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Ok, I wanted to write up our trip to Florida, mainly focusing on Sea World, but I will say, if you have the opportunity to visit The Dali Museum in St Petersburg Florida, don't hesitate. Just do it. Also, we really enjoyed the South Florida Museum in Bradenton which features the oldest known manatee, Snooty.
Ok, here's what we did in Sea World:
First, the shows:
Blue Horizons -- we all loved this one. It had singing, dolphin acrobatics, people acrobatics, and drama. And people riding dolphins. It was fabulous.
Clyde and Seamore was a show featuring sea lions. They were great; the show was a real bummer though. Although there was an otter who kept running around who was adorable. Or maybe it was a muskrat. Do not recommend this one.
Pet's Ahoy -- For a show featuring cats and dogs at an ocean themed park, we weren't expecting much but a cool place to sit. We were happily surprised when it turned out to be a FABULOUS show. Recommended.
Shamu's Celebration -- this show was good. There were weather issues that put a cramp in the running of it, but it was good. We were glad we waited it out.
The attractions:
Shark Encounter: ok, I was at Sea World over 30 years ago as a 10 year old and I remembered this exhibit being quite different. In my opinion, it was better in some ways before, although I did like how we just zipped through and then we were able to go right back again. In the past, they really built up the suspense and the people in the tunnel were silent when I went through the first time (or maybe I was just so awed that my memory cut out the sounds). It is still an awesome exhibit and everyone should go.
Antartica: Empire of the Penguin -- this is good to do when it's up to 95 and you are ready for a break from the heat. It's a nice exhibit. The penguins are adorable and it's fun to watch them swimming around, both from above and below!
Dolphin Nursery -- we stopped by this for a few minutes. The dolphins were swimming around, but hard to see. Cute.
Manta Aquarium -- great octopus, awesome rays, a few fun little leafy sea dragons. Worth the visit.
Turtle Trek has a great viewing opportunity before you watch the 3D movie. There are some manatee in the tank along with the turtles and other fish. It was fun.
Wild Arctic was great, except for the "helicopter ride" which nearly gave me a heart attack. It was fake, but it sure didn't feel fake.
Rides:
Ride to Atlantis: we did this after the helicopter ride. I think I have PTSD about going down steep inclines at the moment. It was a flume ride, and much more wild than I expected. DD1, who is 12, loved it. DD2 and I were not so fond. LOL
Wild Arctic mentioned above.
Antarctica had a ride. We chose the mild option and it was fine. I don't think the wild version was terrribly different, just more spinning.
Also, with our hotel, we got free one time quick queue tickets for each ride. We only used it twice, but it saved us 45 minutes each time. I wouldn't pay for unlimited access, but it was great to have the one time option. Also, we bought the tickets online and I got them for half price because they were weekday tickets. And someone told us to bring water. I think I had about a liter per person and that seemed to work out ok.
So, that was our day at Sea World. We got there at 9:20 and left just after 10pm. It was a long day, but we took lots of rests and paced ourselves. Everyone else was kind of collapsed the next day. I didn't deflate until the day after that.
How are you all doing? I'm exhausted. Summer is exhausting.
This entry was originally posted at http://jelazakazone.dreamwidth.org/818772.html. Feel free to comment here or there.
Ok, here's what we did in Sea World:
First, the shows:
Blue Horizons -- we all loved this one. It had singing, dolphin acrobatics, people acrobatics, and drama. And people riding dolphins. It was fabulous.
Clyde and Seamore was a show featuring sea lions. They were great; the show was a real bummer though. Although there was an otter who kept running around who was adorable. Or maybe it was a muskrat. Do not recommend this one.
Pet's Ahoy -- For a show featuring cats and dogs at an ocean themed park, we weren't expecting much but a cool place to sit. We were happily surprised when it turned out to be a FABULOUS show. Recommended.
Shamu's Celebration -- this show was good. There were weather issues that put a cramp in the running of it, but it was good. We were glad we waited it out.
The attractions:
Shark Encounter: ok, I was at Sea World over 30 years ago as a 10 year old and I remembered this exhibit being quite different. In my opinion, it was better in some ways before, although I did like how we just zipped through and then we were able to go right back again. In the past, they really built up the suspense and the people in the tunnel were silent when I went through the first time (or maybe I was just so awed that my memory cut out the sounds). It is still an awesome exhibit and everyone should go.
Antartica: Empire of the Penguin -- this is good to do when it's up to 95 and you are ready for a break from the heat. It's a nice exhibit. The penguins are adorable and it's fun to watch them swimming around, both from above and below!
Dolphin Nursery -- we stopped by this for a few minutes. The dolphins were swimming around, but hard to see. Cute.
Manta Aquarium -- great octopus, awesome rays, a few fun little leafy sea dragons. Worth the visit.
Turtle Trek has a great viewing opportunity before you watch the 3D movie. There are some manatee in the tank along with the turtles and other fish. It was fun.
Wild Arctic was great, except for the "helicopter ride" which nearly gave me a heart attack. It was fake, but it sure didn't feel fake.
Rides:
Ride to Atlantis: we did this after the helicopter ride. I think I have PTSD about going down steep inclines at the moment. It was a flume ride, and much more wild than I expected. DD1, who is 12, loved it. DD2 and I were not so fond. LOL
Wild Arctic mentioned above.
Antarctica had a ride. We chose the mild option and it was fine. I don't think the wild version was terrribly different, just more spinning.
Also, with our hotel, we got free one time quick queue tickets for each ride. We only used it twice, but it saved us 45 minutes each time. I wouldn't pay for unlimited access, but it was great to have the one time option. Also, we bought the tickets online and I got them for half price because they were weekday tickets. And someone told us to bring water. I think I had about a liter per person and that seemed to work out ok.
So, that was our day at Sea World. We got there at 9:20 and left just after 10pm. It was a long day, but we took lots of rests and paced ourselves. Everyone else was kind of collapsed the next day. I didn't deflate until the day after that.
How are you all doing? I'm exhausted. Summer is exhausting.
This entry was originally posted at http://jelazakazone.dreamwidth.org/818772.html. Feel free to comment here or there.