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Old 27 Feb 19, 09:38 AM  
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ally1966
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... and Then There Were 3, Orlando Feb 2019 - Day 5 - Seaworld & Golden Corral Brekkie.


Today we were off to Seaworld but I woke up starving and decided that I needed a proper breakfast first! DH couldn't be bothered to get up yet so DD and I left him to get ready at his own pace and headed across the road to the Golden Corral.

I have never understood the criticism that this place attracts. I've seen so many horror stories on the Dibb and other groups about the scratched plastic plates and the buffet trashed by hordes of marauding kids but this has never been our experience. Whilst it could never be described as fine dining, we've always found it to be clean and well organised with pleasant staff.

Today it was very quiet and DD was the only child in the place! We paid just $17.56 for one adult and one child's buffet. This includes unlimited coffee or tea and fruit juice.

There is an amazing amount of choice. My first plate consisted of bacon, sausage, scrambled egg, potatoes and a cinnamon roll. This last item was so sticky and sweet but absolutely divine.

DD found coco pops, which is her favourite breakfast cereal, so she was happy. She also had some toast and macaroni cheese (yep, for breakfast!)



I went back for a second plate - a cheese and ham omelette, French toast and some more sausage patties. The omelettes here are cooked to order and this one was actually nicer than the one that I'd had at Denny's previously.



DD finished her meal with a chocolate ice cream cone.

Our server had been very attentive and kept my coffee regularly topped up so before leaving I left a 20% cash tip.



By the time that we returned to the hotel DH was up and dressed and enjoying a breakfast of Pringles and Cookies, which he insisted he was taking with us as he refused to be caught out having to eat over priced theme park food 2 days running!

Today it was much cooler than it had been up till now and there was rain forecast for this afternoon so we wanted to be at Seaworld for as close to opening, at 10am, as possible.

We caught the I-Ride where we got talking to a family from Essex who were just coming to the end of their holiday.



On arrival DD spotted this dolphin doing meet and greets so we stopped for a photo.

We were amazed by how quiet the park was, especially after the crowds at MK yesterday. I don't know if this is normal now as we've not been here since 2008 or if people had been put off by the weather forecast but if it is the norm I don't see how they can sustain it for long.



I desperately wanted to ride Manta which hadn't been here on our last visit but, having left DD18 and DS20 at home I had no coaster buddy! DH doesn't do any of the big rides, DD seriously considered it but eventually wimped out on me. I did think about not bothering but then thought that it may be my only chance so went on as a single rider. The wait time was just 15 mins.

Well, what can I say? It was totally breathtaking! I was so glad that I'd done it. When DD saw my excitement she began to regret not being a bit braver but some of the shows were starting at 11 and we needed to be at the Dolphin Stadium.



Dolphin Days is an incredible show and the interaction between the dolphins and their trainers is amazing. DD and I were particularly interested in this having done our dolphin swim the other day. Such graceful, intelligent creatures.









After the show we continued our wander round an almost empty park and were gutted to discover that Infinity Falls is down for maintenance ☹️

We stopped to look at some of the birds and fish.






and DD stopped for a ride on the Sea Carrousel - she looked thrilled by it!



It was soon 12am and time for another show. We were close to the Shamu Stadium so decided to go and watch One Ocean. It was only afterwards that we realised that, by doing this we'd missed the only Sealion show of the day whereas One Ocean is repeated later in the afternoon.



DD was determined to sit in the Splash Zone. So we donned our lovely, elegant ponchos for the first time this holiday.



The show was fantastic as usual. However, I had conflicted feelings about watching it after seeing Black Fish. Spectacular as it is, I think that it's probably for the best that the killer whale shows will end this year.



DD was disappointed that we didn't actually get wet!

Our next stop was the Shark Encounter.









On leaving the exhibition we saw a poster advertising Mako... and DD asked if she could ride it!

I checked with her that she new what it was and we stood and watched it go round a couple of times but she was adamant that she was going on. I don't know exactly what changed her mind but think that it was a combination of feeling like she'd missed out on Manta and her less than thrilling ride on the carousel.

The wait time was 20 minutes and she did get very nervous in the queue. I timed it for her (just under 2 mins) and this reassured her that if she didn't like it, it would be over fairly quickly anyway.

