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Old 6 Nov 19, 08:58 PM  
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sha9
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If you book it you will go. Sept 2019. Day 13 - DHS & SeaWorld

The dining report for today is here.

We had today planned as a DHS day and wanted to go early both to take advantage of EEMH and because we had dinner booked in SeaWorld at 3pm. The alarm was set for 6am although I woke at 5am. I hadn’t slept well after finding the beastie so fell back asleep and woke with the alarm. We got ready and had the last few mini muffins for breakfast. We left for DHS at 7.25am and arrived within about 10 minutes.
The park was still quiet at that time and we were parked really close.



We headed straight for Galaxy’s Edge where Smugglers Run was showing a 50 minute wait.







Water fountain outside the restrooms with a bottle filler.


We joined the queue anyway and it changed to 35 minutes while we were queueing. By sheer chance we were pilots again but swapped so I was right and Marie was left. We weren’t any better than last time and crashed at the same point at the start that everyone seems to. We were off within 30 minutes so not too bad.




We had a wander round Batuu and popped in to the Droid Factory as I wanted to get purple decals (?) for my droid. Marie also talked me into buying the serving tray which I haven’t even taken out the bag yet!
We still had some time until our Slinky Dog FP and I think we must have went for second breakfast at this point as my photos match up with that. My notes don’t mention it! We went to Woody’s Lunchbox as I have a photo of the brisket potato barrels.



After breakfast we wandered across to the Launch Bay and had a look around. We went into the movie there which was pretty empty. It’s a movie about the making of the new Star Wars movies. It’s entertaining enough and it’s a seat in the air con.



We then had a look round Launch Bay.





We headed back to Toy Story Land and watched Slinky while we waited for our FP slot.




We were able to tap in a few minutes early – I think it’s 5 minutes – and while in the queue I moved our Star Tours FP forward. We rode SDD then left to go to Star Tours passing these guys.



This was quite a good ride as we got some stuff we hadn’t had before such as Episode 8 and landing in Batuu. While in the queue I made a FP for Toy Story Mania.





As an aside, the tiering in DHS makes using FP a bit of a pain however since we stuck to that end of the park it wasn’t too bad. DHS isn’t too big so wandering back and forth between Toy Story Land and Star Tours was fine and often we’d go through Batuu anyway like we did this time. We stopped off for a blue milk and sat for a wee while people watching drinking our blue milk. We also took the opportunity to Facetime Mum & Dad so they could see Batuu.



While we were there we noticed Smuggler’s Run was a 40 minute wait so I moved the TSM FP to a bit later so we had time to ride. This time we were engineers. The engineers sit in the last two seats so I found it very bumpy (or shoogly if you’re Scottish). There’s not much to do and you can’t see as well so this is by far the worse job in my opinion. Also, our pilots were really rubbish. They paid no attention to what was happening and barely touched the controls. Maybe they were trying to test out whether what you do makes any difference but it turns out it does make a difference. The only thing I noticed was that you go into hyperspace whether you pull the lever or not.





From here we went into one of the shops to get a mug Marie had seen then headed to TSM.

Despite the FP we waited 20 minutes. For the first time this trip we were on the newer side so I wonder if the delay was while they opened that up.

We were ready to go after this mindful of our booking at SeaWorld later. We left via Municiberg so I could get another Num Num cookie and had a look in some of the shops on the way out.

Once back at CSR we went to Café Rix to get cinnamon rolls for breakfast the next day and Marie got a Boston Cream éclair. We had a cup of tea in the room with the éclair and cookie and watched an episode of Roseanne. We always end up watching something old while on holiday!

We had a message on our room phone from the Magical Express people asking for return flight details. I had only booked one way as we had the car for the return so I didn’t bother calling back. There’s a clear option to book one way on the website so not sure why they thought we had a return journey but I suppose it’s better that they called in case I had meant to book the return.

We had a booking at Sharks Underwater Grill in SeaWorld as part of Orlando Magical Dining Month. As you get to spend time in the park afterwards without a park ticket I booked the earliest slot which is 3pm. This is the section from the dining report.

We chilled for a wee while then headed to SeaWorld around 2.15pm. Last year we’d left it late and misjudged how long it would take us so were quite late. I wanted to avoid that this year but stupidly chose to go via I4 again and it took us 50 minutes to get to SeaWorld due to an accident. We then waited 25 minutes for someone to check us in and take us to the restaurant. Because you don’t need park entry you need to be escorted to the restaurant by a staff member so we had no choice but to wait. It was really hot and I hadn’t brought much water so we were getting really irritated with the wait. Eventually someone turned up and was so nice I couldn’t complain.



