Triple Treat Tour July 2016 Day 16 SeaWorld, Waterworld, Food World

[WileyCoyote]

The previous day is

A great day = Parks ! Walmart ! Longhorns ! Anarchic waterlogged mini golf ! Yes, today has them all

Monday 18 July

We are out the door at 8 and arrived at Seaworld at 0820

I know this because the parking didn’t open until 0830 and there was so much moaning in the car about getting up early and it not even being open that I got out of the car to avoid a mummy meltdown. :angry:

After all I had only been up since 7, done the ironing, packed the coolbox and ensured we were here for opening so there wouldn’t be any stupid mahoosive queues for Mako

I had to get back in the car a few minutes later as parking opened and it was nice to sail through with the free parking . The car was much quieter

The queue to get in through the turnstiles was a bit disorganised, no shade and they held everyone until 0945 – only to let you through and then hold you again by Manta .

Queue organisation ( lack Of) is v v poor here and at Busch

Finally the park is open and the boys walk really slowly because they are more interested in catching pokemon.

My nan and her surgical walking frame would have overtaken them.

I remained unimpressed with their overwhelming (lack of) participation this morning



Fortunately it wasn’t crowded









We had a nice stroll behind them and hung about – because of course when we arrived, it wasnt working and we had the dreaded technical announcement



Andy tried out the seat for size – wot no harness !



The boys had the sense to wait it out – unlike those who walked away and would find about 10 minutes later that it was up and running

That’s why we come early – Mako wait time – nil



By 9.30 they are off and Connor said it was probably the smoothest and best coaster he had been on

Not sure that’s what the picture says …



They went off to Manta and we headed off to the sharks





But first some of the other aquariums







And into the shark tunnel








From there we headed to Pacific Point – we ran into the boys on the way who said the wait time for Manta was too long so they were headed to Kraken



Well we just had the most fun at the sea lions talking to the keepers and watching them in the sunshine





This baby was so cute









Apparently these birds are not from the park , they come everyday when its feeding time!







This one was a complete poser









Ah seriously, they were so much fun and the keepers were so happy to chat

[WileyCoyote]

We headed over to see the Dolphins





Pesky show offs, never keep still enough for decent pics !

We saw this lady just on her way to the Blue Horizon show



And then on to the manatees – Manatee noses, they are just the best








Then the gators, creepy pic



Some parts of the park are so pretty





We still had a little time before meeting the boys so we stopped at the Cypress Bakery



And had a coffee with a cheesecake



It was lovely and we enjoyed just people watching for a while

Then we headed over to the Rays





There was a young lad with his grandparents who was squealing with delight at touching the rays, it was so lovely to see

But of course they grow up all too soon …





We all felt we had enjoyed a couple of hours here , it was now hot and busier and no one was bothered about the shows so we decided to head off to Friendlies for an early lunch.





It was quite empty.

We had the honey bbq chicken melt sandwiches and Andy had the Philly Cheesesteak sandwich





I had a strawberry lemonade



It was ok. But we wouldn't rush back. Another one that didn't quite live up to our memories.


The bill ...

We left a $15 cash tip.

We had all been looking forward to this but it was a little disappointing , the service was functional rather than Friendly and the food, it was ok , but not as great as we had remembered

We now had a choice as to whether to go to MindQuest for another room game or take a trip to Walmart to pick up the extra suitcases that we needed

Surprisingly, Walmart won !

So off we went

In lots of traffic and increasingly grey skies







We nipped into the store while the teens stayed in the car. While we were inside there was an almighty thunderclap that the lads said shook the car and they were genuinely a bit scared by it

There then followed one of those biblical downpours





Limited visibility !

[WileyCoyote]

Finally at home, we begin to pack up in earnest for our move to Universal tomorrow and Andy clears out the fridge and has a tidy up while I take care of the cases.

With our newly acquired IFLy cases ( $79 a piece) we determine we still have some room so immediately nip out around 3pm to the Kissimmee clearance outlets for some last minute bargains

Some baby clothes for our grandson



More socks !



And at last, more trainers





And another long sleeve top at a silly $9.99



We still had one game left on the mini golf so popped out around half six – it was busy and as we soon discovered, waterlogged. It had nothing on that Ryder Cup in Wales …





We were stuck behind quite a slow family and it got interesting as it got darker with no lights and lots of water.

It remained debatable whether use of iphones was either cheating or ingenuity .. depended on how the ref felt !



I think some ball tampering was taking place here







The techniques were interesting



Particularly the “ head through the plank” ….



It was good fun, Nick went from first to last with a mighty ten ball howler on one hole and Jamie ended up winning – we have no idea how.

From here we headed to the LongHorns at Orange Lake

The bread was lovely as always




As was the cocktail





I had a Caesar salad side





Andy had garden salad with thousand island dressing



Nick had a burger



Connor had sirloin



Jamie had a steak sandwich, which defeated him




I had the filet with the lobster so Andy finally got lobster.



Andy had prime rib, a bit overcooked for him as medium well



And the bill



Lovely meal, worth the wait

My steak was the best of the holiday , Andy felt that his was a little overcooked for his taste.

Our server, Marilyn was hilarious. She kept asking us about the film Notting Hill – a bit lost on the rest of my party but it made her happy !

Back home , we started to do the laundry in readiness for leaving with all the towels we had used for the pool.

It was quite nice knowing that we were moving on to Universal tomorrow , normally its such a nightmare packing and doing the villa clearing on the last morning. This felt much more civilised !

The next day is HERE

[Cutiepie]

Good day Amanda, when we went to Seaworld I made the mistake of riding Kraken which made me feel really sick so I could't face trying Mako. I really wish I hadn't ridden Kraken & done Mako instead!

[Floridaagogo]

Your meal at longhorn ,filet with the lobster tail is my absolute favourite x

[WileyCoyote]

Originally Posted by Cutiepie

Good day Amanda, when we went to Seaworld I made the mistake of riding Kraken which made me feel really sick so I could't face trying Mako. I really wish I hadn't ridden Kraken & done Mako instead!

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Oh you are braver than me, I didn't do any of them
They loved Mako. Connor said probably the best coaster of the trip.

Originally Posted by Floridaagogo

Your meal at longhorn ,filet with the lobster tail is my absolute favourite x

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Mmmmm, mine too I do wish we had something like that chain here

[Redrach1903]

Really fun day! I haven't been to SeaWorld since 2013, but I feel I need to go back just to ride Mako! Sounds awesome! I do love the ray and the manatees too! You are right, their noses are just adorable!

xx

[WileyCoyote]

Originally Posted by Redrach1903

Really fun day! I haven't been to SeaWorld since 2013, but I feel I need to go back just to ride Mako! Sounds awesome! I do love the ray and the manatees too! You are right, their noses are just adorable!

xx

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They really liked Mako. We love our mornings at SW, always a lovely time. The manatees , I love them, I think I could have been one in a former life

[collybird]

That prime rib looks very overdone! It looks like a pork chop.

[WileyCoyote]

Originally Posted by collybird

That prime rib looks very overdone! It looks like a pork chop.

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Lol, I didn't think of that , but yes, it was overdone by Andys standards .