SeaWorld Part Deux

We made it to SeaWorld at 10 am due to the fact that I took forever getting ready this morning (I was so tired after not getting to bed until after midnight) and there was a nail in my tire so we had to get it patched.

We spent another four hours walking around the park. It was nice because it was a lot less crowded compared to yesterday and we got closer parking. Plus I just love animals so SeaWorld has always been my favorite place in Orlando to visit.

We saw the dolphin show and visited areas of the park we missed yesterday like the dolphin nursery. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I swear that’s where the old dolphin feeding pool was, because the current one didn’t seem familiar. It’s been a long long time since my last visit to SeaWorld Orlando, though, so I might be mistaken. I wish they’d add an underwater viewing area to the nursery, though. They have it roped off so you can’t get close to the edge, so it’s hard to see much at all.

The dolphin show, Blue Horizons, was decent, but I noticed a trend at the animal parks and zoos: the dolphins do less tricks than they did in the past. I’m sure it’s so that they lessen the opportunity for the animals to get tired and/or hurt, but it’s a bit disappointing. I remember as a kid going to Brookfield Zoo and watching the dolphins jump higher and higher to hit the ball they had lowered on a cable from the ceiling. Now you’re lucky if they jump out of the water five times in a show.

We ate lunch in the Hospitality Center near the Anheuser-Busch Clydesdales and fed the White Ibis that hung around looking for scraps. They give out free beers there, so make note. I didn’t have any, but Joe did. Two in fact. What a lush!

For dinner, we ate at Amigos Restaurant and Cantina on nearby International Drive. I enjoyed the cheese enchilada as well as the chips and salsa, but I wasn’t impressed with the tacos because I feel “real” tacos should be made from soft corn shells, not hard corn ala Taco Bell.

Tomorrow we’re visiting Animal Kingdom and maybe MGM, possibly even the Magic Kingdom since I want to ride Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad again. It will be the ultimate park-hopping extravaganza. Might as well use the option since we paid extra to add the park hopping to our tickets and have yet to use it. It will be a good way to spend our last day in Orlando.

P.S. It ocurred to me today that other than the Shamu show, there’s no way to view the killer whales. That sucks considering the Orca is SeaWorld’s mascot.

P.P.S. I forgot to mention this yesterday but the Shamu ice cream bars suck. The Mickey bars kick Shamu’s ass. I plan to have a Mickey ice cream tomorrow. Have to end the trip on a high note you know! :)