Man V Disney 4 weeks of Florida. Day 24 - Seaworld and Giordanos

[Man v Disney]

Tuesday 16th

This morning we were able to get a bit of a later start, not needing to set off until around 8.15 or so. Seaworld doesn't open until 9am so there wasn't much point getting there too early. We were up and once we had all had breakfast, were dressed and sun creamed up we headed out. We were all ready around 8.00 so that was good.

The journey over was great and after showing our discovery cove entry card were given free parking, which was smooth. We were near the front of the parking lot and close to the front of the bag check area.

At around 8.50 they payed the national anthem and the Staff including security at the gate stood to attention. Once it had finished there was a round of applause from everyone in the bag queue, a different way to open a park to Disney or Universal but one we liked. We were quickly through the bag check area and after a quick scan of our Discovery Cove tickets were into the park, where they held us near Manta.

I passed all of my stuff over to Han as the plan was for me to do a load of rides first while they went to the manatee area and got seats for the dolphin show which opened at 10. I was to meet them there once I was done.

At rope drop I put on my best quick but casual looking walk and was quickly ahead of everyone else. Herein lies the first problem with Seaworld. The signs are rubbish. There were some, but they weren't clear enough and the people behind me were equally confused. It was only by asking that we got to the correct area, which was Mako.

I was looking forward to this and I all knew was that it was the tallest, fastest and longest track. I was one of the first ones in and got seated on the back row of the first one to go. All I can say is wow. Firstly, as it has no inversions you don't have any shoulder restraints so are held in lace only across your lap by a rather substantial bar in the shape of a shark tail if I remember correctly. You are well secured. Then it starts to climb and keeps climbing...and keeps climbing. The first drop is big, it just keeps going and I loved it, you really do feel weightless as you head back down, then it has a series of rises and falls as well as some good turns. It exceeded my expectations so completely, it's just ridiculously high and you need to be prepared for that when you go on it.

My plan was to hit Kraken next, I was directed to it by a really helpful lady who was telling loads of people where it was, only problem being that it doesn't open until 10! Grrrrr! So I went to Manta instead. The queue was quick but held up at the start by a family who didn't speak good English or Spanish and were trying to take their backpack on with them as well as their hats and massive camera. All the Seaworld person could do was to keep pointing to all of the bits they couldn't have with them on the sign until they got the message. They stepped to the side and as I passed them the mum and dad were doing the honourable thing and loading all of their bags, hats and cameras onto their youngest daughter and pointing where she should sit while they went on it!

When we got to the top there were no employees to tell you where to sit and so the English family of 3 in front of me went to the queue bit for the front of the ride and I joined them as there was a space. There was no one to fill in spaces and envy one was just picking rows and going on it that way! Weird. They did have a good amount of staff making sure that everyone was safely in the seats and checking the safety bars, just no one telling you where to sit.

The ride was really good, I love the unique feel on this coaster with you facing down. It completely changes the perspective of the coaster and gives it a fantastic feel. I suppose it helps not being able to see what's coming properly!

Once I got off this I checked the time with a staff member and as it was only 9.35 I headed over to the dolphin show to meet the others.

While I had been on my rides, Han and the kids headed to Turtle Trek. Unfortunately, although the park opens at 9am, nothing other than a couple of the coasters opened until 9.30 or later so everything they had gone to look at didn't open until 10am. This was problem 2.

Eliana did however have a moment with her friends. I do love this picture!

and then they played on some games outside the Turtle area before heading to be at the front of the queue.

Josiah and Eliana were both hoping that they would be chosen to be pulled in a boat by the Dolphins as they have seen at other shows so waited patiently at the rope! (FYI: they do not pull anyone by boat at Seaworld=gutted kids)

We did get great seats though!

The show was good, especially the bits with dolphins in it, but there seemed to be loads of emphasis on the trainers using the Dolphins to help tell a story and really we were there to see the Dolphins and all the amazing stuff they can do! They did have a couple of new whales who were doing some of their first shows. They were amazing and had been rescued and nurtured back to health by Seaworld. It was very clear as we went round the park how much they emphasised the good work they do, continually making the point that they are pretty much always asked to look after animals by the government etc rather than just taking them on or breeding them. They also kept emphasising that they tried to return as many animals as possible back to their natural habitats. Eliana and I had a moment while we watched.

