. But that's where we're heading with a lot of these shows - gone are the days when you could be impressed at watching one parrot fly from point A to point B. Now, we have to see eight parrots flying across the stage as nine dolphins did double flips and divers plummeted a few stories into the water, and streamers and fireworks shot off into the air. Yeah, it was that sort of show, the kind that the word "extravaganza" sort of fits.
Our next destinations were multiple - we went to get a bite to eat for Madison, and visited the manta rays, where Daddy went to buy some fish to feed them. Yes, Madison fed a manta today, but so did Mommy, Nana, Ba-Ba and Daddy too. We had enough food to reach down into the water and feed the guys. Madison was reaching in to pet them as well, as they gracefully glided by for more fish to eat.
We washed our hands of course.
And then we came upon Dolphin Cove, which offered an opportunity to feed dolphins - we may do that later when Madison's a little older. Right now we were content to go underground to see watch the dolphins under the water.
Madison saw them playing around with a rock, picking it up with their mouths, swimming around and chasing each other over it. She called the came "roccer!"
And then we went off to see "Turtle Trek," a 360 movie that follows the adventure of this one sea turtle that has a whole lot of danger to face in his journey. But don't worry - he makes it through. So did we, barely. That kind of ride just doesn't work for Daddy as much, as his equilibrium gets thrown off pretty easily! But seeing the turtles in the water beforehand was really nice - one in particular came right up to Madison to say hi. And next door, there were manatees, which always have a strange attraction for us - and everyone else. Everyone loves manatees. Madison was happy to watch for a while, and then happy to play a video game right next to these exhibits: she and Mommy and Daddy were sea turtles racing across the Pacific, eating the right foods and staying away from danger.
We saw a bunch of alligators afterwards, and then went over towards the Manta, which was that "extra" thing not on the schedule to begin with. Daddy loves roller coasters, but sort of wrote this ride off as everyone else in our group wasn't up for a coaster ride. HOWEVER, they were up for ice cream, and there was literally no wait for Manta whatsoever. SO, Daddy did get to ride his roller coaster after all. Again, no wait. We just walked up, and walked on, and off we went on an exhilarating ride, hanging down like you are on a hang glider, and zooming forward through twists and turns and loops, of course. The best parts are the weavings through rocks and towards a lake that splashes up water as you speed by.
We had our ice cream break there - it was hard to resist a Shamu bar. That's an ice cream shaped like Shamu, sort of the equivalent to the Mickey Bar we always have to have at Disney. We also saw the impressive new aquarium by the roller coaster - it was filled with mantas, of course. But there were plenty of other tropical reef fish there as well, along with one of those tanks you can stick your head up in the middle of.
Our full day was still going on though - we had other things to see after this, starting with the dolphin nursery, which was right next door. Madison got to see young dolphins with their mothers swim around a large pool area, which was pretty sweet.
Even sweeter to Madison was our next destination, Shamu's Happy Harbor. This is where it's at for kids: there is this massive three-story (or higher) climbing area with nets and tunnels and slides and all sorts of fun. This alone could have kept Madison busy for a long time. But there were also rides there, ones catered to the whole family. Daddy and Madison rode on one, which was the equivalent of the tea cups at the Magic Kingdom.
Yes, Madison made Daddy very, very dizzy. But why is it that no matter the shape of these things, they are always called tea cups. The influence of Disney there! Anyway, these were little water spouts that spun like crazy, nauseating parents. Madison loved it.
She also loved the crab ride. We rode one of these at LEGOland earlier this year - it goes up, and then down. Up... and down. The down part is the fun part, where there are all kinds of sudden drops. Mommy and Madison rode this one together - it was oddly enough the longest line of the entire day, if you can believe that. But it was worth it to Madison, who laughed all the way up... and down!
Next we hopped on Shamu's Express - this is a mini-roller coaster that all the kids were riding on with their parents. Daddy and Madison went on this ride, which was a fun little coaster for younger ones. Madison still isn't that crazy about roller coasters though, admitting she was a little scared on it. But we told her she was very brave for trying it out.
The next thing we rode on was much safer for all of us: a carousel. Of course, being at SeaWorld, there were no standard horses on this one. These were all sorts of sea creatures, case in point: Mommy is riding an angler fish, and Madison is on a manatee. Daddy stood nearby to keep an eye on Madison, as we went round and round and round and round and round and... yes, Daddy needed a little medication by this point - his head was spinning!
So Mommy took Madison on the next ride, a nice little train through an aquatic-looking area. This was a nice little ride, and the last thing we did before leaving Shamu's Happy Harbor. There were other rides there, including one that looked amazingly sickening. Just watching it operate, Daddy was getting nauseous! But fortunately, we were out of time because we all wanted to get to Shamu Stadium!
