December 2014: A Holiday Park Extravaganza: The End

Day 5: Wednesday December 24, 2014

Christmas Eve. Time to go home. I got up fairly early, got ready, and went down to the lobby to eat breakfast. Once I’d finished breakfast, I packed the car and headed for the airport, stopping to refill the gas tank along the way.

I got to the airport shortly before 8:30, and easily returned the rental car. Then I hiked inside and joined the long line at the Southwest counter to check luggage. The line moved very quickly, and pretty soon I was headed for security, stopping for one last giant Christmas tree picture along the way. 

Security was a cluster, but eventually I was on my way to the gate, sad that this trip was already over.

When I arrived at the gate, I encountered the yappiest, highest pitched dog, EVER. There really should be a pitch limit on yappy dogs allowed on flights.

Eventually it was boarding time. My stomach was still messed up from the chicken incident at Sea World, so, for the first time ever, I grabbed a window seat and settled in for the 3 hour flight up to Manchester, knowing it could be a little bumpy.

I’d been watching the weather and had talked to dad that morning while at the gate. Manchester was getting inundated with heavy rain. Since it was unusually warm for Christmas in NH (mid 50s), this was creating a lot of fog. It was also very windy. I had wondered about the likelihood of actually getting into the airport, but dad had clued me into the fact that Manchester is actually rated/has the equipment for military emergencies. Because of this, the airport can handle aircraft in weather that would cause significant flight interruptions in other airports.

Sure enough, it was a bumpy flight, but we made it into Manchester a little after 1. The landing was certainly bumpy, but we made it. As soon as we were taxiing to the gate, the flight crew put Christmas music on over the PA system. I thought that was a pretty nice touch.

Deplaning was easy; everyone was in a very good mood. My luggage appeared on the baggage claim shortly after I got downstairs, and I called Nick, who pulled up to the curb in my car. He helped me load my suitcase in the car and we went for lunch and then headed home.

Despite not feeling well, and not being dressed for the temperatures, it was a good trip, and I’m so glad I finally got to see all of the decorations and shows that I’ve wanted to see for years.

December 2014: A Holiday Park Extravaganza: Day 4

Day 4: Tuesday December 23, 2014

I woke up the next morning, well rested, with still swollen tonsils, but realizing I had slept through the night without having to get up for more Advil. Progress! I packed up, packed the car, and then had breakfast in the lobby again. I have a Hilton Honors credit card to accumulate more points more quickly, and with that card, I get automatic gold status with Hilton Honors. Because of this, I get free breakfasts at hotels that offer breakfast but typically charge for it (think Hilton Garden Inn, Doubletree, etc). So, even though I wasn’t eating much, it made sense to eat breakfast at the hotel.

Once breakfast was done, I hopped in the car and drove to Tampa. It was a pretty straightforward drive, with surprisingly little traffic. I got there shortly after the park opened, so no real wait at the parking lot booth like there had been at Sea World.

I found a parking space, and headed for the tram. Because of where the parking lot is, Busch Gardens doesn’t really give you a choice. You more or less have to ride the tram to the front of the park.

Park entrance was easy, and I found the building where the ice show would be held. They started letting us in, and I grabbed a seat in the middle, and did some texting to pass the time. Busch Gardens always has an ice show, but this one is a holiday themed one.

The ice show was very well done, and pretty soon, I was back outside taking pictures of the decorations and some of the animals. There were a couple of roller coasters I wanted to try, but with how Everest had treated me a couple days before, I wasn’t going near the roller coasters here. I really ended up just wandering. 

My original plan for Busch Gardens had been to stick around late enough for the Christmas Town stuff (lights/shows) but those didn’t start until 4, and I made the decision that it would not be a good idea for me to do the hour+ plus drive back to Orlando in the dark, as tired as I was. Plus, honestly, I was bored. Busch Gardens is better when you can actually ride the rides. And, I wanted to see the holiday stuff over at Hollywood Studios. Something had to give. It was kind of a waste of a ticket, but at the same time, it barely cost anything extra to add BG to the ticket, so even with how little I did, it was worth it.

After a sandwich for lunch, I headed for the car and drove to Hollywood Studios. I decided as I drove into the parking lot that Disney might actually own more orange cones than the state of Pennsylvania. My sister lives in Pennsylvania, and I’m convinced that they have more orange cones than any other state, and that they use the roads as their cone storage, since there are ALWAYS lane closures, but only twice have I actually seen evidence of road work.

Anyway, I hopped on a waiting tram and sent a text to Eric. Through facebook, we had discovered that we were both planning on being in Hollywood Studios in the afternoon, so I was supposed to text him when I got there. He responded wondering if I could make it to the Comedy Warehouse show that was starting in 10 minutes. If so, there was a seat by him. I told him it’d be a stretch, but I’d see what I could do.

Of course the tram made a “courtesy stop” for people walking in from a different lot, but shockingly, bag check was nothing more than a cursory glance, and there was no line to actually get into the park. I booked it down to the American Idol theater and walked in just as they were announcing last call. I followed directions and located Eric. We chatted for a couple of minutes, and then the show started.

