WIZARDS, REAL AND AMAZING, CHRISTMAS PARTIES AND CANDLELIGHT-TR - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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WIZARDS, REAL AND AMAZING, CHRISTMAS PARTIES AND CANDLELIGHT-TR
Well, I have my TR pretty much typed up, so I thought I should get it started!. It may be a slow process with the holidays coming up. I am adding pictures as I go and you guys well know that is a tedious process, but I will do my best to keep things moving because I sure do have a lot to say!!
We had an amazing vacation and I think this was my favorite trip to WDW to date!!We loved Portofino Bay, we loved the Yacht Club and we got an excellent dose of Christmas cheer, so without further ado, here goes nothing!!
December 3rd: Part 1. The day is FINALLY here!!!
Well, we set our alarms last night for 6:00 AM to leave for the airport by 7:45. We always set two alarms, just in case, but it didn't matter because that system did not work out for me anyway! :
We went to bed at 9:00 PM last night and I woke up twice and then finally at 3:15 AM, I simply had to get out of bed. While Muffin was snoring away ( and believe me I am so jealous that he can do that!), I got some coffee, a shower and then rearranged my suitcases because one was a little hefty.
Finally, at 6:00 AM, Muffin got up, showered and dressed. We packed up the car and were ready to leave for the airport at 7:20 AM. Since we were early and it's right on the way, I asked Muffin if we could stop at Starbucks and he said sure. He doesn't eat or drink anything before flying, but I cannot start the day with out some kind of caffeine!
Christmas countdown on the morning we left!
All packed up
Muffin looking over our travel docs
Except it almost became my loss because Muffin must've been zoning out and drove right by Starbucks! I didn't say a word but he realized it about a block later and turned right around so that I could get my skinny peppermint mocha.
There was an accident on I-95 on the way to the airport so we had to get off an exit before we normally do. It sure is a good thing we left a little early and we know the area!! We parked at WallyPark and got a shuttle within a few minutes. The driver was friendly as always and that is why we use WallyPark.
Our chariot
We made it to the airport by 8:15 and I had TSA precheck and Muffin did not. Being the sweet wife that I am, I said, "See ya, sucka!" when we got to security! ( In case you are feeling bad for Muffin, he has done it to me many times!). I know that I had to wait for him anyway, but it is so nice to not have to open anything or take off your shoes!!
PHL
Muffin's favorite airport pretzel stand
Our standard plane selfie
A beautiful day to fly!
Coming into Orlando
Almost there
And touchdown!!
We wandered through the airport……….
MCO tree
These are a few airport shop shots:
Can you tell we were excited to go to Sea World?
Our luggage came up almost first and we caught a Lyft at the airport to Portofino Bay. The total cost was 48 bucks including a tip, which we did not think was bad at all!
.
We arrived at Portofino Bay at 1:15 PM and my gosh this is a beautiful resort! Our room was not ready so we used the facilities, dropped our bags with bell services and Muffin called another Lyft to take us to Sea World. We had a few minutes so a snapped some photos of the outside of the resort.
Then our Lyft arrived and it cost us 12 dollars to get right to the front gate which again we thought was great! Our driver had retired down here from Iowa after selling his farm. His wife still worked as a real estate agent and he said he enjoyed driving and just wanted to get out of the house during the day. He was very pleasant.
We already had purchased our tickets, so we just scanned them and walked right into the park. We first took some time exploring and taking pictures.
No, I do not know these people
That sure is a lot of animals helped!!
The park was so pretty and there were decorations everywhere!! It was absolutely gorgeous weather as well and we really felt this was an awesome dose of holiday cheer to start our trip!!
Next: Baby dolphins, a Sea of Trees, Shamu and………the Cookie Monster?!?!?!?!
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
Sorry, but I lied! I did find time to read this as I had to read this before heading to bed!
Nice start to the TR! I don't know how Muffin can start a flight day or any day without some breakfast as I feel I need a bit of something before traveling. Definitely, some caffeine and something solid as well like a banana and I'm usually good.
The flight went well which was good and the resort looks quite nice and looking forward to your experience at Sea World!
One thing I wonder is why your photos are always so small as I'm always puzzled by this? Do you use a photo share sight like PB or post them directly here? I think having the photos a bit larger would help! Just curious and trying to help you out!
I hate this cold weather and I wish and I know you wish you were back in Florida!
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
Great start Tara! I'm so with you about the TSA pre-check. I left Mark behind on our last trip, but only because it really takes it out of me to stand for so long in line. If he left me... well, that would be a different matter.
I'm loving all the photos of SeaWorld. I love that place and can't wait to get back there in March!
Registered Message Board Members save 30% off PassPorter guidebooks! When you register you'll have access to a discount coupon good for 30% off the list price of PassPorter books in our online store.
Sorry, but I lied! I did find time to read this as I had to read this before heading to bed!
Nice start to the TR! I don't know how Muffin can start a flight day or any day without some breakfast as I feel I need a bit of something before traveling. Definitely, some caffeine and something solid as well like a banana and I'm usually good.
The flight went well which was good and the resort looks quite nice and looking forward to your experience at Sea World!
One thing I wonder is why your photos are always so small as I'm always puzzled by this? Do you use a photo share sight like PB or post them directly here? I think having the photos a bit larger would help! Just curious and trying to help you out!
I hate this cold weather and I wish and I know you wish you were back in Florida!
I have no idea how to make my photos bigger. I do use photobucket so I will try to see if I can figure it out! We are so missing the Florida weather!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by cubfancolleen
Good start! Glad Muffin realized he missed Starbucks when it still made sense to turn around!
