The Tale of the Grow Walk ….Hunh? photo Report

[bert425]

In the end she did enjoy it and told me after we got home it was one of her favorite things....go figure.

 

then it was worth every penny then

 

 

Yep...but it would've been nice if she told me that DURING the party!

 

children!

 

 

(yeah. . that's why our baby has 4 legs and fur )

[jenseib]

We next headed over to the Magic Kingdom. We had some fast passes to use! We took the monorail over and then entered and went directly to get a locker to put her doll and a few extra things in.

Then we headed down Main Street and stopped for a few photos.

 

 

As you may have noticed, she is still wearing her party dress…..there is a reason why.

 

 

Oh yeah, I was wearing another pair of hoochie momma shorts today too.

 

 

 

 

I always try and ask for magic shots when I think about it. Some are more than happy to do it, some are reluctant and some tell me no.

 

 

 

 

 

Off we go! And it was hot again today, I am not sure why some people are wearing sweatshirts.

 

 

And we stopped again for more pictures…and we got a photobomber bubble!

 

 

 

And as we entered the hub, the Move It Shake It parade was coming around.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We didn’t stay to watch, but of course I got a few pictures of it.

 

It was time for our FP+!

We headed right over as we were going to meet some princesses. I bet you can guess who!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yep! We just had to get a picture of Claire with Rapunzel!

 

 

I want to thank my dear friend Janet for loaning us this dress…without it we never would’ve gotten this special picture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Needless to say, Rapunzel was very impressed with the dress.

 

 

 

 

The other Princess in the room was Snow White! She loved Claire’s dress as well and they had to do some twirling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That was fun. Before I would let Claire change out of the dress there was one more spot I needed to go.

 

 

It’s important to get Rapunzel in front of her tower.

 

 

And of course near her bathrooms!

 

 

 

 

We then got Claire changed into some comfy clothes and headed out to find some more fun.

 

My next picture shows Splash, but we didn’t ride it. I think we might’ve went to go see how long the wait was as this is a favorite of Claire’s and it must’ve been too long.

 

 

We then decided we wanted a snack. We headed over towards the Dole Whip stand, but it was still crazy crowded so we went to the little stand near the Aladdin Flying Carpets and got a Citrus Swirl. This was a first for us, but I had read about them and it did not disappoint at all.

 

 

We sat near the exit to the Tiki Room and enjoyed it without too many people bothering us.

 

We then set off towards the Hub.

 

 

 

If your remember…Today was the day I had FP+ for the new parade, but the system messed up and only had Claire showing up as having one. I wanted to check with a CM in the area to be sure all was fine and that I would be able to get in. The CM I talked to said it would be fine and to find her when it was time to go in.

We still had a little more time to waste and Claire wanted to go see the laugh floor again so we did that. We got out just a little before our parade viewing FP time was to open so we headed straight back there and found our special CM and she let us in.

It was already getting crowded. I was shocked…we weren’t late at all, right on time, but evidently they allowed people in much earlier than the set time. I worried we wouldn’t find a good spot to see the parade as all along the rope it was already full. I found a family with a little bit of space and a stroller parked next to them so we decided to stand behind the stroller as we would not be blocking anyone’s view. Well I guess I picked the wrong spot. It was a family with the grandparents along as well. All were sitting along the ground, except Grandpa, who was nowhere in sight. Grandma turns to me about 5 minutes or so after we have been standing there and says that we are in Grandpa’s spot, so when he returns we will have to allow him in. I say OK, but there really was more than enough room. The lady next to her looks at her and at me and says “I can scoot over and your daughter can sit on the ground next to me”. I thank her profusely and Claire goes and sits down. Grandma gives that lady some dagger eyes. Not sure why it was such a big deal, but I guess it was to her.

Grandpa comes around and says I am in his spot could he please get his drink…sure thing! I move over a bit and there is still room for both of us, but I can see he will block my view. Grandma has a satisfied look. After about 45 seconds Grandpa gets impatient and walks off….never to come back to his “spot” again. He walked around the area the whole time the parade was on, so I lucked out, but I am sure that made Grandma annoyed. LOL!