After the show we split up and I headed over to Kraken while han and the kids went to the Turtle trek experience. Kraken wasn't now open due to technical difficulties...this was not Krakens day. So I headed over to Turtle Trek to meet up with han and the kids and fortunately met them at the entrance as they were going in. Problem 3. They need to find a way to entertain people in a queue. Universal and Disney put a lot of effort into making the wait part of the experience. Try entertaining your kids with only blank walls all around. I'm sure they could rustle up a few turtle facts and display these. I had a quick look on google, there are loads!

Once we were in we had a look at the two tanks with the manatees and sea turtles. I know that some people are very against Seaworld, but when you hear stories and find out the state that some of the animals arrive there in due to human interference you can see they do a good job in nursing them back to full health. Josiah also made a friend...

The second bit of the turtle trek is a 360 3D cinema experience showing the life of a turtle. In my opinion it is well worth the wait. You feel fully immersed in the experience and have to keep holding on to the railings. At the cinema you can always see the edges of the screen to give you an escape and to help your senses keep the screen 'in place'. As this is 360 degrees you really feel in it. I was very impressed! Both Han and I found ourselves swaying at points and needed to hold the railing to keep upright!

We split up now and Josiah and I went to Journey to Atlantis while Eliana and han headed over to Shamu to get some good seats and a snack before the show. As we were queueing there were loads of inclement weather warnings saying that there were storms in the region and they may need to stop the ride. Well, we could see that Manta, Mako and Kraken weren't running and Josiahs nerves kicked in. He was worried that the others weren't running but this was and didn't fancy going on a ride with part of it outside in a storm. It had also started to pour down with rain so we decided to leave. Which, although we had cued for ages, I could completely understand. Put of me also was waiting for them to say it was cancelled.

We legged it over to Shamu. It was really raining hard now and when we finally arrived we were both wet through! We found han and Eliana just as the show was about to start. They had got Josiah his favourite snack again and me a Pretzel and they had bagged incredible seats!

They played the start music then... it stopped. There was a storm passing and they delayed the performance. We waited for a bit and the rain which had been light finally stopped, the sun was shining although you could still see a good few storm clouds in the distance. After a few more minutes and a number of rescue videos they restarted the show...which lasted for 30 seconds. The first orca came out, did 1 jump and was called straight back to its holding place round the back. Then the rain started again. They announced then that the show was cancelled.

Eliana was not impressed. An entire hour of waiting and she had seen one orca jump! It's understandable though and she was OK about it soon enough, the safety of the animals has to come first!

We took the kids pictures on the orcas out the front

then headed into Wild Arctic, choosing the helicopter ride experience. The wait on this was pretty short and we were straight in, although by the time we were through the queue was loads bigger as more people headed in after their Shamu disappointment.

The simulator was good, although the video and the movement don't match up to the same degree as they do on Star Tours and other simulator rides.

The wild Arctic area afterwards is really good, with the Beluga Whale tank, the Sea Lion tank and Seal tanks to have a look in. We spent quite a bit of time here and the kids played in a polar bear den for a bit.

The rain was still coming down, albeit quite lightly so we took a picture in front of the sign

and decided to head over to Antartic, world of penguins as this was indoor. As we got closer the rain got heavier and it appeared that most of the park had the same idea. The wait time was around 45 minutes so we decided to head into the shop and pick up a gift for Dora as she loves penguins!

After a quick family meeting we agreed that it was probably time to go. The rain hadn't stopped and although it was now not as heavy was showing no sign of stopping. We trudged to the exit along with a lot of other people and headed out to our lunch, which was at the closest Giordanos to Seaworld, the one on Salt Lake Road, near Epic McDonalds.

The rain was still pouring and we got there around 2pm. We were seated straight away as it wasn't too busy. There is a real family feel to the place and the staff were very friendly, our server was great. He had a really quiet voice, but looked after us so well. Maybe one of our favourite servers of the trip.

