A Hop, NO Skip and Many Mishaps to a Disney Dream

[TriciaEMTB]

Best ride at seaworld! d'oh!

[mrsbuddha123]

I have been following your thread and I ordered from the Southern Pineapple after seeing your gifts. I loved the tote for my daughter made me a bit jealous I didn't order one for myself. I too purchased dress up for my daughter who is 12 Tiana and Belle. You ladies make everything seem so effortless but I know lots went into your preparation. Our trip is the Dream followed by 5 days at the Boardwalk Inn. Again I just wanted to thank you for the details you have provided. Your suggestions have enhanced our trip plan!

[shoppgirl]

I have been following your fabulous trip report and have not posted until now. I love your story telling and I couldn't help but laugh along at your dad's story. I'm lucky no one is around me right now, because I seriously laughed out loud! Your poor dad. I hope that he was able to laugh along with you as you relayed your story many times afterwards! :D

 

Thanks for sharing your stories and amazing photos!

[Roe95695]

Love the story about your dad. I was thinking the same as in huh hold a light.. Thanks again!!

[jenseib]

Thanks everyone for sticking with me. I just got back from another Disney trip. I thought I posted the day before I was leaving, but I guess I didn't....I was a little busy right before I left. LOL! It was a travel agent trip and I had such a great time. We were kept busy most of the time, but it was all things Disney, so how could you NOT like it? We toured a lot of the resorts and even toured the Dream. We got to each lucnh at Cabanas (which I was excited about) and toured several staterooms......and guess what? Out of al lthe rooms on that ship, we just happened to also tour the same exact room we had stayed in on our trip. I was so excited. We also toured many of the areas I didn't have a chance to see while I sailed on her. Of course it just makes me want to go back all the more now. :D

I'll be writing a TR about it, but since this is a cruise board, I'll give you my blog link when I get it started, if anyone wants to read along.

 

I have been following your thread and I ordered from the Southern Pineapple after seeing your gifts. I loved the tote for my daughter made me a bit jealous I didn't order one for myself. I too purchased dress up for my daughter who is 12 Tiana and Belle. You ladies make everything seem so effortless but I know lots went into your preparation. Our trip is the Dream followed by 5 days at the Boardwalk Inn. Again I just wanted to thank you for the details you have provided. Your suggestions have enhanced our trip plan!

 

I loved her stuff. It was so cute. I might order another pillow case for next trip...and yes, I am determined there will be a next trip. LOL. There is a lot of work preparing for our Princesses to have the best time out there. :D I just stayed at the Yacht Club, right across the lake from Boardwalk. That place looks so beautiful, but I was so busy, I never actually had the time to walk over to that side and take a look around.

 

I have been following your fabulous trip report and have not posted until now. I love your story telling and I couldn't help but laugh along at your dad's story. I'm lucky no one is around me right now, because I seriously laughed out loud! Your poor dad. I hope that he was able to laugh along with you as you relayed your story many times afterwards! :D

 

Thanks for sharing your stories and amazing photos!

 

My Dad is quote the character. I think this wil lbe a joke for many years to come. I am going to buy him a flashlight for his b-day. :p

 

Love the story about your dad. I was thinking the same as in huh hold a light.. Thanks again!!

 

It was so bizarre. I would rahter just go in the dark...all by myself. :rolleyes:

[jenseib]

Despite disliking disney ive still been following your review even post cruise. Happy to get to the sea world part, i love sea world. Your review makes me ALMOST want to go to disney. Seriously, there is almost desire. Anymore disney pics and i might as well go buy a pass!

 

I adore the pics of your daughter she is absolutely gorgeous.

 

Keep the review up! Hope you took a ride on Manta it is by far the best ride at Disney! And the clyde and seamore show is my second favorite, the odyssea/ cirque du soleil knock off being my favorite.

 

We just ran out of time at Sea World. I never rode any rides, nor saw about half of the park. We hope to go next trip again. Actually, if I can get Skip talked into another cruise, my tentative plan is to cruise and do a day at Sea World and alos Universal and skip WDW! I know...thats a shicker....:eek:. But I think we need to do a few new things and if we cruise DCL, we'll still get our Disney fix....but I have been known to change my mind a time or two. :rolleyes:

 

Best ride at seaworld! d'oh!

 

I knew what you meant! :p

[jenseib]

I finally got that Otter!

This part was funny. The guy was reaching into the hole to chase after the Otter. A hand comes out the other hole to make it look like his. Only the guy had his sleeved rolled up when he stuck his hand in and didn’t have green trim. I assume this was not a mistake, but part of the fun. And it was funny. So he mentions how it was weird as he though he had his sleeve rolled up and pulls it out and checks and then the hand comes out the next time with the sleeve rolled up.

[jenseib]

 

 

 

 

[jenseib]

 

 

 

The show was over then and we loved it.

My Dad is a big fan of shows, so immediately he pointed out another show…the dolphin show… and said lets hurry over there. I didn’t think we would have enough time to make it, but he insisted we did.

