Monday, December 19th (continued) 
After our snow globe photos, we decided to stroll over to Antarctica to visit the penguins while we waited for our friends. They had confirmed via text that they were officially in transit, so we knew they would be arriving soon, though they’d have to park and work their way through bag check and the turnstiles once they pulled into the lot. We definitely had enough time to visit with some of SeaWorld’s most adorable residents!
We admired the charming Christmas décor as we strolled along…..SeaWorld does SUCH a fabulous job at decking the halls for the holiday. Unlike the Magic Kingdom, where most of the Christmas decorations are located in or around Main Street USA, SeaWorld carries their festive décor throughout the entire park. There are snowman light globes, nutcrackers, garland and shiny baubles everywhere you turn……and almost all of them light up after the sun goes down to create a magical Christmas wonderland.
Even the gardens are beautifully planted with miniature trees and real poinsettia plants.
Another aspect of SeaWorld’s Christmas Celebration that I love (and that I’m sure many people don’t even notice): the music. Yes, the other parks play Christmas music as well ….. something I NEVER tire of, but then again, I’m one of those weirdos who listens to Christmas tunes in July if the right mood strikes me [Youtube is the best invention since sliced bread……just sayin’] … but it’s the kind of Christmas music that makes it special. They go beyond the customary Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, and Santa Claus is Coming to Town (and the hundreds of others along the same vein, including modern hits such as All I Want For Christmas is You) and you’ll hear, mixed into the generic favourites that I just rhymed off, more traditional songs like Joy to the World, the First Noel, and Hark the Harold Angels Sing. It seems most businesses shy away from any aspect of Christmas that involves the more Christian basis for the holiday, and I understand why: religion, for the most part, is a taboo and divisive subject. For our family, though, Christmas is all about the historical and traditional meaning versus the commercial one. To be able to experience Christmas in Orlando at a place that embraces the conventional basis of the holiday (their signature show, Oh Holy Night, is the perfect example) is very special for us indeed. The little, traditional touches that SeaWorld infuses into their holiday celebrations are often subtle but make such a huge impact.
I probably just talked too much there. Sorry about that
. Moving right along……
We arrived at Antarctica, and headed inside. We always chose the “mild” side for the ride, as we don’t find the “wild” side enhances the experience whatsoever. It’s not the ride, though, that is the shining star of this attraction. It’s these precious birds that steal the show every single time
:
I am obsessed with these stubby, chubby, loveable creatures. With the appropriate clothing, I could happily spend the entire day right inside the Antarctica exhibit. They are so entertaining and engaging. I often think that SeaWorld knows that people would be hesitant to leave if the temperatures were more bearable, and that’s why they keep it so painfully cold in there!!
I also swear that some of the penguins have truly figured out that they’re adored by the masses. A few of them waddled straight for the camera, and appeared to strike a pose. I kid you not.
See? Posing. Seriously
.
We were oohing and aahhing at the penguins when we received the text we were anticipating: Kerry, Robert and David were inside the park. We set a meeting place near the front entrance, and Steve and I hustled back to greet them. Once we had all convened, we planned out our next step: and that, happily, was the Wild Arctic Tour with another member of the Disboards,
@Joanna71985 
.
As I have often mentioned before, SeaWorld has offered some AMAZING deals on Black Friday in past years: many times, everything from annual passes to dining plans to park tours have been offered on a BOGO basis over the Black Friday weekend. The only ‘downfall’ to a BOGO offer is, of course, if you have an odd-numbered group. You either end up paying full price for the 3rd, 5th or 7th person (foregoing the BOGO deal for the last member of your party) or you end up with a spare ticket. Kerry had long since had the Wild Arctic tour on her SeaWorld bucket list (we had talked about it way before the Black Friday deals were ever released), so when it came up on the sale as one of their BOGO deals, we absolutely HAD to do it: but, with our party of 5, we’d suffer the odd-number dilemma. After a short debate, we opted for the spare ticket and hoped we could find another person who would not feel awkward about joining us for the tour. he Dis is an amazing way to make connections, and I was thrilled when (after tossing out of the offer in one of my current threads) Joanna contacted me to say her schedule would allow for her to join us for that portion of our day. We exchanged contact information before our trip, so once Kerry and the boys arrived, we were able to text her with our location so we could meet up.
Everyone say hi to Joanna!!
Just in case anyone is worried, I made sure she was okay with me sharing her photos in this part of the report before posting
.
We knew the tour was going to be fairly lengthy, so we opted to all converge at Mango Joes (which is right next to Wild Arctic) and have some snacks before it was time to check in for our session. I wasn’t yet hungry enough for a full entrée, so I just had a soft drink and a dessert (rationalizing I’d walk off most of those calories before the day was out……that sounded plausible
).
Steve was going to take full advantage of his all-day dining plan, and opted for a double cheeseburger and some fruit.
He also thought my pudding cup looked mighty yummy, so he decided to get one of those for himself, too
:
David and Steve are burger buddies: hamburgers are not only a favourite, but a food group for those two. I am pretty sure David had the same entrée, enjoying a hearty snack elbow-to-elbow with Steve at a table in the warm Florida sunshine
. I’m sure dining outside in December is pretty normal for Joanna (who has lived in Florida for some time now) and Kerry’s family (all of whom were born and raised in the Jacksonville area) but for us, it’s always quite a novel experience in December. So awesome!
After we had sufficiently fueled up at Mango Joes, we hit the restrooms and checked in for our tour. Our guide had a total of about 12 people, and she would accompany us through each aspect of the tour and give us lots of great information about both the animals and their unique care as we transitioned along.
To start off, photographers took photos of each group in front of the Wild Arctic tour sign. They informed us that all pictures taken by Photokey staff on the tour would be available for purchase once the session had concluded, or that they would be added to the account of anyone who had purchased a digital Photokey product (either the daily pass or the annual pass). Since our Photokey annual pass was still active, all of our pictures here would be completely free. Happy dance!!
The SeaWorld Wild Arctic Tour is next. 
and a little
can't hurt!
. I'm more than a little bummed about that, but I can't see it happening for two reasons: budget is one, and living so far from family is the other (I suspect that any time off that we have around the holiday season will be spent back in Canada). I am so thrilled to hear that you have such a fun 11 days planned, though!! And while the split stay might be tough on the wallet, you'll be making some awesome memories with those kiddos of yours.....and that, as we both know, is priceless ). Congrats Gina on your job!!
back! Your long weekend sounds FABULOUS! The beach is just so.....rejuvenating. Any pics you care to share?
. Not only am I old enough to be their mother, my own child is older.....by several years....than they are!
) but I'm trying to be a little more spontaneous and adventurous. Of course, "spontaneous" in my world would be having dinner out on Wednesday night instead of Friday night 
. Makes me want to suggest it to Steve 
. 
. It is such a nice escape for us northerners......but man, is the cold hard to adjust to once we come home!! 
Chocolate chip all the way, baby 
.
Completely terrifying. That was one lucky little girl.....the outcome of that incident could have been SO much worse.
. For what its worth, I agree with you wholeheartedly. Perhaps, if there is anything good to come out of that family's ordeal, it's that maybe, hopefully, there will be others out there who learn a valuable lesson.