 

While waiting for the parade I was texting back and forth with my friend Janet. I think she was as excited as I was for the 2nd viewing of the parade! LOL!

I took this picture while I waited.

 

 

It would’ve been a cool picture if it didn’t have the darn crane in it, so I played with photoshop and though it’s not perfect in any way, this is my fixed version.

 

[jenseib]

In the end she did enjoy it and told me after we got home it was one of her favorite things....go figure.

 

then it was worth every penny then

 

 

Yep...but it would've been nice if she told me that DURING the party!

 

children!

 

 

(yeah. . that's why our baby has 4 legs and fur )

 

 

Exactly!

[jenseib]

Soon the parade was getting ready to start!

 

 

 

And then we wait!

 

 

 

 

 

And a little bit of bad video off my phone as it was getting ready to start!

 

 

I see the Beast!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our spot yesterday was actually better and I am so glad we had seen it then too. With everything coming around the corner of the circular hub it was harder to get shots.

 

 

 

 

Today I actually captured Cinderella and Prince Charming.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then the two sisters!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today I didn’t get Tiana and Naveen though.

 

Next up, Rapunzel’s group.

 

 

 

 

 

Today I was also trying to get a few more phone pictures so I could text them to Janet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I did get a few better shots of Flynn today.

 

 

 

 

Now time to get Under the Sea!

 

 

 

That darn Ariel did not want to look my way today though.

 

 

 

 

 

And now for some Lost Boys!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Again, today, they all had fabulous expressions as well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I swear I can never get a good front shot of Mr. Smee.

 

 

 

And another one of our favorites was next…..Merida!

 

 

 

 

LOVE the hair!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I see the Dragon!

 

 

Will today be the day to see fire?

 

 

His head has lifted and I see smoke!!!!!!!!!

 

 

YES!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

Sadly he was still coming around the corner so I didn’t get the best shots, but I sure was happy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was hoping he would blow again, but no such luck.

 

 

 

 

 

The next group was on its way!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Everyone loves the Dwarves

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pinocchio!

 

 

 

 

 

Love the balloon hair!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I just love these girls!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi Mickey!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And that was another fabulous parade. I do think our spot yesterday was actually much better. With the preferred spot I have found you really need to get there even earlier than the time says if you want to be along the rope. I would probably prefer to be right where they enter the hub as well since I think getting pictures would be easier there.

 

We were so happy that we had gotten to see this parade twice and it is on our favorite list now and probably our favorite of the now existing parades left at WDW.

 

I am not exactly sure where we headed next….. probably to make a bathroom stop somewhere, but we got behind this CM carrying this tub…and it was full of food! (I think it was corn).

 

 

 

Did I mention it was crowded?

 

 

I can’t tell you how many times people would just stop right in front of us and we would basically step on them as we were all in motion still. Or we would try to pass them and they would seem to double in size almost every time making it impossible to pass.

 

We now were working our way to our next FP+ of the day.

 

 

And yes, it had something to do with a special mermaid.

 

 

But wait, there’s the Mine Train!

 

 

Ok, not the actual Mine Train, but it was exciting to see more of it than I had in 2012.

[bert425]

Is there more to this report Jen?

 

I've been anxiously awaiting, as I love looking at your pics

 

(and yes, I've been following along on the Solo and Unleashed one too)

[jenseib]

Is there more to this report Jen?

 

I've been anxiously awaiting, as I love looking at your pics

 

(and yes, I've been following along on the Solo and Unleashed one too)

 

 

Oh yes there is. I went away for a week on a cruise with my Mom and tomorrow my oldest daughter is having her baby, so it's been a little crazy around here. I posted on the other one today but it might take me a few days to get another update on this....as I don't think I have anymore written up yet. But I do have a ton of the pictures edited. I do promise to finish this....it just might take me a bit.

[jenseib]

Ok, I lied...I did have some written up that I forgot about...so I will post that now.

