One huge benefit of having tickets to the Orlando theme parks through Make A Wish and Give Kids the World is the "perks package" for each park. It allows for maximum flexibility with your days instead of having to follow your "months ahead of time FastPass plan" that may or may not allow you to simply visit attractions as you come to them. Nicholas had been set on spending his birthday at Hollywood Studios, but as of Monday night we weren't sure what the rest of the week was going to look like. We looked at weather, scanned all our ticket trade options for thrill rides, and considered evening entertainment options at GKTW.
After much back and forth on our plans, we decided on Tuesday to give Sea World a whirl rather than trading in our voucher there for tickets to Tampa Bay Busch Gardens. Instead of the longer commute to a bigger park, we decided sleeping in and taking a relaxed day at a smaller park close by would serve us all better...we knew we had a big day at Universal coming the next day!
We rolled into the park shortly after 11. First order of business was to ride Manta. Unfortunately Nicholas was not tall enough to enjoy this thrilling coaster where you are suspended below the track on your stomach.
He was a good sport about it though and (only somewhat begrudgingly) sanctioned Ian and I taking those that wanted to have a quick morning thrill. Kylie, who doesn't like inverted roller coasters but still loves theme parks, quickly volunteered to sit out with him. Sadly, Caleb, who does like roller coasters but recently has discovered that ones that go upside down tend to give him a headache, also sat out. Part of me hated to leave the half of my kids behind, but it was an exciting ride and with our front of the line pass, they only had to wait about eight minutes for us.
Nicholas was pretty bummed about having missed the ride when his siblings raved about how fun it was, so there was a close call on a meltdown. It's a balance trying to keep him the focus of the trip yet make sure that everyone has the time of their lives...Make a Wish is about the family as a whole and not just the wish kid.
Thankfully we were just a few minutes walk from the Stingray Lagoon at that point, so we decided to pay a visit to the graceful creatures of the deep. Nicholas's pass entitled us to a free basket of fish to feed the stingrays, and the attendant smiled at Nicholas, asked how many siblings he had and passed a basket of fish for each family member instead of just one.
The experience is smelly, involves holding a dead fish, and is a bit intimidating when you consider that these critters have a sharp barb on their tails that can produce venom (memories of the Steve Irwin tragedy anyone?) but it is also exhilarating when you manage to keep still long enough to have a sting ray come and suction the fish out of your fingers.
After getting up close and personal (and for some of the crew quite doused in fishy smelling water) with the sting rays, we moved on to make Nicholas's day. While roller coasters are his absolute favorite, any ride that involves getting wet (sometimes I wonder if it is just because I hate getting wet in a park) makes his day. We knew that Splash Mountain at Disney was going to be closed for yearly maintenance on our trip, so he was super stoked that Journey to Atlantis was up and running at SeaWorld.
I had carefully studied riders coming off the ride and noticed where the "wettest seats" tended to be. There was no mistake that the big boys sat in the front row of our boat...
With Nicholas quite satisfied of reaching his goal of getting soaked (and also reaching mine of washing out more of the fishy smell from the boys' shirts) we moved on to catch the 12:30 Orca Encounter. However you feel about killer whales in captivity, it was totally exhilarating to see these beasts of the sea move with such agility and grace. Wide eyed and captivated, we were on the edge of our seats (and thankful that we weren't down in the splash zone) during the show.
This may have further cemented Kylie's current dream of going into marine biology. Watching those immense animals jump out of the water, in unison at that, is truly breathtaking!
The show ended at a logical break for a quick lunch. We grabbed sandwiches and hot dogs and then went to experience the shark encounter. While slightly unnerving to walk underneath so much water, it was absolutely mesmerizing at the same time. The first tunnel was mostly just reef life, full of color and movement.
Once through the reef aquarium viewing area, we moved into an educational room about sharks. So much information to learn...
After logging some on site learning about sharks and other marine life time to justify our Excused Absences for Educational Reasons, we headed on to the second tunnel. It was, depending on how you look at it, either the stuff of dreams (hello Shark Week!) or the stuff of nightmares (again, hello Shark Week!).
