We pet the Manta Rays and then moved on to the Dolphins. With Bryce's little "magic" button from GKTW we were able to get in to feed the dolphins for free. This was great because we would probably never spend the money to do it, but it was a great experience for the kids.
They gave each of the kids a little container of fish and explained how they could touch the dolphin when it came up for food.
Spencer feeding a dolphin
The dolphins were really good about letting the kids touch them...at least until the food was gone. =) Since I was holding Bryce, I don't have a picture of him with the dolphins, but he was able to touch them. At one point, the food was gone so one of the trainers came over with some fish. She held one out for the dolphins and when one came up to get it, she got a hold of him so that the kids could reach in and touch him for a while. They all loved it!
We also went to watch them underwater.
Spencer and William wanted a picture with a dolphin swimming behind them, but they just weren't cooperating. Finally, William said, "just take the picture". Guess he got tired of waiting.
A Manatee
Journey to Atlantis ride. If you look closely you will see John and Jacob in the front row and William and Spencer in the third row.
heading back up for the rest of the ride
This was really cool. This is the ceiling in the gift shop at the end of the Atlantis ride. There was also an area like this on the floor. Since Bryce and Annalise were too little to go on the ride they stayed here and watched the fish and sharks while the rest of us took turns on the ride.
Bryce's chair reclines, so this was great for him.
The dolphin show was really amazing. There were a bunch of divers and acrobats doing tricks as well as the dolphins. It was very entertaining.
Here we are making sure we could ride on the Kraken roller coaster. John and I were the only ones tall enough to ride it (I just barely made it!). John's Aunt Victoria had come to spend part of the day with us so she watched the kids while John and I rode. It was quite the thrill! It was nice to be able to ride one with John!
Spencer trying really hard to be tall!
Clyde and Seamore, Take Pirate Island...the sea lion, otter, and walrus show.
We were in the handicap area which is right down near the water. Since we chose not to sit in the soak zone, we were on the edge. Annalise was playing in the walkway in front of me and about 10 minutes into the show, the lady by the exit came over and said that I needed to hold Annalise because a Sea Lion would be coming right by us where she was playing. Sure enough, this Sea Lion and the trainer came right down the stairs beside us and right in front of us. It was really cool. Annalise just keep squealing in delight.
The boys spotted this bungee jump thing and really wanted to try it. Again, this is one of those things that cost extra money, so normally we would not have done it. However, thanks to MAW and the cash that they provided for our family, we were able to say yes this time! It was nice to be able to say yes to the kids when so many things these days have to be no.
Jacob
Jacob attempting a flip
Spencer just loved the jumping. They could get pretty high with this thing.
William's turn
William was all about the flips!
Since the two little ones were asleep during this time, I stayed with them and watched the older boys while John and Aunt Victoria rode on Manta, another roller coaster. I'll have to try that one another time.
A little too late in the day we discovered Shamu's Happy Harbor. This was the area full of kid's activities. We only had about 1/2 hour before the Shamu show and then the closing of the park. Luckily this place had very few people in it and we were able to ride the Shamu Express and the Ocean Commotion multiple times.
Waiting for the Shamu show to begin
Aunt Victoria
In this Stadium, the Wheelchair accessible seats were half way up the stadium. We were right in the middle. Excellent view!
Jacob and Spencer decided that they wanted to get wet so they left our nice, dry area and headed down to the front. One pass of the Whales and they were soaked! Jacob was thrilled. He had been wanting to get wet all day.
After the show, Jacob went down and thanked one of the trainers. When she looked up and saw Bryce, she came right up the steps and said hello. It was fun to talk with her.
They were just starting to put the Christmas lights up around the parks.
Spencer trying to get into the Elf Workshop. Too bad it was just a painting.
Sea World was a lot of fun. The park closed at 6pm so that gave us plenty of time to go back to the village for dinner and the evening activites there.
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