We headed over to that stadium. Claire became the map holder and shouted out directions. Now I don’t really think she had a clue, but we pretended like she was giving us correct info. (I still was holding a map as well.)

We made it over to the correct stadium and it was pretty packed. We found some open seats up towards the top and settled down. I looked back and Mom and Dad had decided to sit a few rows behind us and over a bit.

As we waited for the show to start I looked over the schedule. I saw another show that would be starting shortly after this one, and I did NOT want to see it. At least at that time. I wanted to do other things besides shows. So I told Claire that we would go find the dolphins next because I was sure Adda and Papa would be heading to the next show. She said OK, and it sounded like fun.

 

Soon the show started. I have to say I was not a fan of this show. I wanted all dolphins and this had a lot of divers in it and other performers. It was much to long and the music was about to put me to sleep. Now they were good at what they did, don’t get me wrong, but that was not the kind of show I was looking forward too. The Sea World in Ohio used to have a fabulous Dolphin show, and that is what I thought this would be like. I felt like the dolphins were not really much of a feature here. They focused more on the people.

It didn’t stop me from taking a lot of pictures though. And I was lucky enough to have a nice pole in my line of shot!

 

 

[jenseib]

It was so hard to get the dolphins in mid air. I never knew where they were under water and they would just all of a sudden appear in the air. And then I would get them as they were going down, or cut half the bodies off from turning and shooting to quick.

[jenseib]

The divers came out next. They were pretty cool, but again, not what I was there to see, so it kind of irked me.

[jenseib]

[jenseib]

They also randomly released birds. Again very hard to capture with the camera, especially since I usually never saw them till too late. LOL!

[jenseib]

Finally some more dolphins!

[jenseib]

Finally I got a picture with several dolphin “mid flight”!

The finale had lots of stuff going on and more birds flew around…which I pretty much missed, and soon it was over.

Claire and I sat and waited for the place to clear a bit before working our way to Mom and Dad, but they worked there way to us. Sure enough, Dad said he wanted to go to another show, the one I figured he would try for. I think it was diving? Or something like that. I told him we would separate, as Claire and I were going to go and see if we could feed the dolphins. Claire then started crying. She said Papa would get lost without her reading the map for him. Mom said she could come with them and be the map reader. She was Ok then. I felt betrayed by my own little girl!!!!! LOL!

I did let her know that I was going to the dolphins and if feeding was open, I was doing it. There may be no other chance for her to do it, and she was fine with that.

We handed Claire a map.

And took off on our separate journeys. We were going to meet up later for the last Shamu show of the day.

I stopped and sat on a bench to rest and call Skip. Today was HOT. I mean MEGA hot. It was definitely the hottest day of the trip. Now this could also feel that way because at Sea World you are outdoors all day, not many inside things to do, so you really notice the heat.

Skip and I talked about the weather and he warned me that tomorrow was supposed to be rain in Orlando again. I told him I had seen that, but was hoping it was a short rain. Of course, because he wasn’t with us, he was giving me gory details of how awful it was going to be, and how much rain was coming. LOL!

He was having a hard time at home with his one brother. The brother works for him and is not part of the business. He hated working for Skip and his other brother and things were getting tense. He has since quit and things have been much quieter and running smoother now.

After I was done talking to him, I talked to a few people sitting near by. Some were from the area, while others were on vacation like us. Everyone was worried about the rain and even the locals said it was probably going to be a strong rain the next day….darn it! I asked one guy if he knew where the pick a pearl spot was.

Claire’s note this morning was this. She also received a coach shaped pearl cage, and one for me as well.

[jenseib]

I figured we could do the pearl pick either here at Sea World or at Epcot tomorrow.

The guy told me where it was and I was still clueless. LOL! I wasn’t sure we would have time anyways, but this experience seemed more fun. They actually dive in a tank for your pearl at Sea World.

After talking a bit, I headed over to the dolphin feed area, which was very close. They were selling food and feedings were going on! YAY me!

I bought my stinky fish and got in line. I chatted with a Mom and her DD while waiting. The little girl was so cute and I knew if Claire had been in line, they would’ve become instant friends.

Soon we were let in and they gave us directions.

I took a little video while they were giving them. One thing they told us that we couldn’t set our fish tray on the wall as the dolphin would come and take the whole tray off and eat them. LOL!

After the instructions, we began feeding them!

Feeding time began. We were warned not to leave our tray of fish on the ledge, as the dolphins would come along and take the tray and all and eat it and then your feeding experience would be over.

[jenseib]

This little guy was watching and I tried to get a picture of him.

I got a tap on my shoulder and received two slips of paper with a code. That meant they had taken pictures of you while you were feeding.

[jenseib]

It was then that I noticed my battery was running low, so I just switched to my point and shoot since I had already gotten several dolphin pictures.

