Here we go Again! Charlotte's 2nd WDW trip Jan 2019 - Day 3 SeaWorld and Springs

[vics18]

Hi everyone, firstly let me apologize for the huge gap in between the last day of the report and posting today! It has been such an incredibly busy time and once you lose that writing momentum it can be hard to get back into it!
However, I have finally got my act together and please enjoy day 3 of our holiday (probably more than we did haha #spoilers)

Index is here

Day 3
Saturday 26th Jan 2019



I haven’t noted what time any of us woke today, in fact my notes and photos are pretty sparse. As you’ll see as you read, it wasn’t the most successful day and pretty stressful in a lot of parts, so bear with me!
Today was the first day we used Uber to get around, as we were off to SeaWorld. I downloaded the app when we were still at home (and Lyft too) so I opened it up when we got down to the lobby and selected a ride with a car seat – an XL which was an additional $10 to the usual ride fare.


We waited out front at Beach Club, and got chatting to a really nice cast member who was asking what we were up to today. He even took the stroller from martin and put it into the boot for us. The journey was fine, and we soon arrived at SeaWorld. It was only $13.61 as I seem to remember some money was taken off for it being our first trip.

Charlotte was almost asleep in the car, and did actually drop off before we even made it through the Seaworld gates.

We stopped and exchanged our voucher for the dolphin encounter at the desk. It was about half past 9 when we arrived, and I really wanted to go on Mako, so while she was asleep we thought make the most of it and we headed in that direction. It was so, so quiet as we walked along, and we saw some Sesame Street merch. I was pretty sad we missed this new part of the park as it wasn't ready while we were there.

Suddenly we hit a big crowd of people being held near the queue entrance. Turns out the big rides don’t open until 10am, which was a bit annoying. We waited for a few minutes, but I don’t really like being in a big crowd and was aware Charlotte was getting a bit jostled in her buggy. We decided to come back later, and walked around to Manta instead. By now it was 10am so it was open and had a 20 min wait posted.

Martin parked himself on a bench with some shade for Charlotte and I joined the line. It’s pretty boring queuing by yourself, but it was a good queue, with all the little aquarium windows and stuff to look at . I did wait about 30 minutes before riding as it turned out though. When they first flip you up in the ride vehicle I didn’t really like it, but it was a great ride and I enjoyed it overall. I found Martin and Charlotte (who was still asleep) and we went for a little mooch around, enjoying the sights and sounds of SeaWorld.

Despite it being a Saturday, it was noticeably quiet aside from the larger rides. We saw a cheeky squirrel inside a shop which amused us.

When we reached a little shady bench near the penguin area we decided to wake Charlotte and let her come to a bit and have a snack , as it was now 11am and the dolphin ‘up close tour’ was at 11.30.
She woke in massive grump, but ate a little pack of crackers and we made our way round to the dolphin nursery. While we waited, she wanted to look at the ducks in an enclosure opposite, rather than the dolphins swimming in the pool (yep, paid all this money for SeaWorld tickets and she’s excited about ducks, not dolphins).

A SeaWorld education lady ticked us all off her list of guests for the tour, answered questions if anyone had them then took us back to meet the dolphin trainers. The “tour” took place in the pool behind the dolphin nursery.
We were split into smaller groups, we were with 3 other ladies who were together. At this point the dolphins were being really nosey and peeking over the tank.

They were so cute, and I was trying to show Charlotte but she was being a bit of a squirmy ratbag in my arms and not really paying attention. After a bit of a safety talk/dos and don’ts, cameras aren't allowed etc we were taken round to meet “our” dolphin. There was a step for Charlotte to stand on so she could be more involved, but I would say this experience wasn’t really aimed at smaller kids.


We got to touch the dolphin, feed him little fish and do some commands. It was interesting to talk to the trainer and she answered all our questions. Charlotte seemed to be really enjoying it, but the dolphin (I can’t remember his name to save my life) got a bit overexcited when doing a fin waving command and did a massive splash, which got me and Charlotte . The water was a bit cold, and we got a fair sprinkling, but she massively over reacted and lost her s***.

