Day 9
  The Hunts go on Holiday - The Sequel 27/07/2000-to-10/08/2000

Family members:-
Ron-Civil Servant (Author, Driver, Ex-Pirate now all round good guy)
San-Teacher (Editor and Official Trip Toilet Tester)
Rachel-Aged 17 (Teenager with a Strange Hat)
Peter-Aged 15 (Sulky Teenager and Official Food Finisher Off-er)
Beth-Aged 6 (Mad about Disney, and now Daredevil Roller Coaster Girl)

Day 9-Friday 4th August 2000

On Friday we had planned to spend the whole day at SeaWorld, so we were in no hurry to leave in the morning. After making use of the free breakfast offered by the Westgate, we set off along the I4 and arrived at SeaWorld about 15-minutes later.
We parked up and entered the park at around 9.20 using only the second day of our 14-day Adventure Passport. The wrinkly guy on the entrance gate spotted our cooler bag and was a real jobsworth. He insisted that we put our bag, which had been cunningly hidden under Beth's pram, into a locker. As it was already getting hot, the last thing we wanted to do was put our life saving cold drinks in a locker on the opposite side of the park, which would mean having to trek all the way back to the front gate to get a drink.
We smiled politely at 'jobsworth' and told him that we would find a locker just as soon as we could - Honest! We collected our maps and went to the information desk to find out what we needed to do to use our Backstage Passes for the Pet's On Stage show. We had been given free vouchers by Keith Prowse when we bought our Adventure Passports. We just needed to arrive at the SeaWorld Theatre fifteen minutes before the show began and make ourselves known to the trainers.
Peter and I were eager to ride Kraken so we headed straight to the back of the park whilst San, Rachel and Beth went to have a look around some of the shops. Apparently they heard David Lee Roth's California Girls playing on one of the shops P. A. systems.
When we got to Kraken there was a twenty-minute queue for the front seats so we settled for the back row, which meant only a ten-minute wait. Kraken is a new ride at SeaWorld, named after a legendary sea monster, where you sit with your feet dangling and with nothing above your head and the only thing keeping you in your seat is the shoulder harness. You get a great view of the park as you slowly climb up the steep hill, just before being dropped almost vertically and sent speeding along the turquoise track. Kraken is fast but it is far too smooth for it'' own good. You can tell that it is a new ride because it isn't jerky.
You are thrown through numerous loops, rolls and spins before being plunged below ground into the serpent's underwater lair, just as plumes of water spray up to drench you and innocent bystanders, before being safely returned to the loading station.
Kraken seems to be longer than other roller coasters, but like the rest it is all over too soon. When we got off the ride, the queue to get on was almost non existent so we ran back round to the entrance and got back on without having to wait very long. This time we sat in the middle, which was just as good as being at the back. The front row of seats is probably the best to choose, but we didn't have time to try it again.
We met up with San and it was time to head for the SeaWorld Theatre for Pet's on Stage. Whilst we were walking past the gardens which are opposite the Smoky Creek Grille, we spotted a couple who were getting married. San thought this looked like a lovely idea but I bet it's expensive. I wonder if they had to pay the park entrance fee? And did they go on Journey to Atlantis in their wedding outfits?
We arrived at the SeaWorld Theatre and gave our Backstage Passes to the animal trainer. We were then shown to a separate queue before being led to a reserved seating area.
The stars of the show include cats, dogs, pigs and birds, who all perform a routine that they have been taught by the trainers. They climb along high wires, pull ropes and press switches to open doors. This is all set to whitty background music. There is a serious side to the show as all of the animals featured have been rescued by animal shelters and saved by SeaWorld.
After the show the majority of the audience left the theatre but we were allowed to stay for an extra show, after which we got the chance to meet the 'stars' of the show and ask the trainers some questions.
Beth asked lots of sensible questions such as 'Do the animals enjoy doing tricks?' and 'Do the animals live at SeaWorld?' Beth seemed to ask more questions than the rest of the audience put together.
Having met some tame animals, we decided to head for Terrors of the Deep to see some scary ones. We had rushed through Terrors of the Deep on our last visit to SeaWorld so we took our time looking at the scary sharks and enormous eels. The atmosphere inside this attraction is heightened by its gloominess and as we passed through the glass tunnel, just inches away from the sharks it was really spooky. Beth hid behind me on the travelator as there was a shark lying asleep on top of the glass tube. We were that close, we could see the water flowing through its gills as they opened and closed. Beth insisted that we were all very quiet in case we woke it up.
Our next stop was at the Dolphin Stadium for the Key West Dolphin Fest. Last year we had stood at the back because we had entered the park just as the show was starting, so we wanted to get a better view this time. Unfortunately Dolly Dolphin and her tickle spot have gone. The show now features false killer whales as most of the dolphins have been moved to Discovery Cove.


