This morning we all woke up a little later - but Madison was ready to have some fun when Nana knocked on our hotel door. She was inviting Madison to the pool! Of course, Madison was completely up for that!
Later on today, we returned to SeaWorld once more, this time without Nana and Ba-Ba, who opted to head back home and see us tomorrow when we arrive back there. But we all had yet another massive breakfast before embarking on our day, which has been a nice tradition each morning. And a safe one for Mommy as well, who can eat with comfort that nothing will mess with her during the day - no allergies here.
It's a neat gather of folks at the tables, where we meet other travelers, and Madison has been pretty friendly with anyone she meets. Today she met someone from France, who spoke no English whatsoever - and of course our French was astoundingly limited. And yet... Madison still got along just fine with their little girl, which was nice to see. Madison can be a very social person on one hand - and yet at other times she'll be very shy. For example, on this vacation earlier we were skyping with our extended family in Great Britain. Mommy was speaking with her cousin there, and introducing Madison - who was suddenly a bit quiet. It was still a big moment though: Madison had not seen or spoken to anyone across the pond just yet, and of course she noticed the change in accents.
Today was considerably warmer. It was in fact a standard afternoon in Florida, showing us how blessed we in fact were yesterday with the cooler weather. The sun was blazing, and we knew immediately that our travels today would be short-lived. Still, we plunged forth, confident at least because we knew that many of the activities we planned for the day were indoors. And in fact, our first destination was inside where we found ourselves already desperate for the air conditioning. The first thing we saw was Pets Ahoy! It was a show we didn't squeeze into the schedule from yesterday, and actually something very entertaining!
Madison got to meet some of the pets involved in the show afterwards. But during the show, there was a wonderful variety of animals doing all kinds of interesting tricks all around us. Best of all, these were all rescued pets, taken from local animal shelters. Madison loved the show. So did Mommy and Daddy.
Our next destination was a pivotal moment for the day - the Sky Tower. The sign said ten minutes, but it was more like twenty or twenty-five. Which was brutal. The sun was punishing, and this pretty much did Mommy in for the day. There was simply no covering, and we were there thinking we could be going in the very next thing.
Still, the ride up was pleasant, and of course very high up. We saw all of SeaWorld and Orlando from the tower, as we did a lazy spin around all the way up... and all the way down.
We shortened our day once we got back down. It's no problem though, as we know we're coming back some time this year, with these season pass tickets. Already, we've been plotting our October visit, when Madison has some time off of school.
But we still did a few more things while here, including a visit to Shark Encounter, a pretty big aquarium tunnel with sharks swimming all around the guests. We saw a variety of sharks here, all behind the safe and dark corners of the aquarium area. Really, there is so much to see at SeaWorld.
Just not much to eat for Mommy. Their packets they offer for those with gluten allergies are pretty pathetic, honestly. It's an effort, but not much of one. The map advertises gluten free options at the bakery, which got us all excited about a unique opportunity there. But alas, when we arrived to see what they had, we discovered it was only those very same packs. Disney does so much better in this area.
Anyway, we did manage to sit for a while and watch the tremendous fountain shows that were going on at the lake. We got some more Shamu bars, and sat in a nice shaded area, listening to the music as the fountains danced a choreographed presentation that seemed to be just for us. It was a massive display of water power, and so many folks were walking right by it, all concerned about getting to that next event on their schedule. Fortunately, we were so blessed with our days that we didn't have to worry about racing to and fro. We sat there, took a deep breath, and enjoyed our day.
We decided to do one more thing. Again, there was another killer whale show that we'll miss this time around, but we saw them last night in a different show - and we'll see this other show probably the next time we come by in October. So no worries here. But this one show we were waiting to see was a great one to end the day on: it was called "A'lure: the Call of the Ocean." It didn't start for a bit though, so we had just a tiny bit of time to kill. This was the pacing of our day, nice and relaxed. While we were waiting, we went through a pretty interesting garden area with large sculptures completely made from material found on beaches. Check this guy out:
Nearby, there were even some parrots for Madison to see. We didn't do the flamingo paddle boats, because it was so hot outside. Plus, it would be over $10 to do, and you had to paddle your own boat out there, and all this out in the middle of the lake where it was like a zillion degrees with no shade and... well, let's just leave it at "we didn't do that."
