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Old 8 Jun 12, 08:34 PM  
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LLKJDisney
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The Moretons Magical Memories May 2012 - Day 1, Seaworld

The Entourage
Me – Kerry, 34 yr old Disney nutcase, head driver and Narrator. 9th visit
Lee – 33 yr old Florida Lover, 10th Visit, Reserve driver and map man
Jacob – 3 turning 4 (on this trip) yr old going on 40 yr old! 3rd visit (lucky boy) loves collecting autographs
Lucas – 5 month old – smiley in the day – grumpy at night (just like his Daddy)
Dick – 59 yr old – Grandad and Jacob’s best mate – loves the Sun and some roller coasters
Sue 57 yr old – Grandma – Chief tea maker – loves Sprite no Ice.

The Plan
Arrive 7th May – 4 Nights at Bahama Bay Resort
11th May move to Sunset Lakes – Shamu Sanctuary Villa
24th May come home

DAY 1 - Tuesday 8th May

Lucas and Jacob slept quite well. I got up with Lucas at 3am while the rest got up just after 4am.

We were going out for breakfast, as we had not got any supplies in yet. So we waited until 6.45am and set off for the Golden Corral. I know it’s not too popular on the Dibb, but we find it has a bit of something for everyone at a cheap price.

Before we left Lee took some pictures of the car, although it was nothing special it met all our needs.

The cirius radio was excellent although they do seem to only have a play list of around 12 songs (more on that later in the report).

We snapped these 2 characters trying to get in the apartment,


in fact they scared the life out of Dick when he opened the door and they were right outside, they must have been after food but they obviously weren’t happy when they didn’t get any as one of them did a big pooh on the doorstep!

We arrived at the Golden Corral at 7.05am and I am sure some of you are already shouting at the screen ‘it doesn’t open until 7.30am!’ So instead of hanging around we went to Publix a little bit further down the 192. We grabbed our basics and made our way back to Golden Corral, not surprisingly it was not to busy. We all had a mixture of food. Lee had his eyes on the chocolate fountain but resisted.
Now Jacob had been going on for months before we came out how he was going to eat loads of pancakes in Florida, so his first port of call was to find the pancakes. However, his eyes were popping out at everything else and he went wild with “I’ll just have one of those and some of that”. Eventually he got his pancakes, bought them back to the table with a huge smile on his face, only to sit down to eat them and realised he was actually full up! – Kids!

It was already quite hot and there was not to many clouds about, we took our supplies back to Bahama Bay as milk that has been left in the car all day does not taste that good. Despite being up at 4am, we still managed to get to Seaworld after opening. We pulled in to the car park at 9.30am, it didn’t look to busy but we still managed to get parked right at the end of a row furthest from the entrance.

Lee was map reading and said we should head for turtle trek as it had only opened a week earlier.
Jacob had a picture with Shamu on the way in.


We made our way to Turtle Trek via the stingrays and Dolphin area. Unfortunately the 3D bit of turtle trek was not working but the viewing area was open so we went in for a look.
For those of you that haven’t been, the area has been adapted from the old underwater manatee display. You can still see the manatees underwater but you then walk into another underwater area, which contains turtles and fish. The biggest turtle in there was named Stitch; he had been attacked by a shark and only had 1 front fin. We were told that they had tried to release him back to the wild but he kept beaching himself so it was best if they kept him in captivity.

Although the display was good, we were all a little disappointed that the 3D part of the attraction was not working.

From there we headed over to Journey to Atlantis, Jacob was just too small, so he and Lucas waited with Sue, while Dick, Lee and myself went on. Dick got soaked he was on the back seat and sat with a lone single rider, a young Chinese girl who also got soaked. I still enjoy this ride and didn’t mind waiting 15 mins for it. Although if the staff had been a bit more organised the wait would have been shorter.



It was just past 11am and by now it was very hot. Jacob wanted an ice cream so we went in search of somewhere that sold them. This was not easy, I mean, how hard can it be to find ice cream at a theme park in 90-degree heat.
We tried 3 places but all didn’t open until 12.30pm. I found this a bit strange but managed to persuade Jacob to have a slush puppy type drink instead.

We then walked all the way across the park via the bridge to get to Shamu’s happy harbour. We thought best to get Jacob’s rides in as it was very hot and before he got too tired. Jacob, Sue and Lee went on the Jazzy Jellies. Straight after that Jacob, Sue and I went on the Shamu express. Jacob liked it but held on very tightly. I did find that this time he was a lot more fearful of rides than when we came in 2010 and he was only 2 then.

Jacob then cooled off in the water fountains, which he loved



This area was very quiet until the midday Shamu show finished. After this, the area was mobbed and became a little less enjoyable. Whilst we were at the fountains, some street entertainers came past that were on stilts like pogo sticks, very entertaining, I was quite impressed




While Jacob was getting dry I took Lucas over to the baby care centre. I cannot express how much I loved it in here. Lucas appreciated the feed in the cool surroundings, it was really calming with lovely changing stations, it was just really peaceful and felt a million miles from a busily theme park.

We then made our way to Wild Artic, on the way Lucas fell asleep and as strollers weren’t allowed in, I stayed outside with him rather than wake him up, which I was a little sad about, as I do love to see the Polar Bears. The others went in and Jacob was delighted to meet Shivers the Polar Bear;

Lee said there was nearly an altercation when a South American family ignored the queue and just went straight up to him and started taking pictures with him. Again the staff did nothing. Lee was happy as he saw the polar bear move for the first time in 4 visits.