It is still a good show though in which the creatures interact with the SeaWorld trainers to perform tricks and jump out of the water. We didn't fall for the audience participation bit this time, where the clumsy parent of the child that is chosen to meet the animals falls into the pool whilst taking a photograph, only to appear riding a whales back.


Desperate to see some real dolphins, we headed over to Dolphin Cove to see the Atlantic Bottlenose dolphins. We spent a good half an hour here and got to stroke and feed several dolphins. One of the dolphins was really naughty and if you tried to stroke it without giving it a fish, it would splash you with a flap of its fin. This caught out quite a few people and was highly amusing.


While we were washing our hands some SeaWorld characters appeared, so Beth got to have her picture taken with a big cuddly Clyde the Sea Lion. We then took her photo whilst she sat on a bench next to a turtle with an ice cooler. (They hadn't asked him to put his picnic in a locker!)



Our next stop was the Nautilus Theatre for Cirque De La Mer. This is a strange show with a Lionel Blair lookalike who plays the warm up mime artist. He kept us entertained in between the various sections of the show. The show itself featured acrobats, dancers, strongmen and a high wire act. These were interspaced with comedy slots and musicians who were wearing long brown ponchos just like the Mexican ones from the Fast Show. It is a really bizarre show that is very entertaining.
We then walked across the lagoon, avoiding the flamingo paddleboats, and went to the Shamu Stadium for the Shamu Adventure show. Peter and I had sat in the Splash Zone last time and we both got completely soaked. This time we sat further back and enjoyed watching other people getting a soaking. As we waited for the show to start it started to rain quite heavily, just like it had last year. Shamu TV kept us entertained as the rain splashed on the surface of the pool.
It still amazes me to see the huge killer whales interacting with the SeaWorld trainers, as they leap to great heights to make enormous splashes that swamp the audience.



The trainers led a competition between two men and two women from the audience to find out if men or women made the best whale trainers. It was obviously a fix because the women won and the men really needed the free SeaWorld beach towels that they were given for participating because they had been drenched by the whales, whilst the women remained bone dry.
On the way out of the Shamu Stadium we were handed a free ticket for the games area to try to win a cuddly Shamu, so we let Beth use it. She had to try to throw a ball and get it to land in a goldfish bowl. This looked almost impossible, as the neck of the bowl seemed to be smaller than the ball. Still, it was free and at least Beth got to try it herself.
We then continued on to Shamu's Happy Harbour so that Beth could have a play in the water, whilst we had a rest and ate our picnic. I kept myself amused by squirting the wild lizards with our water spray fans while Beth climbed, slid, bounced, crawled, squirted and played the steel drums!


