Little Man's 5th Birthday Trip - Feb 2016 - Day 3 - Seaworld & Aquatica

[Pinkpoochie]

Day 3

Today we were heading to Seaworld. We wanted to be there early for opening to make the most of the early shows, so we left Windsor Hills at about 8am. We arrived at the gates at about 8:35, and were surprised to see that everyone was being held at the car parking booths. We did wonder if it was indeed going to open at all, but they did finally let us through at about 8.55.

There obviously wasn’t anywhere near the rush of people there had been at WDW, and we parked virtually outside the front entrance. When I bought my Seaworld ticket we got Aquatica and Busch Gardens too, and free parking for 2 weeks which was a bonus. So compared to the parking fees at the Disney parks ($20 per day) this was a bonus. LM had been so excited about visiting Seaworld and seeing Shamu, we had been watching videos in the run up to the holiday, and Shamu was the one thing he talked about. Once in the park we headed straight to the Dolphin area to the left hand side. Were there were several dolphins splashing and swimming around the edge of the wall. When we visited 18 years ago SW was my stand out moment. I remember feeding the dolphins and stroking them without any limits. That was not so now. There was a large area cordoned off, leaving just about a 10 ft area against the pool where people could stand and watch them. As soon as I got to the wall, a Dolphin popped up right in front of me, instinctively I reached out to stroke him. The Seaworld staff were extremely rude :angry: and said that under no circumstances were we to touch them. If we wanted to touch them we had to pay $25 each for 3mins of interaction in the cordoned off area. I was appalled. Talk about trying to rip you off. I understand they are trying to make money to fund conservation etc, but really $75 for 3 of us for 3 mins? When you consider the cost to enter the park in the first place, It just came across as money grabbing. In all honesty, I felt sorry for the dolphins, as they clearly wanted to interact with people, they were coming right up to the edge, and just staying there, but we weren’t allowed to touch!

Disgusted, I left the area disappointed for our son who had been looking forward to it so much. We walked around to the Dolphinarium theatre, and went to get our seats for the show which started at 10am. The weather was much warmer today, and we were all in shorts and t shirts. It started to get really hot in the stadium, and I had to run back to the buggy for suncream as we were starting to burn. LM enjoyed some Candy Floss whilst we waited for the show to start. We enjoyed the Blue Horizons show, the dolphins and birds all put on a fab display. It was nice to see and hear about the rescued Beluga Whales who were orphaned. When they arrived at SW they weighed 400kg, they now weigh 1300kg and are thriving. I know everyone has an opinion on SW and captive animals, but I do believe that these animals would not have survived without parents to nurture them.

After the show we then headed over to the log flume ride Atlantis which had no queue whatsoever, we literally walked straight onto the ride. Then for some unknown reason, LM had a complete meltdown as we entered the ride. He was crying, and we had to get off before the ride set off. I think it was just a case of the long days, and travelling catching up with him, coupled with the increasing heat. I was glad we had planned a fairly quiet day today. So we had to walk back through the entrance of the ride and we went over to have a look at the penguins instead. We went inside where it really was freezing. I would recommend taking a hoodie in with you, unlike us shivering! We stayed in there about 2 minutes before coming back out again. Lol.

From there we headed into the Sealion Show. This had changed since last time, but I guess it would after 18 years. They were still very comical, and LM enjoyed the otter running around the stage.

As LM wasn’t tall enough to ride Manta, we headed across to the Shamu stadium in readiness for the 12:15 show. We got our seats in the splash zone  and ate our lunch whilst we were waiting for the show to start. Needless to say, LM loved Shamu and was in absolute awe of their size. Despite being in the splash zone, we didn’t have one drop of water land on us. I was secretly a little disappointed, but it was fun watching everyone else getting a soaking.

After the show, LM became a bit cranky again, and it was getting really hot. We let him have a play in the splash zone just behind Shamu Stadium. It was then that we realised just how hot it was, so we checked with a member of staff if Aquatica was open. We felt that we had done everything we had wanted to see at SW and aquatica would allow us relax a little, and give LM some freedom. Whilst the parks are all amazing, they can be quite restrictive and regimented for little ones, queueing etc.. We had left a swim bag packed into the car from day 1, just in case we did decide to head off to a water park in the afternoons, so we headed back to the car and made the short drive over to Aquatica. One thing I will warn you about SW is all the stalls/games on every corner which kids love to have a go at, but they are everywhere… another money making scheme which became rather annoying. I have to say that I am not sure I would visit SW again when we return.

As it was early afternoon by now and we managed to drive into a preferred parking space at the entrance of Aquatica as the parking attendants had all gone. We spent a few hours swimming around the lazy river, and LM let off steam in the play area whilst we watched form the comfort of our sun lounger. The staff at Aquatica were great. Lots of lifeguards everywhere, and life jackets were plentiful. We had no concerns about his safety in the pools. Although he cannot swim very far unaided, he is not afraid of water at all, so he was zooming down the slides in the tubes in no time. Although it was around 23deg and sunny, it was cold when you got out of the water, so by 4pm we started to pack up get showered and head for some dinner. The changing rooms and lockers at Aquatica are great, the cost to rent a locker was $10.The changing rooms had soap/shampoo dispensers if you needed it.

We left the park and headed towards I-drive to find somewhere to eat. We initially wanted to go to Bahama Breeze, but we missed the turn, and LM voted for TGI’s again anyway. I wasn’t complaining, as it meant I could have the special wine offer again. Can you tell I like a Chardonnay? So within 20 mins we were sat in TGI’s talking to a great server. He was giving us lots of advice about what to do whilst in Orlando. Getting out into the real florida etc.. He was really great, and service was impeccable. We started with some pretzels and then I had Jack Daniels Ribs and DH had a Smoke Burger. LM had his favourite Chicken again, and we finished it off with a portion of Tennessee whiskey Cake to share. OMG it is to die for, so delicious. Little man had an ice cream sundae. Including my bottle of Chardonnay and a Coors Light the bill came to $55.65 with our 15% discount eat & play card. We added on the 20% tip for excellent service. Another bargain meal which was top notch.

We headed home and got back to the house for about 6.30, where we relaxed for the rest of the evening. I enjoyed my take away bottle of wine, and DH had a few beers before we crashed into bed. LM was now getting desperate for a dip in the pool at the house. We had not let him up to now because he had been a bit sniffly after the flight and the weather hadn't been warm enough. To be fair, had I actually checked the water he probably could have gone in because we had the pool heated for the duration and it was plenty warm enough. We promised him tomorrow he could definitely go in the pool.

Thanks for reading

[Floridaagogo]

Your meal at tgi sounds lovely x