Merriment, Mickey and Many Austins Thread 4: 2 Installments Updated 4/7! - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Merriment, Mickey and Many Austins Thread 4: 2 Installments Updated 4/7!
This trip report has been moved to this forum from Sharing Your Adventure to cover our visit to Sea World. Enjoy!
Growing up, my parents and I were HUGE Sea World fans. In fact, from the time I was 3 til I was 16- I never stepped foot into a Disney park. Our vacations to Orlando consisted of several days at Sea World- back when there were no roller coasters or many of the things there are now. I even hugged Shamu at the ripe old age of 12 and spent most of my childhood and adolescence firmly believing I would be a whale trainer. (But I realized if I had to hold my nose while jumping in a pool then my swimming wasn’t whale trainer caliber). It had been about 8 years since our last visit to the park. And we all were super excited about it.
We got our tickets at the windows and headed on in. Right at the entrance of the park, Shamu was greeting guests so the kids definitely wanted to say hello.
While we were in line, I caught a photo of their Christmas Tree. Certainly not as ornate as Disney’s but I loved the “sea” colors.
We picked up a show schedule and because of the time constraints, we planned on seeing just two- Believe, the new Shamu show and the Whale and Dolphin Show. First, we headed over the Guest Relations desk to find out our Polar Exploration Tour time- as when I booked it, they wouldn’t give me a specific time. I did have the reservationist note we had a flight so to increase our chances of getting on a morning one. Sure enough, it worked and we were booked for 11:00 am. That conflicted with our plans to catch the first Believe show, so we put that off to 1:30 instead.
We took in a view of the terrific flamingo display- that’s been there as long as I can remember.
Remembering from my childhood, that the dolphin feeding area usually starts a feeding round soon after opening, we decided to head to the Key West section to see if that was the case. On the way, we saw the turtle display and there were some huge turtles over there.
Across the way was the entrance to the Key West section and we first came across the sting ray lagoon.
All of the kids put their hands in without hesitation but only Aaron got one to come right underneath. They really are incredible creatures- so graceful and artful as they glide through the water. After washing hands, we moved on.
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I totally forgot about this TR being undone! Sorry!!!!!!! Will try to get it wrapped up over the weekend! For now, here's a new installment!
The dolphin area was already extremely busy. Everyone was very excited when they opened up the window to sell fish. I couldn’t get over how the prices for dead, stinky fish had gone up! If I remember right, it was about $3 for 4 or 5 and now it was $5 for 3 fish! I HAD to do this and the kids had been hoping for this for months, so I plunked down $25 for 5 trays.
We made our way over to the pool and put the trays against the wall- almost as if to hide them. There were trainers in canoes going around to help people and one told me they ask the trays stay on the wall so the dolphins won’t try to jump over and snatch them up!
The kids wanted me to go first so I did. It is truly amazing how quick the dolphins figure out who has the goods and who doesn’t. Pretty soon, we had three over near us- which gave the kids good time to get a chance to pet one or two. I had to lift Emily up so she could see what she was doing. They all had a blast and the dolphins clicked away. Our new friends weren’t going anywhere and they stayed there with mouths open- even after all the trays were empty. I told them we were out and it was like they completely understood- they were gone.
Reluctantly, we had to move on but before we did so, we headed down to the underwater viewing area to see them. It’s a nice additional vantage point and you can certainly appreciate their size from down below.
Finally, we were able to pull away from there and we ventured next towards the manatees. These gentle giants are really something to be seen and have always been one of my favorite animals. Sea World has a nice habitat for them and I really appreciate the rescue work they do. When this exhibit first opened, and as Kevan and I remembered it- it was called Manatees: The Last Generation. We were surprised to see the film they used to show before you entered the underwater viewing area was done away with and now you could proceed straight on. The kids really had lots of fun watching them from below.
Nearby also was an excellent display of American Alligators and we lingered there for some time as well.
Katie got very agitated and when I turned around to see why, it was easily apparent. A Sea World staff member was walking a group of birds around. She called us over and obviously Katie wanted no part of it- so Beverly stayed with her. The educator told us they were actually young flamingos who had not yet lost their fur and gotten pink feathers. She had the kids help her walk them on- it was very interesting!
We headed around towards the Penguin Encounter when came across some midway games. Sure enough the kids desperately wanted to play one, so we let them do some but at $3 a shot, not many! Kevan helped Emily with a water target game and she came up a winner! I love what she picked as a prize too!
When we looked at the time, I couldn’t believe it- it was already 10:30 and we had to be by Wild Arctic- at the other side of the park by 10:55. I took Aaron, Kevin, Matt and Emily and we raced off to get there in time. We made it and when we arrived our facilitator was already there. It wasn’t a big group- probably about 20 of us total.
Coming Up Next: Wild Arctic Tour and when do we meet the penguins??
I'm glad you're updating this report, as I've been enjoying it. What a price for the fish! I'll warn Mark's family about that, as no doubt the kids will want to do that, like yours did.
