Let The Memories Begin! – Day 3

The winter storm Cleon sweeping across eastern USA is causing havoc to weather in Orlando. The temperature has been in the range of 28 deg to 30 degree Celsius since we arrived. So we are really glad that we have scheduled to visit ICE! today.

ICE! located in Gaylord Palms is a special holiday attraction. Every year, about 40 artisans will fly to Orlando from Harbin to work in the constant -18  degree Celsius room to hand carve nearly two-million pounds of ice. This year’s theme is Frosty The Snowman. After we checked-in, we were given complimentary parkas and then ushered in to watch a pre-show. After the pre-show, we entered Ice! and were instantly greeted by the shocking cold! It did not matter that we have put  on a few layers and the parkas offered by them. The colourful ice monuments and sculptures were captivating and we soon reached the 4 ice slides. Ashley was hesitant initially but she got addicted after one try. She only agreed to leave the slides when the cold proved too much for her to handle. Next, we entered a live ice carving zone and watched a skillful artisan carved right before our eyes. By now, Ashley seemed to be frozen and so we hurried through the rest of the exhibition.

All in all, we spent 30 minutes in ICE! Although this is a refreshing activity given that we live in sunny Singapore. we find the prices of the admission tickets steep. In addition, the carpark charges were exorbitant too, at USD 18 + taxes.

Next, we made our way to Seaworld, the first theme park we visited this trip. Our original plan was to visit Seaworld tomorrow, but we felt that we do not have enough time to cover the park in one day. Seaworld must be the only attraction I know that offers up to 11 shows a day. To plan our schedule around the show hours was a tall order. In addition, during the month of December, Seaworld also has its Christmas Celebration on selected nights. Unlike Disney, this is included in the park admission and not a special ticket event. We therefore decided to spend two days at Seaworld as the 2nd day costs only an additional USD 10.

We arrived at Seaworld at 12.30pm. We chose to upgrade our parking to preferred parking at USD 18, an additional USD 3. We got to park really close to the entrance. Otherwise, it would be at least a 15 minute walk. Seaworld seemed very crowded today, perhaps due to the promotion whereby US residents pay only USD 50 for weekday admission. First, we headed to the Dolphin Cove and proceeded to watch Blue Horizins, a dolphin show. The theater was packed even though we arrived half an hour before the show. We managed to move to the reserved Platinum seating after they were opened to the general public. This is really good and we enjoyed the show. Next, we went to Antartica and wanted to ride The Empire of Penguins but the wait was more than an hour so we gave up.

We proceeded to watch Shamu Miracles. We watched Believe previously with Jarod when we visited Seaworld San Diego. Seaworld has recently revamped the show after the tragic accident of a trainer drowning incident. Trainers are no longer allowed into the pool together with the killer whales. Ashley was very fascinated by the orcas especially the scene of the 2 orcas kissing. We went to Shamu Harbour next which houses the more ‘kiddish’ rides and left for dinner after the Shamu Express, a junior roller coaster ride.

Our dinner today was at Sharks Underwater Grill. This is a full service restaurant where you get to dine next to a titanic aquarium while sharks, rays and other large fishes swim by. We did not manage to get a table by the tank but the view from our table was unobstructed nevertheless. Ashley had the kids meal with Macaroni and Cheese as her main yet again. Jarod had Tempura Shrimp, ZA had Grilled Salmon while I had the Seasonal Fish. Both the ambience and the food were good.

After our dinner, we braved through the crowd to watch Shamu Christmas Miracles. This is a different show from the one showed in the day. the stadium was already 3/4 full by the time we arrived.  There were some similarities but the Christmas version has better lighting effects. ZA was impressed that Aretha Frankin appeared in the show and sang Miracles.

We decided to push on to catch the headliner shows with show times at the end of the night so that we may not need to stay till park closing tomorrow to catch them. Ashley had wanted to watch Winter Wonderland on Ice, a holiday themed ice-skating spectacular. From the stadium, we could also see the Sea of Trees. Over 100 massive trees, each sparkling, lighted and choreographed to classic holiday tunes, made a  dramatic display around SeaWorld’s center lake. The finale was Holiday Reflections, a fountain and firework spectacular. Seaworld has indeed impressed us with the Christmas shows and decorations. If only the weather was cooler, we would have enjoyed our day better.