Photo TR: Sea World, Disney World, and Busch Gardens Tampa

We took a 5-day vacation to Orlando to visit Sea World, Disney World, and Busch Gardens Tampa. We were so thankful my sister-in-law sent us an email that a cold front was pushing sough into Florida. Lows in the 30’s and highs in the 50’s. Not your typical Florida weather. We began on a red-eye and arrived in Orlando Friday at 6am. Our first stop was Sea World. I hadn’t been there in years and it was Gyendolynne’s first visit. We have Platinum passes from Sea World San Diego which made the trip easy and very pleasant. I’ll break down the days below, but the next few days went like this: Friday (Day 1) – Sea World, Saturday (Day 2) – Disney World’s Magic Kingdom, Sunday (Day 3) – Disney World’s Epcot and MGM Studios, and Monday (Day 4) – Busch Gardens Tampa.

Day 1: Sea World was great, not crowded and the park was fun. The Platinum passes got us parking up front. It was so cold people wore ski caps! And the wind blew too. I wanted to ride Journey to Atlantis but knew I’d get wet and it was just too cold. So we started off riding Kraken and then took in the Clyde and Seamore show. Kraken was a great ride, very smooth. The show was different than San Diego’s and we actually liked it better. Next, we headed to the Pets Ahoy show. Again, our passes saw us in premiere seating at all the shows all day. Pets Ahoy was really great as the animals did most everything without trainers on stage. The trainers came out for a couple skits; but, it was mostly the animals doing their stunts. Very enjoyable. We skipped the dolphin show (Blue Horizons) and had lunch because Odyssea was scheduled for 12:30 and Shamu was scheduled for 1 and it was already after 11. The Odyssea show was interesting; but, we couldn’t stay because we wanted to see Shamu and the new baby. Shamu didn’t disappoint. The baby swam around and came out of the water once in a while, too. One of the trainers appeared very young and she was the one Shamu shot up out of the water on his nose. I always liked that. The whales wanted to just swim around so we didn’t get to see the 12,000 pound whale this time. The weather warmed up after the show so I thought it would be a great time to ride Kraken one more time and then Journey to Atlantis….WHOOPS! I got soaked on JtA. I know, what a shock. Gyendolynne just laughed. We judged it best to leave the park then and put me in some dry clothes. On the way out we bought a couple of souvenirs. I was very glad my brother lived close by as we headed there to clean and dry my clothes. We had planned to see them for dinner anyway and just arrived earlier than expected. After dinner and hanging out, we headed to our hotel. Unfortunately it was over booked and we didn’t have a room. They tried to make some concessions to accommodate us but I wasn’t happy (and we had been up around 40 hours at that point.) Graciously, my brother offered to let us stay with them for the whole trip instead. (We had planned on staying with them Monday night only.)

Day 2: My brother got tickets to Disney World and Park Hopper passes. He worked there in December and he knows some people. Last time we went to Disney, we didn’t visit Magic Kingdom so this time we went there first. It turned out to be a great day, aside from it being so friggin’ cold! There was a new Cinderella show in front of the castle which we saw first. Then we headed to Tomorrow Land to ride Space Mountain. Buzz Lightyear was down for maintenance. It was a terrific day anyway. We rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Pirates of the Caribbean, It’s a Small World (yes I know!), the Bear Show (which I will never hear the end of), Haunted Mansion, and did a few other things too. The parade was colorful, also. I have to relay one story about Disney. We were having lunch after Small World and the area was packed. After we paid for our meal we headed outside. (Did I say it is really cold yet?) There was no place to sit and so we just put our tray on a ledge and stood there eating. We weren’t there long when a young man sweeping trash and cleaning the tables came to us and said there was a table available under the covering. I asked him, “Can you hold it?” and gathered our lunch onto the tray and followed him. The young man wiped thoroughly cleaned the table and we sat down and comfortably finished our lunch. I was so impressed by his customer care. He didn’t have to say anything to us and could have just wiped off the table and continued on sweeping up trash. But he saw us and made sure we sat down to eat. That is why Disney World is such an awesome place. When leaving, we stopped at Guest Relations to tell them how he made our day even more pleasant. His name was Michael. For dinner we took my brother and his wife out to Friendly Confines.