When we looked at the time, I couldn’t believe it- it was already 10:30 and we had to be by Wild Arctic- at the other side of the park by 10:55. I took Aaron, Kevin, Matt and Emily and we raced off to get there in time. We made it and when we arrived our facilitator was already there. It wasn’t a big group- probably about 20 of us total.
The first part of the tour was backstage of Wild Arctic- where polar bears and beluga whales are on display. We saw a beluga whale pool and there was one in there- but he was kind of hard to see as he didn’t surface much while we were there and the pool was also enclosed into an indoor area- of which we could not enter.
They had a beautiful mural of a mother and baby beluga.
The facilitator shared with us that the belugas are born a grayish color and actually turn white- something I didn’t know. Emily did a school project on whales and was very attentive to the whole tour.
We then went through a seal holding area but none were feeling very friendly and we got a quick look but not long enough to get a good picture of.
Then we entered the backstage polar bear areas. One room was full of huge, Little Tykes type plastic stuff- all toys for the polar bears. I did notice a huge Shamu plush and figured that couldn’t be for the polar bears as surely they would rip it apart? Just as I thought that, the guide explained that the plush was actually for the belugas. The trainers actually put it up alongside the tank and the belugas like to play and follow it as the trainers moved it.
At this point, we were shown one of the medical pools where the belugas were. A medical pool is one with a moveable, retractable bottom so when the staff needs to check an animal’s health or do a procedure, they can raise the bottom up with the animal on it- then lower it back when they are done.
The next room was an observation room, overlooking the polar bear dens. And there one was- sleeping and taking it easy- and boy, was he big! The guide explained that extreme caution when taking care of these animals. To weigh them, they actually have a built in scale between the dens and they simply lure them over- as they go on the scale it records the weight. Someone asked them how the vets do procedures and the guide explained that they have them trained to put a paw through a window, but beyond that- they usually have to be sedated.
As we exited the polar bear area, she showed us the feeding preparation room. All of the fish comes in fresh, frozen- it’s sorted, organized and disbursed. They also usually order more than needed- in the event the supplier can’t get to Sea World in case of weather, the animals will still have plenty. There was a dry erase board on the walls- with animal names and lots numbers and codes to portion the fish so each had the right and appropriate amount.
We walked back around the outside of the building, where we were shown the gigantic filters for the water in the Wild Arctic exhibits. There were many and they were big- but we were told the ones at Shamu Stadium were triple the size and quantity. There also was a large water coolant system to keep the water at a brisk 52 degrees!
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We took a bus from that point over to the Penguin Encounter and were given strict instructions on what to do when we got there. I was so excited about this opportunity. The penguins we were interacting with were a lesser known speices and the reason for that is they can tolerate slightly warmer temperatures than the species currently housed in the Penguin Encounter exhibit.
We were shown to a room with counters and a mat at the door- and told to scrape our shoes really well to limit any bacteria that would be brought in on foot. We had to all get in the room so the door behind us could be locked. When we went into the next room, they asked we create a line by the wall and that once the zoologist got a penguin settled in their lap, we could come up one by one- and using two fingers pet the penguin from the middle of the back to the bottom of the tail.
Proper Petting Penguin Procedures
It was at this point we got fair warning that penguins are “projectile poopers”- uh, ookay. That had me a little nervous but I wanted to pet that penguin so I was not going to be deterred! It did make Matthew think twice though!
When we entered the next room there was a small habitat to the left, so after we pet the penguin we could walk over to the other side to view it. My kids were first in line and they pet and moved so quick my pictures did not turn out- except one of Aaron:
I pet too but then moved over to the other side. A gentleman also on the tour offered to take a photo of me and told me if I wanted to, to get back in line! So I got to do it twice. Unfortunately, in the picture- you can only see me smiling- but it is indeed me!
And it was so wonderful- the penguin didn’t feel feathery but rather, like it had just really soft skin. And the funny thing about the picture is, the penguin is looking like he's telling me- you already got your turn sister!!!
We washed our hands in the adjacent room and then we were escorted to the ending point for the tour- near Shamu Stadium. It was an excellent tour for the price- $12 for an adult and $9 for kids.
I called Beverly and they were just a few minutes away at Shamu’s Happy Harbor so we headed there and let all the kids play for a bit. At about 12:30, we rounded them up and headed to back to Shamu Stadium to catch the 1:00 show there.
Everyone was feeling a bit hungry, so we got seats not in the soak zone thank you- and Matt and I went to the concession stand. Matthew instantly spotted the Shamu Bar on offer and wanted one of those- and I got one too. We got everyone else hot dogs and popcorn as well as drinks. I am probably going to have to duck for cover, but as far as I am concerned – Shamu has one up on Mickey when it comes to the “bar”. I thought the Shamu bar was better in that the chocolate wasn’t so rich and I just enjoyed it more. Matthew however, couldn’t disagree more.
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I'll warn Mark's family about that, as no doubt the kids will want to do that, like yours did.
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