Hi Everyone! We just got back from a fantastic cruise aboard the Disney Magic. Now, like most everyone else that takes a Disney cruise, I am hooked! There were a couple things that didn't go exactly as planned, but we still had a great time and can't wait to do another. Unfortunately with the Disney Marathon next year, a trip to Disney next summer with my niece and possibly the Disneyland Half in 2013, I think another cruise will have to wait till 2014. Maybe prices will come down on the Fantasy by then! :lol: So without further delay...on with the trip report! :sohappy:
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Lessons Learned by a First Time Cruiser: Kids, Shuffleboard and Runners Don't Mix!
- Thread starter Kristia
- Start date
Next we saw the dolphin show. It was different. It was very artsy and incorporated dancing with the dolphins. It also had parrots and birds involved in the show.
False killer whale that was in the dolphin show.
They have a new show called Turtle Trek which was pretty cool. It is a theater based attraction where you go into a 360 degree theater. You are supposed to be a turtle hatching and trying to navigate the dangers of the world. You see through the eyes of a baby turtle. Pretty neat! After the movie you can see some of the sea turtles that Sea World has rescued and rehabbed. These guys were unreleaseable due to permanent injuries.
Quick shot by a manatee!
American Alligator
False killer whale that was in the dolphin show.
They have a new show called Turtle Trek which was pretty cool. It is a theater based attraction where you go into a 360 degree theater. You are supposed to be a turtle hatching and trying to navigate the dangers of the world. You see through the eyes of a baby turtle. Pretty neat! After the movie you can see some of the sea turtles that Sea World has rescued and rehabbed. These guys were unreleaseable due to permanent injuries.
Quick shot by a manatee!
American Alligator
Dan took a ride on the Krakken. Again....I sat this one out. I tried to catch him on the coaster. I think I was moderately successful! 
There he is! He is in the second row, all by his lonesome.
Got one coming into the loop.
We headed over to the seal area to feed some seals! I loved feeding the seals some stinky fish! I think I fed these guys more than the seals. Those egrets were seriously aggressive trying to get the fish from the people.
This guy must have had his fill of fish!
There he is! He is in the second row, all by his lonesome.
Got one coming into the loop.
We headed over to the seal area to feed some seals! I loved feeding the seals some stinky fish! I think I fed these guys more than the seals. Those egrets were seriously aggressive trying to get the fish from the people.
This guy must have had his fill of fish!
Next stop was the the seal lion/otter show "Clyde and Seamore Take Pirate Island"l. It was a cute show, a little corny but cute. There was a pirate mime doing some preshow entertainment. Usually mimes are not my thing (are they anyone's thing?)but this guy was so funny! He was following people as they walked into the theater and would make fun of them or make faces at them. It was really funny. I am glad we go there early to see him (and so we weren't made fun of :lol!
Then this guy made an appearance. He was so massive!
I went back to the seal pool to take some pics since I wasn't able to get any while we were feeding them. One thing I liked about SeaWorld is a lot of their animals have been rescued. Most of the seals in the feeding area looked like they had eye injuries like this guy.
Not sure what kind of bird this was but he had the best camoflage! I didn't even see him at first. His eyes gave him away!
Pretty Scarlet Ibis
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Then this guy made an appearance. He was so massive!
I went back to the seal pool to take some pics since I wasn't able to get any while we were feeding them. One thing I liked about SeaWorld is a lot of their animals have been rescued. Most of the seals in the feeding area looked like they had eye injuries like this guy.
Not sure what kind of bird this was but he had the best camoflage! I didn't even see him at first. His eyes gave him away!
Pretty Scarlet Ibis
One of the last things we did at SeaWorld was Wild Artic. This exhibit houses the polar bears and walrus. You can choose to get to the Artic base station by foot or by highspeed helicopter. We chose the helicopter. It is a simulator similar to Star Tours with more seats. I kind of felt bad for these animals. They had clean enough exhibits, but everything is indoors and it was kind of dark. I know Artic animals and Florida don't mix too well but there was no outside area that I saw. Didn't look like anyway to live. They also had Beluga whales here.
I forgot to mention that we had lunch at the Seafire Inn. I had a roast beef and cheddar with horseradish sauce on a pretzel roll. It was really good! The meal was a little pricey for a quick service but the portions were large.
