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Photo TR: Sea World Orlando and a VERY important USO update!


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Shannon and I headed down to Florida this past week. For once, we had no intention of visiting the Orlando area, since this trip was all about using a free resort stay in Ormond Beach to relax and do as little as possible.

 

Obviously, plans changed slightly. On the day we were to visit nearby St. Augustine for a little sightseeing, we realized that there was some kind of huge music festival going on. When we spoke to someone about reservations for something we had planned up there, they were upfront and honest with us. They basically told us to stay away from the city since it'd be overcrowded and miserable for us. Now that's customer service!! When do you ever hear someone turn down business these days???

 

Anywho, enter craigslist. Since we already had tentative plans to possibly meet some friends for dinner at City Walk, and I had heard Ray was running, we agreed to make last minute itinerary changes and visit the world of the sea.....and adult beverage buyouts. Yay for half price tickets at the very last minute!

 

I'll make it simple. Ray (yes, I'm boycotting calling it what it doesn't actually showcase) was a lot of fun. I haven't ridden Tatsu for the American trifecta comparison, but Ray was a solid addition to the park from lift hill to brakes.

 

The queue is amazing, the sound effect during the move to the flying position was a nice touch, the midcourse leading into the splash had absolutely no effect on the pacing, and the splashdown effect itself worked flawlessly.

 

Aside from all that, the park is still amazing, and you'll get to see never-before-seen views of Ray! And since this was the site of one of the greatest shark movies ever captured on film, I'll set out to prove that some pictures work better when inspired by Jaws 3-D.

 

Oh, and stay tuned after the Sea World portion. There's BIG NEWS over at HRRRRRR.....and I have the picture to prove it! Seriously.

 

Enjoy!

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FOOTER!!!1!!!!

 

More thrilling Ray coverage to come. Stay tuned, but feel free to comment at any time.

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Hey, this looks like it's gonna be good.

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Once again, that's savethemanatee.org

 

 

Okay, sorry to go all treehuggin' hippie on ya there. It's over now, don't worry.

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savethemanatee.org

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This is the one area I seriously hope the park's sale doesn't effect in the future. Manatees from all up and down the east coast have a top notch rehabilitation that works around the clock to help save this endangered species.

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A great looking exhibit, if I do say so myself.

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Next up, the Manatee Rescue exhibit.

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Side note: Props to Sea World on this one. I tend to notice stuff like this for some odd reason, and I was impressed by their Disabled viewing area at this stadium.

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Step four: add a pinch of brightly colored backdrops, more dolphins, several macaws flying overhead, and stir until crowd applauds.

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Step three: make those guys dive off of Ray's zero car.

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Step two: add a couple guys in neon wetsuits with feather-like arm thingies.

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Step one: add dolphins.

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This is what you get when you mix Cirque du Soliel with a typical whale and dolphin show.

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Better.

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This picture sucks.

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Time to play "Find Joe's penguin." The first person to correctly find, circle and post it will receive a beer, on me....if we ever meet.

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Said exhibit sign.

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Ray, as viewed on the way to see the Penguin Encounter exhibit.

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Anyway, we both recommend Voyagers. Both the food, and the look of the place...as seen here.

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And there's "everyone's favorite." Indeed, it was quite tasty.

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Well, the desserts certainly look good.

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"Everyone's favorite," huh Sea World? Okay, you hooked me. Let's find out.

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And then it was time for lunchie munchies at Voyagers. This whole area was new to us, and this was the side entrance of what looked like a great counter service restaurant. Was it as great as it looked? Stay tuned.

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So after starting the day with a couple rides on Ray, we ventured over to The Seaport Theater to watch rescued dogs, cats, pigs, etc. perform. A pretty fun show for pet lovers like us.

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Ray, as seen from an unidentified location in the park. She's gorgeous from here.

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PIV H080, bitches. Hells yeah.

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Hey, Rick!

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No confirmed PMW.......yet.

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I like to call this "A group of palms surrounded by a new B&M flyer at Sea World Orlando." Catchy ain't it?

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Footer surrounded by water.

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One of the many reasons why we're here today. Get ready for some incredible new vantage points of this coaster. Larry, you may need to update the index soon!