[jenseib]

We didn’t have too long of a wait for Ariel, thank goodness, and she is one of Claire’s favorites.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yeah, we got a lot of Ariel pictures. At least it was nice and cool in there!

 

Time to head back out to the crowds.

 

 

 

She’s smiling for me now because she just saw one of her favorite characters.

 

 

 

 

 

I was really obsessed with taking pictures of this castle.

 

 

 

 

The line didn’t look too bad so we hopped in to see Ariel’s adventure!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We really were constantly moving most of the line, so my shots are pretty quick ones as I walked by.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And this time I did refrain from taking pictures as I now have so many of this ride…but I still took a couple at the end.

 

 

[bert425]

Is there more to this report Jen?

 

I've been anxiously awaiting, as I love looking at your pics

 

(and yes, I've been following along on the Solo and Unleashed one too)

 

 

Oh yes there is. I went away for a week on a cruise with my Mom and tomorrow my oldest daughter is having her baby, so it's been a little crazy around here. I posted on the other one today but it might take me a few days to get another update on this....as I don't think I have anymore written up yet. But I do have a ton of the pictures edited. I do promise to finish this....it just might take me a bit.

 

hehe. . I didn't mean to guilt you into it!

 

but thrilled to see an update

[jenseib]

Is there more to this report Jen?

 

I've been anxiously awaiting, as I love looking at your pics

 

(and yes, I've been following along on the Solo and Unleashed one too)

 

 

Oh yes there is. I went away for a week on a cruise with my Mom and tomorrow my oldest daughter is having her baby, so it's been a little crazy around here. I posted on the other one today but it might take me a few days to get another update on this....as I don't think I have anymore written up yet. But I do have a ton of the pictures edited. I do promise to finish this....it just might take me a bit.

 

hehe. . I didn't mean to guilt you into it!

 

but thrilled to see an update

 

 

LOL. No guilting...I need to get moving. I hate when life gets in the way...though today was the excpetion with the birth of my first grandaughter who is just cute as a button!

[bert425]

Is there more to this report Jen?

 

I've been anxiously awaiting, as I love looking at your pics

 

(and yes, I've been following along on the Solo and Unleashed one too)

 

 

Oh yes there is. I went away for a week on a cruise with my Mom and tomorrow my oldest daughter is having her baby, so it's been a little crazy around here. I posted on the other one today but it might take me a few days to get another update on this....as I don't think I have anymore written up yet. But I do have a ton of the pictures edited. I do promise to finish this....it just might take me a bit.

 

hehe. . I didn't mean to guilt you into it!

 

but thrilled to see an update

 

 

LOL. No guilting...I need to get moving. I hate when life gets in the way...though today was the excpetion with the birth of my first grandaughter who is just cute as a button!

 

Yah. . i realized that I forgot to say "Congrats Gramma!"

 

glad to hear the baby is doing great!

[jenseib]

Thanks so much. I can tell she will be taking up some of my free time as she is just so darn cute!

 

[jenseib]

After taking our ride Under the Sea, we moved on. We still had a little time before our dinner ADR, so we decided to just check out the area. We ran into these clowns right by the Storybook Circus area.

 

 

 

 

I have never heard about them and I don’t know if they are there all the time or just during busy seasons. I have not read of anyone else encountering them since I have been back either.

 

There is a good chance we went in there to look around.

 

 

And I guess we watched the train go by.

 

 

Soon it was time to head back toward Be Our Guest for the 2nd ADR of the trip.

We found a photopass photographer and had a few pictures taken.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We made it over and checked in and my parents were waiting for us as well. While we waited I tried for that perfect castle shot I am always trying to get.

 

 

 

We did have to wait a little bit, but soon we were called in and today we were seated in the ballroom.

 

 

Our server was much more friendly today and she told us to look on the ceiling and see if we could find the hidden Mickey and the hidden Minnie. I looked directly up and asked of that was it and she looked at me in awe and asked if I had known where it was. I told her no, but I just looked up and he stood out. LOL. She said that was the fastest anyone has ever found it before.

 

Can you see it?

