Photo TR: SeaWorld and IOA

Originally I planned 4 hours at Cypress Gardens, but with the nonexistent crowds so early in the day, we managed to get out of there in 2. Just enough time to head to Sea World to process our Busch Platinum passes, which we were originally going to do on Sunday, but decided to "git-r-done" early so we wouldn't interfere with Sheikra ERT. Getting to Sea World we were surprised at our upgrade to free premium parking. After a short walk to the park we were again shocked. This time, not good though. Our 2 year pass to ALL Busch parks would be.......a piece of paper. No picture, no lamination, just our name and "PLATINUM". Kinda seemed cheap, much like the way WDW does it. I’d rather a nice plastic pass with a crummy black and white picture of some guy that barely looks like me. How this will survive in my wallet for 2 years is beyond me. My IOA pass from 3 years ago is wearing thin, as is my 2 month old Dorney pass. Since we were there, we decided to ride Kraken once. Line said 40 minutes, ended up being about 20, and we rode twice thanks to our platinum pass perks. Its probably still my favorite floorless coaster. We stopped to say hi to the sea turtles at Turtle Point on the way out. I felt really bad for the one turtle missing part of his shell and a back foot.

It was about time for food, so off to IOA we went for some Mythos. Getting Greg in the park was easy thanks to the new self ticket windows and within minutes we were sitting down chugging back some drinks to quench our thirst. (Its hot in Florida in June) The waiter, Jason, was great, having another drink waiting before we finished our current drinks. Knowing we'd have a great dinner in 5 short hours, we opted for soup and salads instead of my usual Cedar Plank Salmon. Greg was happy that they had a Gluttenfree menu, and the awesome waiter even knew what he his condition was (Greg only pointed out that he couldn‘t have wheat). I went with the always tasty lobster and corn bisque followed by the mozzarella and tomato salad. We noticed it had begun to downpour, but by the time we were done eating, it was done raining. After getting his Power Pass processed we headed over to Universal so he could ride Mummy. Line was 35 minutes, so we did the single rider line, 15 minutes later we were on in the same train. I gave him my front row seat and went with row 3. It was running good and Greg liked it. This was my first ride since being on Hollywood’s version, and this is indeed much better (even though I think the storyline and backwards section are better there) We stopped to ride Shrek since it was a walk-on before heading back over to IOA for some rides. Before Todd “Longworld” Long would meet up with us, we rode each dragon, Hulk, and Spiderman. It was the official "Gay Day" down in Orlando, and this year instead of doing just Disney, they expanded it to 2 days, one at Disney, one at Universal. Using the single rider line on Spidey, I managed to get front row in a car with all gay guys. I pointed out the giant green penis, and they were all happy. None of them noticing it before, but I‘m sure will keep an eye out for it the next time they ride. Leave it to a straight guy to point out a penis to the gay guys.

Todd and Will would arrive just before closing, so one more dragon ride was in order. Then it was off to dinner at Emeril's Tchoup Chop at the Royal Pacific Resort to meet up with Karen, Todd‘s girlfriend. Food varied from New York Strip Steaks, pork chops, Hawaiian Chicken, Ribs, pork egg rolls, dumplings, and desserts such as coconut souffle, coconut creme brulee, banana cream pie, peanut butter pie, and pineapple upside down cake. Karen chose the bottled sparkling water, but the rest of us opted for good ole tap water. Greg got the sake sampler, and I had a Bloody Mary mixed with sake, soy, and wasabi. The food was excellent and worth every penny, better than at the original Emeril’s, I thought. Then it was back to Tampa for some much needed sleep. Todd was sure to call me on the way to point out a light-up billboard for Showgirls Men’s Club that some letters burnt out on, now saying “ho girls Men’s Club”.

Here's my dessert at Tchoup Chop, Coconut souffle. Dan, Dave, and Greg should all cower in fear knowing one sneeze could send them to their deaths.

Todd may live in a trailer park, but he don't eat like it. Here he proudly shows off his Tchoup Chop dinner of Chicken, Ribs, Lo Mein, some broccoli crap, and something else.

Greg barely survived the Cypress Catepillar and decided to call the exterminator to settle the score.

Look, its a coaster. It has forces, therefore it is not Silver Star, Hydra, or Silver Bullet. It would be Hulk.

Poor lil' turtle. He got hit by a boat, or sharktums, or something. Amazing that he's still alive. Now he gets all the Busch beer he wants for free

Here's Kraken, the finest floorless in Florida

(yes, I KNOW its the only one!)

Wow! I always thought you had to go to PA if you wanted to meet up with Todd. Looks like you guys got your hands on some jammin food during your trip.

I have gotten premium parking everytime I flashed my BGW Platinum Pass, but I did have to ask at Tampa (Both times). Fortunately, I am still toting around my old Platinum Pass which is made of the tougher and more durable plastic. Catrina has the newer pass, but it does not have a photo on it. She had to show her ID at the gate, but now they just do the biometic thingy. I would to be working at any Busch Park gate and have to deal with the amount of pass variations that are currently floating around.

I've decided that there's definitely something off with the Kraken wait times. There have been at least 3 occaisions when we've gone there and they have posted some insane wait time like 55min and we wait for 15... I even asked last time "is this time accurate?" "No, it's actually about 10 minutes longer than what's posted." "But I can see into the queue house and it's just out of the station!!!" "<>"

Weird...

Tchoup Chop looks good, I was kind of scared to try it but now I'm going to go for it! Mmmm Mythos...btw, my mom had your Cedar Point Salmon when we went last week!

Elissa "waiting for Part 3" Alvey

I pointed out the giant green penis, and they were all happy.

You what the what? :shock:

Mmmm Coconut, which could send Kristi to her death.

What kind of Gluttenfree stuff does Mythos have now??? I'm intrigued.

Tchoup Chop looks good, I was kind of scared to try it but now I'm going to go for it!

 

Elissa "waiting for Part 3" Alvey

You mean you never went to Tchoup Chop? Tchoup Chop is the best restaraunt there! I would recommend the Kiowe Smoked Ribs for appetizer and the Chocolate Chocolate Cake (this isn't just a good cake, it's dense, heavy, and is closer to fudge than cake. But it is WAY better than fudge) for dessert.

I got dizzy just looking at the coconut dessert! I want to try that restaurant the next time I'm down there. We thought about it back in March, but I didn't think there would be anything there that Mary would eat.

As always, Derek's TRs RULE! Looking forward to the next part...

dt

Hey man,

great pictures! I really liked it! It looks like you have had some very good food, mmmmhhhh!

--Soeren

Tchoup Chop blows away any other resort restaurant (both Universal and Disney). It's better than Mythos.

I like the peanut butter cake the best for dessert.

I also recommend the banana cream pie since my mom and dad think it's the best they ever had. Can't recommend an entree because I order off the kids menu for that.