Anyway, soon it was time for the show - fortunately inside, of course. This was best compared to a Cirque du Soleil production, with german wheels, silk acrobats, and trampolines throwing elaborately costumed characters across the stage. Of course, it all had a "under the sea" theme - but it really was a spectacular show. If anything, it was too short, which is the ultimate sort of comment: you wish it could go longer. And we're glad we were able to make it to this one, with all the other things that you can do at SeaWorld. Afterwards, Madison wanted to pose for a picture with all the costumed characters - so we lined up to do just that.
As I said, the costumes were fantastic. And the show was really good - we definitely recommend it. At this point, we determined that walking all the way across the park to get to Shamu Stadium might be too much for Mommy, so we slowly made our way to the exit of the park. It was still so amazingly hot out, so we stopped frequently at different gift shops, which were an air-conditioned oasis for us. And also, they were source of new things: we got dipping dots at one! Madison had never had Dipping Dots before, and the new flavor was Pop Rocks! So Daddy and Madison split a cup of Dipping Dots, as Mommy checked out some of the gift shops there on the way out.
But we did leave early, and that was just fine. Daddy had amazing favor finding our car in the parking lot. Believe it or not, we had no idea where we parked - we left the car not making a note of where we parked! But Daddy was led right to the spot, where he got the car, and drove up to pick up Madison and Mommy sitting by the park's entrance in the shade.
So the rest of the day was a bit of relaxing at the B Resort. Mommy took a little nap in the room, as Madison and Daddy hit the pool. It was a nice pool, with a zero level entry, and fountains all around. It was another salt water pool, the second Daddy has been in this summer. We had a good time at the pool - it was actually Madison's second time there today, believe it or not.
We came back to the hotel room and played some games and watched television and read books - and when it was dark outside, guess what? We were able to watch both the fireworks shows Disney was putting on, one at 9:00 and one at 10:00 over the Magic Kingdom. No music, but these were pretty impressive displays as always - and with a different viewpoint!
Tomorrow we'll leave Orlando once more, and tonight we were ready for bed a little early. We've had a pretty full few days at SeaWorld, absolutely!
Later on today, we returned to SeaWorld once more, this time without Nana and Ba-Ba, who opted to head back home and see us tomorrow when we arrive back there. But we all had yet another massive breakfast before embarking on our day, which has been a nice tradition each morning. And a safe one for Mommy as well, who can eat with comfort that nothing will mess with her during the day - no allergies here.
It's a neat gather of folks at the tables, where we meet other travelers, and Madison has been pretty friendly with anyone she meets. Today she met someone from France, who spoke no English whatsoever - and of course our French was astoundingly limited. And yet... Madison still got along just fine with their little girl, which was nice to see. Madison can be a very social person on one hand - and yet at other times she'll be very shy. For example, on this vacation earlier we were skyping with our extended family in Great Britain. Mommy was speaking with her cousin there, and introducing Madison - who was suddenly a bit quiet. It was still a big moment though: Madison had not seen or spoken to anyone across the pond just yet, and of course she noticed the change in accents.
Today was considerably warmer. It was in fact a standard afternoon in Florida, showing us how blessed we in fact were yesterday with the cooler weather. The sun was blazing, and we knew immediately that our travels today would be short-lived. Still, we plunged forth, confident at least because we knew that many of the activities we planned for the day were indoors. And in fact, our first destination was inside where we found ourselves already desperate for the air conditioning. The first thing we saw was Pets Ahoy! It was a show we didn't squeeze into the schedule from yesterday, and actually something very entertaining!
Madison got to meet some of the pets involved in the show afterwards. But during the show, there was a wonderful variety of animals doing all kinds of interesting tricks all around us. Best of all, these were all rescued pets, taken from local animal shelters. Madison loved the show. So did Mommy and Daddy.
Our next destination was a pivotal moment for the day - the Sky Tower. The sign said ten minutes, but it was more like twenty or twenty-five. Which was brutal. The sun was punishing, and this pretty much did Mommy in for the day. There was simply no covering, and we were there thinking we could be going in the very next thing.
