Poohshoney
<font color=6666CC>Ya-ya sister!<br><font color=gr
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2001
Carol (40, British) dangerously Disney obsessed.
Roland (35, German) puts up with me somehow.
Mickey our beanie, on his first trip `home´.
Tuesday 30 April 2002
We wanted to be at Seaworld good and early so we set the alarm but we neednt have bothered. The lady next door was up bright and early outside, whispering to her mum on the phone. Now she didnt actually say it was her mum but I think it just might have been - We got here too late to phone you. (Pause) I'm sorry if you were worried but it really was very late. (Pause) We were going to phone you this morning once we'd got up. (Pause) Its only 6:30 here, the children are still asleep. (Pause) No, it's ok that you phoned. (Pause) I'm sorry you were worried You get the gist. I couldnt be angry with the poor woman, she was obviously suffering far more than we were.
Before we left I returned Mickey to his towel in the window but with a bottle of sun cream on one side and a book on the other `The Cat Who Saw Stars´ - we thought it was appropriate reading for a mouse.
Wed caught sight of Seaworlds Kraken on our aborted shopping day and seeing it again this morning confirmed what wed already thought NO WAY were we going on it! So that was one less thing to dash for when we got in.
We were at the gates by nineish; there was a surprisingly long queue for parking but once we were in, the park wasnt as busy as we'd feared. Getting an entrance tickets easier said than done. They offer so many choices and as far as I could see theres little or no difference in price between a lot of them, from one day tickets up to annual passes with a myriad of choice in-between. Despite lots of smiles and offers from the staff we decided to stick to the one-day passes.
We did the stingrays first I'd promised to stroke them for 5 mins for Nancy there's an easy promise to keep! They feel amazing. We didnt buy any fish though, either here or at the dolphins it just seemed so dear. I can buy two beautiful fresh fish-laden rolls here for the same price as Seaworld want for four paltry little fish. (This is making me hungry again).
It wasnt easy stroking the dolphins but we managed! The little monsters are so canny they purposefully swim just out of reach, clearly enjoying teasing you! There was a man with some fish but he obviously hadnt been a dolphin in a previous existence. He was lobbing it into their mouths and then trying to stroke them. Any dolphin could have told him stroke them then feed them, theyre off in search of pastures new otherwise.
Once it got to the point that the dolphins knew for certain we were a waste of time, we moved on. The Clyde and Seamore show sounded promising it was such fun! C & S kept doing things they shouldnt have their human co-stars coped admirably with this, making the show so much funnier. It also gave the cast a chance to tell us a little bit about how theyre trained (the animals, not the humans). It's all done on a reward basis and the animals are never forced to do anything they don't want to which was obvious that morning! Good though C & S were though, it was the otter who stole the show. Otters are unbelievably cute!
There was a man outside Cirque de la Mer trying to entice people in. We saw why when we got inside it wasnt even a quarter full. I was so busy trying to decide where in the vast empty cavern to sit that I didn't notice the man had followed me in. It was the people laughing that helped me spot him!
We didnt know what to think of this Cirque we thought from the title it would feature water but it featured Peru. The man turned out to be the star of the show so well over half was him doing a mime act. The couple of circus acts (fire eater and curtain-swinging thingy) were good it was all good but very disjointed.
I'm trying not to let me going to the loo get in the report too often (at least not as often as in real life) but something always seems to happen then. This time I got locked in the theatre. Luckily it was just chains and padlocks I sort of sidled round them and then climbed over the wall. Roland was waiting with his usual patient expression. He used to lead such a quiet uneventful life.
Have I told you I love penguins? Well, I LOVE penguins! We enjoyed the Penguin Encounter its amazing that something so clumsy on land can be so graceful in the water. Bit like me really except for the water bit. We couldn't remember ever seeing puffins before we were both struck by how much smaller they are than we'd thought. Another cute species. Mind you, if it has four legs, wings or flippers I'm usually entranced.
We were very disappointed that there were no Terrors of the Deep or Shamu: Up Close! Strange how theme parks happily knock off attractions but knock nothing off the price. Shouldn't be allowed!
We got a bagel with cream cheese at the bakery (what a novelty) and dashed to the Shamu Stadium along with most of the park. We got surprisingly good seats in the middle, not to high up but well away from the infamous splash zone! We, particularly Roland, loved this show. Our favourite bit was when a whale went awol. It should have been leaping about but instead it did another tour of splashing everyone. You could almost see the grin on its face!
We would've liked to have seen the next Shamu show but it would have meant too much zigzagging across the park so we decided to do the dolphins and everything else and then come back for Shamu Rocks America!