I took her to away from the pool so she wasn’t disrupting any other guests, took her jacket off, we tried to talk her round but she was deep in a toddler tragedy fest by this point and whimpering as if she’d been doused with acid not a bit of water. We had left our bags round the other side of the pool so couldn’t distract her with any food or anything. The trainer tried to win her back round, but although she did go back near the pool she insisted I held her and didn’t want anything else to do with the poor dolphin. She wouldn’t do the individual photo with the dolphin, but did have a picture with me holding her.

Near to the end, a family squeezed themselves through the fence that shut off this area from the main part of the park and had to be asked to leave

The whole experience took about 45 minutes, and if you didn’t have a small diva with you I would recommend it. We got an incredibly good deal on the tickets for this in SeaWorld’s “Blue Friday” sale so if you’re travelling in the winter I would recommend checking out their website that day (think the offers were on for a couple of weeks starting that day actually, if I think back).


I had also booked “Dine with Shamu” , which was a buffet and show. As part of the Blue Friday sale it was only $29 for the 3 of us, as it was buy one get one free, and we didn’t have to pay for Charlotte as she was under 3. The description was : Enjoy the most immersive and memorable dining experience in town. Discover the rescue story behind four pilot whales and find out what makes killer whales such unique animals, while also learning how to help save the ocean.
So I thought it sounded great, we’d end up paying that for a quick service meal for us and drinks anyway, plus designated seating and some education, learning about Seaworld’s rescue programme etc.


Spoiler – it wasn’t good. At all.


We walked over to the restaurant. Our reservation was 12.30 and there was a large line of people waiting to check in. We probably arrived there about 12.25 so were right at the back of the line. A single person was walking down the line taking names, before we were allowed in. They told us a table number , and we were shown to it by a greeter who said our server would come back soon. Then the same person came back and said she would be our server! Me and Martin gave each other a look that said “this is going to be interesting” . I went straight to the buffet to get some food for Charlotte . The buffet was tiny, and because everyone had arrived at once it was absolutely rammed in there. There were 2 sides, but only 1 kids section, and only 1 section with all the meats. So everyone was trying to merge at the end to get to the meat, it was just a nightmare. The food itself was alright, not great but not bad either.

The seating was all crammed together so getting back to your table with a plate of food was a bit hard. Because I got Charlotte’s food, then went back for mine I ended up missing the beginning of the “show”. It was extremely hard to hear what was going on, and difficult to pay attention while also eating. Also, the educational bit seemed lacking, and it was mainly the trainers making the whales do tricks which made me a bit uncomfortable to be honest.

They brought a plate of desserts round, and asked if we wanted a drink in a cup to go, so we asked for diet cokes and an iced water for Charlotte. For some reason they didn’t give us lids.

The couple at the table next to us asked us to take a picture of them, then asked if we wanted one.

At 1.30 exactly they started plating a recorded message, which was basically telling you to get out!


So all in all, not a good experience. I wondered whether I was being a bit unfair, given the price that we paid but to be honest I would rather have gotten a meal somewhere else and paid more. It wasn’t at all what we expected.


Anyway, the only way is up right? WRONG! Charlotte was kicking off again as we crossed over the bridge heading towards the Pets Ahoy show. We had bought her one of those baby Minnie toys the day before I think, the ones that you wrap up in a blanket, and she was throwing an absolute fit because she could see Minnie’s arm in the gap in the blanket when we wrapped her. How one of us didn’t throw her in the bloody lake I’ll never know (I’ve just read that back and realised it could sound like I mean Charlotte or the Minnie toy – I’ll let you decide which I meant )


Oh also, she wanted to walk, then she wanted me to carry her, then walk, then get in the buggy, then walk. ARRGGHH!

We pulled to the side, and I had stern words with her . She sat in the buggy and we carried on over the bridge. We did discuss whether to just leave, but decided we would stick with the plan to do the Pets Ahoy show as I thought she would love it, then reassess.

The Pets Ahoy show was almost full despite there being another 20 minutes until it started. The woman on the door told us we couldn’t take drinks in, and we didn’t want to leave them out with no lids, so drank some and chucked the rest.

The show was great and we all enjoyed it. Thank goodness Charlotte was engrossed in it so was really well behaved and laughing and clapping when she saw the animals.


