Saturday, January 25th: more dolphins!
Okay, so I got a bit ahead of myself apparently (oops!). I thought we were up to the point in the day of heading to see Jack Hanna, but I nearly missed a step along the way. That's what happens when I start reminiscing about dolphins ;-) .... I lose my focus and end up in la-la land.
Getting back on track, we'll start things off here:
Once we wrapped up things up with Griffith and Naia, we checked our phones and saw we still had a tidy bit of time to kill before we headed over to Nautilus Theater to see Jungle Jack's animal show, so we opted to keep the dolphin lovin' going and head over for the morning showing of Dolphin Days.
While it was nice and quiet earlier that morning, the masses had descended on the park as we had been captivated by Griffith and Naia, and Dolphin Theater was PACKED [not only was Jack Hanna in town, it was also an Inside Look weekend....so there were LOTS of great reasons to visit!]. Luckily, one of the perks of our new Platinum annual passes is free reserved seating at the shows in all 11 parks, so even on that busy Saturday we were able to get the best seats in the house: dead center, just outside of the splash zone. Perfect!!
This show is hands-down my favorite show at SeaWorld. I know most folks tend to rank Orca Encounter (the killer whale show) as the premium show at the park, but Dolphin Days outshines Orca Encounter for me. It's so fun, so upbeat, and has so much energy it just captivates me from beginning to end.
The dolphins in this show always seem to be having the time of their lives. The jumps are huge, the splashes are impressive, and the full house that morning was totally into it.....clapping and cheering with every flip, dive and fin wave.
While we didn't know it at the time, we actually got to see one of the last shows where the trainers would be allowed to be pushed through the water on their feet by the nose of the dolphins. SeaWorld announced right after our trip that they would be discontinuing that behavior going forward. It was always impressive to see, but I'm sure the show will be adapted so well that guests will never miss that segment going forward. I'll be interested to see, on our October trip, what they choose to replace it with instead.
And as if the dolphins aren't amazing enough on their own, the birds are always a show-stopper too.
Years ago, when SeaWorld changed the format of their dolphin show (retiring Blue Horizons and introducing Dolphin Days), I was happy to see they retired most of the "artistic" elements (such as the acrobats and outlandish costuming.....both seemed ill placed and a poor fit). I was relieved, however, that they opted to work the birds into the new format.....they continue to be a perfect compliment (and contrast) to all those beautiful dolphins. Watching them soar above the stadium and into the crowd is breathtaking!
This show is ALWAYS over too soon. It's one of those things that I wish would be doubly as long (and I suppose, even then, I likely still wouldn't want it to end).
Once the show concluded and we exited the packed stadium with the masses, we had just enough time to grab a quick bite to eat before our date with Jack Hanna. Popping over to Voyagers Smokehouse, we whisked through a surprisingly short line (considering the growing crowds in the park) and picked ourselves up some hearty SW-style barbecue.
When we purchased our annual passes back on the Blue Friday sale, one of the incentives being offered (along with the lower price) was a free meal voucher with each AP purchased. While the voucher didn't include a beverage, it didn't have many other restrictions......so we were able to redeem it for these two entrees (one rib sampler and one brisket sampler), two of the most expensive quick-service meals in the park.
The food was good, but not the best we've ever had (either at Voyagers nor at SeaWorld). The portion sizes were definitely smaller than we have been served at Voyagers in the past, but it was still more than enough food. For an essentially free meal (hey, we would have purchased the passes even without that specific special offer) we were definitely not complaining. I have to give special mention to the chicken.....much as I'm generally a brisket girl, that chicken was the best-tasting part of the meal. Delish!
Coming up: Jack Hanna! (and this time, I mean it ;-) LOL)
Edited to add: a huge shout out to
@bankr63 for his tech support regarding the proper orientation of my photos. Y'all have him to thank for being able to see all my pics the "right" way up. You rock, my friend!
. Who can ever get enough of them?
Okay, so it was a tiny bit chilly that morning ;-) (but in comparison to the 30 degree weather we left behind the day prior, it was still unbelievably bee-you-tiful!). I have to say, those cold hands were oh-so-worth-it!
