The "We are Officially Here" Report - Day 4

[Wendy]

Sorry, I am a little behind with this :anxious:

Saturday we went to SeaWorld, we haven’t been there for a few years and thought we’d go back again. I’m glad we did, it has changed so much since our last visit.

It was very hot with a little breeze and hardly any humidity which was nice. We decided to walk around anti-clockwise as everyone else was going in the opposite direction :lol:

Chris has decided this trip he wants to take some “different”photos this trip rather than the normal ones. It was very quiet as you can see from the next couple of photos,

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We didn’t see any of the shows today as we just wanted to walk around and not have a long day waiting for some of the shows to start. We plan on seeing some when we go back.

I do think it’s a shame how SeaWorld has become very commercialised, I can remember when you were able to walk all the way around the Sea Lion enclosure, now it’s roped off for their special up close tour. It’s the same in Key West with the Dolphins, there is a very small area at the end where guests can stand to see the dolphins, but if you are willing to stand in line and pay for some food, you get to interact with the dolphins and have a larger viewing area.

We went underneath to see them and Chris managed to grab a couple of photos

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We had lunch in the Seafire Inn, which was a soft pretzel roll with turkey and cheese followed by some chocolate chip cookies :D

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We wandered round for a little while longer and then made our way back to the car, to go back to the villa for a little R & R before hitting DTD in the evening – Chris wasn’t aware of this at that point :D

I couldn’t wait any longer to go into the parks, so with a little begging, we went to DTD and exchanged our cards for our Annual Passes and also picked up the tickets for MNSSHP on Tuesday.

I forgot to take photo id with me for my annual pass but the cast member very kindly issued it after asking Chris if he knew me – to which he replied, never seen her before she keeps following me round :smug: The CM thought this was really funny, so him and Chris were both laughing away at my expense :lol:

We spent Saturday evening wandering around DTD and grabbed something to eat in Cooke’s of Dublin, which as usual, was delicious. We walked around Pleasure Island and it’s just not the same since the clubs and the Adventurer’s Club have gone. I also miss the large stage where different acts would play.

West Side is a bit of a let down as well, Disney just don’t seem to know what to do with it all down there. We walked over to the new building which will become Splitsville and I was surprised at how much work still needs to be done before it can open.

We walked back to the Marketplace and had a look round the World of Disney where we saw this amazing house that Chris took some photos of for someone who is just a little enamoured with the Haunted Mansion.

A quick look around Basin and then it was back to the car for the trip home.

Tomorrow – Epcot :D

[Tink]

Nice report! Thank you. The photos are absolutely lovely.

Seaworld has changed, hasn't it? We've not been in a few years either, but have heard from others that it's gone very commercial with the focus on getting as much money from you as they can, instead of the old focus which was more centered around teaching you about the sea and sea life.

Can't agree with you more about DTD. Now THAT's sad. We like Cooke's too!

[Keith]

We walked back to the Marketplace and had a look round the World of Disney where we saw this amazing house that Chris took some photos of for someone who is just a little enamoured with the Haunted Mansion.

YAY

[Mari]

Nice report and super nice pics Wendy.. thank you!

I havent been to Sea World since 1986 The last 4 trips we havent managed to leave Disney, and we are totally ok with that hahahahaha

But I think the girls would love to see some sea creatures up close, so maybe next time?

[Suebeattie]

Loving the pics!! Looking forward to the next report

[foreverducky]

I have been to a few Seaworlds, just never the one in Orlando. They have always been enjoyable. I can't believe how quiet it looked.