I never got to see the original Comedy Warehouse. I didn’t turn 21 until just a few months before Pleasure Island closed. Now that I’ve seen the holiday edition, I really wish I had been able to go to the original.

Once the show was over, we wandered and chatted for awhile. We watched the Muppets 3-D show and then continued wandering and chatting. The lines for most attractions and shows were pretty long. It was nice, though, to be able to catch up.

Eventually Eric headed out of the park. I did a bit of shopping, and then had a Candy Cane Milkshake as my dinner. I then did a bit of picture taking before heading over to the Streets of America. 

It was time for Osborne Lights.

Once I’d sufficiently photographed Osborne Lights, I headed out of the park. It was time to drive to the last hotel and pack to go home. The last hotel was the Drury Inn & Suites. I’ve stayed at a few Drury Inns now, and I really like that chain. The hotel was easy enough to get to, and pretty soon I was settling in to the room to pack and get ready to go home in the morning. I collapsed into bed pretty early, knowing I had to get moving fairly early the next morning.

December 2014: A Holiday Parks Extravaganza: Day 3

Day 3: Monday, December 22, 2014

I woke up early, with still swollen tonsils, but much more rested than the day before. I got ready and was downstairs at the Sea World desk a minute before it opened at 7, to get my quick queue and my discount card.

Side note, I know Sea World is a controversial place right now. We all have to come to our own conclusions whether we are comfortable visiting there or not. I weighed my choices heavily, but in the end, past experiences with the park, facts about what they do for conservation and their animals CURRENTLY, and actions that they are taking moving forward made me comfortable with visiting the park. I respect that not all share my opinions; I hope that others will respect the fact that I made an educated choice that was appropriate for me.

Quick Queue is Sea World’s version of Fastpass. For regular day visitors, it costs money. If you stay at one of the Sea World partner hotels (and there are several, from several of the major chains), it’s free, as long as you get to the desk before their supply for the desired day runs out. I was a little hesitant about availability, given that it was Christmas week, and I was going to the desk the day of, rather than the day before, as I had on a previous (April) trip, but it turned out, the concern was not necessary. There was ample availability. The lady working the desk was very chatty, so we chatted while she did up the paperwork. The whole process took maybe 10 minutes.

Once I had my quick queue, shuttle schedule (free shuttle buses are provided between the partner hotels and Sea World/Aquatica), and discount card (10% off all food purchases and 10% off merchandise purchases over $50 at certain stores), I went back to the room to finish getting ready for the day.

The partner hotel buses run roughly once an hour, rather than all day long like at Disney. I used it a couple years ago but I decided that on this trip it might be safer to suck it up and pay the parking fee, rather than be stranded at Sea World longer than I was up for.

I’m used to Disney, where everything opens way before the park opens. So after breakfast in the hotel lobby, I hopped in the car around 8:20, and drove the couple blocks to Sea World, arriving shortly before 8:30. I found a handful of cars in line at each parking lot booth, all of which were still closed. It made for some good people watching, as apparently EVERYONE needed something out of the back of their car in the time they were waiting to get into the parking lot. It got comical to the point where I expected people to pull out camp chairs and have a party. Seriously, even the kids were climbing out of the cars.

The booths opened about 8:45 (the park opened at 9). Once they opened, the line moved quickly, and pretty soon I was parking in the very first row in the parking lot. I grabbed my backpack and headed for the gate. I already had my ticket; I had bought a combo SW/BG ticket at AAA before I left NH. Their price beat even Sea World’s discount rates. In case anyone was wondering, AAA is WAY more than just a roadside assistance company.

Bag check was cursory at best, and then the ticket reader was frustrating. They use a barcode scanner, and it just didn’t seem to line up right. But, eventually, I made it into the park, stopping to take some pictures along the way. 

Once the pictures had been taken, I joined the line to really enter. They let you a little ways in, and then hold you until the park truly opens at 9. Before they let you in, they play the national anthem, which is nice.

Once we were allowed deeper into the park, I beelined it to Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin. This one is fairly new, and has been known to post absurd wait times, so it seemed best to get it out of the way first. I basically walked through the queue. When I got to the merge point, I selected the “wild” version of the ride. There are two versions, “wild” and “mild”. The ride vehicles for mild stay stationary (no spinning or bouncing) as they move through the ride. The “wild” side of life spins and bounces slightly. There’s really nothing wild about it, but there is movement. Don’t be scared to do the “wild” side. And it doesn’t improve wait times to do “mild” because it’s RIGHT before load that you make your choice.

Anyway, for a ride that was hyped for a LONG time before it opened, this was VERY short, and not that great. It’s cute; you follow along with an animated penguin. But it’s not that great. Then when you unload, you’re in roughly 30 degree air, to look at real penguins.

After taking a few penguin pictures and watching them for a few minutes, I escaped the cold (it’s December, I have MONTHS of that ahead of me!), and headed outside to explore this newly redone area a bit before Turtle Trek opened. 

