Grateful, Thankful, Blessed: our 25th Anniversary SeaWorld Celebration (Spring ’18 TR)

Will you wait to purchase until after your Universal AP's expire?

We really love Universal so we'll keep those and add Sea World. We had Disney AP's but we will let those expire and just do small doses of Disney for a while.

You will have to let me know what you think of the butter tarts after your Fort Erie trip. A few of my American friends here in MI were not fans :confused3 ... they found them too sweet. Silly people ;)

Will do! looking forward to trying them! We don't venture over the bridge much during the summer because of all the cottage and tourist traffic!

For another "something new", I made a reservation for breakfast at Boma

Love Boma!

I’d like to say we had a wonderfully peaceful spin in the sky as the pod rotated a full 360 degrees giving riders a wonderful view of every part of the park, but we ended up sharing the pod with 14 second graders and their chaperones :crazy2: ….. so peaceful it definitely was not! :rolleyes:

:scared1:

I can tell you there is terrific animal viewing at Kidani, including a nice walkway right out into the savanna with a CM who waits out there to answer questions. As a surprise I have booked 2 nights at Jambo for our anniversary in August (TY for CM dd discounts!!). I'd recommend time to go to both places to view the differing savanna's!

What a nice way to spend an anniversary! Will have to venture over to the Kidani savanna!
 
So this is where this report is !!!!:rotfl2:
I was posting in your pre trip report I think , but wasn’t coming around much while planning our big cross Canada trip. I do remember checking the trip reports board for this oneat some point. I never thought of checking in here ! Or was the pre trip report in here too ? I’m so confused. That’s what I get for disappearing.
Well the good news is I have a full trip report to read through.
Where did all your links in your signature go Gina? That’s how I find stuff :rotfl:. Better late than never I suppose!
 
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Ewww... :sick:

Actually, I've been dusted with whale snot while on an excursion in Mexico. Didn't really feel it was a lucky thing at the time...


It's basically Dunkin' Donuts, but a true Canadian will fight you to the death if you diss it; it is a major institution here. Apparently I'm not a true Canadian, because I'm pretty sure their coffee is about 50% sawdust, and avoid it like the plague. They are also well known for having the SLOWEST workers in Canada. It can actually take them 10 minutes to ring up and pour 1 regular cup of coffee.
This made me laugh out loud. Having stopped at a zillion Tim Hortons on our way out to Banff and back, I can state with authority that the slowest Tim Hortons workers of all time work in Kenora, Ontario. We went to one on the way out and another on the way back. I think every one of the employees were in training, the stores were terribly understaffed and the poor people working were completely overwhelmed. We waited FOREVER for our lunch order and it was wrong when it came but there was no way I was getting back in line or adding to the people complaining at the workers. When I saw a “Help Wanted” sign on the door on the way out I remarked to my husband that they needed the National Guard to come in and create some order first. I felt so bad for that staff. Mostly teens and seniors. I kept thinking “what if this was one of my kids working here ? “ I’ve never seen a Timmies so bad and Kenora has two of them !
 
This made me laugh out loud. Having stopped at a zillion Tim Hortons on our way out to Banff and back, I can state with authority that the slowest Tim Hortons workers of all time work in Kenora, Ontario. We went to one on the way out and another on the way back. I think every one of the employees were in training, the stores were terribly understaffed and the poor people working were completely overwhelmed. We waited FOREVER for our lunch order and it was wrong when it came but there was no way I was getting back in line or adding to the people complaining at the workers. When I saw a “Help Wanted” sign on the door on the way out I remarked to my husband that they needed the National Guard to come in and create some order first. I felt so bad for that staff. Mostly teens and seniors. I kept thinking “what if this was one of my kids working here ? “ I’ve never seen a Timmies so bad and Kenora has two of them !

