We're Home From the Road!! 17 Days of Travel with Tons of Pics~COMPLETE!!

[DizNee Luver]

Where is he working this time Laurie, or does he know?

He is going to be a lifeguard but we don't know where yet.

 

[kaoden39]

Laurie,

Have you seen the preview for Cinderella?

 

[DizNee Luver]

Laurie,

Have you seen the preview for Cinderella?

'Ummmm, YES!!!

 

[kaoden39]

I can hardly wait!

 

[DnA2010]

Really looking forward to Cindy also

PTR laurie?

 

[PHXscuba]

Ick on the Westminister Super 8.

We liked the Zoo bus tour for the same reasons you did -- see a lot of animals with less walking, and then we could decide what we wanted to go back to see. We had heard the pandas developed Disney-type lines, so we went there really early in the day. Loved the koalas too. And my kids were excited to see polar bears and hippos for the first time ... for some reason they don't have polar bears in the Phoenix Zoo!

We keep saying we're going to go the Capistrano and see the mission but we never have made it. Luckily SoCal has enough to keep us busy for many many trips!

PHXscuba

 

[DizNee Luver]

I can hardly wait!

Really looking forward to Cindy also

PTR laurie?

Cinderella is my favorite princess & story........definitely looking forward to seeing this!!

Ick on the Westminister Super 8.

We liked the Zoo bus tour for the same reasons you did -- see a lot of animals with less walking, and then we could decide what we wanted to go back to see. We had heard the pandas developed Disney-type lines, so we went there really early in the day. Loved the koalas too. And my kids were excited to see polar bears and hippos for the first time ... for some reason they don't have polar bears in the Phoenix Zoo!

We keep saying we're going to go the Capistrano and see the mission but we never have made it. Luckily SoCal has enough to keep us busy for many many trips!

PHXscuba

I love the koala's.....they are so darned cute!

Yes, so much more to explore.......gonna focus on San Diego if we get to do another trip south (for more than Disneyland).

 

[DizNee Luver]

Day 13, Part 1:​

We were up at 7am so we could be at SeaWorld by 9am. We got parked and headed to the gates. Once inside, we stopped at Guest Services to get the twins the Rapid Attraction Passes (RAP's). This didn't take too long & so we headed towards our Breakfast with Shamu meal.













We were early, so we waited by the underwater viewing pools.













At 9:45 we were able to go to the check-in desk for the breakfast. We checked in and took a family picture before being led to our tables.



Once at our tables, the waiter got our drink order and then told us about the buffet. Since Shyann has food allergies, the manager came over and had a special plate of bacon & sausage sent over from a different kitchen. The buffet uses slices of bread under the meats to soak up the grease. We went thru the small but good buffet and returned to our seats for the "show". The trainers come out and talk about the whales, their diets, size, ages, etc and then the whales did some tricks.

 

[DizNee Luver]

Day 13, Part 2:​

More pictures from our seat/tables. You are really up close and all tables are in the "Wet Zone".





















Michayla was fascinated with the whales!

























Seeing the kids faces with the whales being close enough to touch (if there wasn't the thick glass wall between us) was well worth doing this meal. For it being summer time, there were tons of empty tables....so it was like a private show just for us! We finished our breakfast, picked up our family photo and headed towards Shipwreck Falls.

 

[DizNee Luver]

Day 13, Part 3:​

We got to Shipwreck Falls and the attendant gave us a return time about 15 minutes out. They don't have a very big area for those using the wheelchair entrance, so they send families down one at a time. These are pictures from the area.









Once we had our return time, we took the kids to see some & touch some sea life in the tidepools.

 

[DizNee Luver]

Day 13, Part 4:​

We headed back the attendant who radio'd down to the wheelchair loading dock to see if we could head down. We were escorted down and loaded .and on our way. So the very first wave came up and slapped me in the face & filled my ear with water. It only got worse from there!!!

























By the time the ride was done, Addy & I looked like we had showered with our clothes on......we were drenched!!! SeaWorld offers the full size body dryers (you pay to use them) and we stood in them for 2 turns and still was wet......I love these rides but hate getting soaked!! A little water is ok, but this was too much!

 

[DizNee Luver]

Day 13, Part 5:​

Ty & Derek wanted to ride Manta, so they took off on their own while the rest of the group headed to the Blue Horizon Dolphin Show. Since it was almost showtime, we ended up way up high in the stadium....but it actually made for a great view!







Mike went to the tip top to get these pictures of the park and area from above.











The Blue Horizon Dolphin Show:

 

[DizNee Luver]

Day 13, Part 6:​

More of the Blue Horizon Dolphin Show!!

