Orlando Fl Oct. 2023 Sea World, Bush Gardens, Isl of Adventure and Universal

Orlando, Fl

October 19th-23

Today I left Melbourne to go to Orlando. I am meeting the crew from Tulip.  It's about an hour ride to get there, so I enjoyed the day around the apartment before I decided I should head out. I still arrived at the hotel nearly two hours before they got there, but that was fine. I sat in my car and enjoyed a book. (I knew I needed to have a book in my car. Good thinking).

Eventually they all showed up, I assisted in getting people into their rooms and we prepared and headed for dinner. There was an issue with one of the rental van's tires so that made for a longer night then expected, but we made it through and everyone was in their bed that night dreaming of the tomorrows to come. 

Our first full day was at Sea World. Breakfast in us, we headed to the theme park. Our crew includes, Me, Annette, Chris, Edie, Val and Jess, and all the guy, 16 in total. Great Group!!!

First stop is always the pink Flamingos. 

Then we made it to the dolphin show. 

These guys are super! Can you imagine standing on the shore of some beach and just randomly a dolphin jumps out of the water like this? Do these guys do that in the wild? One does wonder. Well, anyway, they do it here and it is AWESOME. 

Did you know that dolphins are second to being as smart as us humans. Mind Blown!!!  I went down the rabbit hole to get some other interesting facts about the smarts of dolphins....studies have shown that dolphins can mimic, they have the capability to be self aware, can problem solve, have empathy, can teach, they grieve, are very playful and have exhibited complex communication skills. Wow! Pretty impressive. Love these guys, I love seeing them in the wild even more. Although someday I would love to have a swim encounter. We will see. 

Its Halloween here at Sea World.

The kids can do trick or treating.. 

So...I was a big baby this year and did not go on this log flume ride. Annette was not happy with me. Call me a chicken. I don't know why, I just couldn't get myself to do it. I know once I was over the fear I would have loved it. Next time for sure. (Annette is in the back Jess in the front)

Splash Down!!!!

We did a lot of walking around and enjoying the area attractions, visited the shark encounter, watched the dolphins in their tanks, and viewed the penguins, but many of the guys were ready to leave. There was only one show left for the day and it was several hours before it would begin, so we took a vote. Stay and wait for the Whale show or go get a nice meal and chill by the pool. The second decision was make. Food and Chill. The rest of the day was enjoyed relaxing. 

The next day was at Bush Gardens.

First up, we viewed the gators. Just another Florida native!

I so never want to meet one of these guys while I'm lounging on a floatie in some Florida spring somewhere. Although, the chance of being attacked by a gator is something like 1 in 3 million. They are defensive by nature, and are more likely to hiss, do a bluff lunge or retreat then attack. However, they are also very territorial and more aggressive during mating season or protecting their territory. Good to know....

On to my very favorite part of this park....The Primates.

I could just sit here and watch these guys for hours. 

The Gorilla! Wow, what amazing animals. 

This guy looks to have a wise old soul. Kind of like a Grandpa, or Grandma?

Now here is BIG DADDY! He is got to be the big man of the house. In gorilla troops, he is called the Silverback. (I always thought they had a silver stripe or something down their backs, that is not the case). The Silverback is the dominate male of the group. 

He's not looking very dominate right now. Wonder what he would sound like if he spoke.  Would he sound all philosophical ?" Hey, would you look at that, I found a leaf. Its a green leaf with five points and a...." 

Or would he sound jaded or board? "I am just so over this, will you people please just stop looking at me, can't you see I am not interested?" or maybe he'd sound simple "gosh, by golly, what we gonna do today? Oh I don't know? Maybe I'll just sit here and let my lunch lay on my lap." 

His friends all gossiping about him. "Did you see Sam? OMG, he's so lazy he wont even clean up his lunch." 

Poor Sam, all sad that the ladies were making fun of him. He has run off all by himself. 

"Well there he goes!" Laughter!!!! 

I do need help!!! Lots of it. But anyway, what is next? Penguins, love these guys.

Then its on to the train. 

Hey, would you look at that. Here are the giraffe and Rhino's missing from the Brevard zoo. 