I got to Turtle Trek about a minute before it opened. Sea World seemed to be doing staggered opens for many attractions. Turtle Trek is also new since I was last there. And by that I mean it started doing soft openings the day after I was last there.Turtle Trek is a 3D movie shown in a 360 degree theater, about the life of a sea turtle. But before the movie starts, there’s a holding area where you get to see manatees and turtles, since this replaced the previous manatee habitat and movie.

 

After a few minutes we were directed into the theater for the movie. I have to say, this was REALLY well done. Perhaps not the most interesting for kids, but I thought it struck a nice balance of educational and interesting. And having seen brand new turtle hatchlings make their first trek to the ocean a few years ago at Vero Beach, I was able to really connect with this.

After Turtle Trek, I wandered through the park, taking pictures on my way to the other side of the park. 

It was time to do the Polar Express experience. For those who have been to Sea World, this is the Wild Arctic ride, with overlays and a new video, all themed to the Polar Express. 

This is where I expected to have to use my Quick Queue. Turns out I didn’t need to. It was still early enough, and everyone was still on the roller coasters I guess. I only had to wait about 10 minutes before I was in the simulator.

The Polar Express theming was excellent. When the simulator component was over, we exited into the “North Pole”. This is where the beluga whales swim. They had put up a HUGE Christmas tree, and had Santa available for pictures.

When I was done with the Polar Express, I walked over the Shamu Stadium, which was nearby to catch the first Shamu show of the day. It always amazes me how much the trainers appear to love their job, and how in tune the whales are with their trainers.

After the show, it was time for lunch. I went over to Voyagers Smokehouse. The line was pretty long, but it moved quickly. I got the smoked chicken with french fries and sat down to eat. The chicken here is served still on the bone. I was about halfway through eating, when I turned the chicken over and dug into the other half. This is where I stopped eating. Smoked chicken is often pink, but this seemed a little too pink. I really hope this doesn’t cause issues.

Since I had done everything I wanted to do in the park until evening, I decided to go back to the hotel for a bit. I considered driving over to Disney to see the Comedy Warehouse holiday special at Hollywood Studios, but in the end decided to do that after Busch Gardens the next day. I really needed a nap.

I got back to the hotel just in time for my stomach to let me know that finding the pink halfway through the chicken had not been soon enough. Because that’s definitely what I wanted considering I was still on the Advil every 4 hours routine for the tonsils.

Eventually I was able to take a much needed nap. I woke up feeling somewhat refreshed, and decided to attempt the evening at Sea World.

I drove back over to Sea World and found a parking spot easily that was still an easy walk to the front gate. I was surprisingly hungry, so I went over to Spice Mill, where I was able to get a sandwich. No more smoked chicken for me! I didn’t eat a whole lot, but I ate enough.

After this, I wandered to the back of the park. Sea World recently introduced beach trash art to the park. They’ve collected thousands of pounds of beach trash, everything from water bottles to flip flops, and have created art out of them. It’s very impressive. 

Also impressive was the line for the first Christmas show of the night: O Wondrous Night. This is a live nativity show...live camels, etc. With my allergies, I was perfectly content to NOT go sit in a theater with live animals, so the ridiculously long line (think most of the park guests in one line), did not upset me the way it upset some others.

I wandered the park a bit, exploring the decorations as the sun went down. As the sun started to go down, they opened another section at the front of the park that was ALL Christmas. There were music groups, decorations, and lots of Christmasy treats. 

Once I’d explored the decorations quite a bit, I walked back to Shamu Stadium for the nighttime Christmas show. This combined Christmas music (including one song done live), Christmas projections on the screens, lights on the water, and, of course, the whales. As much as I like One Ocean (the daytime show), the Shamu Christmas Miracles show, was infinitely better.

After the Shamu show, I decided to kill some time and do the SkyTower. This is a big revolving tower that rises up into the air, spins around a few times so you can get a view, and then goes back down. I’ve done this several times during the day, but never after dark. It was really neat, but picture taking was not doable. After the SkyTower, I watched one of the Sea of Trees performances. There are dozens of artificial Christmas trees throughout the “lake” in the middle of the park. They are covered in Christmas lights, and look beautiful. Every half hour or so, after the sun goes down, the lights on the trees dance to music. It was very well done.

Sea of Trees video 

From here, I moved over to Bayside Stadium for the last two shows of the night. By now, I was tired, so I had no problem sitting and waiting for awhile for the shows to start. First up, was the ice show, Winter Wonderland on Ice. That’s right, an ice show in Florida. It was surprisingly good.

After the ice show, there was a brief break, and then Holiday Reflections started. This is a fireworks and fountains show. It gave Disney a run for their money. VERY good.

Once Reflections was over, I joined the masses exiting the park. I was remembering pure chaos leaving Sea World after fireworks a few years before, but this time, I was able to leave the parking lot relatively easily. Maybe because I was driving this time instead of mom? Whatever the difference, it was a good difference, and I was back at the hotel fairly quickly, and ready to collapse into bed.