After a good long play we decided to go to the Sea Lion and Otter Stadium for Clyde & Seamore Take Pirate Island. We arrived early in order to see Pirate Jack, the rude mime artist who takes the mickey out of members of the audience as they arrive in the stadium.
When it was time for the show to start, the trainer selected a young girl from the audience to join him at the front. She was told that Clyde the sea lion was sulking and that she had to make a noise like a girl sea lion to get him to perform. Her first attempt at a sea lion 'groan' resulted in Clyde lifting himself up against the side of the tank whilst standing on his tail whilst shaking his head from side to side.
On her next attempt he waddles over to the microphone and let out a deafening 'burping' noise, which signalled the beginning of the show. Clyde & Seamore is our favourite show at SeaWorld as quite often, as in this instance, the two sea lion stars of the show do not follow the script. (Or so it seems!) Even the otter that is supposed to steal the treasure map got in on the act and simply walked across the stage without going near the rolled up piece of paper.
One change this time was the appearance of a huge walrus that splashed in and out of the pool that surrounded the HMS Pinniped stage. All in all, an enjoyable show with lots of cock-up's and corny one liners. The sea lions even cheat when being given their fishy rewards for performing their tricks. The trainer did a 'one for Clyde, one for Seamore, one for me' routine during which one of sea lions pinched his share with as innocent a look as you can expect to see on a sea lions face.
Definitely the Laurel and Hardy of SeaWorld, this show alone makes the entrance fee worthwhile. Of course all of the trainers end up getting a good soaking, along with a few unlucky members of the audience.
We went to Pacific Point Preserve after the show to see the rest of the sea lions. There were lots of baby Harbour Seals, all barking to be fed but we didn't buy any fish this time as last year Beth said that they stunk and most of the fish were stolen by the aggressive white herons before the seals could even get to them. We didn't stay very long because the seals were making so much noise and moved on to the Penguin Encounter.
This was another attraction that we had rushed through last year so we took our time in the cool, dark, indoor viewing area. The penguins were so funny we could have watched them for ages as they slid on the ice, fell over and did belly flops into the water. The slow moving conveyor belt gave us just long enough to have a good look at the penguins in their sub-zero habitat. You do have the option to stand above the escalator to watch the penguins, but you don't get as close to them as you do on the belt.
When we came out to collect Beth's pram, she spotted the games at the rear of Mamma Stella's Italian Kitchen. These included a rock climbing wall, an abseil rope, a spinning sphere cage-like the ones you see in astronaught training movies and a small bungee jump. Beth wanted to try the bungee jump and took quite a lot of persuading that this was not a good idea. I had to promise her that I would take her on Kraken or Journey to Atlantis instead.
I took her to the Kraken queuing area where there is a seat from the ride car that is used to check if younger riders can fit into the seat safely. Beth was about 10 inches too short to ride, but she wouldn't take my word for it. She actually argued with the ride attendant and insisted that ' My Dad said that he would take me on it'.
I compromised with her by taking her into the serpent's lair to see its eggs - small eels swimming around in glass balls, housed in a cave beneath the ride. When Beth actually saw the ride going around the track above us, I think she was relieved that she couldn't go on it.
As I had already promised, there was no way I could avoid having to wait in the 45-minute queue for Journey to Atlantis. San had a water infection and didn't want to get wet, so she and Rachel went to have a look in some more shops whilst minding the bags. It was starting to get hot again after the earlier storm and it was getting difficult keeping Beth amused for the duration of the wait. She was getting tired now and insisted on being carried because Peter was teasing her.
The continuous video clips about the lost city of Atlantis appearing in the middle of Greece soon became repetitive and tedious, but if we hadn't had to wait so long they wouldn't have been so bad as they set the theme for the ride. We eventually boarded our eight-passenger Greek fishing boat for a gentle tour of the newfound city.
As we entered the darkness and began to climb, we knew what was coming next. We were protected by our golden sea horse as we were swept through the ancient city, which is decorated with Greek mosaics and fiery torches, before climbing again inside the highest tower. As we rounded the bend at the top and came to the drop, (the one you see from International Drive South), Peter did his best girlie scream as we hurtled towards our watery fate.
I remembered to lift my feet up so that my trainers didn't get too wet, but I forgot to close my mouth and got a mouthful of disgusting water. Beth didn't get too wet as I had my arm around her and she had hid behind me when we hit the water. Thinking we were safe, we laughed at each other as we came around the final bend, just as we were hit by a big wave from the boat coming down the slope behind us. We were all soaked through to the skin and as we got off the ride our clothes were dripping wet.


When we found San, she was sitting sunbathing on a wall and laughed at us. She insisted on taking our photograph right in front of the 'Caution - You will get soaked' sign. We decided to get some of SeaWorld's famous butter flavour popcorn, which is the best in Orlando. All of the other popcorn we had found was either salted or tasted like cardboard.
We agreed to visit the 'Manatees - The Last Generation?' attraction on our way out of the park, as we hadn't seen it last year. The mood of this showcase is a sombre one, but it is worth seeing the large graceful creatures. It is easy to see where they got the nick-name sea cows as you watch them floating in their habitat.


The 'save the manatee' film was lost on us though as we don't have Florida Manatees in the River Mersey, so there isn't much we can do to help. It does however highlight the work SeaWorld has done in trying to prevent the manatees from becoming extinct, as we had seen in the SeaWorld series on Channel 5.
We had a final look at the underwater viewing area at Dolphin Cove, to tease the dolphins behind the glass with our popcorn, before heading to the exit just as the sun was starting to go down. San and I posed for the 'must have' photo by the SeaWorld lighthouse on the way out.


We had spent the whole day at SeaWorld and managed to see most of the attractions, so we left tired, hungry, slightly wet, but very happy. We had intended to return to SeaWorld later on in our trip to see Wild Arctic and Shamu Close Up, but we never got round to it. We will return one day though, and we still have an excuse for going back.