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I promised more. I shall deliver.

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Thanks for viewing. We hope you enjoyed!

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We listened to a pretty decent cover group before heading out for the evening.

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I did not drink enough courage to attempt this yet.

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Hey, Matt.

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I seriously need one of these in the house.

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I'm pretty sure the guy on the right is responsible for Ray's "artwork."

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Heading back to Margaritaville, I saw nothing phallic. Nothing at all.

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But OMGZ!!!!11!!!!internettextstuff$((*..... it's already testing.....WITH RIDERS!!!!!!

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Construction update: Still constructing.

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.....I glanced over and noticed something in the distance. You can't tell from this picture, so since I had a few minutes to kill, I wandered in for a closer look.

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So we made our way over to Jimmy's place to grab one of those pager things while we waited for our table when.....

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There were a few people around.

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We left the park, did our best to freshen up a bit after record high temps, and cruised over to Universal. Since I generally enjoy bitching about parking prices, I'd like to do something different once.

 

I'd like to thank Universal for only charging $3 to park. When we entered, it was 6:15. When we left around 11:00, it seemed to be free. After hearing a report on the morning news before we left that UO had reported a loss of $17 million for the first three months of the year, it was nice to know they weren't trying to get it back from charging me to park.

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Oh, and Ray, as seen from the parking lot.

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And finally, an orgy of footers!

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Okay, we'll close out with several decent shots of Ray for ya.

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These signs were no more than ten feet apart.

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This, however, is a sea turtle.....and it is most certainly real.

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On the way out of the park, we stopped to get a Ray magnet, and found this. This is a plush representation of a Manta ray. For the record, you will not see an actual Manta ray in the Manta exhibit. I just wanted to be clear on that. ;)

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"Grrrr, don't be jealous, playas."

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The 'ole girl still ran smooth and great, and there was much rejoicing.

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Speaking of Kraken.

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Clyde and Seymore are still pirates. If it weren't for the funny trainers/actors and their cutting up like Jimmy Fallon in the middle of any skit he did, this show would have put me to sleep.

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Up next, the Sea Lion show....with Kraken's awesome Zero-G in the background.

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I have no idea what it cost, but if you'd like to be put in a cage surrounded by mostly non-threatening sharks, Sea World's Shark Encounter is the place for you.

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Off to the shark encounter.

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Nothing says oceans of the world better than miniature remote operated monster trucks.

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Hello, Rich.....for old time's sake. ;)

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New carousel credit for us.

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See? I'm not alone. 3-D Jaws pnws.

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....when this happened. Still one of my favorite things I've done over the years.

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It's time for a flashback to 1986....

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Damn straight.

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"It's all about the U!!!"

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Action shot.

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Speaking of which, here it is, sans Shamu.

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Ray, as seen from the top row of Shamu Stadium.

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"You mean we talkin' about some damn shark's mutha?"

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Ray, as seen from the bridge above the Undersea Kingdom. And speaking of which, remember, Overman was killed inside the park. The baby was caught inside the park. It's mother is inside the park.

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Theming.

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This is how I'm going to experience Sea World next time.

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This is what Ray looks like from the back of a dolphin.

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"Oh my God, the giant dolphin with rabies."

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Better.

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This picture sucks too.

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I really like what they've done with the crowd control here. Now you have to queue after paying, and then you're lead into the feeding area in big groups for about 10 minutes at a time. I don't know when this change was actually made, but I like it.

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We heart Key West.

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This is what Ray looks like from her vantage point.

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This is Erica, from West Virginia.

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Feeding dolphins never gets old....okay, except maybe for them. But that's an argument for the PETA thread.

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Nothing says oceans of the world better than miniature remote operated monster trucks.

 

To be fair, there was standing water on the track. If you added some fake wind, it could of been like "hurricane-themed" miniature remote operated monster trucks.

 

Great TR!

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Without a doubt one of the funniest photos I have ever viewed!!!

 

I seriously love the dedication to the cause in the fact it actually looks like you took a cut-out of the train and held it at the right angle to get the photo!!!!!!

 

P.S. I only say this cause I think I can see your thumb holding the photo and the image is focused on the train rather than the track.

 

 

Legend

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