The feed was pretty much over now, so I went to the kiosk to enter my codes and see my pictures. It kept saying invalid and I asked a Worker and she said sometimes it takes a bit to load, so just come back in a bit. OK, so I went off to the side to change my camera battery and then it hit me….I left the battery charging in the room at POP! And we had checked out!!! How could I be so stupid? So I called the Disney line and got transferred to someone who could help…yeah right. They said lost and found had just closed at 4…and I believe it was now 4:15. They couldn’t do anything till the next day and they gave me a number to call.

I called the number right away and got some run around, but eventually was connected to a very nice CM who actually tried to help me. She said if Mousekeeping found it, it would be turned in and taken over to the resort lost and found. I would have to wait till 9 the next day to know for sure if they had it. I asked if there was a way to have someone check the room and after I asked several times, she did say she would send someone. I felt so panicky. I was pretty sure it had been found, but what if it hadn’t. I wasn’t about to NOT have my SLR for the last day. I had that awful feeling in the pit of my stomach…and what made it worse was because I did such a stupid thing and never double checked the room before we left. I didn’t care so much about the battery. I still had 1, but I just couldn’t charge it.

The CM told me she would call me back if it was found in the room and if not to call a certain number at 9 AM to see if it had been turned in.

I hung up with her and tried my luck with the picture Kiosk again. It now told me that my code was expired. So I went to the desk where you pay and had them look them up. Well the 1st picture wasn’t even of me. It was the lady next to me and I wasn’t in the picture what so ever and the 2nd…well lets just say it was one of the worst pictures ever taken of me. LOL! I did NOT purchase it.

I headed out and started making my way over to the Shamu Stadium. The CM called and let me know that it was not found in my room. She was really nice and I really appreciated her help. My Mom also called to let me know they were getting seats for the Shamu show and they would wave to me when I got there.

It was a very long walk, and I took a few pictures on the way over.

[jenseib]

These were the pinkest Flamingos I have ever seen.

Did I mention it was a LONG walk over to Shamu stadium? It was and my feet were screaming. But I kept going. At one point, Mom called again to be sure I was on my way.

[jenseib]

I have to say I find Sea Worlds layout confusing. I even said that to my parents at one point in time and my Dad said he found it much easier to navigate than Disney…go figure. But of course he had Claire’s map reading skills to get him around.

I did finally make it to the stadium and I couldn’t find them, so I called and we kind of talked each other through the people and I saw them waving. I went up to take my seat, but Claire insisted sitting next to Dad, so I moved down a bit next to Mom and we waited for the show to start.

[DUSTY WILDCAT]

Those are some amazing pics of the dolphins! I've been enjoying your posts for awhile and just wanted to say thank you. It must take a lot of time putting this together.

 

I grew up in near the Ohio Sea World, actually watching it being built on Geagua Lake. We used to go the the amusement park that was across from Sea World, many many years ago.

[jenseib]

Those are some amazing pics of the dolphins! I've been enjoying your posts for awhile and just wanted to say thank you. It must take a lot of time putting this together.

 

I grew up in near the Ohio Sea World, actually watching it being built on Geagua Lake. We used to go the the amusement park that was across from Sea World, many many years ago.

 

thanks.

Geauga Lake was the amusement park too. At one point in time 6 Flags bought both parks and let it run down. It was no longer Sea World and it was supposed to be an animal park at 6 flags. I never went there then. Since then Cedar Fair has bought it and closed the Geauga Lake side and the Sea World side was torn down and made into a water park. I'm so sad it's all gone now.

[JustifiedMegan]

I'm everything disney! Can't get enough of it. I mean for a 13 year old its probably sad but I LOVE WDW in Florida! Trying to persuade my parents to let my family go on the Dream or to Orlando again soon! Thank-You so much for the review/blog!!!

[jenseib]

I'm everything disney! Can't get enough of it. I mean for a 13 year old its probably sad but I LOVE WDW in Florida! Trying to persuade my parents to let my family go on the Dream or to Orlando again soon! Thank-You so much for the review/blog!!!

 

Thanks so much for reading along. Use those puppy dog eyes on your parents! ;)

[jenseib]

The big news before we set sail on the Dream was that the whale that had killed a trainer had finally been let back into the show. I was a little leery on this. I don’t see why it had to be let back in. I thought I had originally heard that this whale wasn’t in many of the shows to begin with and I didn’t get all the hype about this. I personally think the whale should’ve not been let back in the show…I don’t think it should be put down, or anything like that, but they have had trouble with this whale in the past, which to me means he is just meant to interact with humans.

The show started and right away I can tell you I was not super impressed. Again I am used to Sea World Ohio when they used to get in the tank and the show was fabulous. I wasn’t a fan of the storyline, and I had read many others didn’t care for it either, but that wasn’t to matter much longer, because I think a few weeks after they premiered their new show.

The whales are impressive beast though. There was also a baby (though he wasn’t very baby looking. LOL) and he was so cute, sticking next to his momma. I took some very short video clips and pulled out the SLR and used some of the last of the battery left.

video…