Friday, December 19, 2008

Our Vacation to Florida - Day 5

Today we went to SeaWorld. This was what I was looking forward to the whole trip! Our first encounter was at Turtle Point. We got to see endangered and threatened species of Sea Turtles. They were turtles who were injured.

Our next stop was Stingray Lagoon. They are slimy little buggers!! They have a mucus covering to help them against disease. Sean and Ray fed them. Katie wasn't interested in touching the little fish.

We wandered over to Dolphin Cove. The dolphins were so close! You are able to feed the dolphins for an additional cost. (Don't forget to bring cash... they don't accept Visa or MasterCard) We decided to come back and feed the dolphins the next day after we stopped at MAC to get cash. We did go to the underwater viewing section and saw those magnificent animals playing. They are so graceful and beautiful!
Next it was onto the Manatee Rescue. We lucked out. It was feeding time. It's amazing to know they only eat spinach and lettuce!

We had the awesome experience of feeding the sea lions and seals. They are loud creatures, especially when they are hungry! The birds were trying to grab the fish before the seals and sea lions. They are definitely pests!

Our timing was pretty good! They were about to start the "Blue Horizon" Dolphin Show. There were acrobats, dolphins, and birds. Katie and I sat in the front row of the SPLASH ZONE! We got wet, but it wasn't too bad. Katie posed with some of the actors after the show.

Onto Journey of Atlantis. It is a water coaster ride. Ray, Sean, and Katie got the "pleasure" of going on this ride... I was more than happy to sit this one out! The ride lets you off in the gift shop (like they all do...). Inside the gift shop is an aquarium. There are fish in the floor, ceiling, and walls. It was really cool!

The kids decided they needed to "kick it up a notch" and go on a REAL ride! They went on the Kraken. It is the longest roller coaster in Orlando! It has twists and turns and it made me very nervous!!! The kids had a blast!

After the Kraken, we journeyed through the Penguin Encounter. The Fiordland Crested Penguins were hysterical! They were diving and swimming around like little kids. The King Penguins moved in miltary like formation.
Our next adventure was going into the Shark Encounter. The moving sidewalk through the shark tank was great! The sharks were swiming aside and ABOVE us. When we went outside, Katie got to feed the some of the smaller sharks. They didn't seem too hungry. It was a little dissapointing.

We decided to take in a show... A'lure - The Call of the Ocean. The acrobats were AMAZING! It was a great show!

They have some Clydesdale Horses on site. Those horses are stunning! They are so large and powerful. Ray and Katie got their picture taken with one (named Kelly). They also got to pet it.

Next stop was Katie's favorite: The Wild Arctic. There was a brief exhibit of the Polar Express. Then it was off the the Beluga Whales, Polar Bears, & Walruses. They have to keep it cold for the animals. There was actual ice on the walls! Katie did a report on Beluga Whales earlier in the year at school, so she was THRILLED to see actual Belugas. We spent a lot of time there! It was hard to take pictures there because of the lighting.

We were able to make it to the Shamu Christmas Miracles Show. It's amazing what those whales can do! We made sure NOT to sit in the SPLASH ZONE for this show!!!

We did A LOT this day! Katie just passed out after her shower.

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