 

 

I kept looking for Minnie, but was have troubles finding her. The server told us where to look and Mom and Claire could find her, but I just couldn’t see it.

 

We looked over our menus and decided what to have tonight.

 

 

And we dug into the rolls.

 

 

Claire went with steak….again. But she loves steak so as long as she is happy and filling her belly, that’s all good with me.

 

 

Mom and dad decided to share tonight. They had actually gone to Sci Fi for lunch earlier today. They were able to get a walk up reservation and were seated within minutes. I was shocked. They were still somewhat full so they decided to just share the Chicken Breast Provencal - pan-seared and simmered in a rustic blend of heirloom tomatoes, olives, white wine and fresh herbs with seasonal vegetables and roasted fingerling potatoes…which they substituted for mash potatoes.

 

 

I got the steak tonight as well and I think I substituted the pommes frites for mash potatoes as well.

 

 

Our dinner was very good once again.

 

For dessert, Claire ordered the Triple Chocolate Cupcake - chocolate sponge cake, chocolate mousse filling, and chocolate ganache. She wanted the strawberry one again, but I told her she had to have something different and we could share.

 

 

I went with the Strawberry Cream Cheese Cupcake - - vanilla sponge cake, strawberry mousse filling, and cream cheese icing this time.

 

 

Both were fabulous and I could go to BOG just for dessert alone!

 

While we were eating Claire could see the portrait in the west wing and she could see it change to the beast every so often. She would tell me and I would look and it was always back to the Prince before I got a glance. I think it became a game for her and she thought it was so funny that I could never catch it in beast form.

After we ate we went in the west wing and I tried to wait for the portrait to change….but of course it never did while I was watching.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The hidden Minnie is in here. I can’t see her right now. I know that part of her head has the bow. I never saw it at the restaurant and it was only after being home that I saw it in someone elses picture. I think she might be upside down in this picture and I will have to stare at it a bit to see it again.

 

 

Maybe this way shows it better???

 

 

Claire did not want to get her picture with Beast again tonight but I made her do it anyways. She grumbled a bit, but I told her too bad. My parents left and Claire and I got in line.

 

 

 

 

Doesn’t she look thrilled.

 

 

There…now we got a smile out of her.

 

 

 

 

 

And once again we headed out the “wrong” way and went to the bathrooms….and no one said a word to us.

 

 

 

And you just have to get a picture of the pantless Prince.

 

[jenseib]

We must’ve hit up the Rapunzel area next.

 

 

We had left our sweatshirts in the car which was parked at the GF, so we decided we would go back and get them as it was starting to get chilly out. I had thought about buying new ones, but I decided we would wait till the end of the trip to get them so I didn’t have extra bulk in my suitcase for the cruise…..and then I could never find the one I wanted….of course.

 

 

 

The waterless moat.

 

 

We had thought about getting a light up hat for Claire, but in all honesty she would only wear it 5 minutes so we passed on that.

 

 

I am always trying for a balloon shot.

 

 

We stopped off at the locker to pick up some things to take back to the car and jumped on the monorail back to the GF.

 

 

We got our jackets and dropped off our junk and headed back towards the park.

 

 

There was some sort of emergency going on, but I no longer remember what it was.

 

 

We decided to go into Basin to look for some bath bombs. I had been promising to get Claire some and this seemed like a good time. We each picked out 3 big ones and paid for our purchases. Claire said she would only use them for special times. She still has 1 of her 3 left. I have asked a few times if she is ready to use it and she tells me she isn’t wasting it on whatever occasion it is I want her to bath. LOL.

 

We hopped back onto the monorail and back to MK. We stopped back at the locker to drop off our new purchases there to make my bag less heavy.

 

 

We walked by Aloha Isle and there wasn’t too long of a line so we got a Dole Whip Float to share.

 

 

Claire was complaining that we hadn’t been on the Jungle Cruise yet so we hopped in line. It was at least a 30 minute wait, probably longer, but everything had long lines so if we wanted to ride anything we had to suck it up.