She loved it and was so proud of herself that she'd done her first proper BIG roller coaster! As soon as we were off she was asking to go back and ride Manta.



The queue for Manta was now down to 5mins, it was literally walk on... so we rode it twice whilst DH had a sit down and watched the bags.

We bought DD a Shamu ice cream for being so brave. At $4.50 these were almost a bargain compared to Disney!

Next we stopped at the Pick a Pearl stand. I had intended to do this at Epcot on Friday but forgot. We advised DD to pick he ugliest, hairiest oyster that she could... it produced a beautiful, white, 7mm pearl. We went into the shop to pay ($16.99) where, of course, they tried to sell us a piece of jewellery to set it in.



However, I'm not that daft! I'd ordered this Cinderella's carriage necklace from Amazon before we came away and had it in my bag ready. It cost me less than £4 - significantly cheaper than anything that they had in the shop and DD was happy with it.



As we passed the Seaport Theatre the 2.15 Pets Ahoy show was just starting so we decided to stop off watch it.

It was my least favourite of the 3 shows that we saw today but DD enjoyed it and it gave us chance to sit down!






After the show we headed for Journey to Atlantis. We all wanted to ride this but couldn't take the bags on so we intended to hire a locker. Unfortunately our large bag wouldn't fit in the $2 lockers and there was no way that we were paying $20 for a big one. So DD rode twice, once with me and once with DH.



As we were right next to Krakken and DD was now a Coaster pro, this had to be our next ride!

Again she loved it and would've gone straight back on but the sky was beginning to look very threatening and it was almost 5.30 so we decided to call it a day.

We went out via the Arctic so that she could see the penguins and before we reached the bus stop the heavens opened - it was s good job that we had our ponchos!



None of us felt like braving the rain to do anything this evening so we grabbed pizzas and wraps from the Light Bite for dinner.

We had a lovely day at Seaworld. DH found the smaller scale of the park much more manageable than Disney. The ride queues were almost none existent and DD is becoming quite the little adrenaline junkie!

Tomorrow we have FPs booked for Animal Kingdom but the weather forecast is for thunder storms. We are undecided at the moment whether to stick with the plan and hope that bad weather equals shorter queues or whether to try and rearrange it for another day. We'll make our minds up when we see exactly what the weathers doing in the morning.



Day 6 is here:- https://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/sho... php?t=1118174

Edited at 11:47 AM.
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Old 27 Feb 19, 09:52 AM  
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Libbyimo
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We do like the odd meal here as well , the kids love the chocolate fountain and ice cream machines .
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Old 27 Feb 19, 11:07 AM  
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New Photo Added by ally1966 - 27 Feb 19 10:07 AM.
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Old 27 Feb 19, 12:03 PM  
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bigkid2014
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How are you finding the I Trolley? Just wondering as a family of 3 adults and one child we were thinking Uber might be more cost effective and convenient. (Staying on I Drive for a week and doing DC, Seaworld and Aquatica). TIA.
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Old 27 Feb 19, 12:19 PM  
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ally1966
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Originally Posted by bigkid2014 View Post
How are you finding the I Trolley? Just wondering as a family of 3 adults and one child we were thinking Uber might be more cost effective and convenient. (Staying on I Drive for a week and doing DC, Seaworld and Aquatica). TIA.
.

We’re having no problems using the trolley for most of our transport. They are frequent, and stop all along I-Drive. They are also less crowded than we remembered (could be the time of year though). We bought the 14 day passes before leaving home and have more than covered the cost already.

For WDW, we’ve used Uber for the convenience. It’s obviously more expensive than the buses but still half the price of regular taxis. We decided that it was worth the cost to avoid all the hassle and time wasting involved in changing buses. If you’re not doing Disney you should be fine with the I-Ride.
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Old 27 Feb 19, 02:18 PM  
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mick
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A good day and well done to your daughter riding the coasters

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Old 27 Feb 19, 05:39 PM  
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tomjoe
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what a great day, and what a star DD is for braving Mako as a first
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Old 3 Mar 19, 10:07 PM  
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Loved manta and kraken but I was too scared to ride mako !
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Old 3 Jul 19, 04:44 PM  
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Great day at Seaworld! Makes a massive difference compared to Disney the queues doesn’t it!?
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