Tonight, I went to see Hanson. I met Robert there. It was great to see him again.
I also went to see the chocolate creations at the Festival Center. My former co-worker at French Quarter created the Aviator display. All of the displays are made from chocolate including all the bears!
I used my long-range lens tonight, so I got some up and close pictures from the last row of the theater!
I made it to Aquatica a little after Noon. Aquatica is SeaWorldās Water Park. It reminded me of the outdoor portion of Fun City, but it was about 10 times the size of the Fun City. There are many enclosed slides. I saw one slide go through a tank where dolphins were swimming. There are two wave pools, a lazy river, and a fast river. There were many slides, but most of the slides had long lines. I saw dolphins, a tortoise, macaws, and a lizard-type animal.
I left around 2 p.m. and headed to Epcot. Typhoon Lagoon is still my favorite.
My exploration of other parks might be ending. I might go back to SeaWorld next Saturday. I donāt know.
I went to Epcot. I had a frozen Sāmores drink. I had more sugar in Brazil with some coconut candy. I had some peppercorn hash at the Farm Fresh kiosk.
The Craft Beer kiosk was moved into Odyssey. I had a muffaletta there and remembered watching the World Cup there. Then, I went to the Festival Center where the Visa Card man told me about the Visa card member lounge. It was back in the United States. I decided to go back, but I took a boat. It is still 90 degrees here. I found the lounge and waited in line to get in the door. After climbing a few flights of stairs, I made it up to the top floor of the American Adventure. It was neat to see. The card holders can mix their own drinks with those one machines. There is also a nice place to sit. I was there for about 5 minutes. I took the boat back.
In continuing to go to places I have not been in Orlando, I went to SeaWorld today.
1) Nothing compares to Disney. There are small differences that make a huge difference between the parks.
2) But SeaWorld was fun. I saw dolphins, penguins, seals, and whales. I enjoyed the underwater viewing areas. I really liked the penguins and dolphins swimming under water. I went to the Shamu show and to a dolphin show. Blackfish was in the back of mind during the shows. If you havenāt seen Blackfish, it is on Netflix and documents the death of a whale trainer in 2010 and other problems of SeaWorld. I did see a lot about conservation today and how SeaWorld helps animals. Other animals I saw included turtles, sharks, manatees, and birds.
There are a few rides. I did not go on any. As with Universal, the mix of rides, animals, and themes just seems disjointed. My friend told me that SeaWorld has some great things to see, but their storytelling is non-existent. I could see that.
I did enjoy the day, but I couldnāt see going there more than once a year at the most. I would rather go to see land animals like pandas (I went to the Beijing Zoo which is probably way worse in animal treatment than SeaWorld). I got into SeaWorld with the pass from last weekend. Normally, it would have been $95 plus tax and $17 parking, so I am glad I took advantage of the deal to see it once.
Wow! It is September 20th and I keep receiving gifts. My aunt and uncle were smart to send something via email, but I never checked the account. Today, I found their gift and other birthday coupons! Oops! Oh well, I have celebrated for almost a month now. It has been great! Last Tuesday, we celebrated my birthday during our team meeting and at Pizza Hut.
Thanks!
Today was the Florida Chamberās Trade and Logistics Roll out for Central Florida. The mayor and other āmover and shakersā in the trade and logistics industry were there. We went to Port Canaveral and took a tour of the port afterwards. It was neat to see a small, developing port.
It was Cast Member preview day today at Epcot. The Food and Wine Festival begins tomorrow!!
Yesterday, I went to the Orlando Iowa Clubās watch party of Iowa vs. Iowa State. I sat near a father/son from Council Bluffs. I ate a tenderloin for $6.95. It was great. The game didnāt come on until nearly the 2nd quarter. The ending is what to expect from Iowa. The Iowa State quarterback is good. Life goes onā¦..
I saw a decent deal for FL Residentās for Discovery Cove. I paid $149 for a day at Discovery Cove and then I get unlimited access to SeaWorld and Aquatica until January 31, 2015. I have never been to any of the parks.
Discovery Cove is operated by SeaWorld. It really looks like a resort. It has 3 to 4 main sections. There is an area to swim with the dolphins. That was extra, so I did not. I took some pictures though. There is an area to snorkel. In a section of that area you can pay extra to walk with a dive helmet on which I did not do. There is a monkey and otter area where you float by the animals. There is a river that goes through an aviary.
I snorkeled. Snorkeling is not my favorite thing, but it was neat to see hundreds of fish. At one point, 6 stingrays swam by me. I spoke to a lifeguard and she said that they are semi-clipped (de-stinged?). They canāt hurt anyone. I said that they were unfairly given a bad reputation when the Australian Steve Irwin died. She agreed and said it takes a lot to aggravate them. The coral reef was neat to see too. I saw some sharks, but they were behind a glass wall. It was neat, but I wouldnāt want to be under water my entire life. I really donāt want to ever scuba dive.
I did not see any monkeys. I did see some otters and some birds. The river was tough as it varied from 8 ft to 2 ft in depth. I thought I was a strong swimmer until I got to the 8 feet portion. I nearly found myself a life vest. I did obtain a noodle.
The park is not overly large. I think the best thing about the park is everything is included. All meals, snacks, lockers,parking, and wetsuits are included in the price. I still wouldnāt want to pay that much if I didnāt get to go to Sea World and Aquatica, but I did have 2 meals, 1 package of goldfish crackers, 2 pretzels, 2 packages of trail mix, 3 Dasani waters, 2 decaf coffees, and multiple slushies (even Fanta Banana).
Although the park had some neat concepts like swimming in an aviary and swimming by otters, I wouldnāt recommend this over Disney World. Typhoon Lagoonās lazy river is better. The āGrand Reefā was not so much better than Typhoon Lagoonās Shark Reef to pay $100 to $300 more to go to Discovery Cove, but you canāt swim with dolphins at Disney and also Discovery Cove only allows like 1,000 people in a day. It seemed that mostly foreigners and FL residents were there.
It has rained the entire weekend. I did manage to do some things.
Here are a few more pictures:
(āFallā has arrived in Orlando. You can see the new dock in the Marketplace and the walkway between the Marketplace and Saratoga Springs. You can also see the new huts/ rooms at The Polynesian.)