 

 

 

 

 

And of course we have to hit my favorite ride.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can never have too many pirate pictures…..but I did try to get different angels this time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is always a family favorite. Skip’s brother used to be a big drinker of rum (he no longer drinks) and he loves cats. We often call this pirate Dave because he is drinking his rum and saying “here kitty kitty kitty” and I swear he says it in the same tone that Dave would.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After that, Claire and I sat down for a bit. It was still so busy and we were so tired. We discussed calling it a day and heading back to the Marriott. We decided that is what we would do. But then we got to talking about Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Claire asked if she liked it and I told her she has in the past, but sometimes she acts like it is too fast for her. We decided we would walk by and check out the wait before heading out.

SCORE! It was only a 10 minute wait. People were now starting to clear out of the park. YAY!

 

 

 

I played the “where are we” game and posted pictures to facebook and no one could get it figured out.

 

 

 

 

[TBpony414]

The first photopass picture of you and Claire outside Be Our Guest is a framer for sure! You both look so genuinely happy and I love the little teacups at the bottom. The first magic shot of Claire holding Chip is really cute too and she's actually smiling in this one too, not grinning and bearing it LOL. What is a bath bomb?

[jenseib]

The first photopass picture of you and Claire outside Be Our Guest is a framer for sure! You both look so genuinely happy and I love the little teacups at the bottom. The first magic shot of Claire holding Chip is really cute too and she's actually smiling in this one too, not grinning and bearing it LOL. What is a bath bomb?

 

 

thanks. yes, every so often she will actually do a real smile!

 

A bath bomb is like a perfumed fizzing thing to put in your bath water. Usually they also moisturize...and turn the water the color they are...which is the highlight for Claire.

[jenseib]

We had to take a picture of Skittish Skip.

 

 

And we posted it to facebook too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well there were no worries….Claire loved it this time around.

 

 

 

 

She loved it so much that she wanted to ride it again. Yay!!!!

This time the line was a little longer, probably about 20 minutes now.

 

 

 

 

Fireworks were going off now, which I think is one of the reasons why the line was not too bad.

 

 

It also had started to sprinkle, but we were fine with that.

We got loaded and this time in the front car.

 

 

We laughed the whole time as we got bulleted with some rain. Sprinkles feel like pellets as you whiz around the mountain. There was also a spot that had a drip and wouldn’t you know I got a nice big drip right on my head. Claire loved that part.

 

That was a lot of fun, but the rain, though light, was steady and we decided to make our way towards the front.

 

 

 

As we got to the front I saw a photopass photographer and decided to ask him to take our picture, but I wanted the backside to get our jackets. This guy just didn’t get it. I kept saying I want the Disneyland logo to show and he gave us a deer in the headlights look. This is what we ended up with.

 

 

 

 

I had to crop it down to get closer to show the backs of our jackets.

 

 

 

He probably thought we were strange wearing Disneyland jackets at Disney World…..but that was the whole point. LOL.

 

We started to move on and the castle show started so we stopped to watch a bit.

 

 

 

 

I tried not to get in others way, but others weren’t so polite and we had to move several times as it seemed like we attracted the umbrella people and they would stop to watch directly in front of us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Of course they had some Frozen added in and Claire loved it.

 

 

 

 

Did I mention how much I dislike umbrellas? I know they are allowed, but seriously, if you are stopping for a show, you should really put them down so others can see too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With that we went up front to our locker.

 

 

And out to the monorail.

 

 

And back to the Grand Floridian to get our car.

 

 

The rain had pretty much stopped now and Claire said her feet hurt and asked if she could take off her shoes.

 

 

We walked back to the car and set Siri to get us back to the Marriott. Once we got on the main road it was now becoming easier to get to the Marriott and I could find my own way.

 

I believe Claire fell asleep in the car as we drove and then we both went right to bed when we got to the room. Of course I had turned on the TV to catch up on the missing Malaysia plane.

