The pre-Sea World plan:
We were going to get up early to arrive at Sea World slightly before 9:00. Then we could spend 4-5 hours in Sea World, and get back to the hotel early. Once we got back to the hotel, we would have time to relax and pack, as Friday is busy. This would be pretty simple, as Jacob and Ally, in the past 3 years, have never both slept in past 7:30.
The pre-Seaworld reality:
Matt wakes up, checks his watch, and thinks it must be broken. It says 8:30, and everyone in the hotel room is still sleeping. He checks again a couple times, then checks a clock in the hotel, which also says 8:30. Sure, Jacob was up until 11:00 the night before, and Ally was too (although she napped), but this type of sleeping in is unprecedented. So, we decided to just get ready, and we would get to Sea World when we could.
Seaworld:
By the time we got everyone fed, dressed, got bags packed, drove to the lot, then took tram in, it was 10:30. After a short walk through the park, we arrived at the amusement park area for kids(Shamu's Happy Harbor) just before 11:00. The surprising thing was, there were no lines at all. The Shamu show stated at 11:00, so no one was at the amusement park. Jacob and Ally went on several rides, many of them multiple times, including a carousel and roller coaster. Jacob probably took 10 rides, while Ally probably only took 6 or so, as Ally decided to spend some time playing in their water play area. Ally was brave enough to try a roller coaster, which was a big step for her in rides. You can see from the pictures, she was excited at times, but a bit nervous at times too. She liked it, but thought it was a bit scary when it tipped sideways. We were only in the amusement park area for an hour, partly since the kids rode everything, and partly since there was a 12:40 show on the other side of the park. This was a show with Elmo, Cookie Monster, Rosita and Abby Caddaby and Grover, and the kids enjoyed it. We expected Zeke to really get excited about Elmo, but he seemed most interested in Grover. We think he has an affection for blue the way Jacob and Ally were obsessed with red.
After the show, we had a (overpriced and not overly tasty) lunch at Sea World before checking out the penguins. It was neat watching them swim around, but after 15 minutes, we were out of the exhibit. Jacob and Ally both decided not to go on the water ride (it had rained some, so the temp was pretty cool), so we headed out.
Overall, we were disappointed in Sea World. The Shamu and Seasame Street shows were good, and so was the fact that the kids got to ride so many rides without waiting in lines. However, the customer service there doesn't seem to helpful, they try to sell things everywhere there (including in the Shamu show, which was very manipulative and overly cheesy even for Mandy), and it just isn't that great of a place. We had fun on our two days there, but we don't think we will ever go back again.