We ordered water for Josiah, coke for Eliana and I and a Minute Maid Lemonade for Han. I had my eyes on only one thing...stuffed pizza pie. As it was between 11-3 we were able to make use of their lunch menu and got a kids chicken tenders and fries for Eliana and a personal Pepperoni Pie and personal Cheese Pie for the three of us to share. They take a while to come out, around 30 minutes, but as part of the lunch deal you get your drink included as well as a side. So we ordered a house salad and some fries which our server brought out with Eliana's meal so that we could be eating something together.

He was constantly on the lookout, bringing refills whenever we needed, without the need to ask! Then the Pizza pies came out. They were everything I could have wanted, and a little bit more. The mounds of melted cheese, the tomato sauce and the pepperoni. All in a pie. Just amazing! We all agreed they were special and well worth the hype. We finished them off completely!

Eliana made the Deathly Hallows with her fries!

For dessert we had the mini connoli stuffed with ricotta and drizzled with chocolate as well as the s'mores chocolate pizza! I demolished the connoli and left Josiah and Han to the chocolate pizza, not because the idea doesn't fill me with deep joy but because you could smell the cinnamon a mile away. I don't do cinnamon!

The bill came to a very reasonable $41.37 including tax and we tipped quite highly as he had been really good. We liked that they don't give you the tip percentages on the bottom as we had seen in a number of places. We tipped him well taking the total to $52.50. All the while we were there the rain didn't stop. You could hear thunder all around as well. Although our universal storm a couple of days ago was notable for its intensity, this was notable for its longevity!

We drove back and the rain didn't stop all the way home. It had been raining now for around four hours straight. The problem for a park like Seaworld which is mainly outdoor stuff, is that inclement weather basically shuts the park down, there just isn't much to do!

Han dropped us off and went out to do our final shop, also to have a look in the outlets without me or the kids. She saw loads of yellow school buses on the way which she enjoyed seeing as it reminded her of the 2 times she did an exchange with an American school back at school.

As well as shopping for a few items to take home and getting a couple of clothing items (finally) she got a Disney bag from the Disney Outlet at Premium Outlets. It should have been $65 but was down to $34.99 so this is Han's bit of Disney to take home.

I had got myself a Slytherin Quidditch polo shirt which pleased Eliana immensely!

The kids chilled out and once we had tea and it stopped raining they went in the pool. They were out there for hours!

After I had finished writing up yesterday's report and getting up to date with today's report (it's fresh off the press guys), I went and joined them for a bit before we came in about 8pm and settled down before bedtime and our day at Busch Gardens tomorrow. Just hope the weather is good!

Tomorrow - Busch Gardens and Cracker Barrell for tea.

[LoopyDisney7]

Really enjoying your trip report! Sounds like you are all having an amazing 4 weeks

[Floridaagogo]

You're braver than me going on Mako 😁 that pizza looks like it's got a lifetimes supply of cheese in it !

[waiting4disney]

Another lovely day.

[Man v Disney]

Originally Posted by waiting4disney

Another lovely day.

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It really was, pity the weather wasn't better. That's always the risk in Orlando!

[Man v Disney]

Originally Posted by Floridaagogo

You're braver than me going on Mako 😁 that pizza looks like it's got a lifetimes supply of cheese in it !

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To be honest as I was one of the first on I didn't get a chance to think about it. There was a moment at the top where I thought "what am I doing?" The pizza does have loads of cheese, just the right amount to balance the pie!

[Man v Disney]

Originally Posted by LoopyDisney7

Really enjoying your trip report! Sounds like you are all having an amazing 4 weeks

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We are really enjoying writing it too! A great way to record what we have done. It's been great, can't believe the 4 weeks are nearly over

[Jesslydevie1]

Shame about the weather but another great day , love the look of them pizzas!

[Pavilion1983]

Great day, Giordanos is brilliant

[Tilly26]

That rain was horrendous. We got caught in Universal IOA and it pretty much shut that park down too. Even with ponchos on we got soaked.
Brilliant report... Loving reading it 😀