We had a quick peek in the Dolphin Nursery lots of little kiddies were listening to a talk so we kept going. I was beginning to feel a bit funny so we thought a sit down for the dolphin show might do me good. I liked this even more than Shamu, particularly the limboing dolphins. Roland hated the bit with the kiddie but then kiddies arent his favourite species. It was a little boy I wish I'd written his responses down because they were adorable but I didn't. The only one I can remember is Where are you from? Home. As usual, when his `mum´ fell in, I was looking the wrong way. By the way, for all of you whove been recently, the singer's still doing the same joke. After getting virtually no audience cheers when he went through the U.S. states, he tried countries and the biggest cheer was from the Brits If it wasn't for the Brits, I think Seaworld would be closed. That got him another cheer! And I got mixed up and cheered both Germany and Britain - `home´ is such a flexible term.
We had a look at Atlantis we'd intended doing it but I was beginning to feel really dodgy by then and Roland wasn't really bothered so we didn't go on. We thought the cool of Tropical Reef might help so in we went. We thought the fish, etc, were beautiful but the tanks seemed a bit small.
Coming out into the heat again I felt worse than ever but Roland's not just a pretty face He had the brilliant idea of eating something, which did eventually help. It took us a little while to find something but the smoked turkey rolls we had were divine. I wanted mine without cheese and the carver forgot so she threw both our sandwiches away and got a whole new huge breast off and then she rejected large chunks of it. The wedges (they were too big to be called slices) she then carved for our sandwiches were very succulent and delicious. Shed been quite surly up until then - maybe she liked our accents! We tried not to feel guilty about the amount she threw away it would have fed us for a week.
We went to the manatees next. I still didn't feel too good so it was slow progress. The manatees were so beautiful, so gentle I hope they survive what mankind's been doing to them.
We tried to see the alligators but they were well hidden and the dolphin underwater part had a conspicuous lack of dolphins so we went back to Dolphin Cove to look at our photos. The place was mobbed and we finally got to see why the pop group No Doubt was doing a photo shoot. (If like me the name means nothing, they sang `Hey Baby´ - you must have heard that one on the radio!) I spotted an opportunity to ingratiate myself with my beloved nephew Kai (its mutual, I'm his favourite aunty) by getting a photo of them. He wants to be a rock star and although he's more into Iron Maiden and the likes, I reckoned a photo would still go down well. The singer amazed me she looks really petite on the videos (well I think she does) but she's quite an Amazon in real life.
We went up to Wild Arctic then. I didnt want Roland to miss out on the simulator ride so I kept insisting I was ok to do it but after queuing for about five minutes Roland insisted we do the stationary version I looked that bad. He was SO right to insist. Even the stationary ride made me feel dizzy. Thankyou Roland! Well, what a horrible exhibit this was. I can't understand how Seaworld gets away with it. Their dolphin/whale/manatee treatment may be exemplary but their treatment of their polar bear and walruses should get them locked up preferably in similar conditions! The look in the polar bears eyes was horrific. It looked literally bored out of its poor mind. I did wonder if I was being overly sensitive and projecting my own feelings but I decided I might be right when I saw the walruses. They were swimming round in circles, the same high-speed circles, over and over and over and over again. It looked deranged. Nobody is ever going to convince me that they were doing it for fun. I'll get off my soapbox now. The memory still haunts me though.
We sat in front of the Shamu stadium then, writing postcards and appreciating the fact that it was finally a little cooler. And the combination of that and the food hitting my bloodstream meant I at last began to feel better. Hallelujah! If I had to do it all again, I'd reschedule things so that we didnt do two non-Disney days together. Forget Early Entry and E-nights! The biggest advantage of being on-site is the ease of going back to your room for a break, especially in that heat - at no time were we more aware of this than at Seaworld.
We got practically the same seats as last time for Shamu Rocks America! The show was good again, if a little short. Did I see the eagle at the end? Course not - heaven knows where I was looking then. As good as the show was, our favourite memory was what you might call the pre-show. There were lots of Seaworld employees walking round the stadium touting towels and the like. One man was carrying a large inflatable Shamu. He couldnt understand why everyone was laughing and pointing until he turned round the real Shamu was shadowing him. Wherever the man walked, the whale swam. It was hilarious! It wasnt until Shamu decided to launch himself backwards through the air that we saw just how much HEd liked the plastic Shamu. HE was very obviously a very happy whale, if you get my drift very impressive.
There werent any fireworks so we left the park right after the show. Considering the fact that everyone else did as well, things went very smoothly. The light was on in our room when we got back to Riverside. Just imagine, Mickeyd got fed up of sunbathing and was watching the Cartoon Network, propped up on some towels with the remote in one hand and Rolands crisps in the other. Thatll teach us to leave him on his own all day!
Next, Day 11 A new member of the family.
Roland (35, German) puts up with me somehow.
