It was a slower and much warmer start to the day. We left the villa around 9.15am for a leisurely drive back to SeaWorld, which didn’t open until 10am.
As usual, just before opening they played the National Anthem — which I thought wasn’t greatly respected, though perhaps that was because there were more foreign tourists waiting than Americans.
The first attraction of the day for Karen and me was Starbucks, where we sat while Neil disappeared to ride one of the many coasters. For the first time this trip, Karen was given hot milk for my tea rather than cold — though she had cleverly purloined some jiggers just in case.
While basking in the warm sunshine, I was pestered by a family of four ducks looking for food. They pecked at my trainers to make their point and, when nothing was forthcoming, marched straight into Starbucks to try their luck there. I just hope they got loyalty points for any purchases they made inside.
We tried walking to the other side of the park, but despite officially opening at 10am, parts of it remained closed until 11. So Karen and I were “forced” to sit in the sunshine — in T-shirts and shorts — while Neil went off to ride another coaster.
As I sat there listening to parents calling their children, I noticed how many old professions have now become first names — Taylor, Carter, Cooper. I wondered if in a hundred years we’ll be naming kids Coder, Cashier, or Mechanic.
Once Neil returned, everything was finally open, and we walked over to Expedition Odyssey, where, in a role reversal, Neil sat with the bags while Karen and I went on the ride.
I thought it was fine in its own way — definitely a cheaper version of Soarin’, but with the bonus of seeing real animals at the end. Karen, as ever, got annoyed when some Americans failed to follow simple instructions: sitting in the wrong seats, not removing flip-flops despite signs and announcements telling them to, and generally creating chaos.
Back in the sunshine, Karen wanted to watch the Orca Encounter show — with the artiste formerly known as Shamu. Once an entertainment spectacle (remember the nighttime Shamu Rocks?), it’s now much more educational. It demonstrated how the trainers care for the whales and use commands for health monitoring. I assumed the remaining whales are those that can’t be released back into the wild after the controversies of recent years but am unsure.
We rejoined Neil, who’d been on yet more coasters, before all wandering off to the shark tanks, which were impressively displayed underground.
Then Neil took Karen to see the penguins, bypassing the ride element that looked a bit beyond her comfort zone. After yesterday’s cold day , I had no interest in revisiting the freezing Antarctica, so I happily sat in the warm sunshine while they explored.
Neil rode another coaster before we went to see the dolphins and manatees. I decided it looked much more fun being a dolphin — all play and games — than a manatee, who just lay about eating lettuce all day.
Karen was in a “seeing shows” mood, so we headed off to the dolphin show. Neil and I fetched muffins and drinks, which I took back to her just before it started, while he dashed off for — yes — another coaster. The dolphin show was fine, though the sound quality from the trainers’ microphones was poor. The finale, with six dolphins leaping in perfect unison, made up for it.
After that, we decided to call it a day. Neil had conquered every coaster multiple times, and Karen and I had enjoyed a relaxing, sunny hot day.
Back at the villa for a couple of hours’ rest, I opened the front door and thought it was raining heavily — only to realise it was just the sprinklers. Unfortunately, as I went to the car, they rotated and drenched me. I warned Karen, who emerged just as the sprinklers turned on her. She squealed, tried to run, slipped, and fell heavily on the wet path. My heart stopped — I feared she’d banged her head or broken her arm again.
She was quite shaken and soaked, but after a few minutes, Neil and I got her back up. Luckily, apart from a few scratches and some dented pride, she was fine. I told her, quite firmly, not to do that again.
We drove to CityWalk, parking for free after 6pm in King Kong 309, and headed to our 7pm reservation at the Toothsome Chocolate Emporium. Neil had been nonplussed about coming, but the theming was impressive — all steampunk and chocolate. We watched the huge, extravagant milkshakes (which cost more than most meals) being delivered to tables.
Our food arrived in equally enormous portions. I had something from the brunch menu called a “Patty Melt” — a half-pound beef patty with fried egg, cheese, and pork belly between four doorstop-sized slices of bread, served with Lyonnaise potatoes. It tasted every bit as good as it looked. Karen and Neil had different dishes and loved theirs too. We were so full we couldn’t even manage to share a milkshake.
As we were paying, Neil’s worst nightmare came true: the restaurant’s two costumed characters suddenly appeared from a door right beside our table. They were loud, eccentric, and interactive — thankfully, they focused on the table next to ours rather than us, much to Neil’s relief.
We strolled around CityWalk for a while, browsing a few shops before Neil treated himself to a giant doughnut from Voodoo Doughnut to take back to the villa.
The I-4 was its usual chaos, but we were back in good time to enjoy a drink and some basketball on TV before heading to bed.
Another lovely, and thankfully much warmer, Florida day — with tomorrow promising a full return to normal temperatures.
