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There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
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Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
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To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
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So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
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If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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I was just wondering if Seaworld is worth the almost $400.00 bucks to go there. The only reason we really wanted to go there is because my one son loves dolphins. I wanted him to get to touch and feed a dolphin. Well I have heard bad things about seaworld. That it is not worth the money and that people push to get up there. And that you don't even really get to touch them because the other people freak the dolphin out and they swim away. So I am asking all of you is it worth it or would you pass on it. Please give me your honest thoughts because he would be really upset if we got there and it turned out bad.
We love Sea World !
My daughter still talks about the dolphins she "met" at San Diego SW in Feb 09.
That said, you can't be guaranteed the opportunity to feed or touch a dolphin, and folks line up early to buy the fish that the public can feed a couple of times a day. So if that will make or break your trip, I'd say skip it. If you can have a good day from seeing the shows and animals regardless of whether he touches a dolphin, then I'd say go.
That is what I am wondering...I don't know how important it is for him he is 9 and has been talking about touching a dolphin for like 7 years. I would say to touch one is very important to him. But would he be that upset once he is there. I dont know.
Sea World is an awesome park, very different from WDW. You can see dolphins in 2 areas. the dolphin nursery where they play and at certain times there is a guide to talk about them as well as answer questions. The dolphin feeding area has a queue and they only let a certain amount of folks in for feeding at designated times. It's not quite the push and shove experience it once was. My DDs fed several this past summer during this experience. You might want to visit their website to check out some additional behind the scenes type tours that might go a bit beyond these areas.
You will need a good, full day to take it all in at Sea World and probably want to gear your day around which shows you want to see. You can get a listing of the shows once inside the park. Admission to the park is +/- $75 but you can find deals on the tickets. I feel that the food is a bit more than WDW however Sea World does have a dining plan as well to cover your needs for the day. There are the 3 big thrill rides as well as some smaller rides in the Shamu's Happy Harbor area. Shamu's Happy harbor also has a water squirt/play type deal as well as an covered climbing structure. Beware of the pay per play cheesy games though. In addition to dolphin feeding, you can feed the sea lions (watch out for the birds, they love to steal the fish) and sting rays. There's a package for feeding as well. We feel the crowds are very managed and we've visited during Spring Break as well as during June when the crowds are a bit heavy. You can beat the heat in the Wild Artic attraction as well as the penguins, visit the penguins early though as they dim the lights early afternoon to keep them somewhat on "Artic" time, and in the shark exhibit. Shamu is the big show, very crowded but the seating stadium is huge. We've also seen Blue Horizons which is a smaller stadium, features several different animals and trainers. There is a show which a small scale cirque du soelil type show and is another way to beat the heat. We've not seen the sea lion show or the Pets Ahoy but both seem cute. The Sky Tower is pretty neat but usually operates in the morning. It's $3 or so/person but it's a great ride and the views can't be beat. Give it try.
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Last edited by home4us123; 01-04-2011 at 06:27 AM..
Reason: fp399
Sea World is an awesome park, very different from WDW. You can see dolphins in 2 areas. the dolphin nursery where they play and at certain times there is a guide to talk about them as well as answer questions. The dolphin feeding area has a queue and they only let a certain amount of folks in for feeding at designated times. It's not quite the push and shove experience it once was. My DDs fed several this past summer during this experience. You might want to visit their website to check out some additional behind the scenes type tours that might go a bit beyond these areas.
You will need a good, full day to take it all in at Sea World and probably want to gear your day around which shows you want to see. You can get a listing of the shows once inside the park. Admission to the park is +/- $75 but you can find deals on the tickets. I feel that the food is a bit more than WDW however Sea World does have a dining plan as well to cover your needs for the day. There are the 3 big thrill rides as well as some smaller rides in the Shamu's Happy Harbor area. Shamu's Happy harbor also has a water squirt/play type deal as well as an covered climbing structure. Beware of the pay per play cheesy games though. In addition to dolphin feeding, you can feed the sea lions (watch out for the birds, they love to steal the fish) and sting rays. There's a package for feeding as well. We feel the crowds are very managed and we've visited during Spring Break as well as during June when the crowds are a bit heavy. You can beat the heat in the Wild Artic attraction as well as the penguins, visit the penguins early though as they dim the lights early afternoon to keep them somewhat on "Artic" time, and in the shark exhibit. Shamu is the big show, very crowded but the seating stadium is huge. We've also seen Blue Horizons which is a smaller stadium, features several different animals and trainers. There is a show which a small scale cirque du soelil type show and is another way to beat the heat. We've not seen the sea lion show or the Pets Ahoy but both seem cute. The Sky Tower is pretty neat but usually operates in the morning. It's $3 or so/person but it's a great ride and the views can't be beat. Give it try.
Thanks for your imput...where can you find ticket deals...any help with that might make mind up easier..right now I would really like to take him because he really wants to go. It would be 393.00 dollars that includes the food package.
