Our Saturday Part 2: Sea World

So, as I said in my Aquatica post, we left the water park around 3pm and headed over to Sea World.  It's literally across the street although you have to drive around the block to get to the parking lot.  (Another tip for those of you who may read these blogs and decide you want to head to Orlando and vacation----when there is a chance to buy "Premium Parking"...shell out the extra $3-$5 for it.  It gets your car way closer to the gate of the park which, in the morning means you get in a little faster....but more importantly, it means at the end of a long day when you're tired your car is closer and you don't have so far to walk! LOL)

Our picture entering the park.

Now as I said....I love anything about aquatic animals and I love zoos and animal parks (my favorite Disney park is, without question, Animal Kingdom)...so Sea World is right up my alley.
To even sweeten the deal, however, Sea World is not just a park where I can see animals...there are a few opportunities to interact with animals AND there are some very fun rides. 
We got into Sea World around 3:15pm and I knew that one thing I did not want to miss was the chance to feed the dolphins.  Sea World, we knew from previous trips, has three animal feeding opportunities:  stingrays, dolphins and sea lions.  We have fed and pet stingrays many times at Castaway Cay, Disney's private island in the Bahamas where all/most Disney Cruises spend at least one day (if you don't know anything about Castaway Cay...keep reading as our cruise---on which we embark in just a few days----stops there towards the end so there will definitely be a Castaway post to come!).  So since we were really only getting a 1/2 day in Sea World, we decided we'd skip the rays and bolt right to the dolphins (after stopping by Guest Services to pick up our "Quick Queue" wristbands-----which I had bought online in advance for the STEAL of a price of like $11 or $12 a piece I think and which, much like Disney Fastpass and Universal Express Ticket, allow you to cut to the head of the line at the most popular rides and attractions-----another useful tip...if there is a park option that lets you skip the lines, even at an extra cost, go for it....we always do and have NEVER regretted it!).  For $7 per person you get a small paper tray with 5 small (slimy, smelly, gross LOL) fish and you get to go up to the edge of a dolphin lagoon and hand-feed and pet dolphins.  (I have always had a love of dolphins....for much of my adolescence my bedroom at home was decorated with a whales and dolphin theme....so the chance to interact with dolphins is something I've always loved....and we're going to be swimming with dolphins in Tortola later in this vacation----so watch for that post in the weeks to come).  Anyhow, feeding dolphins rocks!  Here are some pics (with my own comic additions....I'm really loving this app on my phone that lets me play with images LOL):

After feeding the dolphins, we really had the next several hours (we stayed in Sea World until the fireworks ended just after 10pm) to enjoy all the things that mattered most to us in the park.  We rode all the rides and saw three shows plus fireworks.  The shows we saw were "Alure"---Sea World's version (although not a very good one, sadly) of La Nouba, the cirque du soleil show at downtown Disney----only with an aquatic/ocean theme....and "Shamu Rocks," the night-time Orca show----which was OK, but not great...and, sadly, because of the tragedy that occurred at Sea World earlier this year where a trainer was killed, the trainers are not allowed to get into the water with the killer whales like they used (or like they do in the shows involving smaller sea mammals like dolphins, sea lions, etc.).  Honestly, it's probably for the best that this rule is in place---but, sadly, it does take away from the show kinda.

Our camera didn't take night or action shots very well...this is the only "Shamu Rocks" picture that turned out and is from close to the show's finale.

The final show we saw (which was, ironically, the first we saw of the day) was called "Blue Horizons."  This show I actually really enjoyed.  It reminded me a lot of the cirque du soleil show "O" that plays at the Bellagio hotel and casino in Las Vegas (although, obviously, not quite of the same caliber).  It combines aquatic features, diving and aerial acrobatics and is very stylized.  Because it's Sea World, there is also an animal component and it uses dolphins and one small species of whale (I don't know exactly what kind but it kind of reminded me of a long slender black version of a beluga whale)----but it ALSO featured dozens of free flying exotic birds like parrots and macaws (and, for those of you who don't know, Jason and I own a noble macaw and so exotic birds are another passion of mine).  The show had a pretty cool set, a nice combination of acrobatics, highly skilled high divers, animal pieces, cool costumes and a nice soundtrack...so I enjoyed it more than any of the other shows I saw (or have seen really) at Sea World.  Here are some pictures:

The highlight of our day at Sea World, however, was not an animal attraction or show---- it was a ride:  the Manta.  Manta is, without question, the coolest roller coaster that we have ever been on....so innovative.  Unfortunately we don't have any pictures of ourselves riding this ride.  (They took one...but we look like morons, as so many people do in those pictures....and there were 2 other guys in the picture, too...who looked equally awful and who we don't know.  Why, can someone explain to me, do people buy those photos from rides anyway? when they are usually full of people you don't know and will never see again in your life? LOL  Sure, Jason and I have bought ride photos...but only when they are pics of only the two of us OR when we went on the ride in a group large enough to actually fill the entire photo.  Who wants to frame a picture with strangers in their home so when someone says, "Oh who is that?" you say, "I have no idea...they just got seated behind us!" LOL-----anways...I digress).  Anyhow....Manta is a ride in which you climb into a suspended roller coaster seat (the track is above you) and then before the train starts, the seats actually swing up and back and attach so that you are basically hanging face down on the "belly" of the train (which is designed to look like a manta ray)....and so for the whole ride you are in the same position as if you were superman-----it's SOOO cool!  Here are a few stock photos of the ride I stole off the internet to give you an idea:

This was definitely our favorite ride.  We could have ridden it a million times----smooth, fun, creative and like nothing we'd done anywhere ever before (and we've ridden quite a few roller coasters together)!!

There is another fun ride at Sea World called "Journey to Atlantis" that combines a large log flume-style ride with a roller coaster.  It's nowhere near as creative or exciting as Manta, but it's fun....and I took a fun picture of Jason in front of it....so I'll close tonight's posting about Sea World with that image:

So....we did it....4 parks (Islands of Adventure, Universal Studios, Aquatica & Sea World) in less than two full days----and still found time to eat a nice dinner out and hang out for a little bit at our resort's pool.  It was a fun---but TIRING---couple of days....which had us really looking forward to the opportunity to sleep in on Sunday morning and spend the day doing something much more laid back and relaxing before we embark on the REAL part of our adventure......

.....but to hear more about how we spent our Sunday....you'll have to check back later.....because it's time for bed and I'll have to post THAT story tomorrow morning before we get on the plane for Barcelona!! :)