I married a very smart man, Colleen!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Grammy Grumpy
Yea! It has begun! We await your next update.
Thanks, Barb!!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
Great start Tara! I'm so with you about the TSA pre-check. I left Mark behind on our last trip, but only because it really takes it out of me to stand for so long in line. If he left me... well, that would be a different matter.
I'm loving all the photos of SeaWorld. I love that place and can't wait to get back there in March!
Day 1. Part 2. Baby dolphins, a Sea of Trees, Shamu and………the Cookie Monster?!?!?!?!
We got a park map, which Muffin had a lot of trouble with (more on that later) and said it was a horrible map.
We stopped at the dolphin nursery where two trainers were explaining the routine care of these beautiful, intelligent animals. They showed us how they put eye drops in and checked the dolphins' temperatures and also showed us a little of the training process. It was very interesting.
We strolled some more and admired the trees on the water.
They looked pretty even in the daylight but wait until you see them at night!!
Then we saw this little guy:
I took some more pictures of the decorations:
We then went to see Shamu. This was an amazing show!! The Killer Whale is a majestic creature and so graceful! It is amazing to see how intelligent this animal is!! I'm glad we got to see this show as Sea World will be phasing it out over the next year. They won't release the whales for fear that they will not survive in the wild, but they will just swim around and you will be able to view them only. They wont be doing any more shows and will remain in captivity until they die.
Shamu Stadium
After the amazing killer whale show, we realized we were hungry so we went to Mango Joe's. On the way, we saw the Cookie Monster!!
We split a burger and fries and each had a coke and ate our lunch outside. The burger was just meh, the fries were to die for!!
Muffin got the map of the park out to try and figure out where to go next. He is normally pretty good with maps but this was definitely not his day to find treasure! We eventually got where we needed to go, but we usually wound up asking an employee. Anyway!!
Next we went on the Wild Arctic ride, which is a flight simulator in a 'helicopter' to the Arctic. When you get there, it is a walking exhibit which is delightful!.
Then we went to the Wild Arctic gift shop and I bought a really pretty Shamu ornament.
The next thing you know, Muffin's phone rang and it was Sean. He was calling to let us know that he and Jane had to take Finn to the ER at 3:00 AM. He said they woke up to shrill crying and found that he couldn't move his left elbow.
When they got to the ER, the pediatrician popped his joint right back in and Finn immediately was smiling again. He explained that this was called Nuresemaid's Elbow and happened fairly commonly in infants once they were able to roll around. He also told them it could happen again because infants and toddlers have softer and spongier joints. He showed them how to rotate the radial head back in incase it happened again.
Thank goodness everything wound up being okay!!
We continued our adventure at the Shark Encounter exhibit. This was a walk through aquarium of sorts that housed all kinds of sharks and of course the fish that could live with them. It had a surround walkway where you could see them above and below you as well and was really cool!!
Then we walked around some more to snap more photos.
my husband!!
We saw some toy soldiers marching:
Then took some more photos
We did not go on this crazy ride, but we enjoyed watching others on it:
Then we went to another aquarium:
You have to really look to see this guy but he was so cool!!
I know this all sounds like there isn't much to do here, but Sea World is really a beautiful walking park. We were not bored at all and truly enjoyed the park's natural beauty.
Then we took a walk to Antarctica. We were going to try and see Empire of the Penguin but the line was 40 minutes long and we were fast approaching our first show for the evening.
Instead we walked through yet another aquarium that we really enjoyed!
Of course we had to walk through a gift shop on the way out. We didn’t buy anything here but we did enjoy browsing:
More pictures coming up:
We tried using the map again but to no avail so we headed back through the Antarctica area to get to the show after finally asking a park employee how to get there!
Next we saw the Pacific Point Preserve where the seals were frolicking in the sun.
Next: The best and worst and best again part of the day!!!
Oh that is so sad about the killer whales - I didn't realise that they would be remaining in captivity until they die. I'm not sure what I thought would happen, now I think about it.
The sea of trees looks beautiful and I can't wait to see them lit up at night.
Looks like a great day at Sea World from the dolphin nursery, Shamu show and various aquariums and exhibits! You've packed in quite a bit on your first day and love the photos. That is quite sad about what will happen with the killer whales, but it seems as there is no other option. It seems there was a lot to see at the various aquariums. Too bad the line for the penguin encounter was so long! I recall an extensive Arctic exhibit I visited in Christchurch, New Zealand and it was quite enjoyable. Lots of penguins to see there as well as interactive experiences, including the enclosed dome with freezing temps and you could slide down small snow and ice hills, which was a lot of fun. I forget the name of the place.
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October 6, 2017-Enjoying an amazing dinner at Victoria & Albert's with PP's Dot and Drew
My TR from my most recent trip is now underway. Includes: Universal Studios Florida, Disney World and Sea World Orlando Trifecta TR -Updated December 10th! TR is now COMPLETED!
The killer whale show sounds awesome! Funny about the park map! But I agree, sometimes they are just too confusing!
By the way, I love your new signature picture!
About This Page: 
. It may be a slow process with the holidays coming up. I am adding pictures as I go and you guys well know that is a tedious process, but I will do my best to keep things moving because I sure do have a lot to say!!
: 
I didn't say a word but he realized it about a block later and turned right around so that I could get my skinny peppermint mocha. 
( In case you are feeling bad for Muffin, he has done it to me many times!
). I know that I had to wait for him anyway, but it is so nice to not have to open anything or take off your shoes!! 
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Pixie Dust
I did find time to read this as I had to read this before heading to bed! 
Definitely, some caffeine and something solid as well like a banana and I'm usually good.
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