Look they threw in a Zebra and a Gazelle just to throw us off track. BUT no, I am Sherlock Holmes and I have cracked the case! (if you are lost here, I had been to Brevard Zoo a few days ago and the Rhinos, Giraffe and Lions were missing, well not really, but we didn't see them)

The train ride is nice because you can see the animals, and it also takes you to several different areas of the park, so you don't have to walk as much. It is HOT here in Florida by the way. Who said it could be this hot in late October? Apparently Bush Gardens couldn't decide, do we do Christmas decorations (on the train) or Halloween? 

Up next we caught the Sesame Street Show. 

Can you name all these characters? I can! Count, and Grover

Cookie

Oscar! Whom is your favorite? Fun fact Sesame Street is exactly 9 days older then I am. that's right Sesame Street first aired on November 10th 1969. I came along 9 days later. No wonder I act like I belong in The Neighborhood. Wonder what my character would be like? Hum! 

We also watched the ice show. It was nice to get indoors and out of the heat. Every time I watch the ice show I am afraid the skater is going to fly off the stage. Not this time. So it ended up being a great day at the Garden. Now back to Orlando where we got some dinner and enjoyed a pleasant evening back at the hotel. 

The next day was Islands of Adventure. 

Up first, Suess land. We all rode the Cat in the Hat. We almost always have an individual who is not so sure about the rides and this is a nice one to start off with. Love the story. Love the ride, Love the Dr!!!

We rode the high in the Sky Seuss Trolly. This is a great ride that lets you get a birds eye view of the park. 

Another fun ride we also did. 

Over in the distance...I think that is the Hulk roller coaster. I will not be going on that, and I don't believe anyone in our group did this time either. We have had some roller coaster junkies go on Tulip Trips in the past, but not this crew. 

 Would you look at these themed goodies....YUM!

We next made our way through The Lost Continent. There used to be a fun show called Sinbad here as well as this exciting ride, that broke down while we were in it last time. Right now, there really isn't much in this area, so moving on! (Below is the exterior of the old ride Poseidon's Fury) 

Up next, The wizarding World of Harry Potter. Hogsmeade

This area is always fun. Its all about Harry Potter and how great is that. Some people went on the Forbidden Journey, while I stayed back and watched Frog Choir. (I had never seen the show).

The show was cute. Only suggestion I would make to Daddy Universal is get a freaken umbrella or awning. It is damn hot standing there trying to watch this thing sun beating down on you head. Next time I am taking the journey ride. 

Up next is Jurassic Park. There is a fun water ride here, with a drop, that can be scary and you can get wet, so we typically pass on this one. Dinosaurs are just terrifying anyways. Let the thrills be found elsewhere on this trip. Maybe next time I will be more adventurous. 

Speaking of thrills....King Kong, yes he is thrilling and very much as scary as Dinosaurs but on this next ride Skull Island: Reign of Kong, he is the good guy. Awesome ride. 

Toon Lagoon was up next. There are some water rides here and some really cool Comic Strip themed items, but we generally just walk through this area. 

We ended our time at Islands with one of my favorite rides in the park located in the Marvel Super Hero Island area. The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman. Love this. We did some shopping and ended our day with dinner at Olive Garden.

One last fun filled day here in Orlando and we may have saved the best for last. Universal.

This year we started in Hollywood at The Bourne Stuntacular show. This show is next level. You follow along as Jason Bourne takes on an undercover job fleeing from the bad guys. It is really well done. 

Up next, we went on a ride I have never done. Race Through NY with Jimmy Fallon. This was another simulated ride, and your group car drives through NY City.  I'm not sure if I would do this ride again. I don't always enjoy those simulations. Sometimes they don't sit well with me. 

After that we went to  another semi simulated ride that I actually do like, The Fast and the Furious. The we headed over to the Men in Black ride and enjoyed that. 

We were just running all over the pack today. We skipped Harry Potter this time, but did catch the ET Ride. One of the Classics.

We enjoyed the scenery of the place before we made it to The Minions, which was our last ride of the day. Shrek is gone forever. They now are making the area all about the Minions.

And that will end the crazy theme park fun in Orlando for now. I stayed with the group and helped them get all packed up for the flight back to New York, but I will see my friends again soon. After a few days in Melbourne I will be taking another solo adventure as I head to Nashville to meet up with Chris, Annette and Shelly. Until then TTFN