Sea World
Thursday morning we woke up and had to run next door to book seats on the shuttle to Sea World. Kinda weird that we couldn't do that at our hotel. The person who worked in the reservations office came in about 15 minutes late and there were people ahead of us, so the next shuttle would have been pushing it a bit.
The next one after that kind of late, not till like 10:20a. But since the return shuttles were either 5:40 or 6:40, I decided the later shuttle there wasn't such a bad idea and it gave us plenty of time to eat breakfast without rushing. The Hampton has a great continental breakfast, so that was nice to get a bit of a break on food costs.
I think Thursday was the hottest day of them all, and having walked so much the 3 days prior, I was feeling it. My jeans were stuck to me, so gross, but Sea World was my favorite day. My favorite Jaws movie is number 3 because it's set at that Sea World (we watched it when we got home, apparently a lot has been changed over the years because I couldn't recognize anything) and I dreamed as a kid of spending my days barefoot and playing in the water with sea creatures and getting paid for it.
But, given that my home state is landlocked and I have an insane fear (and love) of sharks, I figured it wasn't the best path in life. We did Sea World on our last full day last time too. In addition to it being my favorite, it's a great way to end the week since it's so much smaller than the Disney parks and less crowded.
So we hit the dolphin exhibit and saw some turtles when we first got there. Those were on the opposite side of the park so after that it was time to head to the orca show. We sat in the splash zone but we were still too high up and didn't get a drop, much to Emily's dismay. The show was great, but I admit, I miss the trainers being able to get in the water with them. But I get why....when we went to Vegas years ago, that was our nightly routine after walking all day (I was 20 weeks pregnant with Em so no nightlife for this tired girl) was going back to our room, getting room service, and watching the documentary Blackfish, which is about how bad the Orcas do in captivity and how they've killed several people. Ok, so kinda bad that I love the Orca show knowing that, but I am pretty sure the show is leaving altogether in a couple years so I had to see it while I can. Em does not remember it from last time, and even if she could, she spent the entire show snuggled up to and I think asleep in Nana's arms.
After the show, we had reservations for dining with the Orcas. I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but it was this restaurant that was poolside (with huge plastic barriers so no kiddos could go swim with Shamu) to a smaller Orca tank...though it was only small from the surface...afterward we saw it from down below, it's crazy deep and it wasn't even the deepest one they had.
So we ate first...you could order your entree, but it was all you could eat so you really could order another entree or ask for more of anything you wanted. I got some sort of chicken, I cannot remember exactly what it was, but it was very good. Em had some sort of kids meal, lol, I can't remember. I really wanted to then try the salmon because I overheard the waitress tell another table how much she loves it and she doesn't like fish. I'm not a big seafood fan either, but I figured it would be a good time to try it, but I was so full from the first entree I couldn't even fathom ordering more. Plus they brought salad, and some cupcakes and cookies for dessert.
I also got a drink, a Mako Margarita. It was yummy. So after lunch, one of the whales did a private show for us...we were kinda at the very end of the pool, so we had a great view when he slid up onto the shallow ramp, but we couldn't see some of the stuff at the other end of the pool, but that was ok. It was still a really cool experience overall.
After that, the heat bothered me even more because now I was full and a little tipsy, lol. I don't drink much lately, kinda sad how much it hit me. Em saw these paddle boats that looked like Flamingos that she wanted to ride. She was too short for any of the major rollercoasters, but that was fine because she didn't want to ride them anyway. I was good with that, I used to love them but now I could easily pass. It took a while to get there cause I took a wrong turn but we finally made it. She was too short to help me paddle, but I didn't really need the help.
I wish we had stayed out on the water a little while longer, it was cooler out there. After that we hit a souvenir shop and Em picked out another killer whale stuffy. She got one last time too, and she was only 2, so she called him Shampoo instead of Shamu, it was so adorable. She actually just discovered a couple years ago that his name wasn't Shampoo, lol. So I joked that this one should be named Conditioner and she loved it so that's what this one's name is. We also got our magnet; they were much easier to find there. So strange that it was so hard to find a magnet at Disney World.
So then we hiked back across the water to the other side of the park to the Dolphin Nursery. There were little observation windows in the rock wall on one side, so Em enjoyed sitting there for a bit and watching the babies and mamas swim by. Then we went around to the other side where the whole side of the tank is clear glass so we could see them better. This woman was sitting on the ground and she had this pink plastic toy that's like an accordion...Em has a couple at home. They make a funny noise when you expand them and push them back to the compact size and it really interested this one dolphin. He was right up against the glass, following every movement she made with it....it was really cool seeing it so up close. You don't really realize how big dolphins are when you see them on TV in the open ocean.
After that, the Sea Lion and Otter show was starting in about 45 minutes, so we made our way over there and just had to wait about 20 minutes before they started letting people in. As everyone was coming in and getting seated, this mime came out and put on a little show. He was hilarious, he was mocking people as they walked by to their seats. I've always thought mimes and clowns were very un-funny but this guy was awesome.
The show was great too...I was so surprised to see my usually quiet and shy girl jumping up and down and yelling out answers with the rest of the kids anytime the trainers asked questions. Then to my shock, she even raised her hand when they asked for volunteers. They picked someone from the other side, but she said she would have gone had they picked her. I loved seeing her so excited, and she was laughing the whole time. I really wasn't that excited to see the show, it was just something to do that didn't require walking, lol, but it was a really good show and I loved how much she loved it.
After that, we were about an hour from the first shuttle and I already knew I didn't want to wait for the last shuttle. I was too hot and tired. So we went to check out the penguin exhibit before we left. It had a bit of a line, but it moved pretty fast. It was 32 degrees in there, Em was freezing but I thought it felt fabulous, lol. But it was soooo stinky in there. I guess it's been a while since I went to the zoo cause I didn't realize penguins were so smelly.
As we left there, we passed a shark exhibit. I wanted to go, but I wasn't sure if it was an extra cost, and I was afraid if we went we'd miss the first shuttle, so we headed out of the park to the shuttle stop. I was trying to figure out what to do for dinner...Bonefish was the only restaurant within walking distance of our hotel and I didn't want that again and I didn't want to figure out the bus or pay for an Uber. I remembered there was a 7/11 at the corner, between the hotel next door and Bonefish, so we hopped off the shuttle next door and walked to the 7/11. We got some chips and pop, and a couple hotdogs and took them back to our room. It ended up being a very decent dinner, and it was nice to spend a little less than we had been.