 

[DizNee Luver]

Day 13, Part 7:​

More of the Blue Horizon Dolphin Show!















































We really enjoyed the show. I love dolphins anyway, so getting to see them perform was neat! The kids were amazed at how high they could jump out of the water!! What was neat was the show combined dolphins, birds, acrobatics and diving. By the way, the shows are free with your admission to the parks!!!

 

[DizNee Luver]

Day 13, Part 8:​

We decided to head back towards Manta after I received a text telling me that the ride broke down when they were up on the platform almost ready to load. So we went towards the ride in hopes of catching them on the ride.....and we did!!! As I went to find a good angle to catch them, I passed the Manta Ray pool and flamingos.







There they are in the 2nd to the last row!













It was pretty hot but we wanted to get 2 rides in before taking a break back at the motel. So we walked towards Atlantis. These are from our walk across the park.

















While I got the return time for Atlantis, the kids found some shade.



.......Anthony sat in the sun.





Mike & I ran over to Wild Arctic and was able to get a return time for that one too!! We went back to Atlantis and met up with the family. Betty & Mike opted to stay with Michayla while the rest of us rode it.

 

[DizNee Luver]

Day 13, Part 9:​

So it was time for Derek, Tyler, Anthony, Addy, Shyann & myself to ride Atlantis. I really don't know what I was thinking.....I'm not a fan of drops but here I go getting on a ride that does that. We start going and I was bordering on a panic attack.....Derek turns around and gives me his hand for a few moments. The boat you are in ends up going up in an elevator that's dark and it tips at times.......AWWWWWWW, you come out and you're up high & you do the big drop right at the beginning.....the rest of the ride was fine. Don't see me doing this one again!!





















When we get off, we head over to the Wild Arctic. You can either do the motion simulator ride or do a walk thru. (after the ride, you also do the walk thru). Some of us did the simulator while Mike & Betty did the walk thru only. These are the pictures Mike got.















Wild Arctic ride is a very lame Star Tours type ride. Think I'll pass on this one too if we ever return. We headed out to the gates to take a break at the motel. These were as we wandered towards the exit.

 

[DizNee Luver]

Day 13, Part 10:​

We got back to the motel and I gathered all the dirty clothes and headed to the laundry room. Mike and Derek took Anthony, Addy & Shyann to the pool while Betty, Ty & Michayla rested back in the rooms. I was able to sit out by the pool and get a few pictures of the kids having fun in the water with my phone.













I had the last 2 batches in the dryer and we decided to have dinner at the restaurant at the motel...... Amigo Spot. Delicious Mexican food & drinks!!























The food and the service here was EXCELLENT!! If you ever stay in Hotel Circle, whether you stay at Kings Inn or not, this restaurant is a MUST!!

I grabbed the last 2 batches and took all the laundry back to the room. I did a little happy dance, as this should be the last time I do laundry while on vacation!!

 

[DizNee Luver]

Day 13, Part 11:​

After dinner, I was ready to go back to SeaWorld but most of the family was fried from the day, so Mike & I took Anthony and Addy back and the rest stayed at the motel.



The kids & I wanted to ride Manta, but Mike decided to stay on solid ground, so the kids & I got in line (which was relatively short) and Mike took pictures of the manta rays.













Addy & I loved the ride but Anthony did not....partly because he had to sit by himself and your feet dangle, you tip on your side & go weightless at times. I think if someone had been beside him, he would have done better.

Mike took the kids to pet the Manta Rays while I went to guest services to pick up our photo CD. I had the boys & our Manta on-ride photo #'s, our Atlantis on ride photo # and in park pictures we had done. (I forgot to have them add our Breakfast with Shamu picture since we purchased it in the morning). This took FOREVER!! I had an employee that didn't speak and was hearing impaired, so communication was complicated. They were having server issues because they were trying to get two computers to talk to each other (ride photos & park photos) and it wasn't cooperating. So by the time we finally found our pics and got them put together.....I had totally forgot about our Shamu breakfast picture. Mike & the kids came & found me because it had been about 40 minutes since I had left them. We finally got our 8 pictures on a disc. The CD is $29.99 and each ride photo is an addt'l $10 each....so it cost me $49.99. I think they figure the ride photos by the ride itself and not how many times you rode it. So we did Manta (3 different photos) & Atlantis (for 1 photo).

With disc in hand we hustled down to the gates for the Shamu Celebration, night time show.

 

[DizNee Luver]

Day 13, Part 12:​

More of the Shamu night show!!

 

[DizNee Luver]

Day 13, Part 13:​

Finishing up the Shamu show.

Not a lot of people in the Wet Zones and this would be why!!

















After the show, there was a fireworks show. I always love fireworks, so a perfect way to end our evening. I loved the Shamu show....especially at night. The lights & water just added to it's awesomeness!!!!









We did a little shopping on our way out of the park and then headed back to the motel to upload pics and some shut eye.

These are the SeaWorld photos we had taken at the park and the on-ride pictures.