Day 3: We used the Park Hopper passes for Epcot and MGM Studios. My brother accompanied us to ride Mission Space. It was his first time riding it. We rode Test Trak next, and then bought some more souvenirs. My brother took the souvenirs home for us and we went to MGM. We just had to get on the Tower and I wanted to ride Rock ‘n Roller Coaster again. We ate at MGM and then went back to Epcot where we used the fast pass for Honey I Shrunk the Audience. The Soarin’ ride was packed, there was an 80 minute wait and the fast passes were already up to 7:30-8:30pm. It was only 4! We’ll have to do that another time. The Living Seas was next door and it’s great. I’ve been there before and they change it every time. I enjoyed this visit best. The pictures will probably show the fun. After a full day of park hopping, we headed to Cracker Barrel for dinner--a favorite place.

Day 4: This was the day for Busch Gardens. It may only be an hour and a half trip, but sometimes it feels like a lifetime! We started our day where we finished the night before, at Cracker Barrel for breakfast. We arrived at BG around 11am and our platinum passes got us up-front parking again. Anheuser Busch really runs their parks well and they take good care of pass members. We have Cedar Point and SFMW season passes, but no one takes care of you quite as well as AB parks. Even arriving 2 hours after the park opened didn’t hurt the day. We went immediately to Sheikra and rode twice in a row in the front with our passes and without much of a wait. We wanted to ride twice and get our pictures which we did. We also bought the DVD, too. It was really great. I wanted to ride Python and some others I missed last time. They’re the kind of rides that are hard on Gyendolynne and I knew she wouldn’t ride them; but she loves taking pictures of me riding. Unfortunately Kumba wasn’t running so I was glad we rode it the last time we visited Busch Gardens. Next, we took the skyride to Nairobi to ride Montu and then the Serengeti train. Unfortunately it was only a 20 minute round trip due to maintenance. So we rode a couple more coasters and then headed to Gwazi and the Hospitality Center…MMMM BEER! Gyendolynne suggested we take the beer training school. It was a good suggestion and now we are both honorary Beermasters. Watch out Wally! It was our last night in Florida and my sister-in-law treated us with homemade “pasties” for dinner. (“Pasties” [pronounced with a short a sound] are individual pastries made of pie dough filled with potatoes, meat, and onions—an English and Moore family tradition and a very nice thing for my sister-in-law to make considering she is a vegetarian.) I especially enjoyed them as I haven’t had any for 2 or 3 years. They were the perfect end to a fun trip and we flew home the next day.

If you have made it this far, thanks! Here are the pictures!

Here's another shot of the baby trying to splash the crowd.

The baby is on the right trying to splash the crowd. It was really cute and funny.

My favorite move. I like it when Shamu brings the trainer up on the nose. I think it would be great to be able to do that.

Let's go surfin'

Going across the stage. I think it must be her favorite move because she does it all the time.

or that!!!!

If I weighed 6000 pounds, I couldn't do that.

The one on the left was the baby. All you can see is it's dorsal fin.

How about a couple of stars!

Yay, Shamu stadium

The donkey, I just loved those commercials.

Clydesdales Hamlet

Of course it is an Anheuser Busch park, here is the proof

The sky ride. We thought the flag looked great blowing in the wind.

The pets ahoy set.

Time for something to eat.

These 2 need to be rescued off the island

These trainers did a great job with the sea lions.

Clyde and Seamore show.

Gotta get my smashed pennies

This thing can get mad.

Be careful Gyendolynne

Ooooh, Kraken eggs, don't disturb!

I'm in the second row on the far right.

We decided to ride Kraken.

The entrance that everyone was avoiding early in the morning.

It definately looks cold to me.

Sea turtles

Pink flamingos. Can you tell it is cold? The wind is blowing too.

Hey it's Shamu, we made it!

The trip continued.

Small World continues....

I think we still have the song in our heads.

Onto It's a Small World.

Here's their finale.

The bears, don't do this, you will never hear the end of it!

Wooo Hooo, Pirates of the Caribbean. Yo ho, yo ho, a pirates life for me.

I don't get what the deal was with me having my mouth open, but if this offends anyone, sorry.

Yep, they just keep coming.

Here's another one.

Ooooh, On ride photo.

Here's Gyendolynne waiting patiently.

After Space Mountain, we headed to Blue Thunder Mountain Railroad. I was thinking of riding Splash Mountain....NO WAY!! Too Cold

Buzz Lightyear is down.

Entering Tommorowland

Cinderellabration

Hey, it's us!

Out in front of Cinderella's castle

We took the bus from the front to the castle

Wow, Goofy

Thanks for the tickets Jeff!

Hey, we're at Magic Kingdom!

I'm soaked and it is around 50 degrees!

I really don't know what I was thinking.

Another ride on Kraken

I never heard of a Green and Yellow penguin...

Look, Penguins!

Anheuser Busch always has nice landscaping.

This waterfall was really cool.

