SeaWorld, Orlando, Florida

Yesterday we visited SeaWorld. The kids did a price performance analysis of the Disney parks versus SeaWorld (Orlando) and Busch Gardens (Tampa). They decided it was a better bargain to do the 14 day pass at SeaWorld and Busch Gardens, as it cost less than half a similar Disney ticket. As you can see from Laura's write-up below, I think they made the right choice!

The large machine slowly made its way up the tracks. I looked down to see tiny little ants crawling down below us. One of the ants looks a lot like my mom… With Brian and Dad by my side, we start to descend down the tracks, and then… WHOOSH! We’re flying as we loop up into the sky and back down again. We soar past little people watching us as we sail past them. I can feel the water in my eyes leaving streaks against my skin from the amazing speed that we have reached. Then we make our way up a hill and start to slow down when suddenly we shoot downwards like a rocket. Again, we loop and drop and twirl through the crisp autumn air. Finally, our cart comes to a sudden stop, and the ride is over. We had just faced one of the top ten rollercoaster’s in the world: Kraken.

Yesterday at SeaWorld was one of the best days of the year. We started out by going directly to the Kraken without a second thought. As soon as we got there, we made our way through the empty waiting halls, until we came to the ride. There wasn’t a single person waiting in line, so we hopped onto the ride at least 3 times before we decided to go see the dolphin show. At the show, we made sure NOT to be in the splash zone (which was good thinking on our part) and watched as the lights flashed and the dolphins flipped as the music surrounded us with a beautiful melody. Then, we wanted to go try out a water ride near Kraken which looked pretty dry, for the most part. We wound our way through a dark and spooky tunnel until we saw some light from ahead. Then, without any notice, our boat soared downward, making a large tidal wave. Luckily, and amazingly, we didn’t get too wet, until someone decided to squirt us with a water gun. We thought the ride was over, but we were in for a surprise. Our boat went up another hill, and then we started to sail through another tunnel, going on rollercoaster tracks! It dropped us again into some water, but dad and I managed to stay dry. Brian on the other hand got his shoes soaking wet!

After that, we all were very hungry, so we went to a restaurant near the water. We were too late for the next show, so we decided to wait a while and go to the Pet show. The Pet show was very cute because ordinary animals like dogs, cats, and even rats were all in a cute little show. Plus, skunks, ducks, pigs, and much more were there too! Everything was like a domino effect, because as soon as one cat climbed up a ladder and into a window, a dog would come out and run to the other side of the stage, and so on.

When the Pet show was over, we had about 30 minutes to go look at the shark exhibit. They had a ton of sharks, and in one area, they had a moving sidewalk that had you in a hall surrounded by sharks. Some had large, sharp teeth, while some had noses like saws! There was so much to see, and tons of different kinds of sharks swimming around us! As we walked outside, we were looking into a little pool full of smaller sharks, when my dad pretended to grab me and push me in! Lucky for him, I let him off with a warning, but he’ll regret ever messing with Laura!

After the sharks, we went over to the show “Believe”, staring Shamu the whale. We were in the splash zone this time, but lucky for us we didn’t get wet! We had great seats though, so we got to see all of the people up close as they swam with the giant killer whales! It is truly amazing that people can swim with the greatest predators of the sea!

Once “Believe” was over, we quickly headed over to a Pirate show staring two Sea Lions! Before the show started, a mime came out to entertain the people who were there early. He was so disrespectful sometimes, you just had to laugh! The show was very entertaining, and the Sea Lions were simply brilliant! You could tell that the people just loved to do what they did. Once, the girl stuck her hand in a hole, and below her, someone else was supposed to stick their hand out of another hole. When that person did, they had a blue sleeve while the girl had a red sleeve. She looked down and started laughing. Finally she said, “You forgot to roll up your sleeve!” while holding back laughter! It was a great show, and very funny!

At the end, I made the family make a run for the Kraken before it closed. It still wasn’t very busy, so we went on at least three more times! We finally found where they took a picture of you on the ride, so we got some great pictures! Overall, it was a great day, and I’m hoping we can go to SeaWorld again!