Monday, May 7th: SeaWorld, continued
As we headed up to Wild Arctic, I reminded Steve that this exhibit was home to two new walrus babies, born right around a year prior. While the two babes were of such similar age that many would think they were twins, their entrances into the world were vastly different: Aku was an orphan calf from Alaska, while Ginger was born at SeaWorld Orlando to mom Kaboodle. Since we had only yet seen photos and videos of the adorable pair, I had my fingers crossed that they might be out in the exhibit that day so we could catch a glimpse of them in person.
The queue was completely empty as we approached. There was, quite literally, not a soul in sight
.
We had both had poor experiences on the motion side on previous visits, so we opted to do the “walking tour”……pretty sure it’s the same video clip without all the herky jerky, headache inducing movement of the motion simulator. We took our seats on the benches with maybe a dozen other guests (if that), the Team Member closed the door, and we enjoyed a helicopter expedition to the Arctic (brrrrr
).
After the ride, park goers pass through Base Station Wild Arctic and get to spend time with the animals that call the exhibit home.
There are actually some pretty neat little tidbits of information in the displays, if you take the time to poke around a bit.
Let me assure you, there’s enough cool (pun intended
) details to make me realize this girl is, and will NEVER be, tough enough to endure those conditions for ANY period of time. What can I say? Call me soft
. Perhaps I lack the explorer spirit, but I can’t imagine living in that climate, under those circumstances, for more than a minute. I don’t like camping when its warm outside, can you imagine what it would be like in one of those Arctic base camps?
While the camp displays are intriguing and worth exploring, the real gems of this attraction are the animals. While it was oddly serene in there with almost no one else around (save for a wonderful Team Member who we enjoyed chatting it up with for a spell), it certainly was nice to have a great view of the stars of Wild Artic. We stood for the longest time and watched the beluga whale swim back and forth in the pool…..she didn’t pop up out of the water at any point for us to get a good look at that beautiful face, but her gracefulness was evident nonetheless.
While Ginger and Aku were sadly not on exhibit that day
, we DID get to watch them play on the walrus cam that was stationed inside Wild Artic. My word, they are so stinking cute its almost criminal. Those little faces!!!
And while we didn’t get a chance to see the babies in person, we did get to see this handsome devil……..and oh, was he happy to indulge us in front of the massive windows of the tank.
@chiamarie, correct me if I’m wrong, but this big dude is Garfield…yes?
We were standing at the walrus tank when a little girl and her mom came up and joined us. The little one was maybe 5 or 6 … perhaps kindergarten age or 1st grade at most. We were all quite fascinated for the longest time, watching that HUGE body move so gracefully in the water. As he bobbed around and turned toward the glass, his (ahem!
)
anatomy came into full view…..at which point that sweet little child, in all of her innocence, said to her mother “Momma, he has the biggest belly button I’ve ever seen”. I swear Steve almost peed himself laughing, and that poor mother couldn’t beat a path to the exit fast enough
. Oh, the innocence of youth.
After a tour through the gift shop as we exited (where I was sorely tempted to buy myself a stuffed polar bear or walrus to satisfy my inner child…..but somehow managed to find the strength to resist) we decided to stop at Mango Joe’s and have something to eat. Steve had specifically noted that he wanted to check out Mango Joe’s on this trip, and it made sense to do so then since we were literally right there. I had a feeling we would more than get our money’s worth on the dining plan that day
.
After a quick perusal of the menu (though this pic is just a partial)…..
…..we placed our order. Steve had “Joe’s ½ pound bacon burger” with a side of fries (though this photo shows much more detail on the fries than it does on the burger….d’oh!
):
I opted for the chicken parmesan sub with fries, which was on the second side of the menu board which I somehow missed snapping a photo of. Pretty sure it was around the $11.99 price point, or thereabouts.
While we were both entitled to an additional side item, we opted to share some grapes: there was still much day ahead of us and we didn’t want to be too full, too early in the day. We also both had a beverage. Our out of pocket cost, had we not been on the dining plan, would have been between $35-40……so pretty much the price of one of our all day dining plans. Between our breakfast earlier in the day and this early lunch, we were almost at the break even point and it wasn’t even noon yet.
We easily found a table in their outdoor dining area, and enjoyed the fresh, warm spring air as we ate. A host of very adorable, and very
persistent ducks meandered through the tables and worked hard at charming scraps from those who were dining. Steve may have fed a French fry or two to Mr. Duck ……
…..for which he received a stern scolding from
@chiamarie after the fact
. French fries are apparently even worse for ducks than they are for people. So as much as Mr. Duck gave us a very convincing story (and in our defense, he really did look famished), we know we should have sent him packing and have promised to refrain from sharing our lunches with the animal beggars in the future.
Public service announcement: DON'T FEED THE DUCKS.
I took a peek at the SeaWorld app as we finished off the last of our food (which was great, by the way…..Steve enjoyed his burger, and my chicken parm sub was tastier than I expected it to be!) and noticed that One Ocean was going to be starting in just over half an hour. Since we were literally right across from Shamu Stadium…..and feeling a tad full from lunch…..we figured it would be a great time to take in a show. We had a quick restroom break, took our grapes and the balance of our beverages to go, and headed into the stadium to select our seats.
Pre-show selfie!
The park was quiet enough, and we arrived at the stadium early enough, that we managed to snag literally PERFECT seats: almost dead center of the stage and the first row outside of the splash zone. The only people to have better seats than us were those with reserved seating, and even then, their vantage point was only marginally better than ours. This was most certainly the best general seating we had ever scored for this show…..which explains the happy faces above.
One Ocean isn’t my favorite show at the park (that honor goes to Dolphin Days), but it’s still pretty darn awesome and a “Do Not Miss” attraction at SeaWorld. The killer whales are such beautiful, strong, amazing creatures, and the show highlights their majestic personalities quite wonderfully.
There were lots of big jumps, big waves, and big splashes to delight young and old. Those sitting in the soak zone and hoping for a cooling splash down were certainly not disappointed
.
And as I sit here typing this entry, I’m listening to the One Ocean song on Youtube and counting the days until I’m back at the park:
.
Which reminds me….I must see if I can download the park soundtrack somewhere
. Is it weird that I especially love the Journey to Atlantis song, too?
One song for a brand new day,
HEY A NA NA NA,
HEY A NA NA NA,
HEY A NA NA NA,
OH OH OH OH...
OH, HEY A NA NA NA,
HEY A NA NA NA,
HEY A NA NA NA,
OH OH OH OH...
OH, Ocean to ocean,
We stand by the shore,
All that comes after,
And what came before.
More to come!