This was our last stop of the day, the grand finale to our first visit to SeaWorld together. It was a special show to celebrate the 50th anniversary of SeaWorld, and they pulled out all the stops. As an added bonus, Madison and Daddy sat in the SOAK ZONE, nice and close!
The show was fantastic, and there was actually much to learn. This was Madison's first time seeing a killer whale, and these were quite big. And we were really close too! They leaped in the air, and did a whole lot of splashing too - sending hundreds and hundreds of gallons out over the soak zone. This is the reason Madison and Daddy wore our ponchos!
The show concluded with plenty of fireworks, and thus our first day at SeaWorld drew to a close. It was a great one though, with so much favor it was amazing. We were tired, but the great news is that we don't have to get up too early tomorrow for day two. In fact, we don't have to get there until after noon, if we want.
But we got back to the B Resort later, and there we went to bed pretty quickly. It was a long day, but a great one!
Deal number one was a reduced price for a season ticket for SeaWorld, good until the end of the year. That means we could eat somewhere else, then go to SeaWorld, and not have to worry about squeezing in everything in one day. Deal number two was the B Resort, which was paying off again in this way: breakfast. We had such a massive breakfast, and Mommy spoke with the chef beforehand about the entire thing - we were safe. And full too!
Nana and Ba-Ba met us just after breakfast, and so did something else rather ominous: a massive front. It was a dark storm filling the horizon, and it was clearly heading our way. Lightning and thunder came with it, and was clear that everything in Orlando was going to have to be put on hold a moment.
But what a blessing it was. We drove through it to the parking lot there at SeaWorld, and they let us right in without paying for parking. After all, no one was standing out there, directing traffic. And everyone was leaving SeaWorld because of the threat of weather. It rained lightly the rest of the day, in fact - which reduced the population there greatly. And additionally, it was overcast the entire day, which made for cooler weather. It was an idea day all across the board - seriously, we weren't affected one bit by the weather. We did everything we set out to do, and a few extra things as well in fact.
We started the day out with the Clyde & Seamore show, the one thing that we did not see a few years ago when getting to SeaWorld. This was a lot of fun for Madison, who was giggling at the antics throughout, when the sneaky seals would be stealing food, or pushing pirates into the water.
Next, the five of us made a really big trip: to the continent of Antarctica! Yeah, it wasn't really Antarctica, but there's apparently an embassy right there in the middle of SeaWorld. We rode on a unique ride, following the adventure of one particular penguin, and then got off the ride to see a whole bunch of other penguins - it was quite cold in there, actually! It was so cold that Madison was anxious to step out of the room! But we stayed long enough for photos, and watching the penguins jump in the water. One almost jumped out of the water and into the area where the people are, believe it or not. I'd be surprised if this didn't happen more often - it looked like he was going to make it. He swam with such speed and jumped straight up, landing on the edge of the glass barrier and teetering there before falling back into the water.
The Antarctica exhibit was pretty neat though - Madison loves penguins this year, that's one of her favorite animals currently. Here she is in the Antarctica Gift Shop, having fun in some penguin gear:
We got a pressed penny with a penguin on it, and at home, she still has the pink penguin from the Georgia Aquarium visit recently. Speaking of which, the next thing we went to see was the dolphin show, "Blue Horizon."
I hate to say this, but it put the show at the Georgia Aquarium to shame. Now, that show was decent. But the one at SeaWorld was completely overboard with trained exotic birds, cliff divers, aerial acrobats, and of course a whole bunch of dolphins doing plenty of amazing things. Oh, and not that much talking either. It was all action, and a bit overwhelming at the end with so much visual stimulus that you couldn't possibly take it all in. But that's where we're heading with a lot of these shows - gone are the days when you could be impressed at watching one parrot fly from point A to point B. Now, we have to see eight parrots flying across the stage as nine dolphins did double flips and divers plummeted a few stories into the water, and streamers and fireworks shot off into the air. Yeah, it was that sort of show, the kind that the word "extravaganza" sort of fits.
Our next destinations were multiple - we went to get a bite to eat for Madison, and visited the manta rays, where Daddy went to buy some fish to feed them. Yes, Madison fed a manta today, but so did Mommy, Nana, Ba-Ba and Daddy too. We had enough food to reach down into the water and feed the guys. Madison was reaching in to pet them as well, as they gracefully glided by for more fish to eat.
We washed our hands of course.
And then we came upon Dolphin Cove, which offered an opportunity to feed dolphins - we may do that later when Madison's a little older. Right now we were content to go underground to see watch the dolphins under the water.