Mickey our beanie, on his first trip `home´.
Tuesday 30 April 2002
We wanted to be at Seaworld good and early so we set the alarm but we neednt have bothered. The lady next door was up bright and early outside, whispering to her mum on the phone. Now she didnt actually say it was her mum but I think it just might have been - We got here too late to phone you. (Pause) I'm sorry if you were worried but it really was very late. (Pause) We were going to phone you this morning once we'd got up. (Pause) Its only 6:30 here, the children are still asleep. (Pause) No, it's ok that you phoned. (Pause) I'm sorry you were worried You get the gist. I couldnt be angry with the poor woman, she was obviously suffering far more than we were.
Before we left I returned Mickey to his towel in the window but with a bottle of sun cream on one side and a book on the other `The Cat Who Saw Stars´ - we thought it was appropriate reading for a mouse.
Wed caught sight of Seaworlds Kraken on our aborted shopping day and seeing it again this morning confirmed what wed already thought NO WAY were we going on it! So that was one less thing to dash for when we got in.
We were at the gates by nineish; there was a surprisingly long queue for parking but once we were in, the park wasnt as busy as we'd feared. Getting an entrance tickets easier said than done. They offer so many choices and as far as I could see theres little or no difference in price between a lot of them, from one day tickets up to annual passes with a myriad of choice in-between. Despite lots of smiles and offers from the staff we decided to stick to the one-day passes.
We did the stingrays first I'd promised to stroke them for 5 mins for Nancy there's an easy promise to keep! They feel amazing. We didnt buy any fish though, either here or at the dolphins it just seemed so dear. I can buy two beautiful fresh fish-laden rolls here for the same price as Seaworld want for four paltry little fish. (This is making me hungry again).
It wasnt easy stroking the dolphins but we managed! The little monsters are so canny they purposefully swim just out of reach, clearly enjoying teasing you! There was a man with some fish but he obviously hadnt been a dolphin in a previous existence. He was lobbing it into their mouths and then trying to stroke them. Any dolphin could have told him stroke them then feed them, theyre off in search of pastures new otherwise.
Once it got to the point that the dolphins knew for certain we were a waste of time, we moved on. The Clyde and Seamore show sounded promising it was such fun! C & S kept doing things they shouldnt have their human co-stars coped admirably with this, making the show so much funnier. It also gave the cast a chance to tell us a little bit about how theyre trained (the animals, not the humans). It's all done on a reward basis and the animals are never forced to do anything they don't want to which was obvious that morning! Good though C & S were though, it was the otter who stole the show. Otters are unbelievably cute!
There was a man outside Cirque de la Mer trying to entice people in. We saw why when we got inside it wasnt even a quarter full. I was so busy trying to decide where in the vast empty cavern to sit that I didn't notice the man had followed me in. It was the people laughing that helped me spot him!
We didnt know what to think of this Cirque we thought from the title it would feature water but it featured Peru. The man turned out to be the star of the show so well over half was him doing a mime act. The couple of circus acts (fire eater and curtain-swinging thingy) were good it was all good but very disjointed.
I'm trying not to let me going to the loo get in the report too often (at least not as often as in real life) but something always seems to happen then. This time I got locked in the theatre. Luckily it was just chains and padlocks I sort of sidled round them and then climbed over the wall. Roland was waiting with his usual patient expression. He used to lead such a quiet uneventful life.
Have I told you I love penguins? Well, I LOVE penguins! We enjoyed the Penguin Encounter its amazing that something so clumsy on land can be so graceful in the water. Bit like me really except for the water bit. We couldn't remember ever seeing puffins before we were both struck by how much smaller they are than we'd thought. Another cute species. Mind you, if it has four legs, wings or flippers I'm usually entranced.
We were very disappointed that there were no Terrors of the Deep or Shamu: Up Close! Strange how theme parks happily knock off attractions but knock nothing off the price. Shouldn't be allowed!
We got a bagel with cream cheese at the bakery (what a novelty) and dashed to the Shamu Stadium along with most of the park. We got surprisingly good seats in the middle, not to high up but well away from the infamous splash zone! We, particularly Roland, loved this show. Our favourite bit was when a whale went awol. It should have been leaping about but instead it did another tour of splashing everyone. You could almost see the grin on its face!
We would've liked to have seen the next Shamu show but it would have meant too much zigzagging across the park so we decided to do the dolphins and everything else and then come back for Shamu Rocks America!
