Disney Vacation - Part 4

Go read part one first.
Then parts two and three.

Thursday

We extracted ourselves from the clutches of the evil Disney corporation in order to visit an attraction exhibited by a much more wholesome company. Annheuser-Busch's Sea World Orlando. We were told that Orlando traffic on a typical morning was brutal so, wanting to arrive right at the opening, we got up before the sun hoping to get on the road by about 7:30. What's that road to hell paved with again? While we were grabbing a bite in the dining hall, ε's parents realized that they had left their admission tickets in PA. Oops. So after about an hour of the most unhelpful customer service associates imaginable (unhelpful, really?), they were resigned to the fact that they would need to purchase new tickets when we got there.

The first good thing did happen in that the morning rush must have dissipated abnormally early on this day as there were virtually no cars on the road. We made the 14 mile drive in about 20 minutes and were amongst the first few dozen cars in the lot. When we got there, ε's S-I-L decided that it was going to be a very poor morning for the unlucky individual manning the customer relations window. After only about 5 minutes, new tickets were issued without charge. It always helps when a line is forming behind the person making life difficult.

Anyway, we all are able to enter the park 10 minutes after it opens. I, and a few of the other adults, are interested in riding Sea World's coaster, Kraken, before the lines start later but the damn thing doesn't run when it's cold. Booo! So, we take in the pirate show, featuring sea lions and a walrus. The girls enjoyed it much more than I though they would, so I was pleasantly surprised.

Then, we head over to Shamu's Happy Harbor so that the kids can do all the rides there with little to no waiting. Busch has a park near home called Sesame Place which we had been to and all of the rides here had counterparts there, just named and painted diferently. When we had last been there, I took β₀ on the kiddie roller coaster but it had scared the life out of her. Just 6 months later, she must have rode that thing a half dozen times, getting happier each time. Although, β₁ wanted to ride it (too short, even with an adult), she rode every single other thing there she was allowed to. The scarier it was, the more she liked it. I'm going to have to keep my eye on that one as she starts growing up...

After a while, we did a quick walk through in the shark aquarium and then it was time to grab a bite and head over to the Shamu show. Can you really go to Sea World and NOT watch the whales do tricks? We walked into Shamu Stadium a good 30 minutes early (intentionally) and found seats in the upper center section, about halfway up. The lower sections are all considered "Soak Zones" so that, being a 40 degree January day, was just right out. The kids really enjoyed the show, but I was a little disappointed that it has turned into about 50% garbage on the video screens. But it's not my enjoyment that matters, right?

The show ended and we went back to Happy Harbor, but it was quite a bit more crowded that it was earlier. The girls manged to sneak in a couple more rides, but then it was time to leave to go back to the resort. We had about an hour to decompress before needing to depart to meet our dinner reservations. Tonight we were eating at Kona Cafe in the Polynesian.

ε and I split our appetizers, Lump Crab Cakes with asian tartar and pineapple relish and the Pot Stickers, wok-seared duck dumplings with creamy ginger soy sauce. ε went with a chardonnay while I chose a Fire Rock Pale Ale. For main courses, I went with the Pomegranate Barbecued Pork Chop served on pan-roasted fingerling potatoes and applewood smoked bacon braised Swiss chard. ε followed my lead from the previous night and went with seafood. Panko breaded shrimp and pan-seared scallops with sticky rice and ponzu, spicy guava-passion fruit and wasabi cream sauces. Dessert was a no-brainer: chocolate macadamia nut tart with vanilla ice cream and caramel rum sauce.

Although the food was really good (probably the best pork chop I've ever eaten), the atmosphere for us was mediocre at best. Perhaps if we had been seated closer to the inner depths of the dining room, I'd feel differently, but we were right on the edge with just a brass railing separating our table with passing foot traffic in the hotel.

After the filling dinner, we rolled ourselves back to the car and made our way back to our resort. The remainder of the night consisted of the girls staring at a DVD movie, ε catching up on email, and me doing a little light reading. All in all, a very good day for the girls, but just another tiring one for me.

Next... Day 5 Magic Kingdom and Epcot redux