Still, the ride up was pleasant, and of course very high up. We saw all of SeaWorld and Orlando from the tower, as we did a lazy spin around all the way up... and all the way down.
We shortened our day once we got back down. It's no problem though, as we know we're coming back some time this year, with these season pass tickets. Already, we've been plotting our October visit, when Madison has some time off of school.
But we still did a few more things while here, including a visit to Shark Encounter, a pretty big aquarium tunnel with sharks swimming all around the guests. We saw a variety of sharks here, all behind the safe and dark corners of the aquarium area. Really, there is so much to see at SeaWorld.
Just not much to eat for Mommy. Their packets they offer for those with gluten allergies are pretty pathetic, honestly. It's an effort, but not much of one. The map advertises gluten free options at the bakery, which got us all excited about a unique opportunity there. But alas, when we arrived to see what they had, we discovered it was only those very same packs. Disney does so much better in this area.
Anyway, we did manage to sit for a while and watch the tremendous fountain shows that were going on at the lake. We got some more Shamu bars, and sat in a nice shaded area, listening to the music as the fountains danced a choreographed presentation that seemed to be just for us. It was a massive display of water power, and so many folks were walking right by it, all concerned about getting to that next event on their schedule. Fortunately, we were so blessed with our days that we didn't have to worry about racing to and fro. We sat there, took a deep breath, and enjoyed our day.
We decided to do one more thing. Again, there was another killer whale show that we'll miss this time around, but we saw them last night in a different show - and we'll see this other show probably the next time we come by in October. So no worries here. But this one show we were waiting to see was a great one to end the day on: it was called "A'lure: the Call of the Ocean." It didn't start for a bit though, so we had just a tiny bit of time to kill. This was the pacing of our day, nice and relaxed. While we were waiting, we went through a pretty interesting garden area with large sculptures completely made from material found on beaches. Check this guy out:
Nearby, there were even some parrots for Madison to see. We didn't do the flamingo paddle boats, because it was so hot outside. Plus, it would be over $10 to do, and you had to paddle your own boat out there, and all this out in the middle of the lake where it was like a zillion degrees with no shade and... well, let's just leave it at "we didn't do that."
Anyway, soon it was time for the show - fortunately inside, of course. This was best compared to a Cirque du Soleil production, with german wheels, silk acrobats, and trampolines throwing elaborately costumed characters across the stage. Of course, it all had a "under the sea" theme - but it really was a spectacular show. If anything, it was too short, which is the ultimate sort of comment: you wish it could go longer. And we're glad we were able to make it to this one, with all the other things that you can do at SeaWorld. Afterwards, Madison wanted to pose for a picture with all the costumed characters - so we lined up to do just that.
As I said, the costumes were fantastic. And the show was really good - we definitely recommend it. At this point, we determined that walking all the way across the park to get to Shamu Stadium might be too much for Mommy, so we slowly made our way to the exit of the park. It was still so amazingly hot out, so we stopped frequently at different gift shops, which were an air-conditioned oasis for us. And also, they were source of new things: we got dipping dots at one! Madison had never had Dipping Dots before, and the new flavor was Pop Rocks! So Daddy and Madison split a cup of Dipping Dots, as Mommy checked out some of the gift shops there on the way out.
But we did leave early, and that was just fine. Daddy had amazing favor finding our car in the parking lot. Believe it or not, we had no idea where we parked - we left the car not making a note of where we parked! But Daddy was led right to the spot, where he got the car, and drove up to pick up Madison and Mommy sitting by the park's entrance in the shade.
So the rest of the day was a bit of relaxing at the B Resort. Mommy took a little nap in the room, as Madison and Daddy hit the pool. It was a nice pool, with a zero level entry, and fountains all around. It was another salt water pool, the second Daddy has been in this summer. We had a good time at the pool - it was actually Madison's second time there today, believe it or not.
We came back to the hotel room and played some games and watched television and read books - and when it was dark outside, guess what? We were able to watch both the fireworks shows Disney was putting on, one at 9:00 and one at 10:00 over the Magic Kingdom. No music, but these were pretty impressive displays as always - and with a different viewpoint!
Tomorrow we'll leave Orlando once more, and tonight we were ready for bed a little early. We've had a pretty full few days at SeaWorld, absolutely!
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