Once that was finished we retrieved the stroller and had a walk around, we watched these guys for a while

And showed her some of the animals we had seen while she was asleep.

She was being an absolute pain again, and I was really getting to the end of my rope with her. I flipped and said “right, that’s it we’re going home!” I walked away to calm down. When I went back, Martin had had a word with her and said we should stay and see the Sea Lion show, while she enjoyed Pets Ahoy so much.

It looked like it could bucket down at any minute, so we went straight into the stadium. A girl came a few moments after us, and lay across the bench at the end to reserve seats for her family/friends. Eyerolls.

This was a cute, but quite long show although Charlotte was thoroughly entertained, so it mustn’t have been that bad! It was around 4 o’clock by the time the show ended. It was a bit of a scrum getting out of there, and we exited a whole different way than we went in, so Martin had to fight against the stream of people back to where we had left the stroller. We were very ready to leave the park at this point!


We checked out the photos from the dolphin tour on the way out, and inexplicably I bought one.

We restroomed and booked another Uber, deciding we would go to Disney Springs as I was in great need of some nice food (and an alcoholic beverage, let’s not lie)

Our Uber driver was an older guy, but, bless him he put the Frozen soundtrack on in the car for Charlotte, who appeared to have had a personality transplant since we left SeaWorld and was singing along, laughing and smiling away. She continued this mood as we got to Springs, and appeared to be back to our normal little girl. We had a look in the Art of Disney store, and she loved looking at all the pictures, especially the Princesses. She was saying “ooh mummy look how pretty”, “it’s amazing” “Wow!” etc.

She picked up a Chewie cuddly toy in the Star Wars store, but we said she could get it another day if she wanted it. I picked up a magic band in the Pin store , had seen it before we went and loved the colour so decided to just get it as I didn’t really like my orange resort one.

I was looking for some mickey 90th pins I’d seen on Instagram too but the cast member in this store said they’d already sold out, which was a bit of a shame! I was toying with the idea of getting some of these,

but decided it would be a slippery slope so didn’t bother. They were pretty expensive for what they were I thought.


We had a little look in the Co-Op Marketplace, then into World of Disney. This has had a huge remodel since we were last here and I really liked it. It seemed more open, was easier to see where things were and I liked all the decorative details on the walls etc. We had promised Charlotte yesterday that we would get her an Elsa doll and she spotted it in this store and asked for one. We shot each other that look, the “she’s been a horror all day, but being really good now, what do we do” look. I told her she could have the toy because she was being a very good girl, but if she was naughty again like she had been today we would take it back to the shop. She agreed, so I got it.

There’s no way on Earth I’d buy her a toy at home if she behaved like she had today, but I think we all were just wanting to put it behind us and embrace the current good behaviour!


She was beyond delighted and absolutely loved her. We walked through and saw Chicken Guy, decided to eat here.

For a QS credit, Martin and I got 6 tenders and fries each and a handful of sauces (chipotle ranch was our favourite!) This was plenty of food for the 3 of us. I think you could also get one of the sandwiches as a QS credit. We really liked this, the chicken was good, hot and crispy coating and nice, proper chicken inside. Not life changing, but good. We sat out and ate, it was going dark around us and all the twinkly lights were on. So lovely and the horrors of our SeaWorld day were forgotten!

Refuelled and happy, we did a bit more shopping in Under Armour, Uniqlo and had a look in the new Disney Style store.

I wanted this but couldn't get it on the UK website so was happy I could get it here!

Once we were ready for home, we found the bus stops and didn’t wait long at all for a Beach club bus. I thought Charlotte wold be exhausted as she hadn’t napped since this morning, but when we got back to the room she had a little snack and a play with some of her toys before we got her ready and tucked into bed.

So, this was a horrible day to write! Charlotte really tested our patience for a lot of the day, and what I thought was going to be a special day with some nice experiences ended up being a bit of a nightmare. Was it Seaworld’s fault? No. But it has sort of soured how we feel about that park, at least for a while and I don’t think we’ll rush back. Had I let Charlotte continue to sleep instead of waking her for the dolphin tour I think things could have been different. The “Dine with Shamu” experience was just bad all round. When I spoke with Jo Harding about how terrible the day had been, she was like “well it’s day 3, that’s why” Haha, and I think she’s probably right. On our next trip think we’ll have a pool day on day 3!