Come on down to Tim's in Buffalo!! By the time you get from the drive thru order spot to the pickup window, they are handing you your coffee while they take your payment!
And our franchise in Orlando that we're starting with Gina & company will have top notch staff!!:thumbsup2
 


Come on down to Tim's in Buffalo!! By the time you get from the drive thru order spot to the pickup window, they are handing you your coffee while they take your payment!
And our franchise in Orlando that we're starting with Gina & company will have top notch staff!!:thumbsup2
I love an efficient Tim’s (didn’t realize you were in Buffalo, I’m just on the other side of the border!). I’ll work for you guys when I come down to Florida to be a snowbird ! :goodvibes
 
You've already done the Animal Ambassador tour? I'd love to hear which animals you saw!

I have (and actually did it again today for my birthday)! The first time we got to see 2 screech owls, an iguana, a python, a sloth, a bald eagle, and a crow as a bonus (as we were stuck backstage due to horrible lightning). Today was a screech owl again, a juvenile bald eagle, a sloth again, a skink (type of lizard), and an opossum. HIGHLY recommend the tour!
 
If you give me your specific April dates, I could check the passmember website and see what rates are coming up at DC. April will vary widely, I suspect, as Spring Break falls during that month and will have much higher rates than, say, later in the month.

So kind of you! We will be arriving Sunday 3/31 and staying through Sunday 4/7.
 


1) wait, your TIMESHARE is 1200 sq feet!?!?! . My home is only 1100!!!

2). I'll gladly eat a Boma, too! Seriously though, fun place.to explore outside before or after (or both) your meal! I only.skimmed, but breakfast and dinner are both great there!
 
We were toying with the idea of booking a cabana at Aquatica but opted not to since we already booked one for DC and are STILL waiting :sad2: to book the cabana for Volcano Bay. How are Aquatica’s in comparison to VB’s cabanas?
 
Hi Gina! I just noticed your next trip dates. I think we're going to be in Orlando the weekend BEFORE you arrive. :( My kids don't have school Friday the 19th (and my son's birthday is the 15th), so I was thinking about a long weekend with visits to Sea World, maybe Outta Control Magic Show, and other stuff. I'll let you know if our plans change.

Aw man, we are one week too late!! :sad2: If you DO happen, by chance, to move your trip back by a weekend, definitely let me know and we'll plan to do dinner somewhere this time. I've been trying to win tickets to Outta Control every week (they run a ticket giveaway every Wednesday on their Facebook page.....I think the law of averages gives me a pretty good chance eventually, right? :laughing:) so maybe we'd join you for that!

We have always fed those guys. Most of the time, we hear lots of honking, and begging. Always fun to try not to allow a bird to get it instead.

And woot! for that mighty list for October this year. Sad will miss ya by a week or so, but still thinking of April, so maybe will we cross paths again. I'll be waiting for Blue Friday, and discount on Super Grover pass around that time too.

Oh, and we like Boma too. Even picky little one enjoys it. Plus, we really like the hotel, so do spend time looking around. Never stayed there either, though not on our stay there radar most of the time, but visiting, yes.

I found crazy good deals on airfare for early december ($42-67 each way, including tax!!) and $100 nightly rates at SeaWorld official hotels, so if Blue Friday deals are equally as awesome then I'll be hard pressed not to book a long weekend in Orlando to catch the Christmas events at SeaWorld. Fingers crossed you get some good AP deals when the BF deals are released this year!

Our most likely week for April 2019 is the 20th to 27th (or thereabouts). Shall we start planning? :flower3:

Gina, never say never, lol!! I am sure there is a DVC member who will rent you the points for one night. If you need to do an extra night, you can take Magical Express from the airport, and back the next day to pick up your rental. I am positive you will want to spend a night there!! Sitting on your balcony, watching the sun go down, with a glass of wine and your honey is a perfect way to end your night and start your vacation!!

