Seaworld was kind of my “must do” parks during our trip to Orlando. I’ve always been excited about the idea of the killer whales and dolphins because I just think they are amazing. The weather warned of possible thunder showers in the afternoon which made me worry a bit, but you just never know with the weather and we were running out of time to change it to another day. So off we went and I was excited!
First up was a big breakfast to take us through to the afternoon. This time we hit up Perkins. I always seem to need some variation of egg in the morning (especially since becoming pregnant) and this time I decided to get my favourite Eggs Benny! I don’t know if it’s because I ordered my eggs completely cooked or not, but my eggs weren’t poached and were fried which was strange because the picture on the menu was poached and I thought ALL eggs bennies were poached. Either way, I ordered the hollandaise on the side and added my own. Served up with “Canadian Bacon” of course:
And a few nibbles of fresh fruit and hash browns breakfast potatoes:
Perkins also had some mighty fine looking muffins in their bakery case too, so we grabbed a few to have at the condo for a possible grab and go breakfast for the next day.
We were at Seaworld in no time flat. Our condo was a fabulous location. Located just off of Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway (US 192), it was literally 10 minutes from all Disney parks and Seaworld. Anything you need is also on that road and it was like the same selection of stores repeated themselves every few miles, so you were always near an IHOP or Denny’s, or whatever, it was there within minutes.
We got ourselves parked and to the entrance to purchase our tickets (no fancy Disney tram to get us there this time, but not as long of a walk either from parking either) and we went and made our reservation for Sharks Underwater Grill for supper (as recommended to do first thing to ensure availability), checked out the Dolphin Nursery and then did a quick little spin past Shamu Stadium.
I was most looking forward to the Shamu show most of all and since the first show wasn’t until 12:30, we passed by the Sea Lion Show that was getting ready to start. We took our seats and waited for show time to come around and were entertained by this mime who was making fun of people as they walked by and took their seats. He actually took that water bottle out of that man’s back pack without him noticing and followed behind him and placed it in another pocket and he had no idea! The crowd laughed and he still had no idea what we were laughing at lol
I’ve seen a sea lion show during our trip to the Dominican Republic at Oceanworld six years ago and I was so impressed by their playfulness and intelligence that I just knew it was going to be a good show.
They did not disappoint and it was a wonderful show! Sitting in the hot sun was tough and the seats were really hard on my bum/hip area, but it really was a great show.
They even brought out this HaaaUGE walrus who was adorable and goofy in his own way too 🙂
Afterward we moved along to the Sea Lion feeding area where you could buy a small amount of fish to feed to them (about 5 for $5 which is a total rip off) and of course you can’t resist because how many opportunities in your life do you have to interact personally with these beautiful creatures? Let me tell you, these little guys know how to work it! Look at him all posed up for you to come over to them to feed them:
And then along came his partner in crime so they could work both angles:
There were signs posted about being careful about the birds because they were all around to get the fish and it said they could become “aggressive.” Little did we know, the birds had the sea lions in their back pockets because every time I threw one to the sea lion, they would drop them for the birds! At first I thought that they were just slipping out of their mouths, but after I got to the end of my 5 fish, I caught on to their scheme! Little buggers! lol I’ve got it on video, which I hope to post up soon.
Next up was the “Penguin Encounter” which I couldn’t understand considering penguins are cold weather creatures and sure enough when we went in, it was less of an “encounter” and more of a moving walkway observatory where they were in their own temperature appropriate environment behind a glass.
It was nearing time to head on over to Shamu Stadium for the Killer whale show, “Believe” and we took a quick spin through an aquarium observatory where there was some really amazing views through below your feet and through the ceiling:
At the Jewel of the Sea Aquarium, there were some really incredible luminescent jelly fish (can’t remember their exact name), but beautiful and amazing:
Hi Nemo!