Some more flamingos before we left.
They had some beautiful gardens there.
That concludes our SeaWorld day! We headed out of the park and hit the road to check into our hotel near Universal. I originally wanted to stay at Universal but I couldn't justify paying the price for one of their hotels. We stayed at a La Quinta about a mile from Universal. I thought about heading to Downtown Disney for dinner but ultimately decided to just find something close and crash. We ate a Carraba's and then went back to the hotel. Next up Universal!
I forgot to mention that we had lunch at the Seafire Inn. I had a roast beef and cheddar with horseradish sauce on a pretzel roll. It was really good! The meal was a little pricey for a quick service but the portions were large.
Some more flamingos before we left.
They had some beautiful gardens there.
That concludes our SeaWorld day! We headed out of the park and hit the road to check into our hotel near Universal. I originally wanted to stay at Universal but I couldn't justify paying the price for one of their hotels. We stayed at a La Quinta about a mile from Universal. I thought about heading to Downtown Disney for dinner but ultimately decided to just find something close and crash. We ate a Carraba's and then went back to the hotel. Next up Universal!
We ate breakfast at the hotel and headed to Universal. The hotel offered a free shuttle to the parks but we decided to take our own car. They dropped off at opening and supposedly at closing. They had closing listed at 7 pm but the park was actually open till 8 that night. We weren't sure how long we needed because we were doing both IOA and US that day so we just drove ourselves.
We arrived at the parks a few minutes after opening. IOA was first on the agenda since we wanted to hit Harry Potter before it got too crowded.
We made a beeline for Forbidden Journey. The wait was only 15 minutes!
I was a little concerned about this ride. I can get a little motion sick on simulators and this one is supposed to be a doozy! I actually didn't do do bad with it. It has some simulator screens mixed with riding through animatronic areas. The screens made me a little queasy but the animatronic areas broke it up and it wasn't bad.
We arrived at the parks a few minutes after opening. IOA was first on the agenda since we wanted to hit Harry Potter before it got too crowded.
We made a beeline for Forbidden Journey. The wait was only 15 minutes!
I was a little concerned about this ride. I can get a little motion sick on simulators and this one is supposed to be a doozy! I actually didn't do do bad with it. It has some simulator screens mixed with riding through animatronic areas. The screens made me a little queasy but the animatronic areas broke it up and it wasn't bad.
Next we went on Flight of the Hippogriff. This is a kiddie coaster about as long as Goofy's Barnstormer. There was no wait so we went on. It was neat to see the scenery as this is where Hagrid's cottage is. The theming is really great here!
We saw the froggy choir too!
We stopped for a little snack and had a butterbeer. Never ask Dan about the butterbeer. He was so disappointed. He looked forward to a butterbeer from the time we planned this trip till he got one. We stood in line forever(due to people not being able to decide between "draft" or icy). We finally order one to share, took a taste and realized it is just cream soda with a butterscotch foam topping. It was tough to get any of the topping as it just kind of sat on top the whole time. It was kind of weird. Very unimpressive.
Dan rode the Dragon Challenge. I finished the butterbeer!
We left Hogs Meade behind and entered the Lost Continent.
We had never seen Poseidon's Fury so we decided to check that out.
Like I have heard, the show was a little corny and we waited forever to see it. I show was late starting and I think we were in line for over half and hour. The water vortex was working and that was definitely the best part.
We saw the froggy choir too!
We stopped for a little snack and had a butterbeer. Never ask Dan about the butterbeer. He was so disappointed. He looked forward to a butterbeer from the time we planned this trip till he got one. We stood in line forever(due to people not being able to decide between "draft" or icy). We finally order one to share, took a taste and realized it is just cream soda with a butterscotch foam topping. It was tough to get any of the topping as it just kind of sat on top the whole time. It was kind of weird. Very unimpressive.
Dan rode the Dragon Challenge. I finished the butterbeer!
We left Hogs Meade behind and entered the Lost Continent.
We had never seen Poseidon's Fury so we decided to check that out.
Like I have heard, the show was a little corny and we waited forever to see it. I show was late starting and I think we were in line for over half and hour. The water vortex was working and that was definitely the best part.