jabead
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 22, 2000
Cast - DH, 3 kids (ages 6, 9, and 12), and myself
Dates - June 21 - July 3, 2002
Day 2 (6/22) - Sea World opened at 9:00a.m. today so we got up early, ate breakfast at our hotel (their complimentary continental breakfast which consisted of all the usual things), and drove to Sea World. They had a shuttle from the hotel but you had to pay for it so we opted to drive as it was only about 3 miles away and the parking charge of $7 was less than the shuttle fee. Anyway we arrived at Sea World shortly after it opened. I had purchased our tickets through Get Away Today receiving two free child tickets with two adult tickets. They had sent us vouchers which we easily exchanged at the Guest Relations window. We also purchased another ticket for our 3rd child and received a 20% discount on it as a Southwest Rapid Rewards member (you just have to show your card at time of purchase). We decided to begin on the right side of the park and went to see the Pets Rule show which was very cute. We then went on the Wild Arctic ride which was a simulated helicopter ride to the Artic (similar to Star Tours at Disney). By 1:00 when we met DH's aunt and uncle (residents of San Diego) we had seen the whole right side of the park including Penguin Encounter, the Dolphin Show, the Sea Lion & Otter Show, Shark Encounter, etc. After meeting them we went to the Shipwreck Reef Cafe for lunch. In doing so we discovered that the Shipwreck Rapids ride (located next to the restaurant) was closed. Since the kids were looking forward to riding on this they were very dissapointed. Anyway they were grilling ribs outside by the entrance to the restaurant and they smelled and looked delicious. DH couldn't resist trying them but was dissapointed. His aunt and uncle advised him that for the rest of the trip he should stick to chicken or fish ( they said the quality of beef and pork there is not what we are used to here in the Midwest). I wanted something lighter so got a salad with grilled chicken and it was quite good. They had some wonderful looking desserts here but we were all too full to try them, LOL! So after lunch we explored the left side of the park going to the Shamu Whales Show (but opting not to sit in the Soak Zone, and as warned the people sitting there did get SOAKED!), Cirque de la Mer (my favorite show there), Pirates 4-D show, etc. Once we had done everything that we wanted to do on this side of the park we decided it was time to eat again and headed to Mama Stella's Italian Kitchen. Again this was a cafeteria style restaurant. I had the spaghetti and cannelloni combination meal and it was pretty good. After a slow and relaxing dinner we then went to some of the night shows. Our favorite was called "ExotiSea". At 9:40 we saw the fireworks and then left (even though Sea World was open until 11:00) as we were very tired. Again we stayed at the Hampton Inn.
Dates - June 21 - July 3, 2002
Day 2 (6/22) - Sea World opened at 9:00a.m. today so we got up early, ate breakfast at our hotel (their complimentary continental breakfast which consisted of all the usual things), and drove to Sea World. They had a shuttle from the hotel but you had to pay for it so we opted to drive as it was only about 3 miles away and the parking charge of $7 was less than the shuttle fee. Anyway we arrived at Sea World shortly after it opened. I had purchased our tickets through Get Away Today receiving two free child tickets with two adult tickets. They had sent us vouchers which we easily exchanged at the Guest Relations window. We also purchased another ticket for our 3rd child and received a 20% discount on it as a Southwest Rapid Rewards member (you just have to show your card at time of purchase). We decided to begin on the right side of the park and went to see the Pets Rule show which was very cute. We then went on the Wild Arctic ride which was a simulated helicopter ride to the Artic (similar to Star Tours at Disney). By 1:00 when we met DH's aunt and uncle (residents of San Diego) we had seen the whole right side of the park including Penguin Encounter, the Dolphin Show, the Sea Lion & Otter Show, Shark Encounter, etc. After meeting them we went to the Shipwreck Reef Cafe for lunch. In doing so we discovered that the Shipwreck Rapids ride (located next to the restaurant) was closed. Since the kids were looking forward to riding on this they were very dissapointed. Anyway they were grilling ribs outside by the entrance to the restaurant and they smelled and looked delicious. DH couldn't resist trying them but was dissapointed. His aunt and uncle advised him that for the rest of the trip he should stick to chicken or fish ( they said the quality of beef and pork there is not what we are used to here in the Midwest). I wanted something lighter so got a salad with grilled chicken and it was quite good. They had some wonderful looking desserts here but we were all too full to try them, LOL! So after lunch we explored the left side of the park going to the Shamu Whales Show (but opting not to sit in the Soak Zone, and as warned the people sitting there did get SOAKED!), Cirque de la Mer (my favorite show there), Pirates 4-D show, etc. Once we had done everything that we wanted to do on this side of the park we decided it was time to eat again and headed to Mama Stella's Italian Kitchen. Again this was a cafeteria style restaurant. I had the spaghetti and cannelloni combination meal and it was pretty good. After a slow and relaxing dinner we then went to some of the night shows. Our favorite was called "ExotiSea". At 9:40 we saw the fireworks and then left (even though Sea World was open until 11:00) as we were very tired. Again we stayed at the Hampton Inn.