Madison saw them playing around with a rock, picking it up with their mouths, swimming around and chasing each other over it. She called the came "roccer!"
And then we went off to see "Turtle Trek," a 360 movie that follows the adventure of this one sea turtle that has a whole lot of danger to face in his journey. But don't worry - he makes it through. So did we, barely. That kind of ride just doesn't work for Daddy as much, as his equilibrium gets thrown off pretty easily! But seeing the turtles in the water beforehand was really nice - one in particular came right up to Madison to say hi. And next door, there were manatees, which always have a strange attraction for us - and everyone else. Everyone loves manatees. Madison was happy to watch for a while, and then happy to play a video game right next to these exhibits: she and Mommy and Daddy were sea turtles racing across the Pacific, eating the right foods and staying away from danger.
We saw a bunch of alligators afterwards, and then went over towards the Manta, which was that "extra" thing not on the schedule to begin with. Daddy loves roller coasters, but sort of wrote this ride off as everyone else in our group wasn't up for a coaster ride. HOWEVER, they were up for ice cream, and there was literally no wait for Manta whatsoever. SO, Daddy did get to ride his roller coaster after all. Again, no wait. We just walked up, and walked on, and off we went on an exhilarating ride, hanging down like you are on a hang glider, and zooming forward through twists and turns and loops, of course. The best parts are the weavings through rocks and towards a lake that splashes up water as you speed by.
We had our ice cream break there - it was hard to resist a Shamu bar. That's an ice cream shaped like Shamu, sort of the equivalent to the Mickey Bar we always have to have at Disney. We also saw the impressive new aquarium by the roller coaster - it was filled with mantas, of course. But there were plenty of other tropical reef fish there as well, along with one of those tanks you can stick your head up in the middle of.
Our full day was still going on though - we had other things to see after this, starting with the dolphin nursery, which was right next door. Madison got to see young dolphins with their mothers swim around a large pool area, which was pretty sweet.
Even sweeter to Madison was our next destination, Shamu's Happy Harbor. This is where it's at for kids: there is this massive three-story (or higher) climbing area with nets and tunnels and slides and all sorts of fun. This alone could have kept Madison busy for a long time. But there were also rides there, ones catered to the whole family. Daddy and Madison rode on one, which was the equivalent of the tea cups at the Magic Kingdom.
Yes, Madison made Daddy very, very dizzy. But why is it that no matter the shape of these things, they are always called tea cups. The influence of Disney there! Anyway, these were little water spouts that spun like crazy, nauseating parents. Madison loved it.
She also loved the crab ride. We rode one of these at LEGOland earlier this year - it goes up, and then down. Up... and down. The down part is the fun part, where there are all kinds of sudden drops. Mommy and Madison rode this one together - it was oddly enough the longest line of the entire day, if you can believe that. But it was worth it to Madison, who laughed all the way up... and down!
Next we hopped on Shamu's Express - this is a mini-roller coaster that all the kids were riding on with their parents. Daddy and Madison went on this ride, which was a fun little coaster for younger ones. Madison still isn't that crazy about roller coasters though, admitting she was a little scared on it. But we told her she was very brave for trying it out.
The next thing we rode on was much safer for all of us: a carousel. Of course, being at SeaWorld, there were no standard horses on this one. These were all sorts of sea creatures, case in point: Mommy is riding an angler fish, and Madison is on a manatee. Daddy stood nearby to keep an eye on Madison, as we went round and round and round and round and round and... yes, Daddy needed a little medication by this point - his head was spinning!
So Mommy took Madison on the next ride, a nice little train through an aquatic-looking area. This was a nice little ride, and the last thing we did before leaving Shamu's Happy Harbor. There were other rides there, including one that looked amazingly sickening. Just watching it operate, Daddy was getting nauseous! But fortunately, we were out of time because we all wanted to get to Shamu Stadium!
This was our last stop of the day, the grand finale to our first visit to SeaWorld together. It was a special show to celebrate the 50th anniversary of SeaWorld, and they pulled out all the stops. As an added bonus, Madison and Daddy sat in the SOAK ZONE, nice and close!
The show was fantastic, and there was actually much to learn. This was Madison's first time seeing a killer whale, and these were quite big. And we were really close too! They leaped in the air, and did a whole lot of splashing too - sending hundreds and hundreds of gallons out over the soak zone. This is the reason Madison and Daddy wore our ponchos!
The show concluded with plenty of fireworks, and thus our first day at SeaWorld drew to a close. It was a great one though, with so much favor it was amazing. We were tired, but the great news is that we don't have to get up too early tomorrow for day two. In fact, we don't have to get there until after noon, if we want.
But we got back to the B Resort later, and there we went to bed pretty quickly. It was a long day, but a great one!
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