It does sound lovely, but anytime we have an extra night to book, we usually just book the additional night at SVR. We are lazy travelers ;) ... we hate moving after just one night! And we weren't wowed by our onsite Disney stay (at POR) .... so Steve is less than eager to return (not to mention the cost of the deluxes is tough for us offsiters to swallow :scared:). But I will admit, y'all have me quite excited about visiting the resort for the first time. If we enjoy breakfast there, perhaps we'll book a dinner on the next trip :thumbsup2.

We really love Universal so we'll keep those and add Sea World. We had Disney AP's but we will let those expire and just do small doses of Disney for a while.

Will do! looking forward to trying them! We don't venture over the bridge much during the summer because of all the cottage and tourist traffic!

Love Boma!

:scared1:

What a nice way to spend an anniversary! Will have to venture over to the Kidani savanna!

We encountered quite long waits at the Ambassador bridge last weekend, too. We have decided we will finally get our applications in for Nexus cards.....especially when it will qualify us for TSA precheck at the airports when we fly.
So this is where this report is !!!!:rotfl2:
I was posting in your pre trip report I think , but wasn’t coming around much while planning our big cross Canada trip. I do remember checking the trip reports board for this oneat some point. I never thought of checking in here ! Or was the pre trip report in here too ? I’m so confused. That’s what I get for disappearing.
Well the good news is I have a full trip report to read through.
Where did all your links in your signature go Gina? That’s how I find stuff :rotfl:. Better late than never I suppose!

Well, its about time you showed up! ;) :lmao: Glad to have you reading along! It's always fun to have you joining in the chatter :goodvibes.

I deleted all my trip report links from my signature because many of the photos disappeared when Photobucket applied their "reorganization" :rolleyes2. Without the pics, they just lost their usefulness (or so I felt). It was so maddening!!

I am SO happy to hear that you are planning another visit to SVR! :banana: You made my day when I saw your posts over on the SVR board!

Come on down to Tim's in Buffalo!! By the time you get from the drive thru order spot to the pickup window, they are handing you your coffee while they take your payment!
And our franchise in Orlando that we're starting with Gina & company will have top notch staff!!:thumbsup2

Yes, we will!! ::yes:: :thumbsup2

The Michigan Powerball jackpot is over $400 million this week. I'm buying a ticket, and if we win (hey, someone's got to....right? ;)) I will cover the cost of the franchise free .... 'cause I'm generous like that :teeth:. And we'll fly you all to Orlando for a celebration trip!

I love an efficient Tim’s (didn’t realize you were in Buffalo, I’m just on the other side of the border!). I’ll work for you guys when I come down to Florida to be a snowbird ! :goodvibes

And our all-star crew grows by 1 more! :cool1:

I have (and actually did it again today for my birthday)! The first time we got to see 2 screech owls, an iguana, a python, a sloth, a bald eagle, and a crow as a bonus (as we were stuck backstage due to horrible lightning). Today was a screech owl again, a juvenile bald eagle, a sloth again, a skink (type of lizard), and an opossum. HIGHLY recommend the tour!

WOW!! :eek: That's a ton more than I expected.....for the price, that's incredible! Was a Photokey staffer along for the tour, or do you just get pics with your own camera?

So kind of you! We will be arriving Sunday 3/31 and staying through Sunday 4/7.

The day resort package (without the dolphin swim) is showing as $161 for the passmember rate for that week. With the dolphin swim, the passmember rate is $251 per person. How does that compare to full price?

1) wait, your TIMESHARE is 1200 sq feet!?!?! . My home is only 1100!!!

2). I'll gladly eat a Boma, too! Seriously though, fun place.to explore outside before or after (or both) your meal! I only.skimmed, but breakfast and dinner are both great there!

1260 square feet, actually ;). Now you know why a hotel room makes us feel claustrophobic.

Shall I change our reservation at Boma to a party of 3? (serious offer.....we'd love for you to join us! Can you get the time off work?? October 30th at 10 am?)

We were toying with the idea of booking a cabana at Aquatica but opted not to since we already booked one for DC and are STILL waiting :sad2: to book the cabana for Volcano Bay. How are Aquatica’s in comparison to VB’s cabanas?

