I loved all of it. (I know cheesy answer, but it is true)
I loved Discovery Cove, and with that, the Sea World Admission was free...
Here is the excerpt from the trip report about Sea World
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August 25th, Seaworld.
We arrive about 645 or so at Seaworld. It was a very quick drive in the Mustang from the Hotel...maybe 10 minutes.
There were no more parking attendents on duty..so we just drove right on in, and got a prime spot.
Seaworld... the entrance with the little lighthouse, and the foghorn sounds just got us excited. I had never been to SeaWorld in Orlando, and DH hadnt been since 1985.
We walked over to Guest Services with our Discovery Cove confirmation, and ID's... and away we went in...
Jeff and I were determined to do a few things that night..with Kraken being on the top of the list. So we wandered through the Key WEst area until we found a sign for Kraken....
There we were at the entrance for Kraken....no wait. We took that as a good sign and ran in... We get up to the entrance/loading area, and I said to Jeff... "No one is screaming the usual YES lets do it again... it must be pretty mild." HA! How wrong I was....
Ok, dangling feet coasters are NOT my favorite things. I prefer to be sitting down the entire time. We loaded up me, in the middle and Jeff on the left end, and another couple in the other seats.
First is the lift hill... then I closed my eyes. My point is I'm already on there, I DONT need to see everything. I peeked a few times, but boy is that INTENSE! I've been on many coasters, and I dare say that Kraken is the most intense/powerful that I have been on. I was truly petrified... I was never so glad to see the ride end. DH and I agreed that it was intense, and we both had major headaches afterwards.
Walked through Penguin encounter. Very cute and fun, I appreciated the moving sidewalks.
Then on to the Shamu's big chill show... We now know why they call it Big Chill, the BIG splashes, and the Chilly nights.... We were soaked by the 11,000 pound killer whale, and we weren't technically in the splash zone.. WE saw him swim near, and then the MONSOON came.... we were wringing out our clothes afterwards.
Then we decided lets go on Wild Arctic. We picked the by air option, and away we went. It was fun, but not super exciting. DH who's been on a helicopter, said it was close in some areas, but mostly NOT like a helicopter. the movie itself had some great pictures to it.. but the real treat is after wards through the exit. They have it themed like a arctic area. The ceiling is a bright white, which looks like snow.. The polar bears were there, and we walked through and saw the beluga whales (stunning!), and all the other marine life. We just stopped and looked at everything, so much to see. It was even chilly to simulate the Arctic..not good with still soaking wet clothes.
There it was exit time, we got caught in the rush and it was slightly crowded, but nowhere near say a Magic Kingdom closing. The music was playing on the loudspeakers, and then Yellow
Submarine comes one. One group of kids start singing it, then hundreds of people start singing it as we all strolled to the exit. Nothing like a huge chorus of "WE all live in a Yellow Submarine, Yellow Submarine, Yellow Submarine..."
To the exit we went.. and then off to the hotel. We needed to rest up for DISCOVERY COVE tomorrow.
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Date August 27, 2001
Woke up again at 630 am this time Small World music and then Mickey....on the agenda was Sea World
WE got there about 830 or so. Another trip with the convertible top down... no discernable traffic on I 4 to us anyway. We had to wait in line at the ticket booths since the toll takers werent ready yet. We paid $7 for regular parking but was three spots away from the preferred parking. Got in no problem with the Discovery cove lanyard..off we went.
First Dolphin Cove.. they were playful and fun. One nudged a basketball in my direction.. and I threw it high.. and he caught it.... (there is a basketball connection later in the trip...) DH tried some trainers techniques he learned at DC, but they werent coming to him We watched for a while and got some cool pictures. Dolphin Cove is nice, but its not the same experience as we had the other day...
Then off to the Manatees. The preshow film is interesting, it sort of has layered/modified 3D look to it... The manatees just got fed, so we mostly saw the business end of a manatee and lots of romaine lettuce. The baby manatee was moving around and boy are they graceful for being so big!
Then on to Terrors of the Deep. Fun! I liked the big overhead tunnels. It is quite dark in the area though... WE watched the little sharks in the pool for a while as well.
Clyde and Seamore take Pirate Island was next, it was the first show of the morning, and well there were some bloopers. But it was funny, corny, and the mime was terrific!
After Clyde and Seamore, the show DH really wanted to do.. Anhieser Busch Beer School. Yes, there is a beer school. Its about 30-40 minutes long, behind the bar in the Hospitality Center. They asked for our names, and didnt ask for ID! (guess I'm an old lady now) It is a nice air conditioned room where they have a nice presentation on how Anheiser Busch got started/history. And then another film on how beer is made... that was very informative. And Then the best part.. you get to sample 5, yes 5, kinds of beer. WE did, Bud, an Aged Bud, Bud Light, Brock Amber (or something like that!) and Doc otis hard Lemonade (very very tasty!). Thats a lot of beer before 12 noon! It was fun, and we got cute little certificates as well. They also showed some funny Bud commercials.
Well after all that beer, we definetely needed something to eat. We got two club sandwiches right there at the Hospitality Center. Very good, and filling. From there we went to see the Horses.
The Clydesdales are immense animals. I used to have horses, and I have never seen such an immaculate stable. They even had a barnhand at the "ready" in case an animal did there business. There was a newly born horse who was almost the same size as our former full grown horse!
Then on to Journey to Atlantis. What a great ride, no wait. We wound up in the back of the boat. Its fun, first you go through a dark area, with a fisherman talking to you and a spirit guiding through Atlantis, another room where all is black with blues, reds, pink, greens... then the evil lady takes over the mermaids...and then you go up up up and then down you go... you do get wet, but not totally drenched.. we then thought it was over... then the evil lady says "leaving so soon, I think not...", and thenyou go up again, and it turns into a smallish roller coaster.... what fun!
We did this twice in a row. no wait.
WE got turned around and missed the Shamu show for the afternoon., then tried to see the waterskiing show and that had already started... so we decided to leave, and rest.
WE CAN'T AFFORD DISC. COVE AND THE DOLPHIN FEEDING POOL IS THE NEXT BEST THING