We've always really enjoyed SeaWorld and the interaction you get with all the animals there. If it's primarily dolphins you're going for, you could be disappointed, but we go for all the animals. We've had some really fun times with the sealions, manatees, and all the other animals there. The shows are also superb and well worth seeing. There are only two of us, so it's not such a big deal financially for us to go there, but we think it's very worthwhile.
Mousesavers is always a good site to check for Disney/Orlando discounts - if you aren't already receiving the newsletter I strongly suggest doing so. It comes out once a month - w/ maybe 1 to 2 special offers monthly in addition.
Seaworld has one of our favorite roller coasters FWIW
If you do take advantage of the Southwest discount, could you let me know how that goes? A friend insisted that they couldn't just get the rewards membership, they had to sign up for the credit card - which I don't think is true but I haven't been motivated to figure out where she went wrong either....
Also - have you considered Discovery Cove? It's pricey but it does do alot more interaction w/ the dolphins....
Mousesavers is always a good site to check for Disney/Orlando discounts - if you aren't already receiving the newsletter I strongly suggest doing so. It comes out once a month - w/ maybe 1 to 2 special offers monthly in addition.
Seaworld has one of our favorite roller coasters FWIW
If you do take advantage of the Southwest discount, could you let me know how that goes? A friend insisted that they couldn't just get the rewards membership, they had to sign up for the credit card - which I don't think is true but I haven't been motivated to figure out where she went wrong either....
Also - have you considered Discovery Cove? It's pricey but it does do alot more interaction w/ the dolphins....
Yes Discovery cove would run us about 800 and that is so not going to happen. I am going to look into discount tickets to see what I can find. We have everything else for this trip taken care of it is just this last bit we have to plan and figure out.
I think the SD Seaworld was much better...that said, it's worth going at least once. However if it is just dolphin interaction you are wanting - go to Hawaii's Sea Life park. We visited in 2007 and although the park was lacking TLC, it was fantastic for animal petting, up close trainer talks and the night show was fantastic.
Of course you could always pop over to Australia and visit Seaworld on the Gold Coast...best dolphin interaction ever! Private swimming/feeding sessions, informative talks, great shows, tours of training areas and kids getting to be part of the shows...
Is Discovery Cove out of the budget for just one adult/child? Maybe the rest of the family could enjoy a character meal at WDW instead.
I think the SD Seaworld was much better...that said, it's worth going at least once. However if it is just dolphin interaction you are wanting - go to Hawaii's Sea Life park. We visited in 2007 and although the park was lacking TLC, it was fantastic for animal petting, up close trainer talks and the night show was fantastic.
Of course you could always pop over to Australia and visit Seaworld on the Gold Coast...best dolphin interaction ever! Private swimming/feeding sessions, informative talks, great shows, tours of training areas and kids getting to be part of the shows...
Is Discovery Cove out of the budget for just one adult/child? Maybe the rest of the family could enjoy a character meal at WDW instead.
Yes since the kids are so close in age one would be really mad that the other got to go and not him. I could see the fight over that one. Thanks for all the imput.
Seaworld is definately worth it. We have been several times. Our last visit in 09 was when we saw the new queueing for feeding the dolphins. I think the trays of fish cost about $7 and each person needs one to go into the feeding area. They let only so many people but I belive the feeding times are listed in the daily schedule so if you arrive in the morning you can plan when to go over. The dolphins keep coming round for the fish, they do not get scared by the crowds so as long as you get in to feed then you will be able touch the dolphins. Also each food tray has 4 fish IIRC, The shows are all wonderful and the landscaping is pretty. Overall it is a very nice park.
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We were really impressed with SeaWorld. The park itself is beautiful and our daughter absolutely loved seeing all of the animals - especially feeding fish to the sea lions - I got this on video and it's one of my favorite home movies to watch. I highly recommend the "Pets Ahoy" show - they take animals that they've rescued from shelters and train them to put on this show - it was so entertaining. We visited the park on a very hot day and wound up not staying as long as I would have liked. I'm really hoping to work a return trip into our plans for this summer - it was so worth it!
We went to seaworld last February and I want to go back! The rides were great, the people were friendly, and I loved the dolphin encounter! You go into a habitat with a large dolphin pool in the middle with probably 10 dolphins in it. As you walk in, you pay $7 per person (try to have exact change) and TVs show you how to feed the dolphin and what not to do. Then you lock your stuff up in the lockers and head to the edge of the pool. As the instructor reviews how to feed them, another person brings around your plate of 6 or 7 fish. After that you feed the dolphins and pet them! They are very beautiful! I wouldn't worry about the dolphins swimming away because when we did it, my brother smeared his slimy fish hands on my jacket and I screamed while a dolphin was in front of me and the dolphin didn't seem to care. You'll love seaworld I hope you decide to go!
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