It's certainly hotter now than when we arrived and our tans are coming along very well! By 3.30pm we were all ready to go to Seaworld for a few hours and hoping to see some shows, especially the Shamu Rocks! show at 9pm.
The journey was great with no queues on the I-4 and we took the Preferred Parking so we didn't have to walk so far to the entrance! It was very hot by now - about 86f - and I remember that on our previous visits this park is always the hottest for some reason. Lack of breeze?
Although the park didn't seem as busy, the queues for the dolphin feeding were horrendous! Perhaps another time! We went to Turtle Trek first, which I enjoyed, but the rest of my family thought was a bit naff! It's not a ride as such, but it's what you would call an experience, I suppose. It's split into three parts - the first part is where you can see a group of manatees and a very helpful guide talks us through what Seaworld is doing to protect these endangered species. The second part of the tour is where you see the turtles, some of them having been rescued and brought to the park as they had injuries from boats or sharks. The girl giving the talk was very informative and she pointed out the various turtles and the stories behind them.
The third part is the 3D experience. Everyone crowds into a domed theatre and we get to see what it's like to be a turtle from when it hatches to becoming an adult. I thought it was very clever as you really feel as if you're swimming through the sea and all the other creatures loom at you, some being more frightening than others! At the end it was a bit schmaltzy, but then that's Seaworld all over!
After Turtle Trek Keith wanted to see one of the shows so we made our way to the Sealion and Otter stadium to see Clyde and Seamore Take Pirate Island. It's a show we've seen before and I would rather have waited and seen the later show at 8pm. I really wish we had now!
The stadium was absolutely packed which was a shame as part of the fun is the mime artist who takes the mickey out of people coming in to take their seats. Previously we've always arrived early and it's hilarious to see him making fun of the poor unsuspecting people! However, today there were barely any seats left and we made our way almost to the top of the stadium before we spotted any spaces. Keith and the children found a seat on the right while I dropped into a space on the left. There was a little girl standing up but there was plenty of room. I sat down, virtually half off the seat and the girl's mother turned to me and said, "This seat's for my little girl!".
I replied that there was plenty of room (there was!) and that there was nowhere else to sit. I could hear her grumbling to the other people in her party and I felt extremely uncomfortable. After a minute, the man sitting behind me, who I presume was her husband, said to me in a whiny voice, "How can you take this little girl's seat?" It was as if I'd actually physically harmed his child! I said that there was plenty of room, but he repeated his words again, making me feel as if I'd committed a terrible sin!
Feeling humiliated and very embarrassed I got up and went to the top of the stadium, making Keith and the children wonder what on earth was going on. Keith realised what had happened and a woman behind him very kindly made room for me so I could sit with my family. He had a go at the man, stating that there was plenty of room and that there was actually a space left after I got up. He certainly shut up after that but the whole situation left a very bad taste in my mouth. I didn't enjoy the show at all and noticed that a drinks container owned by the family had its own seat all the way through!
I was left reeling by the pettiness of this family and it certainly spoilt the rest of the evening for me. As soon as the show was over we left pretty quickly as I didn't want Keith to start arguing with the man again!
The children wanted to go on the Journey to Atlantis ride so Keith and I waited at the viewing point for them. What we didn't know was that the wait time was 40 minutes so every time one of the boats came speeding down into the water we expected to see our little darlings getting a drenching!
They appeared nearly an hour later, by which time Keith and I were really flagging. I wish that Seaworld offered more places to sit, as there were a lot of people waiting to take photos of family and friends doing the ride so a couple of benches would be ideal.
Sophie was keen to do the Manta ride, but Mikey was resisting (I don't blame him!). However as we made our way to the entrance of the ride we noticed that it had a 45 minute wait...no way!
We decided to call it a day and drive to the nearby Bahama Breeze for a drink and dinner. As expected it was busy, with a 35 minute wait for dinner, but we passed the time by having a drink at the bar (we got seats!). After my experience I felt like a stiff drink, so I ordered a whisky and soda which turned into a whisky and coke, but it was delicious nonetheless. We spent a very pleasant half hour looking at the menu and listening to the Bob Marley lookalike singing some great tunes.
We had a fantastic meal at Bahama Breeze and it was easily the best of the holiday so far. Keith and Mikey shared some very spicy chicken wings to start while Sophie and I enjoyed chicken sliders in little buns. I chose Coconut Shrimp for my main course which was accompanied by rice and broccoli, Keith couldn't resist the Baby Back Ribs (he took half of them home in a box!), Mikey had curry while Sophie had Jerk Chicken Pasta, the light portion, which still looked big to me!
Despite the size of the main courses, we fancied dessert tonight and I chose Key Lime Pie as it was something I've always wanted to try. Both children tried something chocolatey, which was no surprise! My Key Lime pie was huge! It could easily have served two people and in the end I got the children and Keith to try some, and still left a large piece! Too much! It was very good though, if very, very sweet!
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| Biggest slice of pie I've ever seen! |
We waddled back to the car and found the I-4 very easily. Back at the villa I made myself a whisky and soda (I'd had Perrier with my meal) and sat and relaxed. Bliss!
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