Laura & Family - May 2007

DAY 4, Monday May 28

Well after our ill fated venture to Downtown Disney with the terrible crowds we decide that since today is actually Memorial Day we should skip going to a Disney park and we are going to try Sea World instead. This turns out to be a very good move! Even though Sea World was a little crowded, it wasn't unmanageable. Most of what we did was shows and the venues hold quite a bit of people so it worked out well....

We are fortunate to have Sea World passes that we got for only $10 each! Leia's 5th grade class was just up here last week for their graduation trip. I was one of the chaperones. During the day, I went to guest services and asked them if they upgraded current day tickets to annual passes. They asked to see our tickets and I showed them the one the school gave us. They told me for $10 I could upgrade those to a fun pass, which is like an annual pass that gives you unlimited admission (with no blackout dates) until Dec 31, 2007. Done deal!!! I saw a couple of other parents nearby and told them about this great deal. One took advantage of it immediately. The other wasn't interested but did give me his ticket so I was able to upgrade that one to a pass in David's name.... good things come to those who share!! The moral to the story: if you are on a group field trip or event, always ask if you can upgrade your tickets the day you are there... we were lucky enough to do this at the Miami Seaquarium as well when we went with the Starlight/Starbright Children's foundation (which is how I was smart enough to ask at Sea World)

As we are preparing to leave the hotel, Leia informs us she needs to wear a bathing suit under her clothes because she has every intention of sitting in the splash zone at the Shamu show and getting soaked! I pack a change of clothes/towels in a separate backpack and off we go.

We arrive at Sea World and I see there are lockers right outside the front gate on the left hand side before you enter. I would have put our things in there like most people are doing but I remember what a smart teacher had given me a heads up for last week: there are more inside and some in an especially good location right by the restrooms so we wait to go to those. We enter the park and go past the gift shops and turn right to the lockers. They cost $1 (bring quarters with you).

We head over to the information booth so I can ask about the dine with Shamu ($37 adults, $19 child). This sounded like lots of fun but it's sold out until June 9. WOW! She does give me a paper with the menu & number to call ahead for another time (didn't know you could do that). If anyone needs it let me know. They do have space available for the nightly luau ($45.95/$29.95) but we decide to pass on that.

We pick up the daily schedule and decide to head right over to Shamu.. the show doesn't start until 11 am but it says you need to get there at least 30 minutes prior to showtime or you may not get a seat. It is a bit of a hike. Fortunately, David is pushing Leia's wheelchair since we make the mistake of taking the first turn to the right to go around the lake. This turns out to be the loooong way. We finally get there and get settled in. The wheelchair seating area is in the last row of the splash zone. Leia is not happy with this at all! So David stays up there with our things and I help her down to the front. Lucky me. We sit in about the 6th row back. Anything closer than that and you can't see above the tank without looking up. There are already some killer whales in the pool even though the show doesn't start for a bit and we enjoy watching them swim and frolic. There is one that is quite a prankster and not only does he spit water at anyone walking by but he laughs at them... I'm not making that up!!!! It was really cute.

The announcer comes out and before the show starts she shows a little video clip in honor of Memorial Day. She then asks any soldiers from our armed forces or any of our allies and their families to rise. A large amount of the crowd stood and were given a thunderous applause. It brought tears to my eyes. Well done Sea World!!!! What she didn't say, was that Sea World gave free admission to all active duty military and their families. Kudos to them!

Shamu finally comes out and what a show. If you haven't seen "Believe" you really need to. It was incredible. Leia was a little disappointed because people in other sections were getting splashed. No sooner did she say we're in the wrong section yet again when Shamu pops up and splashes our area. The water lands one row in front of us... Leia whines... I didn't get any... and BAM! We get soaked!!!! And I mean SOAKED!!!!! As if Shamu heard her! Well, the show is now over and Leia is whining she's freezing. I go to get her towel and... it's in the backpack.. in the locker.. on the OTHER side of the lake... OOOPS!! Well, guess what souvenir she got for the day? Her very own Shamu soak zone towel! Worth every penny. (and 10% off with our Sea World pass too)

We wrap her up in the towel and head off to the adjacent "Wild Arctic". Here you are given a choice of a ride or a walk through. We chose the walk through which had about a 20 minute wait time. Can you believe the ride side was practically a walk on?!? But we weren't up to a motion simulator. We waited and were taken in to a small seating area where there is a movie. Would have been good but for the crying child in there (why the parent never took her out I don't know) so we missed most of it. This lets out into viewing area where you can see all kinds of arctic animals. We loved the Walruses and the Narwhal. Our polar bear was sleeping, which he apparently does about 18 hours a day so I guess you have to be lucky to see him up and about. After the viewing area there are some interactive games we enjoyed and then it feeds into... yep, a gift shop. LOL!

We are now hungry so we go in search of lunch. We're fortunate enough to have meal vouchers left over from Leia's field trip. There are quite a few counter service places in Sea World and we decide to try "Voyagers". It is a cafeteria style line. They are smart and have 3 identical lines opens so even though it's crowded it moves quickly. We can see the portions and they are quite large so we decide to share 2 meals amongst the 3 of us. We choose: Orange Wood Smoked Chicken (1/2 a chicken w/ french fries and veggies-$9.95), Chicken Penne Pasta Alfredo w/ veggies and bread ($8.69), chocolate cake & 3 chocolate chip cookies in a shark souvenir toy holder. This place also has pizza, kids meals, salads, etc. It was a good choice and we have a nice meal and better yet, FREE with our vouchers! We sit inside. If you sit outside there was a street show you could watch while eating, but the heat was too much for DD.

We check our schedule and see there is a show starting at Seaport Theater in 5 minutes which is right next door. We rush over and get seated just in time. It is called "Pets Ahoy". If you have kids who love animals this is a must see! Dogs, cats, birds and more perform. It is really cute. How on earth they ever trained cats to do all that in a show is beyond me! After the show, they bring out a couple of the star dog actors to meet the kids. They let us take a photo with one. Well done!

Next stop, Penguin Encounter. Who ever knew there were so many different kinds of penguins? Boy does the King Penguin deserve his name, the way he stands so regally. There were penguins on ice and others swimming that were just too cute. You go through this on a moving walkway or you can go up top to the viewing area. It feeds into a room with all kinds of educational interactive penguin stuff.

We are now off to see the Sea Turtles. Leia has 2 turtles of her own so she enjoys this and talks quite a bit to the "turtle handler".

After that we decide to call it a day. It is very hot out and we need to take a break. Back to the hotel for a rest. Will post more about the rest of our day later.

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