We had a quick peek in the Dolphin Nursery lots of little kiddies were listening to a talk so we kept going. I was beginning to feel a bit funny so we thought a sit down for the dolphin show might do me good. I liked this even more than Shamu, particularly the limboing dolphins. Roland hated the bit with the kiddie but then kiddies arent his favourite species. It was a little boy I wish I'd written his responses down because they were adorable but I didn't. The only one I can remember is Where are you from? Home. As usual, when his `mum´ fell in, I was looking the wrong way. By the way, for all of you whove been recently, the singer's still doing the same joke. After getting virtually no audience cheers when he went through the U.S. states, he tried countries and the biggest cheer was from the Brits If it wasn't for the Brits, I think Seaworld would be closed. That got him another cheer! And I got mixed up and cheered both Germany and Britain - `home´ is such a flexible term.
We had a look at Atlantis we'd intended doing it but I was beginning to feel really dodgy by then and Roland wasn't really bothered so we didn't go on. We thought the cool of Tropical Reef might help so in we went. We thought the fish, etc, were beautiful but the tanks seemed a bit small.
Coming out into the heat again I felt worse than ever but Roland's not just a pretty face He had the brilliant idea of eating something, which did eventually help. It took us a little while to find something but the smoked turkey rolls we had were divine. I wanted mine without cheese and the carver forgot so she threw both our sandwiches away and got a whole new huge breast off and then she rejected large chunks of it. The wedges (they were too big to be called slices) she then carved for our sandwiches were very succulent and delicious. Shed been quite surly up until then - maybe she liked our accents! We tried not to feel guilty about the amount she threw away it would have fed us for a week.
We went to the manatees next. I still didn't feel too good so it was slow progress. The manatees were so beautiful, so gentle I hope they survive what mankind's been doing to them.
We tried to see the alligators but they were well hidden and the dolphin underwater part had a conspicuous lack of dolphins so we went back to Dolphin Cove to look at our photos. The place was mobbed and we finally got to see why the pop group No Doubt was doing a photo shoot. (If like me the name means nothing, they sang `Hey Baby´ - you must have heard that one on the radio!) I spotted an opportunity to ingratiate myself with my beloved nephew Kai (its mutual, I'm his favourite aunty) by getting a photo of them. He wants to be a rock star and although he's more into Iron Maiden and the likes, I reckoned a photo would still go down well. The singer amazed me she looks really petite on the videos (well I think she does) but she's quite an Amazon in real life.
We went up to Wild Arctic then. I didnt want Roland to miss out on the simulator ride so I kept insisting I was ok to do it but after queuing for about five minutes Roland insisted we do the stationary version I looked that bad. He was SO right to insist. Even the stationary ride made me feel dizzy. Thankyou Roland! Well, what a horrible exhibit this was. I can't understand how Seaworld gets away with it. Their dolphin/whale/manatee treatment may be exemplary but their treatment of their polar bear and walruses should get them locked up preferably in similar conditions! The look in the polar bears eyes was horrific. It looked literally bored out of its poor mind. I did wonder if I was being overly sensitive and projecting my own feelings but I decided I might be right when I saw the walruses. They were swimming round in circles, the same high-speed circles, over and over and over and over again. It looked deranged. Nobody is ever going to convince me that they were doing it for fun. I'll get off my soapbox now. The memory still haunts me though.
We sat in front of the Shamu stadium then, writing postcards and appreciating the fact that it was finally a little cooler. And the combination of that and the food hitting my bloodstream meant I at last began to feel better. Hallelujah! If I had to do it all again, I'd reschedule things so that we didnt do two non-Disney days together. Forget Early Entry and E-nights! The biggest advantage of being on-site is the ease of going back to your room for a break, especially in that heat - at no time were we more aware of this than at Seaworld.
We got practically the same seats as last time for Shamu Rocks America! The show was good again, if a little short. Did I see the eagle at the end? Course not - heaven knows where I was looking then. As good as the show was, our favourite memory was what you might call the pre-show. There were lots of Seaworld employees walking round the stadium touting towels and the like. One man was carrying a large inflatable Shamu. He couldnt understand why everyone was laughing and pointing until he turned round the real Shamu was shadowing him. Wherever the man walked, the whale swam. It was hilarious! It wasnt until Shamu decided to launch himself backwards through the air that we saw just how much HEd liked the plastic Shamu. HE was very obviously a very happy whale, if you get my drift very impressive.
There werent any fireworks so we left the park right after the show. Considering the fact that everyone else did as well, things went very smoothly. The light was on in our room when we got back to Riverside. Just imagine, Mickeyd got fed up of sunbathing and was watching the Cartoon Network, propped up on some towels with the remote in one hand and Rolands crisps in the other. Thatll teach us to leave him on his own all day!
Next, Day 11 A new member of the family.
) and the resturants it surprises me we get anything done
. But, we do and the memories are lasting. Enjoying your writings and can't wait for the next one.
, but then I've never seen one in the wild to compare! does seem a little small with nothing to do though.
We really must have been separated in that test-tube all those years ago (or one less for you ) 
)