 

One thing I don’t think I mentioned today. Skip would be flying down Thursday to meet up with us. He and Claire were to be sailing on birth certificates, but I told him his was so old and raggedy that he should get a new one. I had pestered him about this for a few weeks before the trip. Well… today he decided to go and do it. He also planned to buy some new pants as he thinks I am shrinking all of his clothes……it’s not me making them shrink! LOL.

So he called to tell me I told him the wrong address but they gave him the correct one to go to. OK, good! Then he later calls to tell me that the truck is broke down and he has to call a tow truck and he is not going to be getting a new birth certificate. UGH! I just knew he was going to blame this on me somehow. But he did say “remember that thing the truck did to you last year” Yes I did…and he blamed me back then for doing something wrong, even though I had not touched anything. “Well that’s the problem…and we have been having it for a year and we just never got it fixed and now it went totally out”. So it never was my fault…. I knew it!!!!!

 

So it looked like Skip was going to have to take his chances with the old worn birth certificate.

[bert425]

hehe..

 

that's some "unfortunate" placement of Elsa in the Disneyland Jackets pic!

 

(she looks like she's about to pinch your butts )

[TBpony414]

I forgot to mention in my last comment when reading about you not wanting to get a jacket you liked at a certain time so you wouldn't have to deal with hauling it around the rest of the trip. Upon reading that I immediately yelled out loud "NO!! Get it now or you won't be able to find it later, which happens every single trip!" LOL and then the next sentence you wrote something about never getting it. Ack! The matching Disneyland jackets are nice though.

[jenseib]

hehe..

 

that's some "unfortunate" placement of Elsa in the Disneyland Jackets pic!

 

(she looks like she's about to pinch your butts )

 

 

LOL! I had not noticed that....it's kind of funny!

[jenseib]

I forgot to mention in my last comment when reading about you not wanting to get a jacket you liked at a certain time so you wouldn't have to deal with hauling it around the rest of the trip. Upon reading that I immediately yelled out loud "NO!! Get it now or you won't be able to find it later, which happens every single trip!" LOL and then the next sentence you wrote something about never getting it. Ack! The matching Disneyland jackets are nice though.

 

Yep...and I know better, but you would think in March they would still have plenty of the 2014 jackets left....and they did in the parks...it was DTD that was sold out and at that point I didn't have a park ticket left. I was so mad at myself, but figured I would just order one online. Luckily when I went in Aug I found it the first night at CBR and bought it then and there!

[jenseib]

Day 5, March 25, 2014, Tuesday

 

Today we were not going to Disney! I know, it’s a complete shock! But I had free tickets to Sea World burning a hole in my pocket. This was also the day I arranged to have a tour of Discovery Cove. My parents were going to go to Sea World as well.

 

I got up early as always and I am sure I walked the grounds a bit, but this is the only picture I have to show for it.

 

 

We all got ready and headed off to Sea World, which was basically just around the corner. It’s very close to the Marriott Grand Vista.

 

 

We drove separately because my parents like to leave early.

Claire and I had to get in line to redeem my vouchers.

 

 

 

When we got the tickets, I asked how to get the shuttle to Discovery Cove and she told me where to go and it sounded easy enough.

 

Tickets in hand, we were ready to enter.

 

 

 

 

Manta went over our head.

 

 

Manta is a coaster that tilts you to your tummy so it appears you are flying under the track…..I wondered what idiot would even think about riding that. Well…. Claire asked to ride it and I told her there is no way she would like that. She was just beginning to like Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and this was a big step up.

 

We moved on and found the flamingos……and those that have read reports by me before know that I have an obsession with flamingos and tend to take a lot of pictures of them.

 

 

 

 

 

We already had to make a potty break…God forbid we actually walk in more than 10 steps. LOL.

 

We found some rays swimming around.

 

 

 

 

 

We made our way to the back of the park.

 

 

Not our kind of ride (or at least mine as I hate getting wet), but fun to watch.

 

 

I wanted to see penguins.

