theDIBB - Here Now! first WDW family holiday - Day 4 Seaworld & Bahama Breeze

Woke at 6:30 but still felt sleepy. Then I heard Kieran moving around and realised that was why I had woken. As usual no way he could get back to sleep so I got up too. Cup of tea and mucked about on the DIBB, worked out how to view my MM photos from Magic Kingdom day so took some screenshots of some (no downloading until I get back to UK to avoid the time frame passing too quick) and added them to the end of the MK day trip report.

Kieran was in the pool by 7am, Kevin got up just before 8 then I heard this weird noise and I am saying to Kevin "Is that the pool filter making that noise?" when he squeals "HOT AIR BALLOON!" and sure enough this thing was taking off right behind us. By the time I grabbed my phone it gone some distance so looks smaller in the pic but was massive!

Kieran of course ran to wake Hannah to tell her so that was everyone up then.

We had decided to have a lazier start today as the last 2 mornings had been full on so I messed about with washings etc then we got ready and left at 9:30. We had agreed to take the kids to one of these American Buffet type breakfasts so headed for the Golden Corral near Seaworld.

I've never seen so many fried food in my life, although there was plenty of fruit etc. Hannah chose the most fat laden plate of pancakes, deep fried bacon, crispy bacon etc

She left most of it and her second plate was more edible

Kieran chose sausages Beans and a roll, but declared the beans were disgusting

I chose a wee bit of different things to try but only actually ate the mac n cheese which was lovely

Hubby ate his before I got a photo or really even registered what he had. All Drinks are on tap to help yourself (juices/water/Soda) but tea and coffee you order from the waitress so I had a cup of tea.

Kieran finished up with some fruit and rice krispie cake dipped in the chocolate fountain. I swear I would never normally let my kids eat like this! But Hannah keeps assuring me it is all part of the experience.

You pay at the door as you go in and the receipt is here. The only addition is to tip the waitress who brings the tea/coffee and clears your table for whom I left $3

We left there and headed for discovery cove, Our day there is planned for Sat 25th but we stopped in to change our paper passes to plastic ones that will then scan on the turnstiles for Aquatica, Seaworld and Busch. I also wanted to buy the ultimate parking pass at $40 as we intend to visit all these parks so this offers a saving. DC looks amazing and it made me really excited for our day there. So the kids now know we will be swimming with dolphins and can. not. wait!

Left DC and headed for Seaworld just across the road arriving at 11:45. Parked up, straight in and headed for the Shamu show at 12.

The kids wanted to sit in the splash zone. I did not. So they sat about 8 rows in front where we could see them but avoid getting wet. Kevin gave Hannah his GoPro and as I type this he is howling and laughing watching the footage she took so Lord knows what they did. They were soaked by the end and loved the show.

Went round the corner to the Shamus Happy Harbour not really thinking there would be anything to amuse my 2 but it was on the way to the other attractions anyway. We ended up staying here nearly an hour as it had a massive play area with rope bridges and nets etc. He ran around in there until he was melting, just coming back now and then for a drink. I had remembered to bring the chilly towel thing today so wet it and snapped it and sure enough, it really does stay cold. Very impressed!

TO BE CONTINUED! Wifi playing up, taking too long and I need to go to bed. Will finish lunchtime UK time!

It was so hot and hubby and I were discussing getting more drinks as we had gone through the bottles we had taken in already. Hubby then saw the refillable deal so went for that. You buy the refillable cup at $11.99 and all refills today are free. This is for anything, coke, fruit juice, iced water. Then on any subsequent days at the sister parks you use the cup and pay $1.20 for each refill. When he returned with it we realised it is the exact same cup that someone has left at the villa so we will in fact have 2 of them for our days at Busch and Aquatica.

This area also has a nice wee water bit to cool down in which was well in use given how hot is was again today.

Worked our way round to watch The Clyde & Seamore show, where we bought Dippin Dots for Hannah and I, and popcorn for Kieran, before the show. This actually opens tomorrow but they opened todays final rehearsal to the public. It is basic slapstick around a high school theme. Kids loved it and I did laugh a fair few times so it was ok – better for younger kids though. Kieran was howling.

After a quick loo break we went to the Antarctica Penguin thing. Waited about 20m to get in as was really busy. The kids chose the wild ride over the mild ride and it was pleasantly spinny! I enjoyed this but only lasted about 10 seconds in the final section with the real penguins. Cold does not even begin to describe it, and I just do not do cold. Brrrr!

Next stop was Kraken. As I said before I had promised the kids I would try to go on as much as I could so we all headed on here after putting all our stuff in lockers. It said a 5min wait and we walked straight on. Well, I screamed so hard on that first drop I thought I would burst a blood vessel. The loopy bits after that were not too bad though. Kieran jumped off punching the air screaming ‘AGAIN, AGAIN' so I even agreed to go straight on again. I drew the line at a 3rd go however, so Hannah and I found a seat in the shade while the boys went on yet again.

After this we went on Journey to Atlantis and got thoroughly soaked! It said 35m wait but was actually only 10m. It was a nice way to cool down though. So hot again but the constant cold drink refills and the chilly towel really helped.

We caught the last 10 mins of the dolphin show then went on Turtle Trek, which is split into a few sections – viewing the manatees and turtles under water, listening to a conservation chat about the turtles then a 3D film from the viewpoint of a turtle from hatch to fully grown. For this part you stand in a room around circular stands with the 3D glasses, and they give the usual talk about motion sickness etc, yeah yeah. But OMG it really did mess with your balance. I ended up gripping the bar behind me and two men around us left. I liked it though as weird as that sounds. The whole thing took 30m.

Last on the list was Manta. Lockered up, on we went. Now I am not sure how I managed it, but I had somehow missed how this one worked. We got on, pulled down the overhead thing ready to go when suddenly a bar thing went across my ankles. Next thing it turns around on an axis and I appear to be hanging face down. Face. Down. What the hell? I did not sign up for this. Do you know I did not even scream. I was so shocked. We whipped about round and round, face down, face up, I had no idea what was going on. The ride photo was a hoot! And no, I did not buy it. Believe it or not I agreed to go on again. When I got off that time I again declined a 3rd go with my daredevil kids and they went on with hubby again. The kids then went on a 4th time while I sat on a bench feeling a bit sick.

They came off bouncing around wanting another go on Kraken before we left, so as we were already near the exit I stayed right where I was people watching while the 3 of them went back to Kraken. They came back happily reporting they had gone on another twice.

We left at 6:30 and headed for Costco along the road. Picked up some massive pizzas do to for tomorrow nights dinner and some chicken skewers and hot dogs for in the villa.

The we were off to Bahama Breeze for dinner. This was on my list of places to try and I had spotted it across fromGolden Corral this morning so we knew where to go. Loved the Island theming and the food was all really nice.

I had the Salmon with pineapple relish and rice

Kevin had a burger

Kieran had hamburger sliders off the kids menu

Hannah had Chicken Tenders off the kids menu but asked for a plain bun so she could make a chicken burger, which they happily supplied.

The bill was quite reasonable and we added the 20% tip for our cheery waitress.

Headed home after what turned out to be yet another busy day.

Now those of you wondering who this fine looking family above are – go read the first page of my report! Those of you who have read my initial report will remember that our friends are joining us (minus Lenny the dog)

So tomorrow, The EASTONS ARE COMING!

This is the chilly towel thing I am using for those of you who were interested