SeaWorld

We have just returned from our fall break trip to SeaWorld. We really did A LOT for such a short (3 night) visit. Instead of recounting everything about our trip, I am just going to give my top 5 favorite things about the trip.



Favorite thing #1: The kiddie pool at the Marriott Grande Vista Resort. Our hotel pool was really cool because it was shaped like a "fort"- it even came equipped with "cannons" that sprayed water on other swimmers. The pool was also zero-entry which meant that both Owen and Olivia could play in it without us having to worry about it being too deep. The kids really liked the pool, and we stayed in the pool area until well after dark on two of our three nights.

Favorite thing #2: Spooktacular. We visited SeaWorld during their "Spooktacular" event, so the whole park was decorated for Halloween, and there were several Halloween-related events that happened throughout the day. The kids were able to walk down a designated path to take part in the events- which included trick-or-treating for candy (which we didn't let them have), seeing people dressed up in costume, and playing in the bubbles that were blowing everywhere. Owen especially seemed to like chasing the bubbles while Olivia was excited to meet a mermaid.

Favorite thing #3: Getting up close and personal with the animals. I love all of the opportunities for animal interaction that are available to guests at SeaWorld. Although the kids were too small for us to participate in many of them, we were still able to do a few. We saw all of the animal shows and exhibits, and were also able to feed both the dolphins and the sea lions. I liked the dolphin feeding because I got to touch the dolphin as he came up to get his food. Another fun thing that we did was to get tickets to "Dine with Shamu". This was a really neat experience. We were seated at a backstage area of Shamu stadium where we had a buffet and were treated to a private show with Shamu. Since we were seated right next to the tank, we had a front-row seat to all of the action.

Favorite thing #4: Grandparents. Brian's mom and Charlie came with us, and it was such a treat to have them around. Not only are they loads of fun, but they also help out so much with Owen and Olivia (and with two days in a theme park, we need all of the help we can get). They even watched Owen and Olivia one morning at the hotel so that Brian and I could ride all of the rollercoasters at the park.

Favorite thing #5: The coasters. Of course, no trip to a theme park is complete without riding the rollercoasters. There are two rollercoasters of note at SeaWorld, and we were able to ride both twice. But, Brian and I were not the only coaster-riders. Olivia was just tall enough to make it onto the kiddie coaster which she rode 3 times (all in the front seat- we are beaming with pride). This is good. It is very important that she likes coasters (otherwise she will be miserable on virtually every vacation that we go on). There were other rides in the kiddie area of the park that both Owen and Olivia were able to go on, and they enjoyed those, too.

I had forgotten how much fun SeaWorld could be. It is a really big park, and it took us two days to "conquer" it. This was definitely a great fall break vacation spot, and I would like to return when the kids are a little older.