Dream come true or worst nightmare realized, it was spectacular to see so many sharks all around, and even over, you at the same time.
Next those of us that could (and wanted to) got a few thrills in by riding both Mako and Kraken. Once again we were thankful for the front of line access that came with Nicholas's GKTW button so he didn't have to sit and wait for us for a super long time. Also thankful for older siblings who aren't roller coaster enthusiasts who were willing to sit and hang with him (and it didn't hurt that we refilled our soda cup with their favorite beverage before we left them).
Adrenaline levels pumped up, we headed for another educational experience combined with adventure. Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin introduced us to baby penguin Puck and took us on a ride adventure with him through his habitat. We had a choice of going on a mild or wild expedition with him and of course we chose wild...
...though we would give it a mild at best rating. It was still fun to slide along with Puck and avoid predators and then we ended up in a penguin habitat where we stayed as long as we could dressed for summer in a freezing environment.
One other thing high on Nicholas's list at Sea World was to catch the Pets Ahoy show that showcased many different types of animals doing quite amazing tricks. There was everything from cats and dogs to ducks and skunks and we kept thinking each new trick was more surprising than the last!
By this point those of us that could had ridden all the thrill rides and we were all HOT. As a family we decided that heading back to GKTW on the early side for dinner and some pool time sounded like the best plan, but first we had to refocus on the wish kid. It was hot and we had fast access to his very favorite ride... Different combinations of us rode three more times to close out the day.
And there may have been talk of riding one more time, but thankfully for those not wanting to get wet again, diversion from water rides can be purchased in the form of spun sugar.
Sea World made for a great short day, providing us time to get back to GKTW for dinner and some of the evening activities. We stopped by our villa to change into swimsuits and headed to Towne Hall.
At dinner Caleb made a new friend! Ms. Merry was rather fond of our teen boy.
And Daniel checked off a mini-bucket list item with dessert when he enjoyed an "oh so nutritious" meal of pizza and a banana split. Because why not?
At least diary and fruit were well covered!
Our original plan was to head straight to the pool after dinner, I mean, we (mostly meaning I) didn't wear our suits under our clothes to dinner for nothing. But as we walked out of Cafe Clayton, we couldn't help but notice there was a lot going on in the Hoppening Place. Who knew that Tuesday was Mayor Clayton's birthday? Like everyTuesday...
That rabbit has got to be several hundred years old by now. Who were we to not celebrate him on the third Tuesday in February of 2020 though? So of course we went in to play some games, each some more ice cream and yell, "Surprise!" when Mayor Clayton arrived at his surprise party.
Before long we had two groups of kids...four who wanted to get to the water and two that were lost in ticket collecting from games to win a prize. While Ian and I would have been happiest to all stay together, this was a time to divide and conquer.
The results of a quick game of rock, paper, scissors saw me heading to the pool with Caleb and the girls and Ian staying at the birthday party with Daniel and Nicholas.
The water was just a bit too chilly for my taste, so I sat on the edge with my feet in the water and watched my crew enjoy themselves. I also made a new friend who was seven years old from Wisconsin. He'd recently had brain surgery and escaped the winter weather of his state to come to Disney World for a few days. I was heartened by the way my crew pulled him in and included him in their "spy games" as if he was one of their little siblings. After talking with his mom for a bit before they left, I was again reminded of what a special place GKTW is...magic does happen there!
Eventually Ian and the little boys came to join us, and try as hard as he would, Nicholas just couldn't take the cold. Poor kid went to stand in a hot shower over by the spray room most of the time. I think they would have stayed until the pool closed at ??? probably 11?
But we knew that the next day held the excitement of Universal Studios, so at 8:30 we headed back to the villa. On the way we passed Julie's Safari theater where the nightly movie was just getting started. So tempting to grab a bucket of popcorn and settle in to watch Up, but again...Universal.
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