 

 

 

 

 

We got in line for the penguin empire ride. It was something like an hour long wait. I was messaging my friend Brook and she told me it was nice, but not worth that long of a wait. I worried too as time would run out and I had to leave by a certain time to go to Discovery Cove. We ended up getting out and trying to find out if we could just see the penguins without going on the ride. Every TM I asked told me no. That is kind of a bummer. They told me we could skip the ride and go directly in to see the penguins, but we still had to wait in that line.

We just decided we would check back later.

 

 

We found the Sea Lions and watched them for a little bit.

 

 

 

And we were already hungry and I didn’t want to be starving while touring Discovery Cove, so we went in search of lunch.

 

 

The selection in there really wasn’t all that great, but we decided to share chicken. It looked like some decent portions.

 

 

Well it wasn’t. It was mostly crust with very little meat in there at all.

 

 

Claire is a mash potato junky so I basically only got a taste of that as well.

 

We also got the refillable mug for the day. Actually I found they had a better deal for one nearer the front. This one had discounted refills but the other one had better discounts at other spots in the park.

 

As we sat there I did get to see a penguin…..just not the kind I thought I would.

 

 

 

While we sat there I called Mom and Dad and they met up with us. They were going to take Claire now. We still had a little bit of time, so we headed into a small aquarium.

 

 

Fish were swimming below our feet.

 

 

And above our heads.

 

 

 

 

 

That’s my dad’s hand photobombing the picture.

 

 

 

 

 

It wasn’t a very big aquarium, but it still had some neat things to see.

 

And then I was off to the front to catch the shuttle.

 

 

 

[TBpony414]

Flying coasters (like Manta) are not as crazy as they look! If Claire was still getting used to WDW coasters though, Manta would scare the pants off her. Journey to Atlantis (the boat one) is actually one of my favorite rides and if you like Splash Mountain you'd be fine on it. It doesn't get you that wet and it's part log flume part roller coaster. Next time ride it!! I LOVED Sea World when I was there 10+ yrs ago. Lots has changed since then so I'm excited to see your pics.

[jenseib]

Flying coasters (like Manta) are not as crazy as they look! If Claire was still getting used to WDW coasters though, Manta would scare the pants off her. Journey to Atlantis (the boat one) is actually one of my favorite rides and if you like Splash Mountain you'd be fine on it. It doesn't get you that wet and it's part log flume part roller coaster. Next time ride it!! I LOVED Sea World when I was there 10+ yrs ago. Lots has changed since then so I'm excited to see your pics.

 

 

I'll give you a spoiler....Manta did NOT scare the pants off of her....much to my surprise!

 

I will have to ride it some day. But I don't even like the little bit you get wet on Splash!

 

Sea World does have a lot of stuff to do and we still haven't covered it all yet.

[jenseib]

I ran into these guys and they just were so funny looking so I had to stop and take some pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And a walk by the crazy Manta.

 

 

Oh there are the flamingoes again!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh…this is Sea World’s 50th Anniversary as well. I found out later there was an app you could download and do sort of a treasure hunt for a prize. I never told this to Claire as I didn’t want to spend the day looking for things. LOL. I did however look for a 50th anniversary magnet and there wasn’t any.

 

 

 

I walked along the side and found the shuttle stop and picked up the phone and told the person who answered that I wanted to go to Discovery Cove. They asked how many and I told them 1 and they said a shuttle was on the way.

 

As I waited I saw a little bus arrive and unload a lady in a wheel chair. She was with her husband and they asked if this is where they catch the shuttle to DC. I told them yes and that I had called but they did ask how many would be going, so perhaps they should call too. So they did.

 

Soon the shuttle arrived and the driver was super nice, but she was working her tail off. She got the lady loaded and we all said DC and then she looked at the couple’s info. They were older and not from the US. And very confused. They did not have DC included in their package. The driver told them they could go to Aquatica or Sea World but not DC. They decided on Aquatica, but they asked a ton of questions. They were nice, but I was now watching my time tick and I didn’t want to be late….good thing I had left a little early.

 

Finally we were on our way, but wouldn’t you know, we had to drop them off first and then me. I ended up arriving to DC right on time without a minute to spare…but at least I made it!