Sea World-Orlando

The kid's fall break was the week of October 10-14.  We decided to make another trip down to Florida with Kyle and Jessica for fall break.  There is always plenty to do there, and we get to see family too.  This time we wanted to make it as inexpensive as possible.  Since Eric is getting out of the Army this year, he doesn't get his last bonus which normally comes in October.  This has made things a bit tight. 

Fortunately, Eric has plenty of family who were more than happy to let us stay with them.  Eric's mom has a house in Kissimmee so we stayed there the first 2 nights, the third night we got a hotel at Cocoa Beach.  Then we stayed 2 nights with Eric's grandma in Ocala, and the last night we spent with Eric's brother, TJ and his wife Sunny.  We got to spend a lot of time with Kyle, Jessica, and Taegan while there.  We also spent time with Eric's Grandma Guelde, his mom, and his brother TJ's family.  We spent time at the beach, swimming at Grandma's pool and also in the hotel pool.  We mostly just enjoyed spending time with family. 

We did go to Sea World the first day.  With the military promotion, they allow a servicemember and 3 dependents in FREE!!  So, we only paid for 2 admissions and I got a buy one, get one 1/2 deal.  So, we decided this would be our last chance to use that since we will be getting out of the military next early summer. 

SeaWorld was a lot of fun.  When we first got there, we were confused about where to start.  We are used to using the "Unofficial Guide to the Theme Parks" to help us make the most use of our time.  I forgot about using it for SeaWorld so we didn't have it along.  SeaWorld has about 6-7 big rides now as well as shows and aquariums.  We didn't get there until 12pm and it closed at 6pm, so we wanted to make the best use of our time.  After walking around for a bit and checking things out, we made a plan of what we wanted to see and do for the day.  We walked through the aquariums, and went to 2 shows.  We all went on a Splash Mountain type ride, and then Eric and the older kids went on two extreme roller coaster type rides while Jarem and I found the Shamu's play area.


Sting ray area: (they were swimming above us)

Starfish

Two cute girls with the clownfish

Penguins (I liked that snow was coming down from the celing...the first place I've seen penguins with snow)

Jarem pouting...something to do with his slushee

Slushie break!

The girls sharing one

Below are pictures of the dolphin show: Blue Horizons.  It was quite dynamic with not only dolphins, but gymnasts, divers, and a storyline (of sorts):  "Join a young girl named Marina as she discovers the secrets of the sea and sky in a mesmerizing blue world of adventure and wonder. This unique, theatrical spectacular features dolphins, false killer whales, tropical birds and acrobats. Let Blue Horizons take you on a journey usually reserved for dreams."

While the kids and Eric went on the more extreme rides, Jarem and I went to the kid's zone.  There were huge nets to climb, kid's rides, slides and tunnels, etc.

Jarem on the play ship

Jarem and I rode this jellyfish ride

Jarem's favorite ride was this ship that rocks back and forth

We all met at the Shamu Show at the end of the day called One Ocean.  Their description of the show: "Dive into the exhilaration of the sea in our all-new Shamu show, One Ocean. The energy and spirit of the ocean envelops you in a multi-sensory celebration of life underneath the sea that entertains as it educates and inspires. Majestic killer whales join you on a journey into a world that drenches your senses in the vivid colors, vitality and global rhythms of the ocean. Dancing fountains set the stage as you connect with thrilling sea creatures and realize we are all part of one world, one ocean. Your soul is ignited as our worlds are united… and you realize that we all have the power to make a difference in this planet we share. "


.

The show was great, but it was a little disappointing that people cannot get in the water with the whales anymore since the accident.  Still, it was great!

Leaving the park, we had a good day!