Volcano Bay's are much more "plush"....padded seating, an included fruit and pastry tray, and an in-cabana tapu tapu station. Aquatica's, though, are MUCH more affordable....$45 in October. Both include a locker in the cabana, a fridge with bottled water, towel rental, and dedicated staff to bring you food and beverage (food and drinks additional cost). At $45, the Aquatica cabana rentals are essentially free after the value of the locker, bottled water and towels are taken off.
 
Volcano Bay's are much more "plush"....padded seating, an included fruit and pastry tray, and an in-cabana tapu tapu station. Aquatica's, though, are MUCH more affordable....$45 in October. Both include a locker in the cabana, a fridge with bottled water, towel rental, and dedicated staff to bring you food and beverage (food and drinks additional cost). At $45, the Aquatica cabana rentals are essentially free after the value of the locker, bottled water and towels are taken off.
Wow, the least expensive one for our day in September is $89+tax. We don’t know how long we’re going to be there so i don’t want to shell out that much if we’re only going to be there a few hours :( maybe we will take our chances and if we feel we need it the day of see if they have any available?
 
Wow, the least expensive one for our day in September is $89+tax. We don’t know how long we’re going to be there so i don’t want to shell out that much if we’re only going to be there a few hours :( maybe we will take our chances and if we feel we need it the day of see if they have any available?

Aquatica cabana rates vary greatly by season, so that accounts for the difference between September (when its still bloody hot) and late October, where we will enjoy the super low price. In September, unless you arrive at park opening (or its an unusually cool and miserable weather day), I would expect that they will sell out early......if you want one, I'd reserve before you go. No pressure, just managing your expectations.

If it helps, a cabana rental at Aquatica entitles you to 20% off at any of the gift shops or at the photo location. If you are planning to purchase pictures our souvenirs, then it could be another positive reason to book a cabana at AQ.
 
WOW!! :eek: That's a ton more than I expected.....for the price, that's incredible! Was a Photokey staffer along for the tour, or do you just get pics with your own camera?

I know! The tour is a great deal at that price. Unfortunately there is no park photographer (as of yet), but the guide was very willing to help out with taking pictures
 
Monday, May 7th: the conclusion

While the SkyTower offered us some lovely views, I have to say we were both a little relieved to be freed from our prison of high-pitched chatter and boundless energy…..we may have let a sigh of relief escape as the school group headed one way as we disembarked while we headed in the opposite direction :rolleyes1. I hope those moms each had a cold bottle of wine waiting for them when they got home later that day :p.

We hopped over to Voyagers for a couple of fresh bottles of water, then made our way over to Sea Lion & Otter Stadium for the Clyde & Seamore show. They were just opening the ropes and letting people up the walkway as we approached, so we were pretty sure we’d get some great seats. And…..we did! :woohoo:

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We had about 30 minutes to wait before the show began, so we just sipped on our waters and people watched as other folks filed in. And of course, we took another pre-show selfie :blush: (but in our defense, we also watched a couple of hundred other couples and families doing the same thing!! :laughing:)

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As always, the show offered a little pre-show entertainment courtesy of the school crossing guard. While the crowd was on the smaller side (definitely not a packed theater on such a moderate crowd day), everyone who was there was really enthusiastic….so when we were all directed to cheer, cheer we all did :cheer2:. He had us doing the wave, cheering and clapping along to the music, and feeling the excitement as the real entertainment began.

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Both stars of the show made suitably grand entrances: one via chauffeur in a swanky convertible :car: ……

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….and the other, with a big splash:

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The show hadn’t changed a bit since we saw it on our last visit more than a year before, but I will say that the animals AND animal trainers both had a much more flawless execution of the show this time than the last one we saw :thumbsup2. Both Clyde and Seamore were spot on with their behaviors, and it was probably one of the most crowd-pleasing performances of this production that we’ve had the pleasure to enjoy.