We were walked to Sharks Underwater Grill and checked in there. We had a little wait for a table but not long. Last year we had been sat in a booth facing the tank but this time we were at a table side on. You could still see it but it wasn’t as good a view and the seats weren’t as comfortable.




The menu is a set menu and three courses for $35 although drinks are extra. Sorry for the flash reflection.



I ordered the Lobster Bisque (now number 4). I thought Marie would too but she went for the Coconut Chicken Tenders.




Mine was lovely although I think on a par with the one from Les Halles.
The chicken tenders were weird. The coconut and the banana sauce didn’t really go together and it just felt like an odd combination. The chicken was nice but the whole thing didn’t work for either of us.
For mains we both ordered the filet mignon well done. It arrived medium well which I can cope with but it annoys me. I prefer not to have any pink. We couldn’t be bothered with sending it back and it was a nice steak but not as good as The Yachtsman and would have been better cooked the way we’d asked.




Dessert for me was the chocolate cake and Marie got the key lime pie. Just as last year we didn’t really enjoy these. Mine was partly because I was full.




This came to $96 including soft drinks and tip. I think compared to the meal we’d paid double that for at The Yachtsman it was clearly a better deal but not as nice. Not sure The Yachtsman was $90 worth of nicer though!

After dinner we were determined to at the very least do the penguin ride which we’ve never managed before. Last year there was too long a wait but this year it was 20 minutes so we just waited.




This is another slow loader due to faffing about in different pre ride rooms. Eventually we were on the ride choosing the “wild” ride. This basically means your ride vehicle gets thrown about a bit. This was all very odd. A weird and very short ride then you come out into the penguin area which is freezing. Luckily I’d brought a cardi in case the air con in the restaurant was high. While the ride itself is rubbish and pointless it was nice to see the penguins. We headed down to the underwater area where a staff member was available if you had any questions. She said we would get a “prize” if we asked any questions. After smiling politely then enduring a bit of an awkward silence Marie asked a question which neither of us can remember and she was given a card with a sea lion or something on it. She asked a second question and because a couple were standing near us they, and Marie got a card (I got nowt). Then the couple did ask their own question – where was the exit? So that was nice.

Penguin picture overload.









We wanted to see some dolphins but they were closing up that area so we went to the Dolphin Nursery on the way out. There were a few dolphins but they weren’t surfacing so we didn’t see much. It was getting close to closing time so we just left the park.

Random flamingo picture.



Unfortunately we ended up on I4 again on the return journey as I wasn’t sure where I was going. Again we were stuck in traffic. I really hate I4!

We were eventually back at CSR where we did a bit of packing and had an early night in the hope of EEMH at MK the next day.
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Old 7 Nov 19, 09:39 PM  
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Goldia
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Great to get the 2 viewpoints on smugglers run. The pilots do seem to be the best job to get. Lovely photos of the penguins, so cute.
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Old 8 Nov 19, 10:52 PM  
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Originally Posted by Goldia View Post
Great to get the 2 viewpoints on smugglers run. The pilots do seem to be the best job to get. Lovely photos of the penguins, so cute.
The problem with Smuggler’s Run is that pilot is best for your experience but you then feel responsible for others experience. Best case I would say is a group of 6 family or friends go on it 6 times. Everyone gets to experience each role, left and right side and no one feels guilty because everyone knows each other! You can tell I’ve thought about this .
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Old 8 Nov 19, 11:27 PM  
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Originally Posted by sha9 View Post
The problem with Smuggler’s Run is that pilot is best for your experience but you then feel responsible for others experience. Best case I would say is a group of 6 family or friends go on it 6 times. Everyone gets to experience each role, left and right side and no one feels guilty because everyone knows each other! You can tell I’ve thought about this .
If only it had opened this summer when we had my mum and dad in tow as then we could have put in place your plan of attack! Next summer we are back to just the 4 of us, I hope to try out all the roles, DH is a big star wars fan so shouldn't get any complaints from him.
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2022: Orlando.
2023: Orlando. Niagara and Toronto.
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Old 9 Nov 19, 04:29 PM  
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Originally Posted by Goldia View Post
If only it had opened this summer when we had my mum and dad in tow as then we could have put in place your plan of attack! Next summer we are back to just the 4 of us, I hope to try out all the roles, DH is a big star wars fan so shouldn't get any complaints from him.
I’m sure the wait times by then will mean you can ride loads of times.
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Old 12 Nov 19, 09:00 PM  
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I can see why you'd feel responsible for other peoples rides ... not sure I'd like to be a pilot

The Underwater Grill seems like great value for what you get, another fab day and those penguins are so adorable! X
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