Anyway, thankfully our lovely evening at Disney Springs saved the day from being a total write off!


Tomorrow – a VERY rainy day at Animal Kingdom

[Mel49]

Such a shame Sea World didn't quite go to plan but that's the joys of young kids Been there, worn the t-shirt and in years to come when Charlotte reads your report she will no doubt laugh about it. At least on the few occasions my DD (12) takes a strop she can just be ignored for a while but not easy with little one's.

I'm glad she brightened up on your visit to Disney Springs and she looks delighted with her Elsa doll (I probably would have bought it too as at that age she wouldn't have delibarately being bad just having an off morning and by then would have forgotten all about it.)

Hope tomorrow was a better day.

[GezzasGem]

Oh no, the dreaded meltdown day! They happen to us all and I am sure we will have a version of it this trip even though DD is now 7! Glad it improved for you and the day ended on a much happier note 😊👍

[SaratogaSp2015]

So glad you've done another day. I've been following to get tips for taking our two-year-old in September. Currently assessing what we are doing on day three...

[vics18]

Originally Posted by Mel49

Such a shame Sea World didn't quite go to plan but that's the joys of young kids Been there, worn the t-shirt and in years to come when Charlotte reads your report she will no doubt laugh about it. At least on the few occasions my DD (12) takes a strop she can just be ignored for a while but not easy with little one's.

I'm glad she brightened up on your visit to Disney Springs and she looks delighted with her Elsa doll (I probably would have bought it too as at that age she wouldn't have delibarately being bad just having an off morning and by then would have forgotten all about it.)

Hope tomorrow was a better day.

See more...

Thanks so much for your comments, good to hear we're not the only ones haha!
Yes, our day was definitely salvaged by a nice visit to Disney Springs. When I was writing this day, I thought "I can't believe we bought her a toy after all this!" but you're absolutely right. She was just exhausted and I have to remind myself she was only 2 and a half! We should cut her some slack

Tomorrow was/is definitely a better day x

[vics18]

Originally Posted by GezzasGem

Oh no, the dreaded meltdown day! They happen to us all and I am sure we will have a version of it this trip even though DD is now 7! Glad it improved for you and the day ended on a much happier note 😊👍

See more...

Haha, good to hear we're not the only ones!
Yes, so glad the day turned around
Thanks for reading and your nice comments x

[vics18]

Originally Posted by SaratogaSp2015

So glad you've done another day. I've been following to get tips for taking our two-year-old in September. Currently assessing what we are doing on day three...

See more...

Sorry its taken me so long! Will definitely try and keep up now I'm back on it!
Hahaha, definitely suggest a quiet day

[collybird]

Oh no, what a rotten luck right from the big rides not being open at rope drop through the entire day.

I love your new Magic Band, I’ll be keeping an eye out for that colour this year.
The picture of Charlotte with her new doll is so cute, how could you say no to that little face!?

I think Jo's right about the curse of Day 3. You plan thinking that you'll be over the jet lag by then but in reality you are still adjusting. We did MNSSHP on Day 4 once and it was an utter disaster.

[mick]

A bit of a mixed day but ended better than it began so that was good

Joan

[Lisa_Lollipop]

Wow, what a day! I think that this is the perfect proof that it doesn't matter where you are or what you are doing... toddlers are going to have tantrums and meltdowns no matter what! I think you both handled it all extremely well, these little people really know how to push us to our absolute limits! And an interesting point about 'day 3'... I will remember this and plan that day accordingly! And thank you for your honesty, it's good to see how these trips with kiddies go, warts and all!

Such a shame Seaworld didn't turn out to be what you was hoping. I am glad I have seen your review of Dine with Shamu as we were toying with this as an alternative to Shark's Underwater Grill... we will stick with the original plan for sure now!

So happy to see the day turned for the better though and you had a lovely evening at Disney Springs... good food and shopping are always going to be a winner in my book!

Great to be reading more installments, I have been looking forward to you posting more!