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One by one, the students of Sea Lion High helped Clyde and Seamore pass all their remaining courses so they could graduate. From science class to dance class……

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….they managed to turn their “F’s” into “A’s”…..and that’s even with taking a break for lunch!

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The fact that we had such IDEAL seats just made it all the more awesome! :goodvibes

The end of the show is always my favorite: who doesn’t like a BIG finish?

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The show wrapped up with a kiss and a wave from this sweetie……@chiamarie, would this be Kaboodle? I know it’s not Garfield.

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After the show, we commented that we’d accomplished everything (and more) that we had hoped to on that particular day. We strolled around a bit and took in some of the animal exhibits:

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….then decided to grab some dinner and make one final use of our all-day dining passes before heading back to the resort. We weren’t super hungry and thought we would just have pizza at Seaport Pizza, but oddly enough, it turned out it was closed [I say “oddly” because there were SO many school groups there that day……I would have thought the pizza place would have been one of the busiest in the park :confused3]. Plan B was Voyagers. You can’t go wrong with barbecue.

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If we had ever questioned the value of the all-day dining passes, this meal definitely made us appreciate the low price we had paid to eat all day long. We both ended up selecting the exact same meal: the combo platter which featured a quarter barbecue chicken, beef brisket, and a smoked sausage with a side of fries. We each had a beverage, and used our “side” entitlement for strawberry shortcake. As part of the all day dining, the meal cost us nothing. Had we paid out of pocket, it would have been $55. Between breakfast, lunch, dinner, our stuffed cannelloni/chocolate cake snack, countless bottles of water, and Steve’s emergency afternoon hot dog (not photographed because he ate it before I could even take a picture .... told ya it was an emergency!! :rotfl:), we had almost doubled the value of our out of pocket cost ($34.99 each) for the plan. And.....it was SUPER good! Some of the best quick service food in any theme park.

I *love* a good deal :teeth:.

We picked up two more bottles of water on our way out of the restaurant (“one for the road”), and headed toward the park exit. It had been a wonderful, full yet leisurely day……and we knew we’d be back again at least one more time before the end of our trip. We looked forward to a relaxing evening at the resort to cap things off.

After a short rest in the villa (and an opportunity to check in with family via phone and on social media), we meandered down to the Tacky Tiki Bar to see what was shaking and enjoy an adult beverage or two under the stars. It turned out that there was some live music at the bar that evening, featuring “Jersey Mike” (a northerner who had recently relocated from New Jersey to Florida).

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He was quite good, singing some well-known favorites from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s, and it was a very pleasant and relaxing way to end off a simply lovely park day. We stayed for a couple of drinks each and even had a nice conversation with Mike after he wrapped up his session.

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We eventually headed back to the villa, switched into our swimwear, and headed out to the hot tub for a short soak under the stars. By the time we dropped into bed, sleep came quick and easy :faint:.

Next up: a day of sun and fun at our favorite waterpark in Orlando……Aquatica!

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We have decided we will finally get our applications in for Nexus cards.....especially when it will qualify us for TSA precheck at the airports when we fly.

I'm surprised you haven't gotten these yet. At least you should have a lot of options for appointments since you can easily do either side of the border. You've had them before right?
 
That's awesome!! Seaworld's tours never disappoint, do they?

They do not! Probably why I do them so many times

The show wrapped up with a kiss and a wave from this sweetie……@chiamarie, would this be Kaboodle? I know it’s not Garfield.

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That's Slowpoke (both Kaboodle and Garfield live at Wild Arctic, and both still have tusks
 
Come on down to Tim's in Buffalo!! By the time you get from the drive thru order spot to the pickup window, they are handing you your coffee while they take your payment!
And our franchise in Orlando that we're starting with Gina & company will have top notch staff!!:thumbsup2
I wish all Buffalo Timmy’s were this way :rotfl2:
 

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