When they came out we made our way round to the sharks, Everyone was starting to flag a bit now, it was very hot and we seemed to be walking from one side of the park to the other. Jacob did not have a stroller as we had decided to see how he got on in the first few days before buying one, after this it looked like we would be buying one, bless him it really does take it out of young legs. Well, it takes it out of my old ones too so it must be hard on the little ones.

After viewing the Sharks we made our way back to Shamu stadium for the 3pm show, we were in the stadium around 2.30pm and it was nice to have a sit down before the show began. We had not seen the new ocean show.



Although it was very well put together we all felt it lacked something and there was only so many times you could applaud the whales splashing the crowd. It’s just not the same without the trainers in with them. Jacob and Lucas both seemed to enjoy it though.


Before we left the park Dick and Lee went on the Manta, which was a walk on. I decided to give it a miss as I had a headache, but I really missed not going on as it’s one of my favourites. They were on the back row and both said it was excellent. We left the park just before 4pm, which wasn’t bad considering it was our first day. Due to my headache, Lee drove home which was an interesting experience for us all. He is an awful driver at the best of times, just has no concentration and is too busy looking around outside instead of watching the road.

We went back to Bahama Bay for showers and to get changed before going out for dinner, which tonight had been decided to be at the Olive Garden at Rolling Oaks. We had read so much about the Olive Garden on the Dibb and we were all very much looking forward to it, as we had never been before. Sue was a little worried as she doesn’t like Italian food but we assured there would be something for her.

The food was excellent and everyone enjoyed it. We had the following

Lee and Me – Tour of Italy that was a sampler of Lasagna, Parmesan Chicken and creamy fettuccine alfredo

Sue – Steak Toscano

Dick – Stuffed Chicken Marsala
Jacob – Pasta/Chicken/Garlic Mash (sorry no pic)


You can have a choice of salad or soup to accompany your meal. Lee and Dick had the chicken and dumpling soup and said it was superb. All soups, salad and bread were unlimited so you can have more if you want.

The portions were very big and all of us struggled to finish but the food quality and service was excellent. Only Dick managed a dessert, he choose Tiramisu. The bill for all of us was just over $100 plus tip.

Although we were all tired we needed to visit the Super Target just behind the Olive Garden. The reason for this was that Lee, my wonderful perfect husband (ahem) had realised he had forgotten to pack any underwear! He only ever packs his own clothes and couldn’t even manage that. He picked up some boxer shorts and I bought some nappies and bits and bobs for Lucas. The biggest spender (as usual) was Dick who bought some golf clothing; boy does he like to shop!

We were all in bed by 9pm after a long but thoroughly enjoyable first day. Looking back I think we needed more of a plan for Seaworld as we wasted a lot of time and energy going from one side of the park to the other (this was Lee’s fault). I always enjoy Seaworld and had read many negative reports on the Dibb prior to our visit. Unfortunately our conclusion was that Seaworld has lost a bit of its appeal, the staff seemed disinterested, the interaction areas were not controlled in any way and overall I am not sure it was value for money for us. It is one I may consider leaving out and visiting every other trip possibly.

Just want to add that Lucas coped really well with the whole day, the heat didn’t affect him too much. We simply hydrated and creamed up regularly. He was his normal happy smiley self throughout the day.

Tomorrow MAGIC KINGDOM
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Old 8 Jun 12, 08:45 PM  
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Lovely first day Lucas looked like he enjoyed himself nice and relaxed bless him.
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Old 8 Jun 12, 08:46 PM  
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Great first day, we love Seaworld, purely for Manta, Kraken and Journey to Atlantis!

Our boys are 7 and 4 and we are planning to spend quite a while in Shamus happy harbour. Will go there in the morning as you helpfully said it seemed to get busier from lunch time onwards.

Cant wait to read more!
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Old 8 Jun 12, 08:49 PM  
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Glad you all had an enjoyable first day
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Old 8 Jun 12, 09:01 PM  
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Hi Kerry

I've been patiently waiting for your next instalment

So lovely to see Lucas enjoying the shamu show, he's such a cutie! Shame you didnt enjoy seaworld, it used to be one of my favourite parks as I love kraken!

I did nearly spit my wine out laughing at Lee forgetting his underwear men 'eh!

Can't wait to read more (especially when you get to Sunset Lakes)

Take care

Tracey x

Oh, and Olive Garden looked lush! We've never been but would def give it a go on our next trip!
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Old 8 Jun 12, 09:06 PM  
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Great first day.
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Old 8 Jun 12, 09:27 PM  
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A great day, Lucas looks like he had a great time! We're giving Seaworld a miss again this year and you thoughts have made me feel better about this decision! Looking forward to the next day.
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Old 8 Jun 12, 09:48 PM  
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Lovely first first day and lovely photos.
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Old 8 Jun 12, 10:11 PM  
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thanks for a great report of your first day. your boys are delightful- and your dh sounds a hoot--- no underwear! ha-ha-ha! can't wait for the next instalment!
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Old 8 Jun 12, 10:24 PM  
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Great first day, lovely photos. Look forward to reading more.
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