Yep, the show is over

Here's the group!

Trip continued...

On our way through the entrance.

My brother and Gyendolynne at the entrance to Mission Space. No wait at all.

Entrance to the Worlds. The runners were running around this. I believe they started at Magic Kingdom.

They were having the Disney marathon happening today.

Here we are at Epcot

There's the castle.

Another pic of us, leaving Magic Kingdom.

We took the ferry back to the parking lot. We were told it would be faster than waiting for the monorail.

Magic Kingdom's Christmas tree.

Here's main street, still decked out for Christmas.

You can never have too many pictures in front of this castle.

Here's that guy with his mouse again.

The Liberty Bell

Another good float

The good float

What's up Chip, or Dale?

Everyone's dancing

Evil Float

Winnie the Pooh

The wonderful thing about tiggers, is tiggers are wonderful things...

Alice, not in wonderland

Pinocchio

I don't know what the deal was with these guys.

It was like he owned the place or something.

This mouse was everywhere.

Parade shots coming up.

This face actually moves.

These tombstones cracked me up.

Now for something better.

I don't know where this smile comes from.

Trip Continues.

No wait, just get on the next ride. They were running 3 cars too!

Here's the exit. They have photos and DVDs of the ride.

This is why we're here. What a great ride.

Anheuser Busch's landscaping, second to none.

We will be back for beer school later.

We called it our toaster car because it looks like a toaster.

Here's our car.

Amazingly, this was only around 10 hours later. We were back here for breakfast on our way to Busch Gardens. We were given the same seats!

Yep, we're in Florida, it is cold, and the fireplace is going.

Cracker Barrel for dinner.

They must like your smile.

Sure, you can play with them, but they eat me!

Now his friend is in the act.

HELP, He's eating me.

Gyendolynne, don't pick a sharks nose!

My mouth is actually closed here, that won't last long.

Part of the new attractions at the Living Seas.

MGM Christmas tree with Tower of Terror in the background.

I enjoyed Rock 'n Roller Coaster this time. It was fairly smooth.

Tower of Terror....Muhahahaha

Bus ride to MGM.

and here's his dog.

There's that mouse's hand again.

Gyendolynne, upper left on Test Trak. How did we all end up in the same seat?

Me, upper left on Test Trak.

Jeff in the upper left on Test Trak.

The instrument panel

Hey, we're about to take off.

Waiting for Gary Sinise to start talking.

The astronaut uniforms.

Trip continues, this should be the end.

First drop, front row has great view, but the back row has best airtime.

We graduated....First in class. Maybe Wally will hire us since he is part owner.

I'm waiting for your picture up here Wally. You are part owner, right?

Self explanatory.

Another on ride shot.

Me on Scorpion. I am in the second row.

Gyendolynne and her turtle friend.

yep, now it's time to drink. This is an aluminum bottle. I thought it was pretty cool and it kept my beer colder longer.

Some more animals,

First we have to see Tex on Rhino Rally,

We might be getting close to some drinking time.

and a donkey.

Anheuser Busch, you gotta have the Clydesdales Hamlet.

Sweet signature move.

Lookout Gyendolynne, here comes Montu.

Yep, more animals.

Cheetah Chase from the sky ride.

A shot from the sky ride.

Anyone that has a cat knows this look.

Tiger picture.

What a great ride.

Hey great trip report. Leanne and I just went to IOA and Sea World this past weekend. Yeah Sea World was great...I am glad we decided to get those Platinum passes as well. thanks for posting!!

Awesome Photo TR, thanks for posting all the great pictures!

Florida parks are a lot of fun to visit, exspecaly in the winter!

^^Eric, I saw your video of Sea World and thought it was really great. I wish we could have seen the end of the Odyssea show.

What a great Photo TR, Rick! It looks like you had a good time in Florida! Thanks for posting!

--Sören

Wow awesome Photo TR! Looks like you guys had a good time.

Hidden Mickey on the right.

I'm waiting for your picture up here Wally. You are part owner, right?

I sold of some of my shares to buy my house. I still have a little bit invested... so yeah, where the hell is my photo???

They actually did take my picture for that ad. For some reason I think they decided not to use the long haired, die dyed, hippe looking guy.

Great photos Rick and Gewn!!!

Hope we can make it down for Super Bowl!

Man, ^ you honestly look more freakflag-on, than I ever imagine I'd be, LOL!

Cute as a button, too, lol! I take it, the 'jewelry' is gone in a few spots, now?

Yeah... I cleaned up a bit after my motorcycle accident.

I only have big holes in my ears now. That's it. And a tattoo of a strawberry on my ass