And the seahorses! I’ve always wanted to see a real seahorse! There were a few different varieties:
Next up was some much needed hydration and we were off to Shamu Stadium! It was wayyyyy bigger than the sea lion show. Not hard to tell who is the star of Seaworld!
Here they come!
They talked about how they are called “Killer Whales” because they are the oceans biggest predator and NO one in the ocean prays on them. They said that they work with the trainers and develop a good relationship with them and trust them. They never “tell” a killer whale what to do, they “ask” 🙂 They certainly did an amazing job “asking” them because they put on an incredible show! I got things on video of various things throughout our park visits and plan on stringing them together to post up at a later date, so stay tuned for that!
They are absolutely incredible and it was such an honour to see them. The whole idea behind the concept of “Believe” (the name of this show) was to emphasize how all species co-exist in the world and we can co-exist in harmony. That’s what I took out of it anyways.
Journey to Atlantis that looked super fun, but of course I didn’t ride! lol
The sandwich was HUGE! I ate about 1/3 of it, 1/2 of the potato salad and half of the fries. And a few bits of that cheesecake that hubby impulsively threw on our tray “because it was only $2” lol It was probably the grossest cheesecake ever though. This is what I left on my plate in an effort not to fill up too soon before supper:
Next up we decided to take a spin up the revolving Sky Tower to get a good view of the area and for some more “rest” type of things. My biggest complaint about Seaworld is that not ALL of the things inside are included in your park ticket. This for instance was an additional $4 per person. It was OK, but kind of lame for $4
There were also flamingo paddle boats that were also additional cost, as were the fish feedings to the sea lions and the dolphins too. It all adds up over the course of a day, especially since a bottle of water is about $2.70, never mind what actual “food” starts to cost.
I was really excited to hit up the dolphin show Blue Horizon. There’s is something so “human” about dolphins when you look in their eyes and they always look like they are smiling at you. There was a slight delay in starting the show because apparently the dolphins didn’t feel like cooperating right away with the trainers. They explained that they have their preferred “social groups” and when they rotate them around, they sometimes need more time to connect with one another and their trainers.
Before long, they were back and ready to put on a spectacular show.
That show was also really incredible. It was not only dolphins, but they incorporated human acrobats, birds and a whale too. Truly incredible.
This trainer is being catapulted out of the water by the dolphin! It might have been a whale because there was a shot appearance of one and this one looks bigger than a dolphin. I was lucky to catch this shot! (images are slightly blurry so that I could upload so many into the post, sorry!)
After the show I knew it I had to check out the rest of Dolphin Cove where you could observe them underwater and also feed them too 🙂
And of COURSE I paid the extra $7 so that I could get up close and personal and feed the little guys 🙂 I’m such a sucker, but I have dropped more than $7 on far worse things in my life! 🙂 They took a photo of me doing it from the front view and I ended up buying it, but I haven’t had the opportunity to scan it in.
It was time for another cool down drink, and I got a frosty virgin pina colada:
We did a bit more wondering around, observed some beautiful flamingos and realized that we just weren’t hungry enough for our 4p.m. reservation and given the prices of everything else, we couldn’t bare the thought of paying for an overpriced dinner that we weren’t hungry to eat, even if it was cool that the fish were swimming around us! By that point there was no changing the time, so we just decided to give it up and eat later somewhere else when we were hungry.
A random sting ray from somewhere in Seaworld!
We ended up going to BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse for supper. Neither of us had ever been, so we thought we’d try it.
I am a HUGE balsamic lover, so I knew right away when I saw this on the menu, I was having it:
It was the perfect starter and was delicious:
I am a Jambalaya lover too and if I ever order it at a restaurant, I always ask to have the rice substituted with pasta. I like the texture better and I find it not as spicy because the noodles don’t absorb the sauce as much as the rice does. My portion was huge and I only had about 1/3
That finished off our long day and we were more than ready to head back to the condo to rest for the night. We had one day left and next up is Disney’s Epcot!
